COVID Risk Factors and Susceptibility to COVID

[JustSomeBloke]

Every day in the UK covid news cycle brings a new round of covid statistics. Numbers of positive tests, numbers of hospitalisations, numbers of fatalities. And yet these statistics rarely seem to be given any context. Some of the covid risk factors are by now very well known, but when the daily covid statistics are presented in the UK MSM, there is little to no mention of the circumstances of hospitalisations and fatalities.

So what are some of the risk factors?

Obesity:
Obesity as a risk factor has been known about almost from the very start. And considering that large proportions of the Western population are overweight, it's hardly surprising that many people in the US and the UK are vulnerable to covid.

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19 and Complications: A Review

Age:
The vulnerability of elderly people has also been known about almost from the very start. In the UK the average age of a covid fatality is slightly greater than the (pre-covid) average life expectancy.

Average age of those who had died with COVID-19

Ethnicity and heritage:
There is some theoretical evidence that the covid virus may bind more strongly to the ACE2 receptor in people of certain ethnicities and heritages. It's a theoretical study, but if it's proved in the real world, then Europeans appear to be among the most vulnerable, and Ashkenazi Jews the least vulnerable.

ACE2 coding variants in different populations and their potential impact on SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity

Kidney function:
COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease: a comprehensive review
Kidney impairment in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased in-hospital mortality and worse clinical evolution, raising concerns towards patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Sickle cell disease:
Sickle cell disease and COVID-19: Susceptibility and severity
The obtained results should be interpreted, considering low cases from sub-Saharan people, younger age of SCD patients compared to general population, a bias toward registry of the more severe form of disease, the effect of pre-existing comorbidities with multisystem organ damage, and the role of health socio-economic determinants.

Blood group:
The effects of blood group types on the risk of COVID-19 infection and its clinical outcome
The results of the present study suggest that while the blood group A might have a role in increased susceptibility to the COVID-19 infection, the blood group O might be somewhat protective. However, once infected, blood group type does not seem to influence clinical outcome.

 

[Kyrani]

Covid 19 has been described as having mild symptoms, which are none other than the flu and moderate to serious symptoms, which are seen as excessive inflammation in the body. This is really about autoimmunity.
Now they are saying that the virus or covid disrupts the fight or flight response. I don't believe this is what they are really seeing but let's just go with that. Here is a website speaking about that: Research finds disruption of flight-or-fight response in healthy young people diagnosed with COVID-19 (news-medical.net)
The important thing to note is that with fight or flight the immunity with respect to infections is declined. That makes the person particularly vulnerable as they can't fight the infection. But why does it happen only in the serious cases?

Obesity is seen as a risk factor based on statistics. However if you understand what obesity is about you realize it is not the overweight that is the problem. Eating something, especially something greasy that takes longer to digest is a form of self medication and safer than many drugs. The down side of course is overweight.

Why does this constitute self medication? Because it is facilitated by the parasympathetic nervous system, that same that facilitates resting metabolism. So if a person is stressed, then eating something helps address the stress, to some extent. Not all stress can be addressed in this way and /or not all of the time. So it is not the obesity per se that is the problem but the fact that the person is stressed. And that often means fight or flight response and declined immunity. It is not continuous but nonetheless enough to cause problems.

Old people are often harassed and hassled, in other words stressed and for many and varied reasons. So the same problem is here. I am over seventy but I have understood how to overcome the problems that may lead to stress so I am in excellent health. But when I look around me I see others that are sure vulnerable.

One thing though that a person can do if they have an infection and are stressed is to recognize that the primary danger is in the body and not any external problem. That turns immunity back on.

For the excessive inflammation, what covid is essentially, one can arrest that problem too. Never, ever entertain any ideas such as "dangerous virus doing damage" because those sort of ideas ignite the immune system and cause unwanted, unnecessary and damaging inflammation. And this has been seen in science but since covid it is being covered over. Now, if there is damage in the body the immune system will recognize it and address it. No need to have a single thought about it.

 

[Tanj]

Covid 19 has been described as having mild symptoms, which are none other than the flu and moderate to serious symptoms, which are seen as excessive inflammation in the body. This is really about autoimmunity.

No, it isn't. autoimmunity and an over zealous immune response are entirely different things.

Obesity is seen as a risk factor based on statistics. However if you understand what obesity is about you realize it is not the overweight that is the problem. Eating something, especially something greasy that takes longer to digest is a form of self medication and safer than many drugs. The down side of course is overweight.

Also incorrect. Obesity comes with a host of medical issues, not the least of which, ironically, is chronic inflammation.

Old people are often harassed and hassled, in other words stressed and for many and varied reasons. So the same problem is here. I am over seventy but I have understood how to overcome the problems that may lead to stress so I am in excellent health. But when I look around me I see others that are sure vulnerable.

Also incorrect. Old people suffer from a range of issues, one of the more important with respect to COVID is immune senescence.

For the excessive inflammation, what covid is essentially, one can arrest that problem too. Never, ever entertain any ideas such as "dangerous virus doing damage" because those sort of ideas ignite the immune system and cause unwanted, unnecessary and damaging inflammation. And this has been seen in science but since covid it is being covered over. Now, if there is damage in the body the immune system will recognize it and address it. No need to have a single thought about it.

I'm having trouble untangling this word salad, but the idea that an over amped immune system causing damage is being covered over is completely wrong.

 

[Tanj]

Every day in the UK covid news cycle brings a new round of covid statistics. Numbers of positive tests, numbers of hospitalisations, numbers of fatalities. And yet these statistics rarely seem to be given any context. Some of the covid risk factors are by now very well known, but when the daily covid statistics are presented in the UK MSM, there is little to no mention of the circumstances of hospitalisations and fatalities.

So what are some of the risk factors?

Obesity:
Obesity as a risk factor has been known about almost from the very start. And considering that large proportions of the Western population are overweight, it's hardly surprising that many people in the US and the UK are vulnerable to covid.

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19 and Complications: A Review

Age:
The vulnerability of elderly people has also been known about almost from the very start. In the UK the average age of a covid fatality is slightly greater than the (pre-covid) average life expectancy.

Average age of those who had died with COVID-19

Ethnicity and heritage:
There is some theoretical evidence that the covid virus may bind more strongly to the ACE2 receptor in people of certain ethnicities and heritages. It's a theoretical study, but if it's proved in the real world, then Europeans appear to be among the most vulnerable, and Ashkenazi Jews the least vulnerable.

ACE2 coding variants in different populations and their potential impact on SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity

Kidney function:
COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease: a comprehensive review
Kidney impairment in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased in-hospital mortality and worse clinical evolution, raising concerns towards patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Sickle cell disease:
Sickle cell disease and COVID-19: Susceptibility and severity
The obtained results should be interpreted, considering low cases from sub-Saharan people, younger age of SCD patients compared to general population, a bias toward registry of the more severe form of disease, the effect of pre-existing comorbidities with multisystem organ damage, and the role of health socio-economic determinants.

Blood group:
The effects of blood group types on the risk of COVID-19 infection and its clinical outcome
The results of the present study suggest that while the blood group A might have a role in increased susceptibility to the COVID-19 infection, the blood group O might be somewhat protective. However, once infected, blood group type does not seem to influence clinical outcome.

You left out hypertension and cancer.

newsGP - Study identifies four main comorbidities associated with COVID deaths

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Covid 19 has been described as having mild symptoms, which are none other than the flu and moderate to serious symptoms, which are seen as excessive inflammation in the body. This is really about autoimmunity.
Now they are saying that the virus or covid disrupts the fight or flight response. I don't believe this is what they are really seeing but let's just go with that. Here is a website speaking about that: Research finds disruption of flight-or-fight response in healthy young people diagnosed with COVID-19 (news-medical.net)
The important thing to note is that with fight or flight the immunity with respect to infections is declined. That makes the person particularly vulnerable as they can't fight the infection. But why does it happen only in the serious cases?

Obesity is seen as a risk factor based on statistics. However if you understand what obesity is about you realize it is not the overweight that is the problem. Eating something, especially something greasy that takes longer to digest is a form of self medication and safer than many drugs. The down side of course is overweight.

Why does this constitute self medication? Because it is facilitated by the parasympathetic nervous system, that same that facilitates resting metabolism. So if a person is stressed, then eating something helps address the stress, to some extent. Not all stress can be addressed in this way and /or not all of the time. So it is not the obesity per se that is the problem but the fact that the person is stressed. And that often means fight or flight response and declined immunity. It is not continuous but nonetheless enough to cause problems.

Old people are often harassed and hassled, in other words stressed and for many and varied reasons. So the same problem is here. I am over seventy but I have understood how to overcome the problems that may lead to stress so I am in excellent health. But when I look around me I see others that are sure vulnerable.

One thing though that a person can do if they have an infection and are stressed is to recognize that the primary danger is in the body and not any external problem. That turns immunity back on.

For the excessive inflammation, what covid is essentially, one can arrest that problem too. Never, ever entertain any ideas such as "dangerous virus doing damage" because those sort of ideas ignite the immune system and cause unwanted, unnecessary and damaging inflammation. And this has been seen in science but since covid it is being covered over. Now, if there is damage in the body the immune system will recognize it and address it. No need to have a single thought about it.

This is a sorry grab-bag of ill-informed and misleading nonsense.

 

[anna ~ grace]

This is a sorry grab-bag of ill-informed and misleading nonsense.

As are most “reports” and “studies” anymore. Try it. Try hunting for a study which concludes thing a) about Covid or the vaccine, then turn right around and try to find another study which implies or concludes thing b), pretty much the exact opposite. Chances are you’ll find something pretty quickly. It’s kind of a mess.

New Study: Vaccine side effects 6 times more dangerous than Covid-19 hospitalisation for teenage boys | Gript

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-moderna-covid-vaccine-safe-effective.html

 

[Kyrani]

Old people suffer from a range of issues, one of the more important with respect to COVID is immune senescence.

The common medical opinion is that immunity senesces with age. This is pure nonsense. I am 72 years young and my immune system is every bit as good as when I was a child. And I should add there that I haven't had the flu or a chill even since my early twenties and I do not have any flu shots either.
The rest of your criticisms is not worth responding to, sorry.'

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

As are most “reports” and “studies” anymore. Try it. Try hunting for a study which concludes thing a) about Covid or the vaccine, then turn right around and try to find another study which implies or concludes thing b), pretty much the exact opposite. Chances are you’ll find something pretty quickly. It’s kind of a mess.

New Study: Vaccine side effects 6 times more dangerous than Covid-19 hospitalisation for teenage boys | Gript

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-moderna-covid-vaccine-safe-effective.html

You need to read the published papers to get the full context - the headlines are often misleading. The first paper is comparing the rate of myocarditis with the 120-day hospitalisation risk from Covid. The vaccine-related myocarditis events in the young are rare, mild and temporary and rarely require hospitalisation (as corroborated in the 2nd linked article). So the 'Gript' headline is egregiously misleading - and if you check their backstory, they are clearly not an unbiased news source.

 

[anna ~ grace]

You need to read the published papers to get the full context - the headlines are often misleading. The first paper is comparing the rate of myocarditis with the 120-day hospitalisation risk from Covid. The vaccine-related myocarditis events in the young are rare, mild and temporary and rarely require hospitalisation (as corroborated in the 2nd linked article). So the 'Gript' headline is egregiously misleading - and if you check their backstory, they are clearly not an unbiased news source.

No one is unbiased, Frumious. All of us have certain results we’d like to see or are at least expecting to see. We all have ethical, moral, social, and psychological biases, opinions, thoughts, and stances. That’s inevitable.

But try it. Try what I’m saying. Find a study that claims or seems to support idea one. Then find a study which claims or seems to support the opposite of idea one. Let’s try masking.

Not effective;

Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level

Effective;

https://www.poverty-action.org/site..._RCT____Symptomatic_Seropositivity_083121.pdf

https://files.fast.ai/papers/masks_lit_review.pdf

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

No one is unbiased, Frumious. All of us have certain results we’d like to see or are at least expecting to see. We all have ethical, moral, social, and psychological biases, opinions, thoughts, and stances. That’s inevitable.

But try it. Try what I’m saying. Find a study that claims or seems to support idea one. Then find a study which claims or seems to support the opposite of idea one. Let’s try masking.

Not effective;

Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level

Effective;

https://www.poverty-action.org/site..._RCT____Symptomatic_Seropositivity_083121.pdf

https://files.fast.ai/papers/masks_lit_review.pdf

Again, you need to consider what the papers actually say. Comparing the first with the second two is apples vs oranges.

The first uses public data to look at the results of a mask mandate in Bexar County, Texas, a state with a relatively high level of resistance to such measures (from news reports). They give a number of relevant caveats:

"Our analysis, ... is a natural difference-in-differences experiment, which may be considered a lower level of evidence within evidence-based medicine."

"We were unable to compare our county findings to other counties that were exempt from the mask order"

"we are not able to assess the actual mask use"

"we have no way to determine what volume of the ICU and ventilator use was attributable to transfers"

"It also is possible that the order did not meaningfully alter mask utilization patterns"

Regarding Hong Kong results, "The size, location, and population are far different from Bexar County, thus limiting the ability to extrapolate their findings to Texas."

The Bangladesh study was a controlled study of two cohorts, one of which received free masks, information on the importance of masking, role modeling by community leaders, and in-person reminders for 8 weeks. The control group did not receive any interventions. Proper mask wearing tripled in the intervention cohort. It is a completely different kind of study to the Bexar County study, and the size, location, and population are far different from Bexar County. So, as that study said, there is a limited ability to extrapolate from one to the other.

The last link is to a broad literature overview of mask wearing in virus outbreaks in general. They conclude that: "The preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. Public mask wearing is most effective at stopping spread of the virus when compliance is high."

Again, the Bexar County study could not and did not assess the degree of compliance in a relatively resistant state.

So if you want to know whether wearing masks is likely to be effective, take note of the second two studies, of the Bangladesh trial and of the literature.

If you want to know whether mask mandates in Texas are likely to be effective, take note of the first study - but bear in mind the caveats presented.

 

[Kyrani]

No one is unbiased, Frumious. All of us have certain results we’d like to see or are at least expecting to see.

And those biases are politically and economically motivated in some cases.
Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on"COVID hospitalizations, why the numbers are misleading and the important distinction between patients who are hospitalized “with” COVID and “from” COVID."
(2) COVID Numbers Game & Toxicity of Big Tech | Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Vivek Ramaswamy, & Scott Galloway - YouTube
This is a long video over an hour and a half so I made another post below with the short 8 min video.

 

[Kyrani]

No one is unbiased, Frumious. All of us have certain results we’d like to see or are at least expecting to see. We all have ethical, moral, social, and psychological biases, opinions, thoughts, and stances. That’s inevitable.

And economic and political ones too.
(2) False Facts of COVID Hospitalizations, with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya | The Megyn Kelly Show - YouTube
"Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, to discuss the overstatements on the number of people that are hospitalized because of COVID and the false facts on how sick people are"

The mask IMO is hardly effective for the most part. It is rather like putting up a wire fence around your house to keep out the mosquitos.

 

[anna ~ grace]

And economic and political ones too.
(2) False Facts of COVID Hospitalizations, with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya | The Megyn Kelly Show - YouTube
"Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, to discuss the overstatements on the number of people that are hospitalized because of COVID and the false facts on how sick people are"

The mask IMO is hardly effective for the most part. It is rather like putting up a wire fence around your house to keep out the mosquitos.

I know a lot of people think masking is stupid. I’m not a fan, but it may do some good. The frustrating thing is that anyone, with any stance, can find a “study” which backs their stance. It’s weird, and irritating.

The Truth seems to be near-impossible to come face-to-face with in this pandemic; this only fuels suspicion, fear, mistrust, and conspiracy theories and frankly, I don’t blame people for any of that. Had our media been more transparent, balanced, and less shrill and panicked, I think more people would trust the media.

 

[Kyrani]

I know a lot of people think masking is stupid. I’m not a fan, but it may do some good. The frustrating thing is that anyone, with any stance, can find a “study” which backs their stance. It’s weird, and irritating.

The Truth seems to be near-impossible to come face-to-face with in this pandemic; this only fuels suspicion, fear, mistrust, and conspiracy theories and frankly, I don’t blame people for any of that. Had our media been more transparent, balanced, and less shrill and panicked, I think more people would trust the media.

It seems that the truth is being deliberately hidden. The virus is used to cause fear and hence gain control over people. I haven't used a mask and I haven't seen anyone in my neighborhood, with one exception once, use a mask. But if I were to go into town to a supermarket or bank etc., I guess I'd have to use a mask.
They have boosted the numbers. The PCR test was never designed to be used for testing viruses. It may be that the great bulk of the "cases" we are told about are false positives. And in my opinion, from what I have seen over the years with disease in general, there is underhanded foul game play behind it. The long covid symptoms especially are nothing more than underhanded harassments by others in the person's life who have some agenda and who are inhumane. And the media spreading massive stories of disaster helps them do harm.

 

[pitabread]

It seems that the truth is being deliberately hidden. The virus is used to cause fear and hence gain control over people. I haven't used a mask and I haven't seen anyone in my neighborhood, with one exception once, use a mask. But if I were to go into town to a supermarket or bank etc., I guess I'd have to use a mask.
They have boosted the numbers. The PCR test was never designed to be used for testing viruses. It may be that the great bulk of the "cases" we are told about are false positives. And in my opinion, from what I have seen over the years with disease in general, there is underhanded foul game play behind it. The long covid symptoms especially are nothing more than underhanded harassments by others in the person's life who have some agenda and who are inhumane. And the media spreading massive stories of disaster helps them do harm.

Conspiracy theory forum is that-a-way --> Conspiracy Theories

 

[anna ~ grace]

It seems that the truth is being deliberately hidden. The virus is used to cause fear and hence gain control over people. I haven't used a mask and I haven't seen anyone in my neighborhood, with one exception once, use a mask. But if I were to go into town to a supermarket or bank etc., I guess I'd have to use a mask.
They have boosted the numbers. The PCR test was never designed to be used for testing viruses. It may be that the great bulk of the "cases" we are told about are false positives. And in my opinion, from what I have seen over the years with disease in general, there is underhanded foul game play behind it. The long covid symptoms especially are nothing more than underhanded harassments by others in the person's life who have some agenda and who are inhumane. And the media spreading massive stories of disaster helps them do harm.

The media has been known to over-hype a crisis way beyond what is actually happening.

Case in point; needlessly canoeing in ankle-deep water, to give the impression of much higher water. Even her co-workers noticed it.

Getting caught faking a wind surge in a storm.

Here’s a cute guy parodying the phenomenon ;

If they can do that with something as observable and easy to call-out as weather, it’s likely that they can and do try the same tactics with anything that will alarm people, or drive up ratings / viewership.

 

[Kyrani]

Conspiracy theory forum is that-a-way --> Conspiracy Theories

Anyone who dares open their mouth and voice an opinion is automatically called a conspiracy theorist. Ha ha ha

 

[Kyrani]

The media has been known to over-hype a crisis way beyond what is actually happening.

Case in point; needlessly canoeing in ankle-deep water, to give the impression of much higher water. Even her co-workers noticed it.

Getting caught faking a wind surge in a storm.

Here’s a cute guy parodying the phenomenon ;

If they can do that with something as observable and easy to call-out as weather, it’s likely that they can and do try the same tactics with anything that will alarm people, or drive up ratings / viewership.

But it is not only the media. We have this sort of deception even in science. And on very serious matters. I am working on bringing light about cancer. It is sold to the public as abnormal cells dividing out of control and that it is due to damage or miscopied genes. The truth is otherwise.
They are using transgenic mice to try and make the case, but there is also enough research done to show that without the body generating cancer stem cells, there is no cancer. This is none other than a nocebo effect. When people understand what it is all about they can take measures to help themselves have a spontaneous remission AND even to avoid developing any more cancers. That will be a trillion dollar industry gone down to maybe a billion dollar industry. And finally to none at all.

 

[pitabread]

Anyone who dares open their mouth and voice an opinion is automatically called a conspiracy theorist. Ha ha ha

When you start talking about conspiracies (especially unfounded conspiracy theories) then you come across as a conspiracy theorist.

IOW, it's not based on just saying things. It's based on what you're specifically saying.

 

[anna ~ grace]

But it is not only the media. We have this sort of deception even in science. And on very serious matters. I am working on bringing light about cancer. It is sold to the public as abnormal cells dividing out of control and that it is due to damage or miscopied genes. The truth is otherwise.
They are using transgenic mice to try and make the case, but there is also enough research done to show that without the body generating cancer stem cells, there is no cancer. This is none other than a nocebo effect. When people understand what it is all about they can take measures to help themselves have a spontaneous remission AND even to avoid developing any more cancers. That will be a trillion dollar industry gone down to maybe a billion dollar industry. And finally to none at all.

I agree. It is tragic, but many of us no longer trust “studies”, etc. When we feel that we have been lied to by scientists, doctors, nutritionists, media personalities, politicians, and algorithms, it is hard to trust anything but what our eyes and senses tell us.

I’ve chosen to go that route; I will use my senses to understand what is happening in the world, and my common sense to figure out how to respond to various problems. Not the media, but my senses.

The final straw for me was local media coverage of our State Fair. It is a humongous event which brings in millions of dollars in profits and tourist dollars, too. No mention of mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or social distancing. Ridiculous. So, when money is involved and when it suits the media it’s not a “super spreader”, of course, but Christian worship services with a fraction of the people present are? Please.