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The Mystery Of India's Plummeting COVID-19 Cases
NPR ^ | 02/01/2021 | Lauren Frayer

Posted on 02/02/2021 3:50:54 PM PST by SeekAndFind

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To: SeekAndFind
Thanks for posting this.

There's some evidence that India's climate may help reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

Another point to consider about India is how many other diseases are already rampant: malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, hepatitis, cholera. Millions of Indians also lack access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygienic food. Some experts speculate that people with robust immune systems may be more likely to survive in India in the first place.

"All of us have pretty good immunity! Look at the average Indian: He or she has probably had malaria at some point in his life or typhoid or dengue," says Sayli Udas-Mankikar, an urban policy expert at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai. "You end up with basic immunity toward grave diseases." Two new scientific papers support that thesis, though they have yet to be peer-reviewed:

Another study by scientists at India's Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, published in August, found that COVID-19 deaths per capita are lower in countries where people are exposed to a diverse range of microbes and bacteria.

So warm climate, which facilitates the spread of many contagious diseases, itself hinders CV-19 transmission, while the high rate of contagious disease infection helps combat the CV-19 itself. All in all more testimony against "stay-sheltered." And masks.

41 posted on 02/02/2021 5:31:08 PM PST by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned + destitute sinner + trust Him to save + be baptized+follow Him!)
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To: SeekAndFind
Related: The quarantine of children may negatively affect their development of immune systems. Research by two professors found that keeping children masked, however necessary, could undermine their bodies’ ability to learn how to fight pathogens. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is unwittingly conducting what amounts to the largest immunological experiment in history on our own children... Memory T cells begin to form during the first years of life and accumulate during childhood. However, for memory T cells to become functionally mature, multiple exposures may be necessary, particularly for cells residing in tissues such as the lung and intestines, where we encounter numerous pathogens. These exposures typically and naturally occur during the everyday experiences of childhood — such as interactions with friends, teachers, trips to the playground, sports — all of which have been curtailed or shut down entirely during efforts to mitigate viral spread. As a result, we are altering the frequency, breadth and degree of exposures that are crucial for immune memory development.[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/opinion/sunday/covid-quarantine-children-immune-systems.html]
42 posted on 02/02/2021 5:34:59 PM PST by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned + destitute sinner + trust Him to save + be baptized+follow Him!)
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To: Freee-dame
"I don’t believe that the authors are sincere"

Indeed. Even worse, the entire US medical establishment isn't sincere. They are largely ignoring the efficacious prophylactic treatments available. Read what Dr. George Fareed has to say about this: Dr. George Fareed and Dr. Brian Tyson share early treatment protocol. Their protocol combines Ivermectin and HCQ in addition to the usual other vitamins, minerals, and supplements. You can actually set up a telehealth discussion with Dr. Fareed.

43 posted on 02/02/2021 5:49:31 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: SeekAndFind

The Ivermectin I ordered came from India where they give it to everyone


44 posted on 02/02/2021 6:15:00 PM PST by eyeamok
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To: proxy_user
Corona-type viruses were circulating before Covid came along. Perhaps they were common in India

Living here in Southern India, you are on to something. Firstly, before COVID, there would be something going around every 3-4 weeks. You got used to drinking boiled water, Vick's, and whatever the replacement for aspirin here is, to get over it. The Indians have well practiced immune systems. Also after a very few months the authorities simply reopened the economy. The government could not afford to keep it closed and replace everyone's income. The locals now emphasize Vitamin C, D, and good nutrition.

The Indian shops in my region have been open since December. The streets are very busy with traffic jams just like before. The Indian States have opened up travel to each other, but there are restrictions in some cases. Grocery stores are also busy. Inside the stores, people are careful to wear masks. Outside, most wear masks but a small percentage do not. In India, the streets are jammed and business is vigorous. Even the street beggars are now out in force trying to make up for lost earnings.


45 posted on 02/02/2021 6:22:16 PM PST by magooey (The Mandate of Heaven resides in the hearts of men.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

KEEP


46 posted on 02/02/2021 6:27:34 PM PST by Rumplemeyer (The GOP should stand its ground - and fix Bayonets)
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To: SeekAndFind

...and the elephants in the room - Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine.


47 posted on 02/02/2021 7:12:06 PM PST by BeauBo
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Thats a beter reason then the one I gave.


48 posted on 02/02/2021 8:26:10 PM PST by PCPOET7
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To: PCPOET7

;-). All good!


49 posted on 02/02/2021 8:31:22 PM PST by Jan_Sobieski (Sanctification)
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To: SeekAndFind

Long article lists many possible explanations, except Ivermectin. Gee NPR, wonder why?


50 posted on 02/02/2021 10:11:55 PM PST by Basket_of_Deplorables (Convention Of States is our only hope now!)
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To: magooey

I would go further and speculate that a coronavirus almost identical to COVID-19 in its spike protein has gone through much of the population of India and Africa as recently as late fall of 2019. Perhaps it is a virus that got modified into COVID-19 in a Chinese lab or it mutated naturally before it got to the lab, but no one ever really noticed the original as a threat because it was at that point not causing much serious disease.

We know the “D614G” strain took over rapidly from the prior COVID-19 strain (”D614”, IIRC.) Maybe D614 had an ancestor that was close enough to confer good immunity in many, and it was only partially through India and Africa when the new, more dangerous variants took off.

I’d also note that some of us were discussing on another thread that COVID-19 likely spread through India’s cities, esp. the slums, very quickly, and slowed in rural areas, which latter actually make up over 1/2 the population. Plus, testing there could be missing an order of magnitude fewer cases out of the total actual cases than it finds in the US. Perhaps the cities already have herd immunity through a combination of these factors, and far fewer obese people, the much younger demographic, and treatments (zinc) held fatalities down.

I would think most people in India do not live / work in air conditioning, so, the warm climate in many areas (it’s not ALL hot) should help also.

In any event, my “bet” would be on a combination of at least 3, and maybe more factors, at play. And, hopefully immunities will snub the more infectious variants from causing another round of serious illnesses.

Thoughts?


51 posted on 02/02/2021 10:50:04 PM PST by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Basket_of_Deplorables
Long article lists many possible explanations, except Ivermectin. Gee NPR, wonder why?

That would suggest that someone got it right. The liberal media’s aversion to Modi is only second, if that, to Trump. Giving credit to the government would be against their chosen narrative. Add to that, the news that Trump might not have been wrong on HCQ etc means that those unpalatable facts are quickly buried.

Herd immunity in a country of 1.3 billion is a joke of an idea, especially if it’s a sudden drop from 100000 a day to about 10000 a day but that’s better than having to praise Modi and maybe Trump for the “Liberal “ media.

52 posted on 02/03/2021 7:10:06 AM PST by cold start
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To: Paul R.
Your comments are interesting. If something close to today's COVID was going around India in late 2019, we would generally will have had herd immunity by the time the "Big Guy" came to town. Also in southern India there are two seasons - hot and then extremely hot. The fields are green all year and farmers have just prepared and planted new crops. They must get two or three harvest per year in this part of the world.


53 posted on 02/03/2021 8:06:13 AM PST by magooey (The Mandate of Heaven resides in the hearts of men.)
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To: daniel1212

My guess is that if it was carefully studied, for a variety of reasons, masks and social distancing will in the long run be found to reduce serious or worse COVID-19 case rates 80% or more, but mild cases by 50% or less. After 2 years or so, for total cases that 2nd % will be quite a bit lower. (The 1st will be much aided by the vaccines.) This will be true of other very contagious respiratory diseases, also.

I am keeping in mind that a great many more tests on symptomatic people with symptoms turn out to be negative / “something-not-COVID” than turn out to be COVID-19-positive, so, there are still a lot of other pathogens out there making people (including kids) ill. Flu, however, being less contagious, has been greatly lowered by the COVID-19 mitigations. Whether this will affect future flus is hard to say, as flu mutates frequently anyway...

A last thought: India’s life expectancy is quite low, despite low obesity in the population. This is due to many factors, including infant mortality, but every source I looked at cited these widespread illnesses we are talking about as a significant factor. They may be a heavy price to pay for better COVID-19 immunity. And maybe survivors are just “tougher” individuals in the 1st place.


54 posted on 02/03/2021 8:13:54 AM PST by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: ConservativeMind; SeekAndFind

Ivermectin cocktail for $2.

The whole country has it.


Precisely. That, and HCQ, early on.

And, other countries....including the US have proven that strict mask mandates don’t prevent infection rates.


55 posted on 02/03/2021 8:16:33 AM PST by Jane Long (America, Bless God....blessed be the Nation 🙏🏻🇺🇸)
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To: magooey

Or... In my scenario maybe India was just closer to herd immunity than, say, the Western World, and COVID-19 was more contagious than the earlier virus, so COVID burned out the remaining pool of vulnerable people in India’s cities quickly, then slowed greatly.

It is very hard to say: I see India as a very large, very complex puzzle, and that’s not just with regard to COVID-19.


56 posted on 02/03/2021 8:37:58 AM PST by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Paul R.
My guess is that if it was carefully studied, for a variety of reasons, masks and social distancing will in the long run be found to reduce serious or worse COVID-19 case rates 80% or more, but mild cases by 50% or less.

Being fit and in good health by the grace of God, versus 70% Americans overweight, 42% obese; 100 million w/ high blood pressure; 23 mil w/ type 2 diabetes will in the long run be found to reduce serious or worse COVID-19 case rates 80% or more without masks, while these and other restrictions will end up costing more lives over time.

57 posted on 02/03/2021 12:35:51 PM PST by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned + destitute sinner + trust Him to save + be baptized+follow Him!)
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To: daniel1212

No argument about the good health part of it, but, if you think the government(s) have overstepped now, just wait until they go full on tyrannical to force people to lose weight.


58 posted on 02/03/2021 8:29:20 PM PST by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Paul R.
I certainly would not like the government to try to force people to lose weight. It would be impossible, any way. On the other hand, it might have been helpful during the early months of this pandemic if there would have been some focus on encouraging people to build up their own immunity and try to lessen the impact of their comorbidities, where possible.

Many people were, and are, almost in a panic over catching this virus and so might have been very motivated to do things to decrease their chance of a bad outcome if they did get Covid-19. Instead they wear a mask even while walking alone outdoors and voted for Biden, who will “keep us safe.”

59 posted on 02/03/2021 8:41:07 PM PST by Freee-dame
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To: Paul R.
No argument about the good health part of it, but, if you think the government(s) have overstepped now, just wait until they go full on tyrannical to force people to lose weight.

I actually doubt that the liberal government would ever do that (except indirectly via impoverishment) for consistent with their "progressive" perversion of everything God had ordained, by precept or principle, by design or decree, then rather than self discipline being exercised in abstaining from immoral conduct (incldng. gluttony) and speech, then self discipline means refraining from engaging in any actions (from wearing fur to playing chess to hiring persons based upon qualifications versus race) or speech (from referring to "brown bag" lunches to male and female wires and slave drives). In contrast, such actions and speech as fornication and profanity are never to be censored.

60 posted on 02/04/2021 8:07:42 AM PST by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned + destitute sinner + trust Him to save + be baptized+follow Him!)
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