COVID 2019 Comorbidity with Diabetes

Brunneria

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Haven't read the whole article as it's behind a paywall but the headline is worrying. Not sure what 'forced' means - forced by circumstances or forced by government? Anyone have more info?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...self-isolate-home-lockdown-lifted-government/

Can’t read the article because of the paywall, but seeing your post I was reminded of a concern I had v early in the whole C-19 process in the UK.

My concern is that there will be a serious long term loss of confidence by employers regarding taking on, and keeping people with diabetes. Particularly in schools, anything involving children, childcare, healthcare and suchlike. What employer, in any field, will want a group of employees that are considered ‘unreliable’ and ‘complicated’ to employ?

I realise that employment legislation, and the disability act is intended to protect people from exactly this kind of discrimination, but we all know that discrimination happens in spite of best intentions and protective legislation, don’t we?
 
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urbanracer

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Can’t read the article because of the paywall, but seeing your post I was reminded of a concern I had v early in the whole C-19 process in the UK.

My concern is that there will be a serious long term loss of confidence by employers regarding taking on, and keeping people with diabetes. Particularly in schools, anything involving children, childcare, healthcare and suchlike. What employer, in any field, will want a group of employees that are considered ‘unreliable’ and ‘complicated’ to employ?

I realise that employment legislation, and the disability act is intended to protect people from exactly this kind of discrimination, but we all know that discrimination happens in spite of best intentions and protective legislation, don’t we?

An interesting point.
 

Debandez

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@Debandez thank you for sharing your story and test result. So interesting.

I was talking with some friends a few days ago, and they, like me, had the "flu" in November. They both went in to have the antibody test done, but it came back negative. For a variety of reasons, they think something went wrong and they're considering having the tests done again. I want to have the test too, but am going to wait until we know which test is the most accurate.

Recently, I came across some information that there was an unusual change in activity in the area surrounding the Wuhan P4 lab between October 7 - 24, and that it's thought a hazardous event occurred between October 6 - 11 there. Months ago, I read it's believed COVID-19 began circulating in California in November and December, which may have been related to the Tesla plant there (and in China). And, of course, Washington state was the first epicenter in the US. I hope one day we'll have a better understanding of what actually happened.

The more people share their results and journey the faster we will understand. I feel the next couple of months will produce a much fuller picture.

I shared my journey on my social media platformsyesterday and then came a flood of similar journeys, many going back to November and that includes UK and USA.

This is interesting

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1...er-december-china-wuhan-pandemic-ons-data-spt
 
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Pipp

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Haven't read the whole article as it's behind a paywall but the headline is worrying. Not sure what 'forced' means - forced by circumstances or forced by government? Anyone have more info?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...self-isolate-home-lockdown-lifted-government/
Your wish is my command @urbanracer article from Telegraph. Only part missingnis a table of deaths by area.


Diabetics may be forced to self-isolate at home after lockdown is lifted, government review suggests
Most diabetics are currently classed as 'clinically vulnerable', but almost one in three deaths from coronavirus in hospital had diabetes


Diabetics could be forced to shield at home against Covid-19 following a review by government scientists after it emerged sufferers are at significantly greater risk of dying if they catch the virus.

Professor Peter Horby, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) advisory group, confirmed to the Telegraph that diabetes was being considered as part of an "active review" of the most vulnerable groups.

Almost one in three deaths from coronavirus in hospital had diabetes, it emerged this week, and the professor of emerging infectious Diseases and Global Health at Oxford's Nuffield Department of Medicine is now in advanced discussions with other government advisors.

Most diabetics are currently classed as "clinically vulnerable" rather than the "clinically extremely vulnerable" - the worst affected group of people who received letters from their doctors telling them they must stay at home under almost all circumstances.

However, scientists will consider whether sufferers need more protection after official figures showed people with autoimmune type 1 diabetes are three-and-a-half times more likely to die if they catch Covid-19 than non-diabetics, while type 2 diabetics - generally linked with being overweight - are twice as likely to die.


Coronavirus: Who is considered 'extremely vulnerable'?
People falling into this extremely vulnerable group include:

1) Solid organ transplant recipient

2) People with specific cancers:

  • People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
  • People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
  • People having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
  • People having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
  • People who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
3) People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD

4) People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell)

5) People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection

6) Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired.


Bridget Turner, director of policy at Diabetes UK, told the Telegraph she hopes the Government does not implement any blanket rules. "It’s important to remember that everyone with diabetes is different, so a blanket ask of shielding for everyone with diabetes is unlikely to be appropriate," she said.

Nine out of 10 diabetics have type 2, and many are obese, which is another significant factor in the worst affected Covid patients.

Earlier this month, a study of almost half a million Britons found that being obese doubles the risk of needing hospital treatment for coronavirus. Researchers from Glasgow University found that as body mass index (BMI) increased, so did the risk of having a severe case of the disease.

The Telegraph also disclosed last week how doctors at the Royal Brompton had established that most serious Covid patients suffered blood clots, another factor which can be dangerous for diabetes sufferers.

Around four million people in the UK have diabetes so it is unlikely they would all be forced to shield. "That’s because the advice for people asked to shield is very restrictive, so it’s important to balance the advice against the level of risk," Ms Turner added.

"For those who are shielding, particularly if they do not need to, the psychological and emotional impact could be significant, while the stress – and restrictions to movement – could equally have an impact on someone’s overall health and wellbeing and, specifically, their blood glucose control. But it is incredibly important that the Government uses the latest data to inform their advice, to ensure that the guidelines around shielding are not only proportionate, but also in direct response to the data available.

"We understand that Nervtag will review the evidence for shielding, including what evidence is emerging about who is at highest clinical risk of severe illness if they catch Covid-19. This will inform the future of the shielding programme."

Meanwhile, Public Health England has begun a review examining how obesity, along with gender and ethnicity, can affect health outcomes.Overall, 29 per cent of adults of all ages are obese, compared with an average of 19.5 in the latest international audit by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Analysis in 2017 revealed the UK as the fattest nation in Western Europe, with obesity rates twice those of countries including Sweden and Norway.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “The guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from Covid-19 has been developed by expert doctors. They have identified specific medical conditions that, based on what we know about the virus so far, place someone at greatest risk of severe illness from Covid-19. We continue to keep this evidence under review.
 
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Winnie53

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Thanks for all the articles posted today.

The idea of shielding diabetics concerns me. In the US, it was reported last year that only 12% are metabolically healthy, and that 52% of adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes now. Not sure how that "shielding" us could even be possible.

Also concerning is no mention of the role of vitamin D levels in COVID-19 deaths which could explain the higher death rates of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Dr. John Campbell in the UK has been discussing this for a few weeks now. It's also being discussed in the US. Nutritional status matters.
 

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Winnie53

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Is it possible Trump is speaking out in opposition to voting with mail-in ballots because he's counting on a vaccine by October to improve his chances of being elected in November? In Washington state, "October 16 Start of 18-day voting period (through Election Day). Ballots are mailed out and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers."

An excerpt from this article...

Doubts greet $1.2 billion bet by United States on a coronavirus vaccine by October
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...bet-united-states-coronavirus-vaccine-october

Pediatrician Paul Offit, a vaccine researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, questions whether the United States can even complete a 30,000-person trial in this timeframe. “I cannot imagine how this can be done within six months,” says Offit, who helped develop a rotavirus vaccine tested in an efficacy trial that lasted four years. “I think if it happened in nine months that would be remarkably fast.”

Offit, who wrote a book about an infamous 1955 manufacturing accident of a polio vaccine that crippled hundreds of children, worries that the impending U.S. presidential election is driving Warp Speed to set unrealistic deadlines. “The thing that really upsets me is I’m trying to think what's the month after October? Oh, right, November,” says Offit. “I think the current administration may say, ‘This is our October surprise, this is this is my gift to this country, look what we did.’” Offit sits on a committee that is organizing COVID-19 vaccine trials in the United States--the National Institutes of Health’s public-private Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines—and says members were not consulted about BARDA’s investment or the proposed clinical trial.

Offit’s also concerned that racing forward could lead to harm—side effects of vaccines often are detected only when a candidate moves from thousands to millions of people—or a mediocre vaccine. It could also fuel vaccine skepticism. “You just have to worry that something bad could happen, and there’s fragile vaccine confidence in this country right now.”
 

Winnie53

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From The Lancet, May 20, 2020

Vitamin-D and COVID-19: do deficient risk a poorer outcome?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(20)30183-2/fulltext

The article is a brief, easy read but here are a few excerpts...

"...a 2017 meta-analysis of individual patient data from 11 321 participants in 25 randomised controlled trials showed that vitamin D supplementation protected against acute respiratory tract infections and that patients with very low (<25 nmol/L) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (a marker of vitamin D status) gained the most benefit."

-----

"A role for vitamin D in the response to COVID-19 infection could be twofold. First, vitamin D supports production of antimicrobial peptides in the respiratory epithelium, thus making infection with the virus and development of COVID-19 symptoms less likely. Second, vitamin D might help to reduce the inflammatory response to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Deregulation of this response, especially of the renin–angiotensin system, is characteristic of COVID-19 and degree of overactivation is associated with poorer prognosis. Vitamin D is known to interact with a protein in this pathway—angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—which is also exploited by SARS-CoV-2 as an entry receptor. While SARS-CoV-2 downregulates expression of ACE2, vitamin D promotes expression of this gene."

-----

"Adrian Martineau (Institute of Population Health Sciences, Barts and The London, Queen Mary University of London, UK), lead author of the 2017 meta-analysis has joined with colleagues from universities around the UK to launch COVIDENCE UK, a study to investigate how diet and lifestyle factors might influence transmission of SARS-CoV-2, severity of COVID-19 symptoms, speed of recovery, and any long-term effects. They aim to recruit at least 12 000 people and to obtain interim results by the summer. Despite his enthusiasm for the study, Martineau is pragmatic: “At best vitamin D deficiency will only be one of many factors involved in determining outcome of COVID-19, but it's a problem that could be corrected safely and cheaply; there is no downside to speak of, and good reason to think there might be a benefit”."
After doing quite a bit of reading on this, my husband and I settled on taking 4,000 IU (100 mcg) of vitamin D3 a day.
 
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Winnie53

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More on vitamin D...

vitamin-d-covid-19-severity.jpg
 

NicoleC1971

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Ivor Cummins has done a number of useful discussions on CoVid in general and metabolic health in particular in relation to it on YouTube:
No harm in getting out in the sunshine in any case
 

Winnie53

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@Winnie53
Could you provide more info on where that graphic came from?
There is no link in your post.
The study itself would be ideal.
Many thanks.

Brunneria, apologies. I wrongly assumed the website listed in the graphic would be enough. I see now that it was a bit of a search.

The link is in the first paragraph of the www.grassrootshealth.net website blog post that Debandez posted above - (thanks @Debandez :) ).

Here's the direct link... https://www.grassrootshealth.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Grant-GRH-Covid-paper-2020.pdf There is a lot of useful information in "Section 4. Recommendations", in both: "4.1. Hospital-Acquired Infections" and "4.2. Proposed Actions".

This blog post regarding vitamin D and skin color is also interesting... https://www.grassrootshealth.net/bl...lor-impacts-vitamin-d-levels-health-outcomes/
 
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lindisfel

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Post the end of "stay home" my guy who brings our food each week is going south over 200miles to help his daughter by staying and looking after the grandchildren for a fortnight.

It is obviously permissable as a child care issue.

Hi hope all this doesn't go towards the second peak and doesn't kill another 40,000.
They wont be able to blame the science this time.


D.
 
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urbanracer

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They wont be able to blame the science this time.

It does seem as though 'scientists' are starting to break ranks with the politicians. Read somewhere that the scientific community is anxious that the general public might start to view science itself as hocus pocus.
 
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bulkbiker

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It does seem as though 'scientists' are starting to break ranks with the politicians. Read somewhere that the scientific community is anxious that the general public might start to view science itself as hocus pocus.
Can't think why after the Ferguson fiasco....
 

lindisfel

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It does seem as though 'scientists' are starting to break ranks with the politicians. Read somewhere that the scientific community is anxious that the general public might start to view science itself as hocus pocus.
Well I suppose when scientists have to be a mouthpiece of politicians they have a muzzle or are muzzled because they are paid servants.
They should stipulate their independence in their contracts.
D.
 

bulkbiker

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Must have been a very difficult Spring for lovers not living under the same roof when all this sap is rising!

I still remember being young!.:)
D.
I was more referring to his hysterical "modelling" than his bedroom antics..