The Swedish government has decided to end all covid related restrictions from the 9th of February. Additionally, venues and events will no longer be able to demand proof of vaccination. To top it off, the public health agency is recommending that covid no longer officially be classed as a “threat to public health”. Sweden is the third Nordic country to end covid restrictions, following on … Read more
Category: Covid 19
Vitamin D and covid-19, with Dr. David Grimes
David Grimes is a physician in the UK who developed an interest in vitamin D decades ago, after he realized that his darker skinned and less sun exposed patients were especially prone to illness. He’s written multiple books on vitamin D and its central role in immune function. He believes that the main thing predisposing people to severe outcomes when they become infected with covid-19 … Read more
Novavax covid vaccine safe and effective?
I’ve been getting frequent requests for at least the last six months to write about the Novavax covid vaccine. I’ve been resisting, mainly because it’s seemed uncertain whether it would ever actually be approved in the western world. Now that it’s been approved for use in the EU, however, that has changed, and I figure that I can put it off no longer.
I guess … Read more
Covid: Vaccine vs infection myocarditis risk
It’s been clear that the Pfizer and Moderna covid vaccines cause myocarditis for some time. What hasn’t been clear, though, is whether the risk of myocarditis after vaccination is greater than it is after infection. If the risk after infection is even greater than it is after vaccination, then a pretty good case can be made for not worrying too much about vaccine induced myocarditis, … Read more
Is fluvoxamine effective against covid-19?
Fluvoxamine is an anti-depressant drug that belongs to the class of drugs known as SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). It’s normally used to treat depression and anxiety. Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion over whether fluvoxamine might be effective as a treatment for covid-19.
Wait, what?!
Yes, that was my initial reaction. Why would an anti-depressant have any role in treating covid-19?
Well, apart … Read more
Covid-19: a new look at vitamin D
I’ve written about vitamin D as a potential treatment for covid-19 a couple of times before. In September of 2020 I wrote about a Spanish randomized trial that showed a massive reduction in ICU admissions in hospitalized patients treated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (a part-activated form of vitamin D). However, that study had some major weaknesses – it was completely unblinded and it was small. In … Read more