It has been quite bad for some of the long haulers. There are multiple phenotypes of long Covid but of the major six or so, all of them now have clinical studies either already going or starting up. Some MDs have developed treatment theories after gathering and studying biomarkers and some of their patients have improved. Resia Pretorius (Stellenbosch) is making the rounds this week at a number of research universities. She is working on the microclot problem. There are others, too.

Not too late at all. Personally, I would make a 1% povidone iodine nasal spray and use that 3-6 times per day while someone in the house is sick and for a period of time afterward. I’d also take all of the above supps as well, taking quercetin phytosome and would also begin taking melatonin at night which I’d continue for at least a month after. Then, I’d expose my skin to near infrared and red light from the sun or light device like a Joovv, which appears to significantly tamp down the inflammatory effects caused by infection. Dr. Seheult discusses some of these treatments on YouTube.

Akiko Iwasaki, the Yale researcher in the first link, is worth following. She is part of a team of researchers who are working together to unravel what's going on and how to treat it. Covid can reactivate a number of viruses. Just a heads up to watch for Shingles, Lyme, etc.

Regarding the Twitter thread above, Covid can also enter cells through NRP-1 receptors, not just ACE2. MedCram is my favorite resource for Covid information. Dr. Seheult explains complex information very clearly. ****** For post-Covid treatments, Bruce Patterson's IncellDX immune system assay test and treatment plan is very popular with many long haulers. There are others, too. Researchers are learning a lot about how Covid causes damage and are also devising ways to treat it and possibly even prevent it. ****** It's unlikely we will have a sterilizing vaccine by targeting the spike protein. Targeting a different part of the virus, the nucleocapsid, could be better but that would have to be carefully studied to make sure ADE, antibody-dependent enhancement, doesn't occur. At this point, we probably will not see anything approved too quickly like we saw with Operation Warp Speed. ****** Masks help but for extra protection nasal sprays can be used as well: xylitol + grapeseed extract (Xlear), iota carrageenan (easy enough to make yourself), and 1% or more povidone iodine (diy instructions are online). We have been using Xlear anytime before and after we might be around a Covid carrier and have added an diy iota carrageenan spray, usually only before possible exposure. I keep bottles by our doors and also in our car. I am going on a long flight in a few days and will use an N95 mask on the plane but also plan to use nasal sprays.

For long Covid, this will be something to watch. Two biomarkers specify long Covid if elevated — ANG-1 and P-SEL. 96% specificity. (If MMP-1 is also elevated, specificity for long Covid increased to 98%. I don’t think that is shown here, though.) https://molmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10020-022-00548-8 Results Fourteen vasculature transformation blood biomarkers were significantly elevated in Long-COVID outpatients, versus acutely ill COVID-19 inpatients and healthy controls subjects (P < 0.05). A unique two biomarker profile consisting of ANG-1/P-SEL was developed with machine learning, providing a classification accuracy for Long-COVID status of 96%. Individually, ANG-1 and P-SEL had excellent sensitivity and specificity for Long-COVID status (AUC = 1.00, P < 0.0001; validated in a secondary cohort). Specific to Long-COVID, ANG-1 levels were associated with female sex and a lack of disease interventions at follow-up (P < 0.05). Conclusions Long-COVID patients suffer prolonged, diffuse symptoms and poorer health. Vascular transformation blood biomarkers were significantly elevated in Long-COVID, with angiogenesis markers (ANG-1/P-SEL) providing classification accuracy of 96%. Vascular transformation blood biomarkers hold potential for diagnostics, and modulators of angiogenesis may have therapeutic efficacy.

NMT5, a drug to watch from Scripps Research Institute https://phys.org/news/2022-09-drug-potential-sars-cov-virus.html A new drug designed by scientists at Scripps Research can turn the COVID-19 virus into a harbinger of its own doom. The drug, NMT5, described in Nature Chemical Biology on September 29, 2022, coats SARS-CoV-2 with chemicals that can temporarily alter the human ACE2 receptor—the molecule the virus normally latches onto to infect cells. That means that when the virus is near, its path into human cells via the ACE2 receptor is blocked; in the absence of the virus, however, ACE2 can function as usual. "What's so neat about this drug is that we're actually turning the virus against itself," says senior author Stuart Lipton, MD, Ph.D., the Step Family Endowed Chair and Scripps Research professor. "We're arming it with little molecular warheads that end up preventing it from infecting our cells; it's our revenge on the virus." Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lipton and his colleagues had long been studying variations of the drug memantine, which Lipton developed and patented in the 1990s for treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. While memantine originated from an anti-influenza drug used in the 1960s, clinicians began investigating it for additional diseases after they noticed a woman with Parkinson's symptoms improved when she took the drug for the flu. "My team had made these antiviral drugs better for the brain, and when COVID-19 emerged, we wondered whether we had also, in the process, made any of them better antivirals," says Lipton. Lipton and his team tested a library of compounds similar to memantine in overall structure but covered with additional pharmacological warheads. They pinpointed the drug candidate designated NMT5 as having two key properties: It could recognize and attach to a pore on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, and it could chemically modify human ACE2 using a fragment of nitroglycerin as the warhead. The group realized this could turn the virus into a delivery vehicle for its own demise. In the new paper, Lipton's group characterized and tested NMT5 in isolated cells as well as animals. They showed how NMT5 attaches tightly to SARS-CoV-2 viral particles as the viruses move through the body. Then, they revealed the details of how the drug adds a chemical (similar to nitroglycerin) to certain molecules if it gets close enough. When the virus gets near ACE2 to infect a cell, that translates into NMT5 adding a "nitro group" to the receptor. When ACE2 is modified in this way, its structure temporarily shifts—for about 12 hours—so that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can no longer bind to it to cause infection. "What's really beautiful is that this only knocks down availability of ACE2 locally when the virus is coming at it," says Lipton. "It doesn't knock down all the function of ACE2 elsewhere in the body, allowing for normal function of this protein." In cell culture experiments testing how well the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 can attach to human ACE2 receptors, the drug prevented 95% of viral binding. In hamsters with COVID-19, NMT5 decreased virus levels by 100-fold, eliminated blood vessel damage in the animals' lungs, and ameliorated inflammation. The drug also showed effectiveness against nearly a dozen other variants of COVID-19, including alpha, beta, gamma and delta strains. Most anti-viral drugs work by directly blocking part of a virus—which can pressure the virus to evolve resistance to the drug. Since NMT5 is only using the virus as a carrier, the researchers think the drug is likely to be effective against many other variants of SARS-CoV-2. "We expect this compound would continue to be effective even as new variants emerge, because it doesn't rely on attacking parts of the virus that commonly mutate," says Chang-ki Oh, a senior staff scientist and first author of the new paper. Though they have only studied the compound in animal models, the team is now making a version of the drug to evaluate for human use, while carrying out additional safety and effectiveness trials in animals. "These exciting findings suggest a new avenue for drug development that requires drug combinations for effective pandemic preparedness," says co-author Arnab Chatterjee, Ph.D.

Many long haulers have eye problems. I would put it in the top 5 symptoms.

Acute Covid and long Covid do differ, though, and not everyone develops long Covid although quite a few have. To call them both Covid would be confusing. I am following what’s going on with long Covid research and they do appear to be unravelling some of the mysteries.

Operation Warp Speed is over so we won’t be seeing anything fast tracked anymore especially since the mrna vaccines are working well enough if they're tweaked. Thailand has its Covitrap nasal spray which contains antibodies. It came out recently but we won’t likely see it here in the US. Israel has a nitric oxide-inducing nasal spray but it’s also not sold here in the US. Some people here on wtm have bought it online, though. For about six months, we have been using Xlear with xylitol and grapefruit seed extract before and after possible exposure. We eat out a few times per week, shop in stores and live in a multi-unit building (no to little masking) where we share common areas with other people. It seems to be working for us so far. I buy it from Target for about $13 per bottle. I am also going to make my own iota carrageenan nasal spray since it cannot be bought easily in the US. Canada sells the Betadine brand of iota carrageenan nasal spray but they can’t ship it here legally. Ebay and Amazon might be selling knock offs so they’re no good, imo. It’s easy to make iota carrageenan nasal spray though. Everything can be bought online and directions are on YouTube. It’s just 0.34 grams of 100% iota carrageenan powder (not kappa and no other ingredients) 200 ml of saline solution Heat saline solution to 176 degrees for a few minutes, ideally in a very clean double boiler. Remove from heat and immediately add iota carrageenan, stirring well. Fill sterilized nasal spray bottles. Make only what you will immediately begin using. Quercetin phytosome made by Thorne is also something we all take when area Covid infections are higher. Quercetin is similar to a promising drug that is in the process of being developed. The bivalents are of course good, too. I just got the Pfizer bivalent which is my first booster.

I am not a teacher but i wonder if your daughter could try to implement some of Marc Brackett’s methods to help her students develop emotional regulation. It’s been awhile since I read about this, but iirc, his ideas are partly based on the idea of emotional granularity. It’s been awhile since I’ve read about it but it’s easy enough to find online. https://www.marcbrackett.com/about/about-marc-brackett-ph-d/ https://medicine.yale.edu/childstudy/services/community-and-schools-programs/center-for-emotional-intelligence/ Another idea your daughter could try is to go to the Family Action Network website and look through the videos for something pertinent. Videos can be found in the upper right side of their website under the three horizontal lines. This video is of Marc Brackett in 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx2CLUQ4gKc

I've only read a little bit about using photobiomodulation for periodontal disease and root canals. I'm not sure if it was near infrared light. You could certainly try it because it's only likely to help if just by tamping down inflammation. You could do 10" morning and then 10" evening, placing the device about 3-10" away from your flank pain and wherever you think you might need it. Pemf has been used to break down biofilms in vitro and I think some use it to help treat Lyme disease. Pemf is great for pain but if you are new to it, it could take a short period of time before your body responds. Provided you're not pregnant and don't place it on an implanted device like a pacemaker, you can use it all day long and all night if you like. I've used mine for 10 years for different things and just because it makes me feel good. The DARPA scientist who created NASA's devices uses one for his back pain. I think you could try bladder ozone insufflations too. Some places are using it to treat interstitial cystitis.

Praying for your niece to regain her ability to feel on the right side and to heal quickly.

Iota carrageenan nasal sprays such as Betadine were promising early on in the pandemic yet they were very difficult to buy online or in stores in the US. I found only one oddball store in Canada that was selling the spray online during the pandemic but now many Canadian stores are selling it. Not sure about the US. Just an fyi: Betadine’s nasal spray contains a type of iota carrageenan, carragelose. Their mouth spray and mouth gargle contain povidone iodine. eta: I checked to see if Canadian stores will ship the nasal spray to US and they can’t. The spray sold on US Amazon is questionable and might be fake. https://www.onedaymd.com/2021/04/iota-carrageenan-nasal-spray.html “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a major health, social, and economic burden, and we now see variants of SARS-CoV-2 taking over the dynamics of the pandemic. We are very confident in these results that show Carragelose inactivates SARS-CoV-2, independent of the mutations we tested,” said Dr. Eva Prieschl-Grassauer, Chief Scientific Officer at Marinomed. “Given the broad antiviral efficacy and the physical mode of action, we were convinced that SARS‑CoV‑2 variants are unlikely to evade the antiviral efficacy of Carragelose. With these new results we confirmed the hypothesis that our Carragelose-based products continue to be effective also against the mutations of concern currently emerging strongly. We believe that this will hold true for any future variants.”In recent in vitro tests, Marinomed included four lentiviruses differently pseudotyped with the spike protein of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 or one of the three variants B.1.1.7, B1.351 and P1, respectively. Carragelose was able to inactivate all four virus forms at concentrations below 5 µg/ml. This is clinically relevant for the use of Carragelose-containing products: The marketed nasal sprays have a Carragelose concentration of 1.2 mg / ml, a more than 200-fold higher dose as shown to be effective in vitro. The non-sulfated polymers HPMC and CMC were ineffective even at the highest concentrations tested.In addition, two of the three SARS-CoV-2 variants (B1.1.7 and B1.351) were independently tested in Vero cell tissue culture in cooperation with the virological institute of the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany. Carragelose showed similar effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 wild type and the tested variants.Dr. Prieschl-Grassauer continued: “We are very pleased to show that Carragelose is effective regardless of the actual SARS-CoV-2 variant. With the extensive discussions we are seeing around maintaining efficacy against a mutating virus, it is reassuring to know that Carragelose is a simple, safe, and effective means of supporting the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. With the data we have already seen against SARS-CoV-2 wild type, we are confident that this will hold true also for SARS-CoV-2 variants in the clinic.”Marinomed’s lentivirus data show the ability of Carragelose to prevent the virus from attaching to the host cell. The infectious virus particles used in the cooperation with the virological institute of the University Hospital Erlangen mimic the effect of an actual infection, where the virus replicates in the host cells and then reinfects further cells, thereby spreading the infection in the body. Both are established and scientifically widely accepted models. Taken together, the data show how Carragelose can effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 variants in tissue culture. The cooperation partners plan to publish the data in a peer reviewed journal. About Carragelose®: Carragelose® is a sulfated polymer from red seaweed and is a unique, broadly active anti-viral compound. It is known as a gentle yet effective and safe prevention and treatment against respiratory infections. Several clinical and preclinical studies have shown that Carragelose® forms a layer on the mucosa wrapping entering viruses, thereby inactivating them, and preventing them from infecting cells. Increasing clinical evidence indicates that Carragelose® can also inactivate SARS-CoV-2.

Ugh. I’m sorry you’re flaring. Light therapy has been used to treat all kinds of diseases. The 1903 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Niels Finsen who used it therapeutically for a few diseases. Michael Hamblin is a researcher in the US who has been studying the health effects of photobiomodulation, PBM, for decades. He has a number of interviews online. If you scroll down about half way, this review discusses PBM and the microbiome which might have something useful for you to try. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8124384/ You only need to use the light for 5-10”, morning and evening if you can do both. I’d probably aim it toward the flank area but would try to shine it on the spine as well and then do the stomach area around the belly button. I do those two areas daily myself. I hope you feel better soon.

For anyone interested in using red and near infrared light, Hooga sells a light bulb with both and includes a corded socket — for $39 on Amazon. That is not too bad. https://www.amazon.com/Therapy-Device-Infrared-Recovery-Performance/dp/B07TK2LZH3?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 Hooga is a small business in Wisconsin that believes these devices should be affordable. I am going to buy my kids the smaller panels for Christmas but bulbs are okie doke if you don’t want to spend too much. Michael Hamblin, who has researched for decades the effect of light on health (photobiomidulation), initially used garage lights with particular spectrums. You don’t need anything fancy or expensive. Small and portable is better, imo, because you can be a couch potato while using it. Dr. Seheult explains how to use red and near infrared light in the video linked above. How to position it and how many minutes.

Keep in mind also that prisoners are around each other far more than most non-prisoners are around others. Prison is also a stressful place to be. So in effect, the vaccines are doing a pretty good job.

Iirc, Denmark has been sequencing most if not all Covid cases which makes their data important to other countries. Not sure if they are still doing this. What makes Covid so difficult is that its incubation period has become shorter from the original virus to omicron. A short incubation period means that without a rapid, robust mucosal response to tamp down infection—what you’d get with something like a nasal vaccine—the immune response will lag a bit before it recognizes the virus and makes antibodies, etc. So, technically the vaccine does not necessarily prevent infection but it does help produce a good immune response eventually which fights off the infection. If mucosal vaccines end up working, they could be a game changer. Their problem tends to be durability, how long they are effective.

You could try red and near infrared light therapy for both your flank pain and also any side effects from the vaccine. Joovv is a popular brand but their devices have increased in price quite a bit. The MitoPro 300 would be a decent alternative. The Hooga brand, a Wisconsin company, is even cheaper. You really only need a device that’s large enough to shine the light on a large area of your body but of course, you can do just a small, specific area. For your flank area, you could do 5” morning and evening, about 6-10” away. Before and after the booster, you could shine the light on your neck and front torso and then your back, about a foot away and again 5” each. Very long sessions are not beneficial. Dr. Seheult discussed using near infrared light to neutralize spike toxicity in MedCram recently if you want to check it out here. Michael Hamblin has researched it for decades here in the US. Your flank pain would very likely respond well to pemf but it could take time. The Sota Pulser device would be a good choice. For deeper pain, the slow setting would be best. You can use it all day if you like provided you’re not pregnant (because it hasn’t been studied) and don’t use it directly on an implanted device.

Something came out a few months ago that explained how in some people (not all) the covid virus can hitch a ride into t cells via a particular molecule which can lead to t cell dysregulation. That could explain why some people are developing multiple infections. If I find the paper, I’ll link it.

From what I’ve been reading, yes, the unvaccinated in the US will get the primary series because it does lead to a pretty good, broad overall immune response and also, there is more data. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/CDC-Fall-Vaccination-Operational-Planning-Guide.pdf For anyone who has not had the primary series but wants it, something to bear in mind: If anyone wants to look into vaccine development, the RAPS website lists which ones are in what phase. There are other nasal vaccines. My understanding is that we are not rushing them in the US because the mrna vaccines are quite good and do elicit a decent mucosal response, iirc. However, I hope we will have a nasal vaccine here in the US, preferably soon. The problem with them in the past was durability but maybe that has been ironed out. I don’t know, though. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Two mucosal (nasal/oral) vaccines approved in China and India this week. Iran and Russia have nasal vaccines as well. Quite a few are in development throughout the world. These will be interesting to watch. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02851-0 China and India approve nasal COVID vaccines — are they a game changer? Scientists hope the immunizations, delivered through the nose or mouth, will prevent even mild cases of illness. Two needle-free COVID-19 vaccines that are delivered through the nose or mouth have been approved for use in China and India. China’s new vaccine, announced on Sunday, is inhaled through the nose and mouth as an aerosolized mist, and India’s, announced on Tuesday, is administered as drops in the nose. These mucosal vaccines target thin mucous membranes that line the nose, mouth and lungs. By prompting immune responses where SARS-CoV-2 first enters the body, mucosal vaccines could, in theory, prevent even mild cases of illness and block transmission to other people — something COVID-19 shots have been unable to do. Vaccines that produce sterilizing immunity would be game changing for the pandemic. “These approvals validate the need for mucosal vaccines,” says Marty Moore, co-founder of Meissa Vaccines in Redwood City, California, which is developing a COVID-19 immunization that is delivered through the nose. “That’s the direction we need to go globally, and the United States needs to catch up.” The regulatory nods from China and India bring the number of approved COVID-19 mucosal vaccines in the world to four, including one already approved in Iran and another in Russia. More than 100 mucosal vaccines against the disease are in development globally, and about 20 have reached clinical trials in humans, according to Airfinity, a health-analytics company in London. Delivery methods include sprays, drops, aerosols and pills. New arrivals China’s inhaled vaccine, developed by CanSino Biologics in Tianjin, contains the same ingredients as the company’s COVID-19 shot that is already available in the country. A device called a nebulizer turns the liquid vaccine into an aerosol spray that is inhaled. China’s health department and National Medical Products Administration approved the vaccine to be used as a booster dose. India’s vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, is approved as a two-dose primary inoculation, rather than a booster. Both companies have produced ‘viral vector’ vaccines that use a harmless adenovirus to deliver SARS-CoV-2 genetic material into host cells. Neither company has published phase III clinical trial data, but both say they have completed those studies. Data from a phase II trial of CanSino’s inhaled vaccine found that, when given as a booster, the vaccine raised blood serum antibody levels significantly more than did a boost from an injection. This suggests that the inhaled vaccine will offer protection that is as good as, or better than, that provided by the shot. Similarly, Bharat compared its intranasal vaccine to Covaxin, a COVID-19 jab available in India, by measuring antibody levels in the blood. The company did not release results of this study, but deemed the trial “successful”. Exactly how successful these vaccines will be is unclear. Expecting a vaccine to stop transmission of a virus or prevent even mild illness — achieving what is called sterilizing immunity — is a high bar. Bharat and CanSino won’t know whether their vaccines can achieve this until they have conducted further efficacy studies. Scant data is available on the efficacy of the two other mucosal COVID-19 vaccines. Iran approved a COVID-19 vaccine administered as a nasal spray and made by Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute in Karaj, in October 2021. More than 5000 doses have been delivered to the public. And Russia’s health ministry is reported to have approved an intranasal spray version of Sputnik V, the country’s injected COVID-19 vaccine. Mucosal vaccines have been developed for other diseases, including poliovirus, influenza and cholera. Most of these vaccines are taken orally, and one, against flu, is administered through the nose.

This is a little technical but provides more pieces to the puzzle. Not surprising to see that genetic polymorphisms/variants play a role in Covid. And not surprising that endothelial nitric oxide is beneficial. I hope more nitric oxide treatments will be used eventually. Not just nasal spray but the newest treatments that some companies have developed but haven’t been used in trials yet. Four hospitals including Massachusetts General in Boston did use inhaled nitric oxide to treat pregnant women hospitalized with severe Covid and results were promising. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009279722000394 The influence of renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and erythropoietin (EPO) on COVID-19 complications Highlights EPO is regulated not only by hypoxia or anemia but also by RAAS and its genetic polymorphisms. Endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) activity in endothelium mediates EPO effects. Increased NO-generation and bioavailability inhibits SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 binding. eNOS genetic variants alter NO-generation and bioavailability and may modulate COVID-19 course. EPO oversecretion appears protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young adults.

I did this past winter when omicron was rampant. I read a paper about a month ago that discussed immunity, including having two doses of mrna vaccine and an omicron infection (which is me), and at this point, I'm okay with the risk of not masking. Another paper came out recently saying something similar. If cases skyrocket in fall/winter, I'll probably mask again. I've been going into restaurants, stores, etc and have not gotten sick. I do use Xlear, though, and if a person or business asks me to mask, I will.

Just using Xlear unless a person or business requests masks. I always have a mask with me as well.

If any of you are interested in buying the nitric oxide nasal spray, you'll want to make sure you're buying the real deal and not a fake product. It's not approved yet for sale in the US or Canada (that is, the company that makes it cannot sell it here) but there are possibly legitimate third-party sellers. I don't use it myself so haven't researched sellers.