Coronavirus – Useful Information

A lot has happened in terms of research on the coronavirus. Here is a quick overview on what might be useful or interesting information:

Nutritional supplements that have evidence to be protective

• Vitamin D3
• Zinc
• Vitamin C

Some sources: The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality, Focus on Vitamin D, Does vitamin D status impact mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection?, The role of diet and nutritional supplements during COVID-19, What is known about supplements, medications and metabolic risk factors?

An entire document that collects sources on supplements and the coronavirus can be found here. As far as I know the evidence for Vitamin D is strongest. Obviously, the overall evidence is still weak and there is a lot of confounding going on, as people with Vitamin D deficiency are often frail irrespective of their Vitamin D status (there are ways to control for that). But: The personal cost of taking these supplements is very low. I recommend you take them.

Transmission routes

The most relevant transmission route seems to be airborne. Especially speaking, shouting, and singing seem to be activities that shed lots of infectious droplets. Simple breathing may be less problematic. One possible explanation is that speaking causes the formation and shedding of lots of droplets form the upper respiratory tract, whereas breathing would rather shed particles from the lower respiratory tract. This difference between lower and upper respiratory tract shedding may also be key to understanding how asymptomatic transmissions can happen even without coughing or sneezing.

Being outside is a strong protective factor, but I hope you know that by now.

More evidence and useful information on face masks

• There is growing consensus and evidence that face masks play a significant role in controlling the epidemic on a population level. Here is a thread that collects current evidence
• This video shows particle shedding from a person talking with and without a mask.
• fixthemask.com gives instructions on how to improve the fit of your homemade mask (also see video below)
• if you’re tired of wearing straps behind your ears, have a look at these strain relievers. If you want to have a couple of these, contact me and I’ll send them to you.