COVID-19 Antibody Test Recommendation

From eNewsletter 5/13/2020

DID YOU KNOW that people who attended religious services at least once a week were significantly less likely to die from "deaths of despair," including deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning, according to new research led by Harvard School of Public Health and published in JAMA Psychiatry? After adjusting for numerous variables, women who attended services at least once per week had a 68% lower risk of death from despair compared to those never attending services. Men who attended services at least once per week had 33% lower risk of death from despair.

PREVENT AND FIGHT: CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL ISSUE If you missed our specific recommendations about how to prevent and fight the coronavirus, the information is at this link.

ANTIBODY TEST UPDATE We suggest you watch this short, simple explanation about antibody testing.

After watching this, you now understand why antibody testing, at this moment, is not ideal. That said, many of you have shown interest in getting an antibody test and we found one (click on the name to be taken to the test page): 

QuestDiagnostics COVID-19 Immune Response

This test will only confirm if you had COVID-19 in the past. There are many caveats, so please read the fine print. We have no financial interest in this test. We feel comfortable recommending it because of the following:

• The test is FDA approved.

• It is a blood test, not fingerstick (in which we do not trust any).

• You can purchase the test directly, without a doctor referral, and arrange a phlebotomist appointment at the nearest Quest location.

• The test should be 100% covered by your healthcare plan.

• Our connections with expertise in bloodwork endorsed this test, and this test only.

**This antibody test will not confirm if you are currently infected with COVID-19 OR if could get COVID-19 again.** Please relay all questions about the test to QuestDiagnostics. In conclusion, we still recommend waiting until more comprehensive testing is available, but for those of you who have the shpilkes (Yiddish for a state of impatience), this is the best that's available.

The Media It comes as no surprise that many Americans are beyond frustrated with the media during the pandemic. For example, read these headlines from different media sources about coronavirus mutations. CNBC: "The coronavirus has mutated and appears to be more contagious now, study says." FOX NEWS: "New mutation indicates that coronavirus might be weakening, study says." USA TODAY: "Many coronavirus mutations are circling the globe, but we don't know if any are more dangerous." The confusion, anxiety, and anger that the media stokes is counterproductive. What's worse is that our leadership are also sending mixed messages. The best advice we can give is to limit your media exposure to just the essentials and stick to the advice of those you have trusted over years and decades. Virus Prevention Fundamentals Like any good athlete or musician, practicing the fundamentals are important for excellence. In the case of virus prevention, we want to remind you that one of the most important fundamentals is to drastically lower the number of ways a virus can enter your body. This means you should condition your mind to refrain from touching your face as little as possible, and never with dirty hands. Given the fact that new research from Johns Hopkins states that SARS-CoV2 can enter the body through the eyes (because the eyes contain the ACE2 protein, which the virus binds to), keeping your hands away from your mouth, nose, eyes, and ears will dramatically lower your risk of any kind of virus, bacteria, or parasite entering your body. Clearest Symptom of COVID-19? According to research published Monday in Nature Medicine, the clearest indicator that one has COVID-19 would be a loss of taste and/or smell. Nearly 65 percent of UK and 67 percent of US participants described loss of taste and/or smell. While a combination of loss of taste and smell, extreme fatigue, cough and loss of appetite was the best predictor of having a positive result from the PCR test, loss of taste and/or smell was by far the most abundant single symptom reported. Rare, Novel Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Could Be Linked to COVID-19 Children involving symptoms seen with atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome may be linked to COVID-19 infection. A small number of children in major cities have seen cases. The initial 15 New York City patients discovered reportedly all had fever, and more than half reported rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea, but fewer than half had respiratory symptoms. Most of the children appear to have had antibodies to the novel coronavirus, even when they do not have virus detectable in their nose. This suggests that these symptoms are "postinfectious," likely due to an abnormal immune response that happens after viral infection. If your child develops the aforementioned symptoms, especially after being sick, contact your physician immediately. Overall, make sure your child continually takes all their nutrients and eats optimally for the foreseeable future, especially during and after being sick, to prevent abnormal inflammatory reactions.

COMFORT FOOD: BONNIE'S TUNA CASSEROLE

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