The year 2020 has been an unusual year for everyone due to this tiny virus that is affecting all aspects of our lives. The virus itself has been difficult to contain due to high infectivity, but the misinformation about this virus has been much more detrimental to our families and society. This brief synopsis is to help parents navigate all the different information out on the internet. Remember this is not medical advice but just a conglomerate of information gathered from medical literature and experts in the medical field. You need to consult with your primary physicians for the appropriate medical advice.

Question: What is a coronavirus?Answer: Coronavirus is a common cold virus that causes mild cold symptoms in the human population.
Question: What is then Covid 19, CV-19?Answer: CV-19 is an infection caused by a new coronavirus strain, SARS-CoV-2, that was not seen before in the human population. This virus was first discovered and originated from Wuhan, China in the year 2019. Because no one had immunity to this novel virus, it caused severe infection in some of the people in our society.
Question: How devastating is this virus?Answer: This depends on the condition of the immunity of the person who gets infected with this virus. Statistical data from CDC show that the survival rate is very good for the pediatric population but worse for the geriatric population. The survival rate is 99.9% for the majority of the population and 95% for 75 years or older. Therefore, for the older geriatric population, this infection should be taken seriously and should be avoided if possible.
Question: How can we avoid catching this virus?Answer: Good hygiene is important. However, a strong immune system is the key to not getting sick. Eat healthy! eat variety of natural foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts. Avoid high sugar containing food. Elevated sugar level in your blood decreases your immune function. This is why there is high complication rate for people with diabetes. Drinking 8-12 cups of water per day, along with regular exercise, helps to improve your circulation. Also outdoor activity with plenty of sun light exposure is very helpful. Studies show Vitamin D has great protective effect in preventing serious CV-19 infection.
Question: Is there a treatment for this virus?Answer: There seems to be body of evidence that shows Hydroxychlorquine and Ivermectin along with zinc that are used in other countries seem to help clear the virus from sick patients. However, these evidence all point to using these medication in the early phase of the infection. They should be taken within the 5 days of symptoms to be most effective.
Question: Where can I get these medication?Answer: These are prescription medication except the Zinc. Therefore, you need to consult your physician for these prescription medications.
Question: Is the vaccine for CV-19 effective?Answer: The data provided by vaccine companies seem to indicate that vaccines do help in preventing infection from the SARS-CoV2. However, there are few side effects to these vaccines. These complications are causing some nations to halt the vaccines studies while some others are not recommending the vaccination for children younger than 16 yrs of age at this time. (12/25/20)
Question: Should I get the vaccines?Answer: You need to consult your physician to received personalized answer according to your age and your medical condition.
Question: Are there alternatives to medications or vaccines in preventing or treating CV-19?Answer: Yes, there seems to be some evidence that certain vitamins and supplements help in preventing and treating CV-19 infection.
Question: What are the supplements that help with CV-19 infection?Answer: I take these four supplements on daily basis for my fight against CV-19. (1) Vitamin C: recent studies showed that Vitamin C was not helpful in viral infection but these studies all used very low dose of vitamin C. However, some of the really old studies showed that high doses of Vitamin C helped with fever and viral infection. Therefore, I take high doses of Vitamin C daily since Vitamin C is not stored in your body but gets lost through out the day. (2) Vitamin D: recent studies shows low Vitamin D level has high correlation with severity of CV-19 infection. Since I don’t get lot of sun exposure, I take high dose of Vitamin D. You should consult with your physician with Vitamin D level before starting the supplements (3) Zinc: recent studies shows that Zinc is the magic bullet that destroys the virus in our cells. I take small dose of Zinc on dailly basis to maintain normal level of zinc. (4) Quercetin: recent sudy shows that this plant protein helps to drive the Zinc into our cell much more efficiently to kill the virus. So this is a turbo charger for the zinc. I take these four supplements daily and then double the dose of Vitamin C, Zinc, and Quercetin when I feel sick. These are my daily supplements. However, please consult your physician before starting any of these supplements on your own because excessive amount of these supplements can cause some other side effects.
Question: Does wearing a mask help me not to catch the corona virus infection?Answer: The simple answer is that most of masks worn by the general population do not prevent the spread of the corona virus. However, wearing mask can decrease the initial viral load when spreading from one person to another. Decreased viral load gives an infected individuals time to mount an effective defense against the corona virus, resulting in less severe symptoms. Therefore, the mask does not prevent the catching of the viral infection, but it does help in decreasing severity of symptoms.
Question: What kind of masks are effective?Answer: Most of surgical mask and home mask can be helpful. However, studies show that bandana and neck gaitors are not very effective in preventing the spread of corona virus. Therefore, these should not be worn in public for safety measure.