ZOILO “BINGO” P. DEJARESCO III l December 25, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
When the WHO (World Health Organization) announced that the uninvited visitor Covid-19 went into an (endemic) from the (pandemic) stage- it never suggested that the disease will fade away completely. It’s not like what happens to Superman when he swallows an entire Kryptonite.
Covid will be around but will be treated like the common flu.
For instance, Singapore’s professor at DUKE-NUS Medical School named Ooi Eng Eung said 32,000 new Covid patients were admitted last week. But he advises no panic, as we are far from the stage in 2020- with hardly any vaccination and totally ignorant about the virus at that time.
Then 21 percent of Covid patients died compared to 1-2 percent today. Like the flu.
The elderly and those with medical conditions today are, of course, advised to take anti-flu and anti-pneumonia vaccinations, as we have.
On the other hand, in Japan, entering the very cold season, there are now 1,118,000 infected with the flu virus nationwide and last week 166,890 new flu patients were admitted into 5,000 medical institutions or an average of 37.5 person per hospital. This was announced by the Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
The warning signals of mask-wearing and social distancing is on even as 6,382 schools were ordered close up to close of last weekend, according to the Minister of Health.
Meantime, in the USA, there has been an upsurge in the descendant of Omicron called JN.1 variant during this winter illness season. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted an upsurge by 20% in Covid cases and predicts that by the end of December, this variant will account for more than half of the total US infection.
WHO had described the JN.1 specie as a “variant of concern”. The CDC, however, disagrees in that it is no more dangerous than the previous variants. Moreover, no signs have been confirmed that the vaccines of those injected were not working and that the antibodies resulting therefrom have effectively raised not decreased the potential severity of JN.1
Meantime, Dr. Ziyad Aly-Aly, an epidemiologist in Washington University did a study that suggests that those who had severe bouts of Covid and Flu (influenza) are bound to suffer long-term effects. This was based on the findings involving 11,000 flu victims between 2015-2019 and 81,000 Covid victims between 2020-2022.
Covid, however, remains the more serious than flu with 615 health issues (long term) reported per 100 infected and only 507 per 100 persons for flu victims. This study, however, covered those who had an average age of 70 years old and may not necessarily reflect the same results in other age groups.
However, it was argued that 14 percent of all US adult Covid patients suffered long-term chronic fatigue, brain fog and pain.
DEALING WITH THE DISEASE
We fell ill with high fever due to bronchitis twice in my youth. One, was after playing basketball on rainy night one-on-one with a Bicolano friend in an open seminary basketball court. The second was after two nights singing as a Glee Club member in college-this time, I was hospitalized for two days.
We got hit by Covid December 2021 when Covid was on the wane and just stayed at home- monitored by phone by our two-caring doctor- sisters (Imelda and Carmelita)- no sweat, really. It was not having appetite that hurt the most — one’s stomach was always complaining.
So, we have experienced hacking the two diseases. In the case of the Covid, of course, we became closer to our Creator and our favorite saints as the idea of mortality sets on us. But aside from that comfort, we had this superstitious belief (double standard Christian for us, it seems) in the forecast of a Mid-eastern European seeress that Covid would fade by May 2022- as indeed, it slowly did.
Today, we got a post from an old Manila doctor -friend that the Chinese doctors from the China General Hospital had found the cure for Covid and reduced the cases there recently. The cure is not even bought but totally free and can be done even by kids.
The theory is that the Covid virus attacks the throat first before it attacks the lungs. And it stays in the throat area for four days. So, the trick is to gargle water with salt three times a day – Covid germs will disintegrate and cascade into the stomach.
Thus, it is recommended to drink warm water for five minutes after each gargle. The Chinese medics swore it works and ask all to spread the idea.
With medicines now costing one’s arm and a leg, what’s wrong with an old-fashioned salt therapy? If it works, thank God for the wonder. If not, it’s a good exercise for the arms and throat muscles.
While modernity has its downside, we must admit technology has enabled man to battle successfully with most diseases. Deo Gratias.
*** (Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner and author. He is a Life and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com)