The Covid Experiment is over - or just beginning

This blog reviews the first two weeks of January 2022 in which I intentionally exposed myself to three family members who were highly infected with COVID-19.   I explain why this was done - the unique preparations involved - and why this experiment is critically important for society.  I did not receive any vaccinations myself and intentionally endured repeated exposure to three infected family members (one severely infected). During this two week period of constant exposure, I developed no symptoms and continually tested negative with repeated Covid-19 testing.  Continue reading for a quick summary, or see our specific daily events starting from Day 1 - from this link -  

DAY 18 - Let's Bring the Mountain to Mahomed - Going to Long Covid Homes

Wednesday 1PM - 
It's now 18+ days into the project and a week after my family's last Covid negative test.  We are all doing great except my son says he still has a small sore throat. He was feeling a little foggy headed a few days ago so waiting for him to check back in.

DAY 17 - Doing Great -

Tuesday Afternoon -
Not much news as everyone is doing great although my son Gene has a few symptoms and says he is 80% back to normal with his sore throat, and no other symptoms.  I  did another Covid test on myself and still negative.  

DAY 16 - Severe & Long Covid have Defective Natural Killer Cells - Promoting Long Covid study -

Natural killer cells - 

a major virus & cancer defense - 

Studies show those with Long Covid and severe Covid have lower numbers and quality of a type of immune blood cell known as a natural killer cell.  These cells not only directly kill Covid infected cells, but also emit important "hormone" signals to activate downstream immune cells which enable them to join the fight against Covid-19.

DAY 15 - FREE AirBnB to Long Covid Survivors in the Name of Science.

FREE AIRBNB TO ANYONE WITH LONG COVID - 

The latest studies show those with Long Covid have significant deficiencies in Natural Killer and T cells, as well as high levels of autoantibodies attacking healthy tissue.  Along with this the most recent studies show significant improvements in natural killer cells can be achieved by simple lifestyle changes including enhanced polyphenol intake.

This would suggest that Long Covid symptoms could be reversed relatively quickly by the simultaneous implementation of numerous strategies.  

If you have or know someone with diagnosed Long Covid, I am offering a free two week stay at our AirBnb in the name of science.  This is a very nice AirBnB that can accommodate two or three people comfortably.  Strong Evidence for Improving Long Covid

I am preferably looking for someone who has not only been diagnosed with Long Covid, but also has blood tests showing high C-Reactive Protein (CRP), which is a sign of inflammation and tissue damage which can increase Covid symptoms. 

Also, having either a low lymphocyte or high neutrophil count would be markers that would suggest the strategies here would help.  If you have Long Covid and still test positive for Covid-19, we would be very interested in your participation and be willing to increase compensation as well.

Along with the free 2 week stay at our AirBnB, we will provide all food at no cost and a $300 thank you for helping in this important research project. 

DAY 14 - Time for Covid Experiment PART III - Testing Long Haulers - Still negative after nasal swab

Symptoms Update:

Family Symptoms:  I personally still feel great - zero symptoms 5 days after nasal swab experiment with my infected son and 14 days after beginning one full week of intentional exposure to my family's Covid-19.  Covid-Mary and daughter Grace feel great as well and appear to be 100%.  My son Gene says he still has a sore throat and was feeling a little mentally weak first day back at school earlier this week but now 70% back to normal compared to his worst point last week.

Dr. Shin Yong at Sunway University in Malaysia published an excellent review of what is now known about Long Covid in the May, 2021 journal Infectious Diseases (London).  (link below). Here are quotes of several main points:

1.  While the actual definition is lacking, a review identified that the most frequent symptoms of long COVID are fatigue and dyspnoea (i.e. shortness of breath) [17,18]. Other less typical symptoms include cognitive and mental disorders, headache, myalgia, chest and joint pains, smell and taste dysfunctions, cough, hair loss, insomnia, wheezing, rhinorrhea, sputum, and cardiac and gastrointestinal issues. These symptoms may persist for up to six months and counting after hospital discharge or symptom onset 

2.  In brief, long COVID may be driven by long-term tissue damage (e.g. lung, brain, and heart) and pathological inflammation (e.g. from viral persistence, immune dysregulation, and autoimmunity).

3.   One puzzling feature of long COVID is that it affects survivors of COVID-19 at all disease severity. Studies have discovered that long COVID affects even mild-to-moderate cases and younger adults who did not require respiratory support or hospital or intensive care. Patients who were no longer positive for SARS-CoV-2 and discharged from the hospital, as well as outpatients, can also develop long COVID [24,30,31,41,50]. 

Apparently, the lungs of Long Covid patients have taken a rather big hit.  In a three-month follow-up study of COVID-19 survivors, abnormalities in lung X-rays were detected in 71% of participants, despite that only less than 10% had severe pneumonia [46].

Could Symptoms Last for Years?

Another scary finding of Long Covid is that similar things have happened with prior coronavirus diseases.   For example, you may recall the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus from 20+ years ago.  Even 4 years after infection, some people still had symptoms of fatigue and continued muscle and joint paint.  As stated by Dr. Yong, "This is rather unsettling as it implies that long COVID may extend beyond just a few months to years."

Future Health Problems Hiding around the Corner
If all this wasn't bad enough, Dr. Yong discussed a study that no one wants to hear and had me shaking my head.  It found even young adults mostly free of risk factors for severe Covid-19 were showing highly worrisome pathological findings.  For example, in a random four-month follow-up of young adults using various tests - many had evidence of multi-organ impairment.   Specifically, at least one radiological abnormality of the lungs, heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, or spleen was present in 66% of survivors [24]. Similarly, another study involving moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients has shown radiological evidence of lung, heart, brain, liver and kidney impairments persisting for at least 2–3 month after hospital discharge [93].

Think about this folks, these young adults had no physical symptoms, they felt just fine, but when doing various blood and imaging tests, researchers were finding evidence of impaired livers, kidneys and hearts, putting them in line with having internal organs of people in their 30s, 40s, 50s or higher.  Since aging is continuous, having a 20 year old body with a 40 year old kidney or heart is nothing short of a ticking time-bomb when considering everything from diabetes to heart disease to dialysis.

A grim statistic from University of California found more than one-quarter of all people infected with Covid-19 (and not hospitalized) later developed some form of long-haul Covid. 

Researchers examined medical records of 1,407 people seen at a range of University of California outpatient clinics and found that two months after Covid-19 diagnosis 27% of patients suffered from either shortness of breath, chest pains, coughs or abdominal pain – and that nearly one-third of those patients had no symptoms during their original infection.  This would suggest there is some form of immunological abnormallity that occurred during infection itself that persists after infection, thereby accelerating damage to human tissue. I'll describe what this is in a moment.

In a statement from UC Davis professor Christian Dandrock, "Among outpatients, risk factors made very little difference in the study numbers. That’s also what we’re seeing. Anyone can get long-haul COVID.”

In another study published in the August 2021 journal Lancet (link below), the numbers were even worse.  Chinese researchers followed 1,276 Covid-19 survivors at 6 months and 12 months.   At six months, 68% of patients said they still had symptoms while at 12 months, 49% said they were still experiencing symptoms.  This included dyspnoea (difficulty breathing), muscle weakness, anxiety, depression, problems with mobility and pain or discomfort. 

NOT ONLY MILD SYPTOMS
While many Long Covid individuals have mild symptoms, many have far more severe effects.  Making my job in understanding Long Covid symptoms easier, a study published in the November, 2021 journal Clinical Rheumatology reviewed Long Haul symptoms from 7 previous published studies on the topic (link below).

Right now I'm looking at my second computer screen displaying the results and they do vary.  To increase accuracy, below are results from the largest study of 2,159 Long Covid patients by Goetz et. al. 

1. Fatigue was the most common symptom affecting about 87%

2. Breathing difficulty affected 71%

3. Chest pain - 44%

4. Cough - 34% 

5. Joint Pain - 27% 

6. Anosmia (can't smell or taste) - 13%

Major Clue Found in Severe Covid Patients

Trying to understand why some people develop severe Covid-19 symptoms, researchers at Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, Greece randomly selected 29 severely ill patients from their Intensive Care Unit.  All patients had a positive PCR test for the SARS Coronavirus.  

Doctors were looking for an immune response that could explain the continuing damage to tissues and internal organs.  Patients were tested for 5 different types of autoantibodies.  It's important to understand that autoantibodies are antibodies that are malfunctioning big time.  They are mistakenly attacking healthy tissue and literally eating the person from the inside out.  The human body has defenses to prevent this and should not be happening, but these defenses can become weakened as well.  Autoimmune attack can cause severe pain, illness and debilitating symptoms in a short period of time.  Basically what happens to someone with an organ transplant, but in this case, no foreign tissue was transplanted.

RESULTS
What's fascinating here is that nearly 70% of Long Covid patients tested positive for at least one autoantibody and often several antibodies. This included: 

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA): 34.5%

p-ANCA antibodies: 6.9%

c-ANCA antibodies: 6.9%
a-CL antibodies: 24.1%

anti-B2GPI antibodies: 34.5%

anti-CCP antibodies: 3.5%

Total = 68.7%

Go to Day 15

For more details on this and other studies on Long Covid, please visit the links below:

1 Year Study on Covid-19 Survivors

Summary of 7 Long Haul Studies

If you would like more information on our Long Haul research project, please complete the form HERE

DAY 13 - Daily Covid Test Results added - Breakfast Details - College study on alcohol increasing Covid - Maybe Long Covid could benefit from this?

Jerry's Temperature: Normal -

Family Symptoms: None for Jerry - Feeling great!  My daughter Grace is back to 100% - Covid Mary feels good but still has a slight cough every hour or so.  My son Gene still has a sore throat but a week into his symptoms he says he is about 70% better. 

DAY 12 - Improvement in Covid fighting immune system cells from one special plant polyphenol - Maybe why I'm still not sick?

My Temperature: Normal - 
Symptoms: None yet - Feel Great! - My son Gene still has a sore throat. 

SCIENTISTS MAKE MAJOR NUTRIENT DISCOVERY - 

The picture shows my breakfast from yesterday and I try to do pretty much the same every morning. Now, if Bluto was the virus and Popeye was your immune system, Popeye's spinach would be plant compounds known as Polyphenols and found in high levels in these fruits. While trying to determine why I haven't been able to get sick (or test positive) from my past 12 day intense exposure to three highly infected Covid-19 family members, I came across a study that sheds some light.

Something Better than a Vaccine? While I'm not vaccinated myself, I do believe vaccinations are important and certainly prevent severe illness in those with pre-existing conditions from obesity to high blood pressure to diabetes. But wouldn't it be nice if we could find something that worked better than a vaccine?

Latest numbers suggest the majority of people who test positive for Covid-19 are asymptomatic and show no symptoms, but the fact that I am one step past asymptomatic and continue to test negative after massive Covid-19 exposure shows either I'm doing something unique or my body is doing something that blocks the very first stage of viral infection. This study from Germany would appear to explain part of the puzzle.

REPORTED IN: Nutrition Journal, May 4, 2016

(link below)

Hiding in this 2016 study from Medical University Hospital in Germany, scientists found that a bioactive plant compound called "resveratrol" had this uncanny ability to greatly increase natural killer cells and make them more efficient in killing virus and cancer cells. This is one heck-uv-a major finding since we also have studies showing those with Covid-19 have low levels or "sleepy" natural killer cells.

THOSE MAGICAL NATURAL KILLER CELLS

Natural Killer cells (also called NK cells) really are your first immune system defense that can kill a coronavirus infected cell and stop it from spreading. It can do it in minutes right after a virus dares to take over a healthy cell - while antibodies take 3 days to ramp up.

After reading this study in detail, here are their main conclusions:

So, our natural killer (NK) cells are really cool dudes. They make up about 5% of all your white blood cells and are truly the MENSA and "intellectually gifted" of all your immune cells.

Without instruction from other cells, NK cells strut past all cells again and again looking for trouble. They have a high-tech sensor on their exterior so when they pass by a body cell, the sensor is looking for just a "wee bit of stress." These stress markers as they are called, are emitted by cells infected with cancer, fungi, or viruses.

If the sensor alarm starts "beeping" and says "stress detected" - the NK cell immediately goes into action and attaches to the troubled cell. Through a microscopic tube it injects a chemical called perforin that burns a hole in the side of the cell wall. Next, it pushes in granules called "granzymes" through the hole which basically fries the inside of the cell. ...and just like that - the cancer or virus is terminated.

THE POPEYE OF POLYPHENOLS

While fruits and vegetables contain hundreds if not thousands of amazing polyphenols, a few have been found to have high levels of the magical "resveratrol." This one polyphenol was shown to increase natural killer cell numbers and raise their IQ from 80 to 180.

The supermen of plants that contain resveratrol include purple grapes, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. It is also found in many vegetables as well. Organic varieties of fruits have also been shown to have higher levels of polyphenols compared to their chemically grown counterparts.

Interestingly, the fruit breakfast I have every morning always includes three of these and often all four. Do I have higher levels of natural killer cells that could be responsible for this continued negative testing? Well, the science would suggest that is certainly plausible. Go to DAY 13

Below are links to the two studies referenced in this post

Natural Killer Cells Improve from Resveratrol

Covid-19 Patients Low in Natural Killer Cells

DAY 11 - Two Days after Nasal Swab Exposure - Stanford does flu virus nasal infection test with college students - Natural Killer cells offer major protection.

Tuesday - 
Jerry's Temperature as of 11:30 PM Eastern: Normal - 
Symptoms: None -
Covid Antigen Test: (to be conducted Wed morning Jan 12)

DAY 10 - Increasing Virus Exposure 1000-Fold by putting Q-Tip nasal swab from son's nose into mine.

Monday - I told everyone that if I did not get infected with Covid in the first experiment, I would bump it up a notch.  So, let's give it a shot ...

Certainly, after 10 days of intense efforts of large exposures trying to become infected (and not being successful), it would suggest the strategies I've implemented (as outlined in over one dozen peer reviewed journals) are highly effective in preventing infection.  So far, 10 days in..  no symptoms and negative testing after intense Covid-19 exposure).

UP THE NOSE WE GO
So, in the photograph above, my son tested positive for Covid with the antigen home test kit for a third time 5 minutes before this picture was taken.  In the left picture he uses a Q-tip to swab in a circular motion 5 times in his left nostril and 5 times in the right nostril (for media or research groups interested, we have unedited video documenting this process).  

In the right picture, I take the Q-tip and swab 5 times in my left nostril.  In other words, by doing this we intentionally transferred exponentially higher numbers of viral particles directly into my nose, just where the virus loves to grow.

DEATH WISH or LOGICAL EXPERIMENT?
To most of you, this may sound like nothing short of suicide, but I have intensely studied the nasal defense and understand a few of its miraculous complexities and ways to maximize their efficiency.  For example, in a study I described on my personal FB page (which I'll review here later), it was found that those who became severely ill with Covid-19 had lower levels of beneficial nasal microbiota. The term microbiota refers to the trillions of beneficial bacteria now being found to perform critical functions to keep us healthy.  Yes, bacteria can be good... 

So, these good-guy bacteria not only produce compounds inherently toxic to viruses, but they also communicate with immune cells to increase their efficiency, both of which greatly reduces the ability of viruses to multiply.

Interestingly, many people have low levels of these good bacteria while others have high levels. Along with this, the level of beneficial bacteria present in our colon has been shown to correlate with the level of beneficial beneficial bacteria in or nasal passages, throat and lungs.  Bottom line, the more benefical bacteria we have that stimulate immune functions, the less likely the individual is to suffer from enhanced viral growth.  Personally, that sounds like worthwhile news. 

Next point to consider - since we now have studies clearly showing a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables generate a large improvements in our beneficial gut bacteria (microbiota) - you can see how my dietary interventions would be expected to be helpful. 

SPIDERMAN DEFENDERS
Along with this, the mucus in our nasal cavity contains an army of what are called "collectins" and "defensins" - These rascals are composed of immune cells and other microscopic defenders that can identify when a virus gets stuck in our nasal mucus - and like a spider in a web, send out warriors to kick its ass - and I'm counting on these spider guys as I type this sentence to keep me healthy. 

KNOWING WHO GETS SEVERE COVID TAKES THE EDGE OFF

As we all know (or should know), the risk for severe Covid is not the same for everyone.   It's a fact that in nearly EVERY severe Covid-19 case, the person has comorbidities such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or is taking immuno-suppressive drugs for autoimmune diseases like arthritis and also occurs in people undergoing cancer treatment. 

MICROSCOPE PREDICTS ILLNESS
The picture here shows the microscope I use to test something very important.  I do this by grabbing the blue lancet (at bottom of picture) and using it to prick my finger and squeeze to show a drop of blood, I then literally "suck" the blood into the glass pipette (seen at bottom picture).  Next I dilute it with a little vinegar - mix for 30 seconds and - WALLAH! - I have a perfect mix and place one drop on a special slide known as a hemacytometer. 
 

DAY 9 - Sunday - Someone's Still Negative after 9 Days

Families that test together stay together?

The picture here shows all three of us testing ourselves again for Covid-19 Sunday afternoon (about a week after their first positive test).  I tested negative myself 4 or 5 days ago but now we are at day 9 so time to test again.  My 14 year old daughter (also confirmed Covid positive by her doctor's PCR test) wants nothing to do with pictures with her pop so we tested her off camera.  

DAY 8 - Saturday - Jerry's Still AOK - Kids Improve - New Tool Arrives

Major Exposures Tolerated -  

This is how Covid Mary and I sit for 3-4 hours every night watching TV the past 8+ days.  I figured this close proximity would be a good test for the strategies we're using as suggested by recent medical literature.  Gotta say though that sitting this close during days 3-6 was kinda rough because that was the period her dry coughs were not only intensely strong but bordered on bloodcurdling to say the least.  Now that we're at day 8 (actually about day 10 counting the couple days before starting the blog) her coughs are maybe once every hour or two. 

DAY 7 - Friday - New Testing - Suprising Results

10PM Test Again - 

Last night around 10PM I rounded up the crew and tested my son and Mary again for Covid-19.  Using the same home antigen kit, both Mary and Gene tested positive again (left and right POS results) - I then tested myself (middle test) and just as 3 days ago, I was still testing negative.  Not sure how much longer my luck will continue, I've slacked on my multi-polyphenol diet somewhat but I've now gone for more than 7 days being in extremely close proximity to three highly infected people and still testing negative.

DAY 6 - Thursday - Status Update - Facebook News

11:00 AM - STATUS CHECK

JERRY - I'm still feeling fine with absolutely no symptoms yet and about to make my customary fruit salad breakfast to build up the polyphenols which has been shown to function as "nature's antibodies."

DAY 4 & 5 - Tuesday - More Family Members Test Positive

My son's college girlfriend got over her Covid in about 5 days and is now feeling fine (she was double vaccinated and boosted).  My son came home early this morning and said he has mild symptoms but only a sore throat.  No other issues.  He hasn't been vaccinated.

Day 3 - Monday - Daughter Sick - Jerry Garcia Still Negative

My 14 year old daughter said she wasn't feeling well today.  She did go to the mall with her friends yesterday.   We took her to her pediatrician and they did a Covid test.  We'll know results tomorrow. 

Day 2 - Sunday - No Symptoms Yet for Father & Son

Happy New Year and No Symptoms Yet! 

Both my son and I have been exposed to our "Covid friends" for two days. Since it typically takes 3-5 days for symptoms to begin, we will see if our strategies for preventing infection will work. 

DAY 1 - Concentrated Covid-19 Exposure Begins

This post reviews Dec 31 and Jan 1 -

OUR UNEXPECTED COVID-19 EXPERIMENT
Even though we were 60 miles apart, my son and I were about to become part of a major Covid-19 experiment. He was at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and I was sitting in a two story house in Durham, NC watching TV with my ex-wife (yeah, crazy world we live in...). It's December 31, 2021 and about 3 hours till the New Year's ball drops in New York City Times Square to begin 2022.