Three lines of Defense.

There are three ways to protect against Covid-19, or any virus / bacteria for that matter.

1.      Prevent its spread in the environment.

2.      Once its in the environment…Prevent it from entering your body.

3.      Once its inside your body…Prevent it from making you ill.

 Effectively addressing this coronavirus requires a response at all three levels. But all are not equally effective, nor are they equally easy.

 1.      Preventing Spread. This gets most of the attention as it is all that Government can do. Shut public spaces and schools, social distancing, cancel flights, etc. Disinfect public spaces and floor, esp as this heavy virus lands on the floor / surfaces quite quickly. At a personal level, avoid unnecessary contact, sneeze and cough into tissue etc.

But given we don’t know how many people are carrying around the virus, this will have low effectiveness, UNLESS it is combined with No 2 and 3 below. The cost of these actions is also very high in terms of lost incomes, business disruption, misinformation and panic. Many governments may like this option given all the public uproars and protests going on around the world these days.

 2.      Preventing Entry into the Body: Even when we are surrounded by the virus, each of us can do these at a personal level to protect ourselves. Use masks (which also prevent spread), don’t touch surfaces unnecessarily, wash hands, face, and clean your nose properly. Use gloves. Change clothes as soon as you come home from outside. These are fairly low cost options, and while it may appear paranoid or awkward, it is not disruptive to social and economic life.

 3.      Prevent Illness: The body is an amazing machine that can fight a lot of stuff. But our modern lifestyles and the pollutants and chemicals we eat, drink and breathe, reduce our immunity and make us more vulnerable and cause our bodies to malfunction, so we need to start supporting our body instead. Top 7 suggestions:

i. Drinking pure lemon juice. It’s a magic food that boosts immunity, and reduces acidity and inflammation.

In it, mix Tulsi (Holy Basil) powder, Turmeric (haldi) powder, ginger powder (or crush ginger juice into it), and high quality honey (not cheap Dabur stuff) if you can get it. This mixture (even adding some of these things if you can’t get all is fine) will boost immunity quickly and can kills germs that may be in the mouth and digestive tract. Thus it can help reduce spread. You could do this 3-6 times a day, with juice of 2-4 lemons each time. DO NOT ADD WATER. Room temperature lemons are better than cold ones.

 ii. Take 6-8 deep and slow breaths every hour. This calms the body, and a calm body will be better able to fight any viral / bacterial attack. Practicing Reiki, Yoga, Tai-Chi, meditation etc are also very effective to strengthen and calm the body, and everyone should be practicing some of these to improve health and well-being. This could be a good time to start.

 iii. Drink good quality Giloy juice, one of the best immunity boosters.

 iv. Drink warm water often. Even better if you boil water with Tulsi (Holy Basil) leaves.

 v. Take 1000mg good quality Vitamin C supplements everyday.

vi. Don’t stress and worry. Fear is the easiest and quickest way to reduce your immunity and make yourself vulnerable. Turn off the news, for the most part.

 vii. Watch funny films and shows and read jokes—laughter strengthens the body and reduces stress.

Generally improve diet, avoid tobacco and drugs and excessive alcohol, and do all the things that are always good for your health. These measures may not directly kill the Covid-19 virus, but will strengthen your body so you can fight the virus and anything else, and also recover more quickly and better, from any health problem.

None of these measures ALONE give any guarantee—not even vaccines are a guaranteed protection, especially if the virus mutates over time. But by doing all three measures, we create multiple barriers and defenses that greatly increase the probability of controlling the spread and preventing illness and death.

Of these, however, No 3 has the most benefits and no harmful side-effects whatsoever. No 2 and 3 are directly in our own control and are pretty low cost. Even if you do a few things and not all, it will help in multiple ways. No 1 should be as limited as possible so as to not create equally or even more damaging second-order effects which are already being felt, and hundreds of billions of dollar of stimulus and industry support are planned by Governments. 

May society emerge from this episode stronger and more sensible.

May we find the ability and discipline to put the greater good ahead of our personal wants.

May the disruption to our normal way of life, help us to find a better way of life.

May we realize that we can live happily without hectic hyper-activity that is creating stress and pollution and climate change.

May we improve our habits to become healthier and less dependent on medicines and the medical industry.

May we become more aware of our inter-connectedness, and our ability to do harm to other people, but also our ability to help and do infinite good.

May we strengthen relationships and build bonds, instead of succumbing to fears and anger.

May we remember all this once the threat is over, and we have an option to continue with the old ways.

Best wishes.