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NewsDay

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Confronting COVID-19: The personal strategy

Opinion & Analysis
Arthur G.O Mutambara Good people The personal COVID strategy is a moving target. But here is where I am at the moment. While waiting for the vaccine, there are other things folks can do: Avoid getting the virus (we know the drill — masking, sanitising, social distancing etc) Steaming (as discussed extensively before) But more […]

Arthur G.O Mutambara Good people

The personal COVID strategy is a moving target. But here is where I am at the moment.

While waiting for the vaccine, there are other things folks can do:

  • Avoid getting the virus (we know the drill — masking, sanitising, social distancing etc)
  • Steaming (as discussed extensively before)

But more importantly, ensure that if or when you get the virus you can quickly survive it. This we can do by building a strong immune system as follows:

  • Physical exercise — this boosts your immune system and helps you to have strong lungs —the major target of the virus. Literally to date, no sportsperson (NBA, NFL, soccer) has died of this disease. They have contracted it but have been able to shrug it off.
  • Taking vitamins that boost the immune system in particular: Zinc 50mg, D 2000IU, C 2000mg. Also just taking supplementary multi-vitamins in general.
  • A healthy balanced diet and lots of water
  • Effectively managing co-morbidities (underlying conditions) such as BP, diabetes, HIV/Aids and obesity.
  • Natural remedies — zumbani, moringa, concoction of ginger, garlic, lemon and honey, embrace the natural remedies.
  • Ivermectin — the wonder drug.

We must take this medicine as a preventive measure and for treatment. Dosage 1 by 12mg tablet once a week for 6 weeks and then 1 tablet a month thereafter, for prophylaxis, and then more frequently for treatment.

Ivermectin works both  as a preventative drug and also deals with the COVID-19 viral load if one is infected. Ignore the noise from naysayers.

Of course big pharma (together with Western governments and the controlled WHO) will not support or promote the basic solutions outlined above.

They want to create complicated patented remedies out of which they can make super profits.

On the conspiracy theories around COVID-19 vaccines:

The problem is that part of the history and experience of vaccines has been pretty negative for people of African descent, for example the Tuskegee experiment etc. Blacks have also been victims of other medical experiments and in some cases, medical genocide. This is the context in which the conspiracy theories about vaccines arise.

However, with this pandemic, blacks/Africans can independently (hopefully) check the vaccines for safety and efficacy. They must do this. The racially inclined risks can be mitigated.

The conspiracy theories around vaccines are exaggerated and can be debunked. Africans can also check and ensure that there is uniform application of the vaccines across races and populations.

There should be no vaccines targeting certain groups, and not used in other groups. Hence the fears of vaccine abuse can be somewhat mitigated. We have to be vigilant, of course.

Then there is the issue of vaccine nationalism; where rich nations are now competing instead of cooperating among themselves; and they are also not working with the poor nations. These rich nations are in fact, now hoarding the vaccines, to the extent that some are planning to have four times what their populations need, and yet the poor nations have no access or limited access to vaccines. Anyway, that is another subject —vaccine nationalism.

The tragedy of it all in the matter of vaccines is that there is no African country or Black-owned company producing a COVID-19 vaccine. The African is an observer — a subject and not a participant in vaccine development.

This is a terrible indictment of all us people of African descent. Shame on us.

That there is black doctor working on the vaccine at Pfizer is irrelevant and inconsequential.

An African country or Black-owned company producing a vaccine — that’s what we need. It would allay these conspiracy theories. It will also give us agency and control as Africans.

Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara is former deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. He writes here in his personal capacity.