Health & Fitness

Two days ago, I wrote about The Rockefeller Foundation’s plan to test, track and trace all Americans — ostensibly to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming us as we’re again “allowed” to venture outside our front doors in limited capacity around the nation.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s April 21, 2020, white paper,¹ “National COVID-19 Testing Action Plan — Strategic Steps to Reopen Our Workplaces and Our Communities,” lays out a strategic framework that is clearly intended to become part of a permanent surveillance and social control structure that severely limits personal liberty and freedom of choice.

The Rockefeller plan calls for COVID-19 testing and tracing of 1 million Americans per week to start, incrementally ramping it up to 3 million and then 30 million per week (the “1-3-30 plan”) over the next six months until the entire population has been covered.

Test results would then be collected on a digital platform capable of tracking all tested individuals so that contact-tracing can be performed when someone tests positive.

Contact-tracing apps are a significant part of this scheme, and the white paper² clearly states that “Whenever and wherever possible data should be open,” and that “Some privacy concerns must be set aside for an infectious agent as virulent as Covid-19, allowing the infection status of most Americans to be accessed and validated in a few required settings and many voluntary ones.”

Techno-Tyranny Steps Into Broad Daylight 

As noted in The Last American Vagabond’s article,³ “Techno-Tyranny: How the U.S. National Security State Is Using Coronavirus to Fulfill an Orwellian Vision,” the U.S. is rapidly adopting an artificial intelligence-driven mass surveillance system rivaling that of China, and legal and structural obstacles are now being swept away “under the guise of combating the coronavirus crisis.”

Indeed, the Rockefeller plan doesn’t even try to hide its draconian overreach and intent to permanently alter life and society as we know it. In the first half of the 20th century, George Orwell wrote a dystopian novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” in which the government controlled every aspect of a person’s life, including their very thoughts.

Today, scientists seem intent on turning Orwell’s nightmarish vision into reality, using the COVID-19 pandemic, national security and public health as their justification for doing so. Artificial intelligence — AI — is a key ingredient in this surveillance plot. Ironically, as noted by The Last American Vagabond:⁴

“Last year, a U.S. government body dedicated to examining how artificial intelligence can ‘address the national security and defense needs of the United States’ discussed in detail the ‘structural’ changes that the American economy and society must undergo in order to ensure a technological advantage over China, according to a recent document⁵ acquired through a FOIA request.

This document suggests that the U.S. follow China’s lead and even surpass them in many aspects related to AI-driven technologies, particularly their use of mass surveillance.

This perspective clearly clashes with the public rhetoric of prominent U.S. government officials and politicians on China, who have labeled the Chinese government’s technology investments and export of its surveillance systems and other technologies as a major ‘threat’ to Americans’ ‘way of life.’⁶”

The document⁷ the article refers to was produced by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), a government organization created by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2018.

Its purpose is “to consider the methods and means necessary to advance the development of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and associated technologies to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States,” and to ensure the U.S. maintains a technological advantage.

To that end, the NSCAI is pushing for an overhaul of the American way of life and economy in order to usher in a more comprehensive AI-driven surveillance apparatus.

Google Is a Major Player and Threat in This Arena

It is important to understand that Google has the greatest AI team in the world. To boost its powerbase, in 2014 Google purchased Deep Mind, an AI company that employed some of the world’s leading AI experts at the time.⁸

One of those top-notch scientists was David Silver, who led the team that created the program Alpha Go, which subsequently defeated the world champion of the abstract boardgame, Go.⁹ Most recently, Silver won the 2019 Association for Computing Machinery award for breakthrough advances in computer game-playing.¹⁰

Lex Fridman from MIT recently had a fascinating interview with Silver.¹¹ The reason I mention it is because this accomplishment is perceived by many as a great milestone. It established deep reinforcement learning as a strategy that will allow computers to rapidly outperform humans and rapidly implement advanced versions of the surveillance state.

So, not only does Google have the AI scientists, but they also have the largest computing platform in the world and a major lead in quantum computing, already establishing quantum supremacy late last year.¹²

We Cannot Afford To Be Naïve

The DW News video above reviews the rollout of COVID-19 contact tracing apps in various parts of the world and their approaches to privacy concerns. Germany, at present, appears to be one of the nations that are most protective of their privacy rights. This makes perfect sense, considering its Nazi history.

Many Americans, on the other hand, do not have personal experience with the kind of human rights atrocities perpetuated in Nazi Germany, and fail to understand just how slippery the slope is.

Recent calls by American leaders to call police and snitch on their neighbors for failing to observe social distancing rules, for example, come straight from the authoritarian handbook, and there’s simply no excuse for not recognizing and interpreting it at face value.

Rights and liberties are never simply handed to us. Every single human right and freedom you currently enjoy has been fought and paid for in blood, and unless we refuse tyranny from the very get-go, we’ll eventually be forced to live under it or pay for our freedom with blood sacrifices yet again. We cannot afford to be naïve about where we’re headed.

Contact Tracing Apps Violate Your Privacy

A May 4, 2020, Forbes article¹³ by Simon Chandler points out that while contact-tracing apps “may be cryptographically secure,” they still “threaten our privacy in broader and more insidious ways.”

“On the one hand, cybersecurity researchers have already argued¹⁴ that suitably determined and malevolent bad actors could correlate infected people with other personal info using the API. On the other, the Google-Apple API and any app based on it carry two much more general and dangerous privacy risks,” Chandler writes.

What are some of these privacy risks? Well, for starters, contact-tracing apps require you to keep your cellphone on your person throughout the day, regardless of what you’re doing.

Aside from whatever concerns people may have about electromagnetic field exposure from their cellphone being on their body while turned on — which is no small concern in and of itself — your cellphone also tracks and shares countless other data that is unrelated to the COVID-19 app.

As noted by Chandler, “A Washington Post study¹⁵ from last year discovered around 5,400 (mostly app-based) data trackers on an iPhone, all of which were sending data back to third-parties,” and “all of these companies have an interest in using that data to later influence and indirectly control your behavior …”

Privacy Is About Preventing Interference and Manipulation

Chandler makes another very important point that many fail to remember when it comes to privacy:¹⁶

“Privacy actually gains most of its importance and value because it protects people from interference and intervention. You may want to keep your fondness for, say, ballet dancing private from your neighbors, because of the risk that they might mock your pastime and make you feel ashamed about wanting to be a ballet dancer.

You worry that they will interfere — either directly or indirectly — with your ability to develop as a person according to your own awareness and conception of your best interests. Exactly the same thing goes for privacy in the context of smartphones and digital technology.

It’s not enough to avoid sharing your data with the ‘wrong’ people (as opposed to scores or hundreds of ‘legitimate’ third parties). You also need to avoid interference and intervention to have true privacy. And in encouraging people to have their smartphones with them all the time, coronavirus contact-tracing apps fail abjectly in this test.”

COVID-19 Tracing Apps Set Precedent for Behavior-Control

Contact tracing apps will also “normalize the concept of apps themselves directing and managing at scale how millions of people live and behave,” Chandler points out. The app will notify you whenever you’ve come in close proximity of someone who tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. You’ll then be advised to self-isolate for a prescribed amount of time. As reported ty Chandler:¹⁷

“This is a massive problem for anyone concerned about the future of privacy and personal freedoms in the Digital Age. It would be one thing if any contact-tracing app could guarantee that a user had definitely been infected with the coronavirus. But there’s a very strong likelihood that such apps will also send notifications to lots of people who haven’t been infected …

Coronavirus contact-tracing apps will end up requiring thousands (if not millions) of people to quarantine themselves at home unnecessarily. So, in most cases, rather than preventing coronavirus infections from spreading, the only thing such apps will achieve is desensitizing the general public to giving up another chunk of their privacy and personal freedom.”

In other words, over time, people will get used to the idea of having their day-to-day activities predicated on what an app tells them to do. A virtually guaranteed result of this habituation is the handing over of personal judgment and discernment to an AI. “In the process, they’ll suffer from the kind of outside interference with their behavior that privacy is meant to defend against,” Chandler says.

Rockefeller Plan Is Not Limited to COVID-19 Tracing

The tracking system The Rockefeller Foundation is calling for in the U.S. also demands access to other medical data. According to its “National COVID-19 Testing Action Plan”:¹⁸

“This infection database must easily interoperate with doctor, hospital and insurance health records in an essential and urgent national program to finally rationalize the disparate and sometimes deliberately isolated electronic medical records systems across the country …

On March 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released two long-awaited final rules that would prohibit information blocking in health care and advance more seamless exchange of health care data. But publication in the Federal Register, necessary to activate the rules, has been inexplicably delayed. This delay must end.”

In other words, this plan is far more comprehensive than merely tracking COVID-19 cases. It’s designed to replace the current system of “disparate and sometimes deliberately isolated electronic medical records systems across the country.”

Will You Embrace Totalitarianism for False Sense of Security?

A small shred of hope still exists that enough Americans will see through this ruse. Oxford researchers estimate¹⁹ that in in order for contact tracing apps to be effective, about 60% of any given population would need to participate.

According to a national poll^20,21 conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland between April 21 and April 26, 2020, 3 in 5 Americans say they’re either unable or unwilling to allow silent surveillance by a cellphone app, even in the name of public health.

One in 6 said they didn’t have a smartphone. Even among Americans that have smartphones with the appropriate capabilities, about half said they would not participate.

According to The New York Times,²² only 3% of residents in North Dakota had downloaded the state’s contact tracing app as of April 29, 2020. The app was announced and released April 7, 2020.²³

In Singapore, only 1 in 6 (20%) had downloaded the government’s contact tracing app by April 1, 2020,²⁴ while 30% of Norwegians downloaded their government’s app within the first week of its release, according to The New York Times.²⁵

In an effort to maintain some semblance of privacy protection, some nations, such as France, have decided to use “short-range Bluetooth ‘handshakes’ between devices” and keep the data on centralized servers, while others are opting to use GPS location data²⁶ and a variety of other systems. A May 5, 2020, article in Tech Crunch describes the differences between some of them.²⁷

As reported by BBC News,²⁸ Cannes, France, is also trialing surveillance monitoring software on buses and outdoor markets to keep tabs on social distancing compliance. According to the software developer, this surveillance complies with EU data privacy laws by not storing or transmitting any images or identifying data.

Cannes Mayor David Lisnard told BBC: "This technology doesn't identify people but just gives us mathematical analysis to meet people's needs." Still, if rules are breached, the AI will send an automatic alert to police and city authorities.

Apps Cannot Replace Conventional Disease Tracing

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, has noted that these types of apps still cannot replace old-fashioned disease surveillance and tracing measures. As reported by Reuters:²⁹

“As countries begin easing lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus, many hope to contain new clusters of infection through systematic contact tracing, helped by mobile phone apps and other technology.

But [WHO’s top emergency expert Dr. Mike] Ryan said these did not make more traditional ‘boots-on-the-ground’ surveillance redundant. ‘We are very, very keen to stress that IT tools do not replace the basic public health workforce that is going to be needed to trace, test, isolate and quarantine,’ he said …”

‘Health Passports’ Are in the Works

Aside from the Rockefeller Foundation’s plan for the U.S., other nations are also proposing the rollout of various types of “health passports,” the oft-repeated refrain being that without digital health certificates, it simply won’t be safe to return to work and leisure.

May 5, 2020, Tech Crunch reported³⁰ the rollout of a contact tracing app in the U.K., developed by the National Health Service. The first testing ground will be the Isle of Wight, which has a population of about 140,000. According to Tech Crunch:

“The NHS COVID-19 app uses Bluetooth Low Energy handshakes to register proximity events (aka ‘contacts’) between smartphone users, with factors such as the duration of the ‘contact event’ and the distance between the devices feeding an NHS clinical algorithm that’s being designed to estimate infection risk and trigger notifications if a user subsequently experiences COVID-19 symptoms …

However there are major questions over how effective the tool will prove to be, especially given the government’s decision to ‘go it alone’ on the design of its digital contacts-tracing system — which raises some specific technical challenges linked to how modern smartphone platforms operate, as well as around international interoperability with other national apps targeting the same purpose.

In addition, the UK app allows users to self-report symptoms of COVID-19 — which could lead to many false alerts being generated. That in turn might trigger notification fatigue and/or encourage users to ignore alerts if the ratio of false alarms exceeds genuine alerts.”

What’s more, while the app initially only stores contact events on each individual’s device, once a user flags him or herself as having symptoms or testing positive, the contact data is uploaded to a central server that will store the data indefinitely, and from which it cannot be deleted.

This data may also be used for public health research, which again raises questions about privacy and the possibility of re-identification of individuals. May 4, 2020, The Guardian also reported on U.K. developments:³¹

“Tech firms are in talks with ministers about creating health passports to help Britons return safely to work using coronavirus testing and facial recognition. Facial biometrics could be used to help provide a digital certificate – sometimes known as an immunity passport – proving which workers have had Covid-19 …

The UK-based firm Onfido, which specializes in verifying people’s identities using facial biometrics, has delivered detailed plans to the government and is involved in a number of conversations about what could be rolled out across the country …

Its proposals, which have reached pilot stages in other countries, could be executed within months … The firm could use antibody tests – proving whether someone has had the virus — or antigen tests, which show current infections.”

Antigen Testing Cannot Ensure Safety

Why antigen testing is part of these kinds of “health passports” is a curious mystery, seeing how unreliable they are, not to mention the fact that testing for active infection is worthless unless you get retested on a regular basis. As I mentioned in my Rockefeller plan article, questions that have yet to be answered include:

• How often would you have to undergo testing? A negative test today may not be valid tomorrow, if you happen to come across someone who is infected between now and then. If regular retesting is not part of the plan, then the whole system is worthless as your infection status could change at any time.
• If you are in the vicinity of someone who tests positive in the near future and are told to quarantine for two weeks, will employers pay for that time off and guarantee you have a job to come back to afterward?
• What happens if you quarantine for two weeks but don’t get sick and test negative for antibodies, then go out and happen across yet another person who ends up testing positive shortly thereafter? Will you be forced into quarantine again? Where does it end? And when?

Contact Tracing Apps May Cause More Problems Than They Solve

An April 27, 2020, article³² by the Brookings Institute lays out some of the many problems inherent with contact tracing apps. It states, in part:

“We are concerned by this rising enthusiasm for automated technology as a centerpiece of infection control. Between us, we hold extensive expertise in technology, law and policy, and epidemiology. We have serious doubts that voluntary, anonymous contact tracing through smartphone apps … can free Americans of the terrible choice between staying home or risking exposure.

We worry that contact-tracing apps will serve as vehicles for abuse and disinformation, while providing a false sense of security … We have no doubts that the developers of contact-tracing apps and related technologies are well-intentioned. But we urge the developers of these systems to step up and acknowledge the limitations of those technologies before they are widely adopted.

Health agencies and policymakers should not over-rely on these apps and, regardless, should make clear rules to head off the threat to privacy, equity, and liberty by imposing appropriate safeguards …

Apps that notify participants of disclosure could, on the margins and in the right conditions, help direct testing resources to those at higher risk. Anything else strikes us as implausible at best, and dangerous at worst.”

The article goes on to highlight a number of risks, including the fact that contact tracing apps are imperfect proxies for exposure. They can easily trigger false positive alerts in situations where the possibility of transmission is extremely low, such as when the signal has traveled through a wall. People in different rooms are not at high risk of infection.

The apps also do not take into account the use of protective gear by the contacts. Also, the elderly, who might stand to gain the most protection from it, are the least likely to download the app. Even those who have the app may not always have the phone on them to catch all contacts, and people might not report symptoms and positive test results even if they get them.

“Even among true contact events, most will not lead to transmission,” Brookings says, citing research showing that despite having about a dozen close contacts each day, the average person who is infected will only transmit the virus to two or three others throughout the entire course of their infection. Brookings continues:

“Because most exposures flagged by the apps will not lead to infection, many users will be instructed to self-quarantine even when they have not been infected. A person may put up with this once or twice, but after a few false alarms and the ensuing inconvenience of protracted self-isolation, we expect many will start to disregard the warnings …

Ultimately, contact tracing is a public health intervention, not an individual health one. It can reduce the spread of disease through the population, but does not confer direct protection on any individual.

This creates incentive problems that need careful thought: What is in it for the user who will sometimes be instructed to miss work and avoid socializing, but does not derive immediate benefits from the system? …

And finally, the issue of malicious use is paramount — particularly given this current climate of disinformation, astroturfing, and political manipulation. Imagine an unscrupulous political operative who wanted to dampen voting participation in a given district, or a desperate business owner who wanted to stifle competition.

Either could falsely report incidences of coronavirus without much fear of repercussion. Trolls could sow chaos for the malicious pleasure of it. Protesters could trigger panic as a form of civil disobedience. A foreign intelligence operation could shut down an entire city by falsely reporting COVID-19 infections in every neighborhood. There are a great many vulnerabilities underlying this platform that have still yet to be explored.”

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Decades of fitness research remind us that physical activity is one of the best preventive measures available. It's one of the pillars of good health alongside nutrition, sleep and hydration. Evidence has demonstrated the effect that exercise has on sleep quality, mental health, heart disease and metabolic conditions.

For example, in one meta-analysis¹ of 305 randomized controlled trials including 339,274 participants, researchers compared exercise with drug interventions on mortality in diabetes and heart disease. They found there was no statistically detectable difference in those who used exercise or who took medication in the prevention of coronary heart disease and diabetes. In fact, exercise was found to be more helpful than prescription drugs for those who’d had a stroke.

Physical activity is also a key factor for longevity. Those who engage in regular exercise have a reduced risk from all-cause mortality.² As discussed in another study published in JAMA,³ researchers concluded "cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with all-cause mortality" and it "is a modifiable indicator of long-term mortality."

Pursue Active Stay-at-Home Measures

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, scientists caution that the official recommendations to restrict movement do not mean physical activity should also be limited.⁴ The clear health benefits associated with activity ought to encourage people to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day.

Stuart Phillips, Ph.D., is a professor at McMaster University in the department of kinesiology. He is raising a concern that the prolonged stay-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic may result in unanticipated health issues related to inactivity.⁵

He recently shared information with Canadian Olympic athletes on how to reduce the impact of the lockdown on performance and how to avoid injury as they return to intense training after the restrictions are lifted. In a press release, he commented:⁶

“As we protect ourselves against the risks of COVID-19, we are spending more time sitting and less time walking, or being physically active. Extended periods of inactivity have a really detrimental effect on our health. Our physical health has never been more important than now."

Phillips led a team that recently published a paper in The Journals of Gerontology⁷ in which they evaluated the effect of two weeks of inactivity on insulin sensitivity. The team engaged 22 overweight, prediabetic adults who were between the ages of 65 and 73 years and asked them to limit their activity to 1,000 steps per day.

This was done to mimic the level of activity a hospitalized person or someone who is housebound may experience after an illness.⁸ They found that the two-week period of reduced activity led to a lower rate of protein synthesis and deteriorating control over their blood sugar.

However, unlike younger adults, some of the older individuals’ parameters did not recover after returning to their normal activity levels. Phillips explained the implications of this data during the pandemic:⁹

“The reduced steps experimental model demonstrates what an older person who got the flu might experience if they were hospitalized for three or four days with respiratory issues and then convalesced at home for two weeks. The vast majority of people are at home during this pandemic. For older people, a decline in health may be compounded by both physical deconditioning and social isolation."

Inactivity Increases Several Health Risks

If staying at home has reduced your activity level and raised the number of hours you’re sitting, then you may be placing your health at risk; this comes with long-term effects.

The World Health Organization believes that their data show physical inactivity as a leading cause of disability and disease throughout the world.¹⁰ It is estimated 3.2 million deaths each year could be linked to physical inactivity.

Much of the research on fitness and exercise has been on the impact it has on noncommunicable diseases and longevity.¹¹ In one assessment of the associated risks, researchers estimated that by getting rid of inactivity, 6% to 10% of all major noncommunicable diseases could be eliminated.

These results prompted headlines comparing inactivity to smoking, as the number of deaths is nearly the same.¹² People who are less active have a higher potential risk of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, depression and anxiety.¹³ Other effects from inactivity include:¹⁴

Fewer calories being burned	Muscle weakness
Poor aerobic fitness	Bone loss
Reduction in metabolism	Poor blood circulation
Increasing inflammation	Potential hormonal imbalance

Avoid Back Pain or Worsening Medical Conditions

Another risk of inactivity is lower back pain, one of the more common health complaints and a major cause of disability.¹⁵ It is also one of the more common triggers for an opioid pain prescription that may lead to dependence. Exercise and nonexercise movement are two foundational treatments for lower back pain.

In a systematic review of the literature,¹⁶ researchers found that those who exercised lowered their risk of developing back pain by 33%. They also found that exercise reduced the severity in those who had back pain at the start of an intervention. The researchers concluded that a combination of strength training with stretching or aerobic exercises done two to three times a week is recommended for the prevention of lower back pain.

During periods of self-isolation, people with underlying medical conditions may experience a worsening of their health with inactivity. In a commentary in Nature Reviews Rheumatology,¹⁷ the authors warn of the potential dangers for those who have rheumatic diseases.

People with these conditions have an increased risk of infection or complications from respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19. Sedentary behavior was prevalent before the stay-at-home orders. The negative clinical effects in the pediatric population with rheumatoid diseases include muscle atrophy, weakness, fatigue, insulin resistance and reduced physical capacity.

Although bedrest was a treatment used in the past, data show this leads to joint destruction. Since inactivity may increase with social distancing and quarantining, those with rheumatoid disease who were hypoactive before the pandemic may risk worsening of their disease, symptoms and comorbidities if they don’t become more active.

How Exercise Improves Your Immune System

There is strong epidemiological evidence that regular exercise and physical activity reduce the number of infectious diseases older adults will experience.¹⁸ While there is ample evidence of its long-term benefits on health, the effect of a single session continues to be analyzed.

One study was conducted to explore the assertion that after exercising just once, the body has a heightened immune surveillance and regulation function. The authors of this investigation also believe there is a physiological limitation to or delay in aging of the immune system with regular physical activity.

In a second review¹⁹ scientists summarized research evidence including the results of acute and chronic exercise on the immune system and the effect on immunosenescence (immune system aging). The data show a logical and inverse relationship in the risk of illness for those who exercise moderately.

Leading physiologists James Turner and John Campbell recently published an analysis in which they argued that a higher number of infections are more likely to be linked to²⁰ "inadequate diet, psychological stress, insufficient sleep, travel and, importantly, pathogen exposure at social gathering events like marathons — rather than the act of exercising itself." Turner commented:²¹

"But people should not overlook the importance of staying fit, active and healthy during this period. Provided it is carried out in isolation — away from others — then regular, daily exercise will help better maintain the way the immune system works — not suppress it."

Writing in the American College of Sports Medicine, Richard Simpson, Ph.D., believes exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic is necessary to positively impact the immune system and counter the stressful effects of isolation. Simpson writes of the importance to seniors, saying:²²

"Exercise is especially beneficial for older adults who are more susceptible to infection in general and have also been identified as a particularly vulnerable population during this COVID-19 outbreak."

Lack of Exercise Jeopardizes Older Adults

Unfortunately, the trend for inactivity rises with age.²³ In addition to the health risks and immune compromise associated with physical inactivity in seniors, it also increases the risk for balance problems, broken bones and disability.

In older adults with arthritis, a lack of physical activity has been associated with a measurable decline in the ability to do activities of daily living such as meal preparation, grocery shopping, taking medications and managing money.²⁴

In this study, functional ability deteriorated more in women and minorities, which the researchers attributed to a higher number of comorbidities such as diabetes, stroke, depression and cognitive impairment. In another study of older adults, scientists found that at the end of a 10-year follow-up period, those who were sedentary were more likely to have trouble walking.²⁵

Develop a Healthy At-Home Activity Routine

Working or staying home can open the door for poor movement routines. If you previously had to get out of your chair at the office every 30 minutes or if you had a job that required you to spend hours on your feet every day, binge watching television or playing games on your computer can throw a wrench in those habits.

As a rule, getting even a little bit of exercise is better than nothing. Avoid sitting as much as possible, as the simple act of bearing weight on your legs helps reduce your risk of unwanted health conditions.

There are a variety of ways to use safe, simple and easy exercises at home that also reduce your potential for exposure to airborne viral infections such as COVID-19. Here are several suggestions to help you improve the amount of time you’re out of your chair so you get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day:

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With restaurants opening up again from today, we're finally getting a taste of freedom. But a viral video showing how a virus can spread, is showing us why governments are still being so cautious.

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Doctors and nurses across the country are experiencing occupational burnout and fatigue from the increased stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of researchers and medical professionals are working together to fight two afflictions: COVID-19 and the mental strain experienced by medical professionals.

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Tim Robards, founder of The Robards Method, takes us through an express abs-focused workout to tighten that core, as part of the body+soul LIVE @ home online workout series. Press play to get started!

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More than one in four of the most viewed COVID-19 videos on YouTube in spoken English contains misleading or inaccurate information, reveals the first study of its kind.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2X1tAbQ

Doctors and nurses across the country are experiencing occupational burnout and fatigue from the increased stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of researchers and medical professionals are working together to fight two afflictions: COVID-19 and the mental strain experienced by medical professionals.

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Medicine's great triumph over polio holds out hope we can do the same for COVID-19, two researchers say.

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People are reporting they're experiencing constipation or diarrhoea more than ever before while in isolation. A leading GP explains why this is happening, and how to get your bowel habits back to normal.

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Early studies show evidence of COVID-19 genetic material in fecal matter, but more work is needed to determine if the virus can be spread through stool, according to a new review paper.

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Scientists report that in the laboratory, cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and may be able to pass the virus to other cats.

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Women who drink two or three cups of coffee a day have been found to have lower total body and abdominal fat than those who drink less, according to a new study.

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While most children who get COVID-19 have a mild or even asymptomatic illness, there are new reports that some children may have a complication that can be severe and dangerous.

Called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PMIS), it can lead to life-threatening problems with the heart and other organs in the body. Early reports compare it to Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory illness that can lead to heart problems. But while some cases look very much like Kawasaki’s, others have been different. Experts think that PMIS is likely a reaction of the body to either a current or past COVID-19 infection — but there is much we don’t understand, including why some children with PMIS have negative tests for COVID-19.

What are the symptoms of the new inflammatory syndrome known as PMIS?

Symptoms of PMIS vary from case to case, but can include:

• Prolonged fever (more than a couple of days)
• Rash
• Conjunctivitis (redness of the white part of the eye)
• Stomachache
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• A large swollen lymph node in the neck
• Red, cracked lips
• A tongue that is redder than usual and looks like a strawberry
• Swollen hands and/or feet
• Irritability and/or unusual sleepiness or weakness

There are many other conditions that can cause these symptoms. For example, strep throat can cause fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes and a “strawberry tongue,” and there are plenty of common viruses that cause stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea. Doctors make the diagnosis of PMIS based not just on these symptoms, but also on their physical examination as well as medical tests that check for inflammation and how organs are functioning.

What parents need to know about PMIS

We are just learning about PMIS. At this point we have many more questions than answers. But here is what parents need to know about this syndrome:

• It is rare. While there is a lot about it in the news, the number of cases is actually low, especially when you consider how widespread COVID-19 has become. Parents should not panic if their child gets one of these symptoms, or if they are diagnosed with COVID-19.
• It is treatable. Doctors have had success using various treatments for inflammation, as well as treatments to support organ systems that are having trouble. While there have been some deaths, most children who have developed this syndrome have recovered.
• It is serious. That’s why it’s important to be vigilant. Call the doctor if your child develops symptoms on the list above, particularly if they have a prolonged fever (more than a couple of days). While it’s especially important to call if your child has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and develops one or more of these symptoms, you should call even if they haven’t. If your doctor isn’t concerned, that’s great—but if the symptoms get any worse or just don’t improve, call again or bring your child to an emergency room.

Many parents are afraid to take their children out of the house during the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone to a doctor’s office or hospital. That’s understandable, but it’s important not to let that fear endanger your child’s health. If you are worried about your child — for this or any reason — call your doctor. Together you can figure out how to get your child the care they need.

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

For more information on coronavirus and COVID-19, see the Harvard Health Publishing Coronavirus Resource Center.

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Crush your core with this 15 minute bodyweight circuit with Under Armour trainer Alex Aust.

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Sport psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais discusses goals and how to achieve them.

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Improve your balance, coordination, and strength with this runner’s stability workout led by pro runner Lanni Marchant.

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Pro runner Vincent Crisp takes you through an explosive set to help work your speed.

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A small study in Greece found that the clinically approved anti-inflammatory drug anakinra, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, improved respiratory function in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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Scientists have discovered a new treatment to dramatically reduce swelling after brain and spinal cord injuries, offering hope to 75 million victims worldwide each year.

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The goal of laser vision correction (LVC) is to eliminate or reduce the need for glasses and contact lenses. LVC treats three basic refractive errors: myopia (nearsightedness), astigmatism (blurring of vision due to non-spherical shape of the eye), and hyperopia (farsightedness).

During an LVC procedure, the cornea — the clear dome on the surface of the eye — is reshaped in order to correct the refractive error. The different techniques to perform LVC are laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), phototherapeutic refractive keratectomy (PRK), and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE).

LASIK and PRK

LASIK, the most commonly performed laser vision correction procedure in the US and the most famous of the techniques, was approved by the FDA in 1998. It is well known for its quick recovery. LASIK combines the application of excimer laser and a hinged corneal flap. The excimer laser is a computer-controlled laser that allows precise control over the amounts of tissue that are removed from the cornea. The corneal flap is a layer of the cornea that is folded back to provide access to a deeper layer of the cornea that is reshaped by the excimer laser during the procedure.

LASIK has a much quicker and more comfortable recovery compared to PRK. After LASIK, patients typically experience a scratching and burning sensation that significantly improves within one day. Most patients have excellent vision the day after LASIK. In the first week especially, patients need to be mindful of the corneal flap, which has a small chance of moving or dislocating with rubbing or hard blinking. Even months after the procedure, there is a small risk of flap dislocation with significant trauma.

The most common side effect or risk of LVC is dry eye. Typically, the dryness goes away within a week or two, but in other cases it can require ongoing treatment. The refractive surgeon should screen for dry eye at the preoperative consultation, and treat it prior to the procedure to reduce risk of chronic issues afterward. LASIK is thought to have a slightly higher risk of dry eye compared to SMILE and PRK.

PRK was approved by the FDA in 1995 and was the first type of LVC performed. During PRK, the outer layer of corneal skin cells is removed, followed by the use of the excimer laser to reshape the corneal tissue to correct vision. Patients typically experience 48 to 72 hours of scratching, tearing, burning, and light sensitivity after PRK, often requiring short-term pain medication. Most patients have functional vision during this time, and are able to drive and resume most activities by the fourth or fifth day after the procedure. The PRK recovery is longer and less comfortable than recovery after LASIK and SMILE. The main benefits of PRK are no flap and reduced risk of dry eye. PRK is an excellent option for patients with thinner corneas.

SMILE

The FDA approved SMILE, the latest advance in laser vision surgery, in 2016. It has been shown to be as effective and safe as LASIK, and it is currently available for the treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism. SMILE combines advantages of PRK and LASIK: it requires only a small incision, does not require a flap, and has a quick, LASIK-like recovery, with the additional benefit of no postoperative restrictions.

With one laser and in approximately 30 seconds, a thin contact lens-shaped layer just beneath the surface of the cornea is created with the laser. This layer is then removed through a tiny 2–3 mm opening, and the surrounding tissues heal together. The procedure is extremely comfortable, with a quick recovery, and requires no postoperative restrictions (unlike LASIK and PRK). It also avoids any potential risk of flap complications, in contrast to LASIK. The SMILE procedure is growing in popularity, but it is currently not as widely available as LASIK and PRK in the US. As surgeons and laser centers continue to adopt the technology, the volume of procedures is expected to grow.

On the day of the SMILE procedure, as with LASIK, most patients experience a sensation that they have something in their eye, as well as tearing and burning for several hours afterward. Visual recovery is quite rapid, and after one to two days most patients have 20/20 vision. With no postoperative restrictions after SMILE, patients are back to all normal activities, including wearing makeup and working out, the next day. One downside of SMILE is that certain prescriptions, including farsightedness, cannot be treated. The most common risks of SMILE are over- or undercorrection of the prescription, dry eye, or more rarely, visual distortions including halos.

SMILE has become a first-choice option for many patients. Many police and army combat personnel are now choosing this flapless option.

Laser vision correction is generally safe and effective

Laser vision surgery is not without risks, and there are times when a patient will experience either an over- or undercorrection of their prescription, as well as issues with healing or dry eye. Everyone’s body can respond differently, and even in a single individual, the left eye may heal differently from the right eye.

Overall, however, all LVC techniques are predictable and safe, with excellent results and minimal risks. It is important to see an experienced surgeon for a consultation. He or she can recommend the best technique for each patient.

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