Donnie Yance is an internationally known master herbalist and nutritionist. He is the author of the book, "Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer" and "Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism"
“Saints are what they are, not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everyone else.” – Thomas Merton
With John Coltrane’s birthday on September 23 and the Feast Day of St. Francis on Oct. 4th, I thought I would share some reflections on what I think makes a Saint.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saints are models for everyone and offer something we can aspire to. Though mortal like all of us, they live in their Divinity. They show us that Christ’s (as the Universal Christ) people follow a way that is different from mass consciousness.
Before I dive into my personal perspective on cancer screening, I want to address the dire state of healthcare in our country. A recently published paper evaluated the best and worst countries in the world in terms of healthcare.
This study included an analysis of 71 performance measures across five domains. The United States ranked last overall, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care, which includes a massive amount on cancer screening. The U.S. ranks last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes, but second on measures of care process.[1]
”The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.’’ ~Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Herbs have become popular as an alternative to conventional medicine and are used in treating a wide range of chronic and acute conditions. But it’s important to realize that this is not traditional herbal medicine. According to the World Health Organization, traditional (herbal) medical systems (TMS) are defined as “the wisdom, knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs, principles, and experiences indigenous to different healing traditions and cultures, used in the promotion of health and in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.”
Before I summarize several recent peer-reviewed scientific papers, I want to highlight a published paper that supports a theory I’ve had from the beginning of the pandemic. My theory, which is increasingly supported by research and observation, is that “frailty” is a much better prognostic factor than age for predicting COVID-19 survival.
For example, recent research from Karolinska Institute in Sweden shows that the degree of frailty, which is a measure of a person’s functional level before contracting the disease, can better predict COVID-19 survival than the patient’s age.[1] The analysis of 250 older adults with multiple morbidities who received care for COVID-19 at Karolinska University Hospital also shows that three out of four of these patients survived.
More than age, frailty was linked to an increased risk of death during the period of care. Frailty is a relatively new concept that is used as a tool to describe a patient’s functional level prior to an acute illness. A frailty score higher than five on the nine-point Clinical Frailty Scale was found to be a greater risk factor for increased mortality in COVID-19 patients than the patient’s age. For reference, a frailty score of six means that a patient needs help with all outside activities, housekeeping, and bathing.
The current model for medicine needs a total overhaul. Guideline-based medical approaches continue to be the standard rule in clinical practice, although only less than 15% of them are based on high-quality research. For each person who benefits from the 10 best-selling drugs in the USA, a number between 4 and 25 has no one beneficial effect.
The reductionist linear medicine method does not offer solutions in the non-manifest preclinical stage of the disease when it would still be possible to reverse the pathological progression and the axiom “a drug, a target, a symptom” are still inconclusive. We need additional tools to address these challenges.[2]
The Importance of “Nourishing the Roots”
As we age, we all need help with anabolic restoration. This means we need to strengthen and build the body (masculine energy), while at the same time nourishing fluidity and pliability (feminine energy). The next most important consideration is to assess nutritional biomarkers, including vitamin D, zinc, selenium, magnesium, iron, and other minerals and nutrients that tend to diminish with age. These nutrients are essential for optimal health, including immune system response.
I call this “Nourishing the Roots,” and it is the basis of Mederi Care. We accomplish this nourishment through botanical, nutritional, dietary, and life-style medicine designed to enhance energy transfer efficiency, adaptation, and protection. We believe in gentle, nourishing support before strong heroic topical medicine. We believe in first treating the whole person as ONE, and then addressing the specific parts as necessary.
Risks of Myocarditis, Pericarditis, and Cardiac Arrhythmias Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 Infection
In my continuing research on the Covid-19 vaccines, I came across a study published in the December 2021 issue of Nature. The study was carried out by professors from multiple colleges, including the University of Oxford, which helped develop the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers utilized data from the English National Immunization database, which includes information on all people vaccinated in England. The database featured information on 38.6 million people through Aug. 24, 2021.
The risk of myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, was much higher following the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, but there were also eight excess cases per 1 million people following the first dose.
“Time to abandon the belief that COVID-19 myocarditis risk is always higher than mRNA vaccine myocarditis risk. For some individuals, myocarditis risks of the vaccine(s) are higher than those of the disease,” stated Euzebiusz Jamrozik, an infectious disease expert who works at the University of Oxford.
“The preliminary data showed that among those under 30, the myocarditis and pericarditis incidence was higher than expected,” said Dr. Hanna Nohynek, chief physician of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s Unit Infectious Diseases Control and Vaccines.[3]
COVID-19 Vaccines Increase Risk of Cardiac Arrest in Young People by 25 Percent According to New Published Study from Israel
You would think that the scientific community, public officials, and every media outlet in the world would be discussing a new peer-reviewed article entitled, “Increased emergency cardiovascular events among under 40 population in Israel during vaccine rollout and third COVID-19 wave.”[4] Why? Because the results of this study are alarming.
The medical researchers analyzed data collected by Israel’s National Emergency Medical Services between 2019 and 2021. They found that there was a greater than 25 percent increase in emergency calls for cardiac arrest and acute coronary syndrome—an umbrella term used for coronary problems associated with sudden-onset reduced blood flow to the heart, according to the Mayo Clinic—for young adults, ages 16 to 39 years old, compared to the same time period in both 2019 and 2020.
The researchers discovered that this increase in emergency heart issues was associated with the COVID-19 vaccination but not with COVID-19 infections.[5]
Qatar Omicron-Wave Study Shows Slow Decline of Natural Immunity, Rapid Decline of Vaccine Immunity
A recent Pfizer or Moderna mRNA-vaccine booster provided good but temporary protection against infection by the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar.
In the study, published June 15, 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine,[6] the researchers analyzed the omicron wave in Qatar last winter, comparing prior infections, vaccine immunity, and combinations thereof among more than 100,000 omicron-infected and non-infected individuals.
The analysis showed, as expected, that a full mRNA vaccination plus a booster dose, atop natural immunity due to infection by an earlier variant, was associated with the strongest protection from the omicron infection. However, vaccine immunity against new infection appeared to wane rapidly, whereas people with a prior-variant infection were moderately protected from omicron with little decline in protection even a year after their prior infection.
A key finding was that a history of vaccination with the standard two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine, but no history of prior infection, brought no significant protection against symptomatic omicron infection. Having a booster dose appeared to be about 60 percent protective, though most boosters were received just weeks before the omicron wave. Overall, the analysis suggested—consistently with prior studies—that mRNA vaccines and boosters work fairly well in protecting against symptomatic omicron infection, though their protective effect wanes rapidly and disappears within six months or so.
For those with no history of vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 infection during a prior-variant wave appeared to provide about 50 percent protection against symptomatic infection during the omicron wave, and this “natural immunity” was associated with almost the same degree of protection even a year after infection.
The analysis distinguished between infections with two different sub-lineages of the omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, but found very similar results for both, as well as similar results for both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines.[7]
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Temporarily Impairs Semen Concentration and Total Motile Count Among Semen Donors
Researchers analyzed 220 samples of semen from three sperm banks in Israel, drawn from men who had received two doses of the vaccine. The semen collection was scheduled seven days after receipt of the second dose.
The researchers, led by Dr. Itai Gat with the Sperm Bank and Andrology Unit at the Shamir Medical Center and Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Medical School, found that there was a decrease in sperm concentration between 75 and 120 days post-vaccination.
The decrease led to a reduction in the motile count, or the number of sperm. Follow up testing completed over 150 days after vaccination revealed “overall recovery,” with semen volume and sperm motility returning to normal levels, the researchers said.[8]
Mixed Results for Paxlovid in Standard Risk Patients with COVID-19
Findings were announced from a phase 2/3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Paxlovid™ (nirmatrelvir tablets co-packaged with ritonavir tablets) in patients with COVID-19 who are at standard risk of progressing to severe disease.[9] In an updated analysis of 1153 patients enrolled through December 2021, treatment with Paxlovid showed a nonsignificant 51% relative risk reduction in hospitalization or death. Among 721 vaccinated adults with at least 1 risk factor, treatment with Paxlovid showed a nonsignificant 57% relative risk reduction.
Relative risks are often reported in newspaper headlines, but without the context of absolute (or baseline) risk, this information is meaningless. Absolute risk numbers are needed to understand the implications of relative risks and how specific factors, or behaviors affect your likelihood of developing a disease or health condition.[10]
Warning of Paxlovid Rebound
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to update healthcare providers, public health departments, and the public on the potential for recurrence of COVID-19 or “COVID-19 rebound. COVID-19 rebound is characterized by a recurrence of symptoms or a new positive viral test after having tested negative.[11]
“Anecdotally, it seems like it’s happening more frequently than what was reported to clinical trials.” Boston Medical Center’s Dr. Sabrina Assoumou
Recent Increases in Other Viral Diseases
As the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant social restrictions have abated in much of the world, other viruses are rearing their heads in new and unusual ways.
Health experts say Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions could have reduced exposure and lowered immunity to infectious diseases, making society more vulnerable to new outbreaks. Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, tuberculosis and monkeypox are among a number of illnesses that have spiked and exhibited strange behaviors in recent months.[12]
How Secondary Compounds in Botanicals and Food Support our Health
The human immune system possesses a variety of innate receptors that recognize, distinguish, and respond to viral infections and to vaccination.[13] The immune system, like any other system of the body, needs to be exercised (stressed), in order to strengthen or maintain its efficacy. Without challenges, the immune system gets lazy, and is less able to effectively respond and recover from viral or other infections. This is fundamental to the important health promoting concept called hormesis.
There are complex feedback mechanisms within the body that preserve balance, and these are often misunderstood. For example, the popular belief that scavenging free radicals by antioxidants is beneficial is wishful thinking. Instead, there is continuous cross-talk and response mechanisms that act in a yin-yang fashion to preserve balance and tone that are supported by redox active nutritional phytonutrients in botanicals and healthy food.[14] These nonessential secondary nutritional compounds help to insure hormesis, which is globally protective, and contribute to health by favoring maintenance of optimal homeostasis/allostasis. This includes immune health status.
A major mechanism of action for secondary nutritional redox compounds is the paradoxical oxidative activation of the Nrf2 (NF-E2-related factor 2) signaling pathway, which maintains protective oxidoreductases and their nucleophilic substrates. This maintenance of “nucleophilic tone,” by a mechanism that can be called “para-hormesis,” provides a means for regulating physiological nontoxic concentrations of the nonradical oxidant electrophiles that boost antioxidant enzymes. This same mechanism is responsible for maintaining damage removal and repair systems (for proteins, lipids, and DNA), at the optimal levels consistent with good health.[15]
Adaptogenic Plants to the Rescue
The primary reason that I love working with adaptogenic botanicals is that they are aligned with the principal of Nourishing the Roots, which is fundamental to Mederi Medicine. Living organisms are, and need to be, continuously exposed to harmful chemical, pathogenic (viral), physical and biological stimuli that challenge cellular, tissue, organ, and organismal homeostasis. This is what creates strength and resiliency of the organism.
According to the concept of milieu intérieur proposed by Claude Bernard, ‘disease’ is a permanent alteration of homeostasis.[16] One important way of understanding the health benefits of adaptogenic herbs is that they expand the dynamic range of equilibrium in which the organism operates. When a system operates in a state of ‘dynamic equilibrium,’ there is a level of tension between opposing forces that is healthy, intentional, and designed to achieve maximum results.[17] It is most often when an organism is pushed outside of this range that disease can do harm.
Although more than 100 medicinal plants have been reported to have adaptogenic activity, only a few are considered to be primary adaptogens, which is the highest category of botanicals. These plants are those that nourish the organism and provide support for adapting to the stressors of life. The following are a few well-researched primary adaptogens, and are among my favorites:
Eleutherococcus senticosus
Panax ginseng spp.
Rhodiola rosea
Schisandra chinensis
Withania somnifera
Glycyrrhiza spp. (in small amounts within a formula, acts to harmonize)
Adopting a phased immunophysiological approach to viral infection, adaptogens exert multitarget effects on the neuroendocrine-immune system by triggering adaptive stress responses, and have a place in prevention, infection, escalating inflammation and recovery.[18]
Schematic diagram of various phases of immune and inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and stages of COVID-19progression with and without considering potential effects of adaptogenic plants on prevention, infection, inflammation, and recovery phases of viral infection.[19]
Instead of relying only on vaccinations and pharmaceutical medicines, I believe that to be healthy in our world today, we should consider adaptogens as a primary tool for nourishing the roots of the ‘Life-Force’ and strengthening our innate immunity and adaptability.
Adaptogens have the potential to mitigate stress and can assist in healthy aging by enhancing the ‘whole.’ This means working in a non-specific way through supporting the complex relationships of interconnected networks.[20] Specific combinations of natural compounds (or herbal extracts) synergistically enhance multiple elements of molecular networks.[21] This is beneficial for everyone, but is especially important for elderly people to support health maintenance, improve quality of life, and even increase longevity—all with the goal of thriving.
References
[1] Sara Hägg et al. Age, frailty and comorbidity as prognostic factors for short-term outcomes in patients with COVID-19 in geriatric care, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.08.014
[2] Fioranelli M, Sepehri A, Roccia MG, Linda C, Rossi C, Dawodo A, Vojvodic P, Lotti J, Barygina V, Vojvodic A, Wollina U, Tirant M, Van TN, Lotti T. Clinical Applications of System Regulation Medicine. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Sep 14;7(18):3053-3060. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2019.775. PMID: 31850122; PMCID: PMC6910802.
[3] Patone, M., Mei, X.W., Handunnetthi, L. et al. Risks of myocarditis, pericarditis, and cardiac arrhythmias associated with COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Med28, 410–422 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01630-0
[4] Sun, C.L.F., Jaffe, E. & Levi, R. Increased emergency cardiovascular events among under-40 population in Israel during vaccine rollout and third COVID-19 wave. Sci Rep12, 6978 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10928-z;
[5]JENNIFER MARGULIS AND JOE WANG, MAY 4, 2022, EPOCH TIMES, https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-peer-reviewed-study-covid-19-vaccines-increase-risk-of-cardiac-arrest-in-young-people_4445569.html
[6] Heba N. Altarawneh, M.D., Hiam Chemaitelly, Ph.D., Houssein H. Ayoub, Ph.D., Patrick Tang, M.D., Ph.D., Mohammad R. Hasan, Ph.D., Hadi M. Yassine, Ph.D., Hebah A. Al-Khatib, Ph.D., Maria K. Smatti, M.Sc., Peter Coyle, M.D., Zaina Al-Kanaani, Ph.D., Einas Al-Kuwari, M.D., Andrew Jeremijenko, M.D., et al. Effects of Previous Infection and Vaccination on Symptomatic Omicron Infections, New England Journal of Medicine, June 15, 2022, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2203965
[7] Heba N. Altarawneh, M.D., Hiam Chemaitelly, Ph.D., Houssein H. Ayoub, Ph.D., Patrick Tang, M.D., Ph.D., Mohammad R. Hasan, Ph.D., Hadi M. Yassine, Ph.D., Hebah A. Al-Khatib, Ph.D., Maria K. Smatti, M.Sc., Peter Coyle, M.D., Zaina Al-Kanaani, Ph.D., Einas Al-Kuwari, M.D., Andrew Jeremijenko, M.D., et al. Effects of Previous Infection and Vaccination on Symptomatic Omicron Infections, New England Journal of Medicine, June 15, 2022 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2203965
[8] Gat I, Kedem A, Dviri M, Umanski A, Levi M, Hourvitz A, Baum M. Covid-19 vaccination BNT162b2 temporarily impairs semen concentration and total motile count among semen donors. Andrology. 2022 Jun 17. doi: 10.1111/andr.13209; Epoch Times, June 22, 2022, https://www.theepochtimes.com/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-impacts-semen-study_4548331.html?utm_source=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2022-06-21&utm_medium=email&est=hdyyi4ATadjQ4n1L%2FiONubF5SMjN52R4n%2FIsXI%2FnH2Ov02lKbCSSRQhn3c2YEqouDasd5Bzz1w%3D%3D
[12] PUBLISHED FRI, JUN 10 20221:16 AM EDTUPDATED MON, JUN 13 20224:39 AM EDT, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/10/flu-hepatitis-monkeypox-diseases-suppressed-during-covid-are-back.html
[14] Ursini F, Maiorino M, Forman HJ. Redox homeostasis: The Golden Mean of healthy living. Redox Biol. 2016 Aug;8:205-15. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2016.01.010. Epub 2016 Jan 19.
[15] Forman HJ, Davies KJ, Ursini F. How do nutritional antioxidants really work: nucleophilic tone and para-hormesis versus free radical scavenging in vivo. Free Radic Biol Med. 2014 Jan;66:24-35. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2013.05.045. Epub 2013 Jun 6. Erratum in: Free Radic Biol Med. 2014 Sep;74:307.
[16] Bernard C. Introduction à l’étude de la médecine expérimentale (Paris 1865); English translation. Macmillan & Co., Ltd; 1927. reprinted in 1949.
[18] Yanuck,S.F.P.;Messier,H.J.;Fitzgerald,K.N.EvidenceSupportingaPhasedImmuno-physiologicalApproach to COVID-19 from Prevention through Recovery. Integr. Med. 2020, 19, 8–35.
[19] Panossian, Alexander, and Thomas Brendler. “The Role of Adaptogens in Prophylaxis and Treatment of Viral Respiratory Infections.” Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 13,9 236. 8 Sep. 2020, doi:10.3390/ph13090236
[20] Panossian, Alexander, and Georg Wikman. “Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress-Protective Activity.” Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 3,1 188-224. 19 Jan. 2010, doi:10.3390/ph3010188
[21] Efferth, T.; Koch, E. Complex Interactions between Phytochemicals. The Multi-Target Therapeutic Concept of Phytotherapy. Curr. Drug Targets 2011, 12, 122–132.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a blog about the importance of being outdoors and how easily the virus spreads indoors, despite mask wearing. I emphasized the best ways to reduce the spread of the virus, in order of effectiveness: 1) ventilation, 2) filtration, and 3) mask wearing.
A significant amount of data now indicates that indoor transmission of the virus far outstrips outdoor transmission. This is likely the result of longer exposure times and decreased turbulence levels (and therefore dispersion) found indoors.[i] A recently published paper in JAMA[ii] has confirmed exactly that.
Ventilation and Filtration Reduce the Concentration of Viral Particles
There is no question that the most effective methods to reduce the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 particles in indoor air include ventilation and filtration. Observational studies along with modeling suggest substantial effectiveness for these strategies used alone, combined, and with other approaches.
For example, in one study conducted in 2020 that included 169 Georgia elementary schools, the incidence of COVID-19 was 39% lower in 87 schools that improved ventilation compared with 37 schools that did not; 35% lower in 39 schools that improved ventilation through dilution alone; and 48% lower in 31 schools that improved ventilation through dilution along with the addition of improved filtration.[iii] A simulation model found that filtration with two high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaners alone or combined with mask wearing could potentially reduce exposure to infectious particles by an estimated 65% or 90%, respectively.[iv]
An individual can wear a mask in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but as these studies found, it is more important to open windows and doors, turn on fans and open vents, and use portable air cleaners. Honestly, I don’t understand why these simple methods were not employed at the onset of the pandemic. Instead, we went crazy with disinfection, often with strong chemicals, only to find out this had little to no effect on stopping the spread of COVID-19.
The Dangers of Disinfectants
In the attempt to prevent and control infection, the use of disinfectants skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are significant concerns regarding the large-scale use of disinfectants and sanitizers, including worrisome effects on human and animal health and harmful impacts on the environment and ecological balance.[v]
Studies show the excessive use of disinfectants poses a potential threat to living beings and ecosystems,[vi] with a myriad of side effects reported.[vii] For example, using chlorine bleach increases the risk of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, infertility, and impaired brain development in children.[viii] Even the seemingly benign act of too-frequent hand washing with soap and alcohol-based sanitizers can cause painfully dry, cracked skin and potential skin infections. More alarming is that alcohol-based sanitizers can cause alcohol poisoning, especially in infants or young children.[ix]
An Israeli worker in a hazmat suit sprays disinfectant in the cabin of an Israir Airlines Airbus A320 airplane at Ben Gurion International Airport on June 14, 2020. Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
A Reality Check from the CDC
In April of 2021, the CDC finally admitted that COVID-19 infections very rarely spread to people from surfaces.[x] However, because of fear instilled by the pandemic, many people have not relinquished their need to constantly disinfect and sanitize themselves and everything they come into contact with. Adding to the disinfection obsession is that many private and public businesses and venues employ drastic fumigation measures in an attempt to reassure the wary public.
It’s important to realize that the fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets, sidewalks, unpaved walkways, and marketplaces is not a useful tool for eradicating the COVID-19 virus or any other pathogen. Any type of disinfectant is immediately inactivated by dirt and debris.[xi]
Here’s a disturbing statistic: In China, 2000–5000 tons of disinfectants have been dispensed in Wuhan alone since the beginning of the pandemic.[xii]
Overuse of Disinfectants is Leading to Pathogenic Resistance through Hormenis
The overuse of disinfectants is creating a serious problem. Collated evidence from multiple studies shows that the chemicals used for disinfectant products can induce hormesis in plants, animal cells, and microorganisms. This is true when applied singly or in mixtures, suggesting potential ecological risks at sub-threshold doses that are normally considered safe.
Among other negative effects, sub-threshold doses of disinfectant chemicals can enhance the proliferation and pathogenicity of pathogenic microbes, enhancing the development and spread of drug resistance.
The massive application of disinfectants for containing COVID-19 is a double-edged sword, in that it may inhibit/prevent the virus but also imposes potentially significant but non-apparent costs or risks by affecting other non-target organisms in a dose-dependent manner, and by promoting traits of drug resistance.[xiii]
Weighing the Risk-to-Benefit Ratio
We need to do a better job when it comes to weighing the risk-to-benefit ratio of practices such as widespread disinfection. And we need to evaluate these practices carefully, considering the immediate side effects and the long-term implications.
I always advocate for a less invasive, more natural approach for supporting health. In terms of disinfection, I recommend using essential oils instead of chemicals. Plant extracts and essential oils provide a full-spectrum and safer approach to mediating the spread of viruses, without any of the detrimental personal or environmental effects of chemicals. For more on this, see my blog from December 17, 2021, entitled “Essential Oils with Anti-Viral Properties” at https://www.donnieyance.com/essential-oils-with-anti-viral-properties/.
References
[i] Bhagat, R., Davies Wykes, M., Dalziel, S., & Linden, P. (2020). Effects of ventilation on the indoor spread of COVID-19. Journal of Fluid Mechanics,903, F1. doi:10.1017/jfm.2020.720
[ii] Dowell D, Lindsley WG, Brooks JT. Reducing SARS-CoV-2 in Shared Indoor Air. JAMA. Published online June 07, 2022. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.9970
[iii] Gettings J, Czarnik M, Morris E, et al. Mask use and ventilation improvements to reduce COVID-19 incidence in elementary schools—Georgia, November 16–December 11, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(21):779-784. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7021e1PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
[iv] Lindsley WG, Derk RC, Coyle JP, et al. Efficacy of portable air cleaners and masking for reducing indoor exposure to simulated exhaled SARS-CoV-2 aerosols—United States, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(27):972-976. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7027e1
[v] Dhama, K., Patel, S. K., Kumar, R., Masand, R., Rana, J., Yatoo, M. I., Tiwari, R., Sharun, K., Mohapatra, R. K., Natesan, S., Dhawan, M., Ahmad, T., Emran, T. B., Malik, Y. S., & Harapan, H. (2021). The role of disinfectants and sanitizers during COVID-19 pandemic: advantages and deleterious effects on humans and the environment. Environmental science and pollution research international, 28(26), 34211–34228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14429-w
[vi] Chen Z, Guo J, Jiang Y, Shao Y. High concentration and high dose of disinfectants and antibiotics used during the COVID-19 pandemic threaten human health. Environ Sci Eur. 2021;33(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s12302-021-00456-4.
[vii] Yari S, Moshammer H, Asadi AF, Mosavi Jarrahi A. Side effects of using disinfectants to fight covid-19. Asian Pacific Journal of Environment and Cancer. 2020;3(1):9013. doi: 10.31557/apjec.2020.3.1.9-13.
[ix] Santos, C., Kieszak, S., Wang, A., Law, R., Schier, J., Wolkin, A.J.M.M., report, m.w., 2017. Reported adverse health effects in children from ingestion of alcohol-based hand sanitizers—United States, 2011–2014. 66, 223.
[xi] Ghafoor D, Khan Z, Khan A, Ualiyeva D, Zaman N. Excessive use of disinfectants against COVID-19 posing a potential threat to living beings. Curr Res Toxicol. 2021;2:159-168. doi: 10.1016/j.crtox.2021.02.008. Epub 2021 Mar 4. PMID: 33688633; PMCID: PMC7931675.
[xii] Zhang H., Tang W., Chen Y., Yin W. Disinfection threatens aquatic ecosystems. Science.2020;368:146–147. doi: 10.1126/science.abb8905
[xiii] Agathokleous, E., Barceló, D., Iavicoli, I., Tsatsakis, A., & Calabrese, E. J. (2022). Disinfectant-induced hormesis: An unknown environmental threat of the application of disinfectants to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection during the COVID-19 pandemic?. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 292(Pt B), 118429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118429
Sorrow and sadness are part of our human existence, both personally and on a global level. In reflecting on grief, I am aware that there is simultaneously a feeling of deep love, if we open ourselves completely to the emotion. Tears have a purifying, rejuvenating, and Light-bearing power, as well as a great capacity to heal. Consider the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. It took a unification of the deepest human expression; first, the tears of Mary and the others gathered there, and then the tears of Jesus, combined with the most all-embracing, highest divinity (Divine Breath, known in Hebrew as ruach). Lazarus was not just lifted from the grave; he was healed as well. (John XI 33-38)
