winterwx21

I've been criticized by a few people here that think I go too far with talk about how much exercise can help to prevent severe Covid, but here is a brand new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that provides powerful evidence. In this study they compared people that were physically inactive to people that got a lot of physical activity, and the people that were inactive developed severe Covid and died at much higher rates. In fact, physical inactivity was actually seen as the greatest risk factor for severe Covid outcomes other than advanced age and organ transplant. Even higher than all the other CDC listed risk factors like obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Here is a good quote from Professor Jim Sallis, one of the study's authors... "Getting vaccinated and following public health safety guidelines such as social distancing and mask use remain critical for reducing risk of transmission. But we recommend public health authorities inform all populations that engaging in regular physical activity may be the single most important action individuals can take to prevent severe Covid -19 and its complications, including death. We also recommend clinicians encourage their patients to be physically active, especially those who have other risk factors." Here is the article and study... https://www.miragenews.com/shot-of-exercise-can-prevent-covid-19s-deadly-543704/ So no, I am not exaggerating when I talk about how important exercise is in preventing severe Covid. It's a powerful tool and is absolutely critical. This pandemic would not have been anywhere near as bad as it has been, had most people gotten the recommended amount of physical activity rather than being sedentary. It's very sad. And of course I am not saying exercise instead of getting vaccinated. It's important for most people to get vaccinated. But only a small percentage of the world is vaccinated, and it's going to take a long time to get the majority vaccinated. There will also be plenty of people that decide to not get vaccinated, for different reasons. So this is very important information. Getting into shape is critical in preventing severe Covid. We would not have had this type of pandemic had people just been physically active.

Exactly. Several days ago I talked about how every other Covid thread on Americanwx eventually got taken down because people were not being civil. There are a couple people here that get very nasty with people that they disagree with. They really need to calm down and try to keep it civil, or else this thread will go too and there will be no place to talk about Covid on this site. Most people here are great and are respectful no matter how much they disagree. It's just a select few that are putting this thread in jeopardy. I don't understand why some people feel the need to get nasty just because they disagree. Everyone has different opinions and there's nothing wrong with that. I hope the few people that are putting this thread in jeopardy will try to be more civil.

After all my talk of of how important it is to eat healthy and exercise, I'm leaving now to go to The Cheesecake Factory to eat dinner and dessert. LOL. But yes, you can cheat once a week or so as long as you eat healthy most of the time. I'm not a believer in being overly strict with diet ... you have to enjoy some unhealthy foods from time to time! Everyone have a swell night.

Eating healthy and exercising does help stave off many medical diseases ... that is medical fact. Even Covid. I posted a new study here yesterday that showed that people that were normal body weight and had high levels of good HDL cholesterol caught Covid at lower rates than people that were obese and had type 2 diabetes. I certainly am not suggesting that most people should not get the Covid vaccine. Covid is here and majority of people in this country are at high risk (heck 70% of people are overweight/obese). It's very important for most people to get vaccinated. I'm just saying that for people that have to wait to get vaccinated or plan to not get vaccinated, getting into better shape is critical to reduce risk. The first Covid wave last spring was an unexpected shock, but if people had put in effort to get into better shape over the summer there certainly would have been many less deaths during the Covid wave during the Fall/Winter. We know for a fact that being obese is the #1 Covid death risk factor, other than being elderly. People that eat healthy and exercise get severely ill and die from Covid at much lower rates, so it's an important thing to do. Of course it's important for many other things as well, like preventing heart disease.

The NFL has already said that players will not be mandated to get the vaccine. So what Buffalo is doing is very unfair. They should at least give the option of providing a negative test for fans that are not vaccinated.

I'm surprised they're not allowing the option of being tested. Of course some states are banning vaccine passports completely, but for ones that will allow them most of the talk for big venues is that they'll give the option of providing a negative test. This with the Buffalo Bills doesn't seem fair at all because there are people that can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. It's ridiculous if they don't allow the negative test option. Terrible that people will be excluded. Talk about discrimination. Hopefully they will not go this far for the venues that I go to, Citi Field and Madison Square Garden. So far all indications are that they will continue to allow the negative test option for those venues. If that changes, I might be forced to get vaccinated. Although I am still considering vaccination anyway, despite all my talk here that I would be concerned about taking the tiny risk of vaccination causing some kind of reaction. I could get the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine and tell them they have to watch me for a half hour rather than the 15 minutes, since I have a history of bad allergic reactions. I might do this if it looks as if there's gonna be discrimination against non vaccinated people, but I am ok with large venues requiring vaccination as long as they also allow the negative test option. Let me also say that I find it pretty funny that Bills QB Josh Allen says he might not want a vaccine and doesn't believe in any kind of vaccine mandate, yet a vaccine mandate is going to be in place for Bills fans. I'm sure he's not too happy about this.

It's the same type of vaccine as the Astrezenaca vaccine, and quite a few people have died from blood clots from that vaccine. Again, the Britain's health regular says don't take the vaccine if you're under 30. You're saying he doesn't know what he's talking about? Again The J & J is the exact same type of vaccine, so there is the same concern. It's being stopped in this country right now because of health experts. I guess you think you know more than these health experts that are concerned about the vaccine.

I never said vaccines are more dangerous than the virus. I realize the virus kills hundreds of thousands of people, and the vaccines are safe overall and save lots of lives. The vaccines are a great thing. So many people are at higher risk of dying from Covid. I've said over and over that the majority of people should take vaccines. I just think for the smaller percentage of people that are in great shape and are at low Covid risk, not wanting to take the vaccine can be considered a reasonable decision. There are people that are at such low Covid risk that it's not something worth worrying about. Just like when you go driving down the highway, there is a very tiny chance you'll die in an accident. But the chance is so low you don't worry about it. But there are lots of people that are at higher Covid risk and need to worry, so these vaccines are a great thing.

BTW you were asking about how much having a strong cardiovascular system can protect against Covid. A couple months ago I posted a study that looked at people that did treadmill stress tests and later tested positive for Covid. Each level of better fitness on the treadmill resulted in a lower hospitalization rate. Fitness level really matters when it comes to Covid risk. That's why of all the athletes in college and pro sports that have tested positive, it's incredibly rare that these athletes end up in the hospital. Look. Other countries stopped the vaccine at times. The Britain health regulator has recommended people under 30 not take this type of vaccine, and now some US health officials are saying pause. This is not just me making stuff up. These are health experts. There is legitimate concern about this type of vaccine. Enough that healthy young people should consider the risk. The other type of vaccines seem much safer, thankfully. I've said enough on this subject. Everyone have a good day.

I would never say that. I lower risk through diet/exercise, but realize it's still possible to get cancer.

I certainly would take something if I had to. But I'm hopeful that the natural protection of diet/exercise will keep me healthy for a long time.

A strong cardiovascular system helps tremendously against Covid. Studies have shown that. Covid brings inflammation to the heart/arteries, so if they are very strong they are much more likely to be able to stand Covid. Any doctor will tell you that. And you can't say that no person has died from the vaccine. There have been people that have died from the blood clots. That's why the Britain health regulator has told people under 30 that they should get a different vaccine. People have died. And there have been many deaths after vaccines in this country. Someone posted the story of the 39 year old healthy Utah woman that got extremely sick right after the vaccine and died of liver failure. It's impossible to PROVE that the vaccine did it, as a medical examiner explained. But it's very possible that the vaccine caused it. I'm sorry but I'm not ok with any vaccine death risk at all. I already had Covid and it had very little impact on me. I will keep doing what I'm doing to give myself natural protection.

No question about that. There are plenty of baseball players that are not in great shape. But, I think the majority are in great shape and I heard that quite a few were refusing the vaccine. I know several in great shape players that are on the NY Mets (my team) that were saying that they might not get the vaccine, and obviously some followed through since the team didn't get to 85%. So I just decided to use that to make a point. I think when you're an athlete and in great shape, severe Covid risk is so low that not getting the vaccine isn't a big deal. But for people that are not in great shape, getting the vaccine is critical. I'm sure I would be desperate for the vaccine if I had any condition that put me at higher risk. But since I'm at extremely low risk and already had the virus, I have no fear of it at all and would rather rely on natural protection. Probably my biggest fear in life is having a reaction to a medication or anything unnatural that I put into my body. I can't even remember the last time I took any kind of medication, even something like tylenol or an antibiotic. I think it has been more than 10 years. So you can understand why I would be worried about a vaccine too. I'm a health nut that likes to rely on the natural protection of diet/exercise to stay healthy. So far that approach has worked well for me, so I don't want to make changes.

I'm not afraid of contracting the disease because I already had it and it had almost no impact on me. All I had was a scratchy throat, a slight headache and a little congestion. So I'm not a dumbass ... I already know how my body reacted to the virus. Both my cardiologist and primary care doctor told me my chance of getting severely ill from Covid is almost zero because my heart/lungs and immune system are much stronger than average people. My resting heart rate is 36, which is very rare, and my cardiologist told me that my heart and lungs are stronger than most 18 year old athletes even though I'm in my 40s. Different runners have different fitness levels. Not all runners are extremely fit. Some have lower to moderate moderate fitness levels. Don't act as if you know what everyone's risk level is. So yes, I am more worried about the vaccine than I am of Covid. And I'd rather die from being struck by lightning than a blood clot from a vaccine. When you take a vaccine you're doing something that's supposed to protect you, so imagine dying from it instead. To me that's the worst type of tragedy there is, except for being murdered. So I am not ok with even the tiniest chance of something happening from the vaccine. I do all this work (exercise) to keep myself in top shape, so I'd much rather rely on the natural protection. If I wasn't at extremely low Covid risk, I'm sure I would feel differently and get the vaccine. These vaccines are a great thing. I just think the very small percentage of people that are at super low Covid risk due to being athletes can not get the vaccine and it can be considered a reasonable decision. A lot of baseball teams right now are having a hard time getting to 85% vaccination which would take away restrictions. That's because there are plenty of athletes like me that don't want the vaccine. The decision should be respected.

Wise for young people to look at the infection level in their area and their own risk level, and make an informed decision. Not every young person is at low risk. Many are at higher risk due to obesity and other factors. An extremely healthy athlete might not want to take any risk at all with this type of vaccine, while it's worth the tiny blood clot risk for someone that's obese since they're at much higher Covid risk.

The Astrazeneca vaccine is the same type of vaccine as the Johnson vaccine, and there have been a couple hundred cases and a number of deaths over there. Britain's health regulator has recommended that people under the age of 30 get a different Covid vaccine, and now we're seeing a pause of the Johnson vaccine in the US. Obviously there have been enough cases that this type of vaccine is a concern for healthy young people that are already at very low Covid risk.

That's true, but as you said you can understand the thinking. The chance of a very healthy young person dying from Covid is comparable to the risk of dying in a car accident. The risk is so incredibly low that it's not something you worry about. To me dying from a vaccine that you don't even need is the worst kind of tragedy. Even 1 death like that is completely unacceptable to me. I would rather keep myself in top shape through exercise and diet and rely on my own good health to protect me from severe Covid than take a vaccine that has even the tiniest blood clot risk. Of course that's just my opinion and it's fine if others feel differently. Again the good news is the other 2 vaccines don't seem to bring that risk. There is more of a risk of severe allergic reactions with those vaccines, but you can have them watch you for 30 minutes and they can inject you to save you if you have the rare allergic reaction.

Even though it's extremely rare, you can understand why extremely healthy young people might not want to take the J & J vaccine now. If you statistically have an extremely low risk of dying from Covid (like is the case for the very healthy young), it's understandable that some healthy young people would not want to take any chance at all with a blood clot risk with a vaccine since they're already at very low Covid risk. Any blood clot risk at all for completely healthy people is unacceptable. Of course the good news is people can take the other 2 vaccines, but this is definitely a blow to vaccination efforts. A lot of young people found the J & J vaccine more appealing due to only 1 shot and less flu-like side effects. This could hurt the effort of trying to get to herd immunity.

Another new study that shows how important health is to Covid risk. We've already known that people that have risk factors (like obesity and type 2 diabetes) are at greater risk of developing severe Covid and being hospitalized if they catch the virus, but this study shows that they are also at greater risk of just catching the virus to begin with. They looked at a large group of people and compared the health of people that tested positive and tested negative. People that tested positive were more likely to have obesity and type 2 diabetes, while people that tested negative were more likely to be normal body weight and have high levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). So this is very important information. Getting yourself very healthy through diet and exercise not only reduces risk of severe Covid but also reduces risk of catching the virus. The cholesterol part of it is interesting. One thing we know is exercise greatly increases levels of the good HDL cholesterol. This study is just another example of how exercise is protective against Covid. Of course getting vaccinated is the best protection, but for people that are not vaccinated it's very important to get into better shape if you want to reduce Covid risk. Anyway here is the article... https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-factors-linked-covid-infection.html

Yeah personally gyms never appealed to me. Rather than spending the money for a gym I'd much rather do my workouts at home, whether it's running around the block outside or using the exercise bike that I have in my house.

I can't imagine having to wear a mask that's dripping with sweat. That sounds terrible. I'm glad that I run outside around the block where I don't have to wear a mask, rather than going to the gym. Really has to be rough for people that go to the gym.

It's crazy that some people wear the masks below their nose. Obviously that gives ZERO protection if you come in contact with the virus, since you breathe in through your nose. I use the more expensive and protective KN95 masks, but since they are not supposed to be washed and are expensive I just rotate several of them instead of constantly having to buy new ones. By the time you get back to one that you have not worn for 5 days, any virus that you might have come in contact with will be dead and no threat. Having 5 or 6 masks and rotating them is a good option if you can't wash them.

Not at all. Just pointing out that it's a good thing that none of them are serious enough to be in the hospital. Obviously the virus effects different athletes in different ways. Some are asymptomatic or get very mild symptoms, while some are sick as a dog and stuck in bed for several days. When I had the virus last spring it had very little effect on me, but that was a year ago and I don't know if I'm still immune. I'm not eligible for vaccine yet, but when I am in May I might get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Lousy that the team is going through that, but none of them have been serious enough that they've had to go to the hospital. Hopefully by the time we get to late spring we'll be done with teams having to deal with these terrible interuptions.

I'm undecided too. I was leaning more towards not getting the vaccine, but now I'm more like 50-50. I was concerned about the possibility of a bad allergic reaction, since I have a history of bad allergic reactions. However it's encouraging that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so far is getting much less allergic reactions. I'm going to talk to my allergist about this. The J & J vaccine also is only 1 dose and tends to have less side effects. It seems like a good vaccine for younger healthy people that are at lower Covid risk. Something to consider.