Every day I drive past San Quentin prison. The old complex rises from the SF bay as stark contrast to the upscale surrounds. To date 28 prisoners are purported to have died from covid. With a population of around 3200, this is roughly 14 times the national death per capita. This despite being an overall younger cohort than the national average. The close quarters and opportunity for heavy viral loading is likely a big part of the infection quotient. The other part of the story is thought to be vitamin D deficiency. How many prisoners see direct sunlight on their bodies? In Marin County at one point 86.5% of the deaths were from senior homes. How often do the see direct sunlight and recharge their D serum levels? The supplement Vitamin may offer us the best and cheapest covid insurance out there. The Science is fascinating. The Cellular regulation and importance to our immune system is remarkable. The University of Copenhagen offers this summary from their science publication:
"Scientists have found that vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin - the killer cells of the immune system -- T cells -- will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body. The research team found that T cells first search for vitamin D in order to activate and if they cannot find enough of it will not complete the activation process. "
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