Are Black people really more likely to die from Covid-19?
Recent research from the UK Office of National Statistics found that Black people were four times more likely to die from Covid-19 than Whites.
After the findings were adjusted for socio-demographic factors like deprivation and living conditions, the research still found that Black people were almost twice as likely to die from Covid-19, with death rates of people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity more than 1.5 times higher than Whites.
This research concerned me. I'm not worried about catching the disease myself, as I'm fit and healthy, so I think my risk of dying from it is very low, and there are many risks in life.
But I was concerned about my relatives in the Bahamas. I have many elderly relatives in the Bahamas, and some of them have underlying health conditions like diabetes and obesity.
I phoned a cousin to find out how they were. "We're all fine!" she said, thankfully. After the phonecall, I looked online for the number of Covid-19 deaths in the Bahamas, and found that it was 11. I hope it doesn't go any higher.
The population of the Bahamas is 385,000, so 11 deaths gives a fatality rate of 0.00286% of the population.
I decided to compare this with an island community of similar population size. Iceland's population is 365,000, and they have had 10 deaths from Covid-19, giving a fatality rate of 0.00274% – very similar to the fatality rate in the Bahamas.
The population of the Bahamas is 85% Black African. The population of Iceland is at least 95% White. So it seems that ethnicity is not a factor here.
What's going on?
I then looked at the fatality rate from Covid-19 in the UK, which has a population of 67,886,000, and has had 33,998 deaths from Covid-19 so far. That gives a fatality rate of 0.05%, which is more than 17 TIMES the fatality rate of the Bahamas and Iceland.
My guess is that vitamin D is an important factor here. Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin, but a hormone, which is made from the action of sunlight on the skin. And it is believed to play an important role in protecting from a range of diseases, from the common cold to cancer.
The sun has to be fairly strong to allow vitamin D to be created.
Dark skin is protective of UV rays from the sun, which means that in cooler climates, dark-skinned people like myself don't get enough vitamin D. This has been known by the medical community for decades, and because of this, I take vitamin D supplements (and I get outside as much as I can, to soak up the few sun's rays that we get here in Scotland!).
I take high-dose vitamin D – 5000 IU daily – and that seems to be just enough for my needs. When I had a blood test a couple of years ago, my vitamin D level was "normal", not "high normal", even though I'd been taking 5000 IU of vitamin D every day for years.
Even if you have white skin you may benefit from taking vitamin D supplements if you live in a cold climate, especially if you work indoors and if you're the type of person that tans easily in warm climates. Blood tests to check your vitamin D levels are quite inexpensive.
If vitamin D is a factor in Covid-19, it would explain why Chinese people were found to have the same fatality rate from the disease as White people, as Chinese people have light skin.
But in hot climates, people with dark skin get the full benefits of the sun's rays, and therefore get vitamin D naturally.
It's interesting that an interview with Dr David Brownstein on The High Wire with Del Bigtree was banned from YouTube recently. In the interview, Brownstein described how he was treating people who had bad cases of Covid-19 with intravenous vitamin C and vitamin D.
David Brownstein also advocates the "High Dose Iodine Protocol" which helped me cure my underactive thyroid a few years ago, and which is considered controversial by the medical establishment. You can't make big profits from natural treatments like vitamin C, iodine and sunlight.
SHOW NOTES
Black people are four times more likely to die/Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/black-people-four-times-more-likely-to-die-from-covid-19-ons-finds
Black people are four times more likely to die/Telegraph:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/07/black-people-four-times-likely-die-coronavirus-white-people/
Black people are four times more likely to die/Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/05/07/black-people-are-four-times-more-likely-to-die-from-coronavirus-uk-statistics-show/#2a6967e324fd
The Tribune: One in seven suffering from diabetes
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/oct/25/one-seven-suffering-diabetes-bahamas/
The Bahamas leads the world in diabetes prevalence
https://www.familymedicinecenter.org/2015/10/bahamas-leads-the-world-in-diabetes-prevalence/
The coronavirus pandemic in the Bahamas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_Bahamas
Number of deaths in UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274
Dr Brownstein interview on The Highwire, banned on YouTube
Image credits
Thumbnail photo:
https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-black-afroamerican-model-1868930/
Goitre pic
Vitamins pic by Steve Buissinne
https://pixabay.com/photos/vitamin-b-effervescent-tablet-871135/
Sunshine video by AndersonCampos
https://pixabay.com/videos/nature-forest-rays-of-sunshine-31621/
People on street by Coverr-Free-Footage
https://pixabay.com/videos/people-shopping-crowd-many-bokeh-3626/
People in Brixton:
Rekyavik by MariaMichelle
https://pixabay.com/photos/iceland-reykjavik-hallgrimskirkja-4436790/
Geyser by lars_greft
https://pixabay.com/videos/geyser-iceland-water-nature-flow-4822/
▶️ 3Speak
You could well be onto something there with vitamin levels playing a role. I believe that death rates are bound to end up being different from country to country, depending on varying factors and it's not just as simple as ethnicity. Pollution will play a part too.
The whole banning of Vit D3 content from youtube is absurd. Interesting that when you crunch your numbers, black people are NOT more likely to die.
The propaganda around Covid19 is ASTOUNDING & EXHAUSTING.
Grateful to be living in Thailand where we have LOADS of string hot sun and plenty of free vit D3 being produced naturally, everyday.
I am so jealous of you living in Thailand, and not just for the lovely sunshine. People in Scotland, where I live, are FREAKING OUT over this disease, and it's because they have totally swallowed the mainstream media's scaremongering hysteria. It's very sad to see.
My husband describes it as weaponising fear. We don't generally pay attention to the mainstream media, but he watched a bit the other day and was appalled by the level of fear mongering going on! No wonder everyone is so scared.
That's exactly it! Weaponising fear. It's horrible to see this happening.
Congratulations @imaginingfreedom! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your board and compare to others on the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPDo not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
#POSH
here.Curated for #naturalmedicine (by @porters) - join our community
Interesting! I was just listening to an interview of the importance of Vitamin D and C for the immune system. Well put together - thanks for sharing!
We encourage content about health & wellness - body, mind, soul and earth. We are an inclusive community with two basic rules: Proof of Heart (kindness prevails) & Proof of Brain (original content). Read more here.
Our website also rewards with its own Lotus token & we'd love you to join our community in Discordhere. Delegate to @naturalmedicine & be supported with upvotes, reblog, tips, writing inspiration challenges for a chance to win HIVE and more. Click to join the #naturalmedicine curation trail!