Hacker news is fixated on the Vitamin D hypothesis. 142 posts in the last year, many hitting the front page.
I wonder if it correlates to Joe Rogan's fixation on Vitamin D
Steve Gibson has also been on the vit D train for some time predating covid.
Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
61–70 of 118 posts
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#62Anybody from the "stay the f * at home" crowd want to chime in ? How do I make vitamin D when it is illegal/frowned at to be outside ?
order supplements on Amazon? The uv index is very low this time of year anyway, so sun exposure doesn't do much.
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should look more deeply into that Kansas study. They cherry-picked their data in a way that is extremely dubious: https://mobile.twitter.com/ianmsc/status/1332407421151576064... Turns out that if you pick slightly different start and end dates, you can get dramatically different results. Even if you think there’s a justification for it, plotting the counties’ data next to each other shows that they’re torturing t…
The mechanism by which masks would reduce transmission has been repeatedly studied in a laboratory environment, so in the absence of a properly designed randomized control trial, the prior should be that it works. Instead, in this thread, you have cherry picked tortured data and used flawed methodologies to say that they don't work. Saying that there are similar poor studies on the other side does not update my prior…
I have “cherry picked“ nothing. That’s the data from the study. The researchers picked the start date, arbitrarily, to produce the outcome they liked. It’s obvious.
By the way: there was a randomized controlled trial for masks and covid published just recently. They were able to detect no statistically significant protective effect:
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure what aspect of the "mask wearing" you doubt, but I don't have much doubt in the germ theory of disease, and I've been suggesting wearing a mask since Feb, because it works against just about every communicable respiratory disease from bacteria to virus (or pollen or asbestos). I'd recommend eye protection for COVID as well, because the eyes (along with the lungs) appear to be a higher risk aerosol entry…
> because it works against just about every communicable respiratory disease from bacteria to virus (or pollen or asbestos) ignoring that masks are a perfect environment for debris and bacteria growth, as well as impeding natural expiration of all these gross things
This, to me, sounds like the people who claim seat belts cause more deaths than they prevent because they think "being thrown clear of the car" in an accident is safer than being inside during the crash.
I wash my mask with soap after every use, and let it dwell in the soap for half a minute or so. When the weather is right for it, I leave it in the sun to dry. I have a small collection of masks that I rotate through. How infrequently do you disinfect your mask that you worry about it being a petri dish?
Secondly, those gross things you mention at the end were already inside your mouth and lungs. If they are infectious, you probably already have the infection.
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s always an excuse, but there’s never any data backing your claims. Provide even a single shred of evidence that masks affect the R0 of the virus in the real world. Modeling studies and correlations observed in April don’t count: most of the papers published this year looked at areas where case counts subsequently skyrocketed in the fall. My personal favorite is the mask study from Jena, Germany in the spring,…
From the first link you mention: > we conclude that 20 d after becoming mandatory face masks have reduced the number of new infections by around 45% A later increase in infections does not invalidate statistical significance for earlier studies. It’s just math, not “an excuse”. You’ll never see the data for how many cases would have been recorded without the measures in place. You can see the full paper here: http://…
> A later increase in infections does not invalidate statistical significance for earlier studies. It’s just math, not “an excuse”.
So your theory is that masks worked then, but stopped working now?
Convenient!
> You’ll never see the data for how many cases would have been recorded without the measures in place.
Well, yes, exactly...these are uncontrolled studies. Which is why they’re such garbage.
You can see that in the title of the paper you posted: “a synthetic control study”. That means they didn’t have a control. Which means all they can do is squint at correlations and try to claim they prove cause.
(oh also: the WaPo “data” is from a phone survey...so yeah: people who say they wear masks a lot claim they have fewer “symptoms”. Whatever that means.)
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#66185 experts. Over 100 medical doctors. Roughly 100 professors, including many of the most respected vitamin D experts in the world---check out the list of names and qualifications yourself. Please read the link before posting about correlation or other opinions on the topic. The point is to note the aggregate credibility of the backers here. This is analogous to the open letter done for face masks last spring.
The open letter for face masks is a great example for why this kind of thing is dubious. All prior high-quality evidence disputed the claim: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars/specia... The subsequent evidence of real-world effectiveness isn’t great: cases are skyrocketing around the northern hemisphere, and mask mandates aren’t making a difference. The only randomized controlled trial ever conduct…
There's a difference between "mask mandates aren't making a difference" and "masks aren't effective." Take a look at Japan, where the government has done fuck all to deal with the virus, but people wear their masks.
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
The open letter for face masks is a great example for why this kind of thing is dubious. All prior high-quality evidence disputed the claim: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars/specia... The subsequent evidence of real-world effectiveness isn’t great: cases are skyrocketing around the northern hemisphere, and mask mandates aren’t making a difference. The only randomized controlled trial ever conduct…
I don't understand your hard-lined conclusion when the paper that the blog post references can't reach a conclusion either. The blog post also reaches a semi-hard lined conclusion yet still leaves room for additional work as it should. Problems with the study: - Not everyone the participants are interacting with also have a mask (Blog post references this with "protects you, not me") - The result is "Although the dif…
You’re right, the Danish mask study showed that masks are consistent with every outcome
ranging from an increase in infection to a reduction.
You spins the wheel, you takes your chances, I guess...
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
> cases are skyrocketing And comments like yours are one of the reasons. The study shows that masks do little to protect the wearer - which is kind of obvious as it’s not going to filter incoming air very efficiently, that has never been the purpose of surgical masks. They don’t protect against airborne pathogens and every medical professional knows it. You need a crítica mass for masks to start reducing transmission…
> Mask use is nowhere near what it should have been All available evidence shows that you’re wrong. Self-reported mask usage rates are over 90%, nationwide. Moreover, many of the places with the highest compliance rates (e.g. Los Angeles) have the fastest-growing case counts: https://delphi.cmu.edu/covidcast/?date=20201018&signalType=v... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/business... https://www.cdc…
You believe self reported data? Self reported data is among the least reliable forms of evidence there is.
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because population density and culture are the other factors. In most cases, combined with limiting large groups and reducing the frequency of meetings, it is doing what it is intended to do - reduce the R0 factor. Even in LA. Every Internet pundit who can take one number and divide by another, announces they have proven something or other. Give it a rest.
There’s always an excuse, but there’s never any data backing your claims. Provide even a single shred of evidence that masks affect the R0 of the virus in the real world. Modeling studies and correlations observed in April don’t count: most of the papers published this year looked at areas where case counts subsequently skyrocketed in the fall. My personal favorite is the mask study from Jena, Germany in the spring,…
Here you go: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8
Read that, chase down all the study links therein, and come back a week after you've found out you're wrong.
Re: Over 100 Scientists and Doctors Call for Increased Vitamin D to Combat Covid-19
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, is it wrong? And programmers seem more likely to spend their time indoors, and therefore more likely to be vitamin-D-deficient without supplementation.
I was tested severely deficient. Didn't have any obvious symptoms either.
The main problem of a vitamin D deficiency is poor bone and muscle health, not something that would usually cause obvious symptoms.