If You Want to Stop COVID-19, Should You Vote Republican or Democrat?

 So, Joe Biden has said if he is elected, COVID-19 will go away. President Trump has stated similar things. Since Republicans AND Democrats are both saying they handled the pandemic better, I decided to FACT CHECK THEM. I looked at state populations, whether the state had a Democrat or Republican governor, COVID-19 case-fatality rates per state, cases per population, and deaths from COVID-19 per population. Guess what? There was NO STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE in any of these values whether you were living in a Republican or Democrat states. All Democrat controlled states locked down, but one Democrat state does not require masks, so policies were mixed across states.

The most concerning thing is that if we look at overall deaths in the United States last year and compare them to deaths this year they are much, much higher. Our increase in deaths from all causes (COVID-19, suicides, heart disease) is 25% higher THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. Why? Well, because we Americans have the unfortunate problem of being in a wicked political battle because it is an election year. We have the unfortunate position of having a CDC and FDA that care more about politics than anything else.

Think I am wrong? President Trump touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment. The FDA banned hydroxychloroquine use in the USA. Now, I have seen some of the papers against hydroxychloroquine, but many of them contain insignificant information--and worse, the Lancet article panning it was retracted because the authors could not produce their data! There are several significant papers showing that hydroxychloroquine reduces the severity of COVID-19. I don't know if hydroxychloroquine is a good treatment or not, but I do know there was not enough grounds to completely ban experimentation on a drug that has been a safe treatment for malaria for years. I also know that African nations are relying on quinines to combat COVID-19. Every single African nation has half the COVID-19 case-fatality rate of any Western nation. This could be a coincidence, but without research we won't know. It is not acceptable to cancel research simply because there is some risk and preliminary results are not significant. Most research has some risk.

President Trump was given a treatment for his COVID-19, from which he recovered quickly. Less than two weeks later the FDA banned that drug. I didn't see all the information for that, but it makes me suspicious either they were trying to kill the President or they don't want others to recover that quickly.

The FDA is refusing to regulate masks. If you contract COVID-19 in a state that requires mask, you have a 1.16% greater chance of dying from it than if you live in a state that does not require COVID-19. I did the statistical analysis and this was a significant (albeit small) increase (p=0.0077236). The FDA is required by law to regulate medical devices, such as masks, but despite numerous reports of adverse effects of masks that have been filed with the FDA, they are still not regulating them for safety or effectiveness.

At the same time, the CDC flips from saying one thing to saying the exact opposite. It changes wording on things, seemingly to avoid legal action. Despite the failure of our national health institutions, Republicans and Democrats could look at the rest of the world and say, "Hey, we might be doing something wrong here." Instead, they jump on every chance they can to point fingers at the other side. They could question the CDC recommendations in light of world recommendations. They could force the FDA to regulate masks, but they don't. Why? Well, because this is an election year, and people dying at massive rates compared to anywhere else in the world makes good political ammo. But if you are voting for a political party instead of a person simply because you believe that political party will reduce or stop the COVID-19 pandemic, you are voting for unfounded reasons.

Hitler's Big Lie and the COVID-19 Pandemic

I have written a new book, filled with citations to help clear up the mystery surrounding all the COVID-19 misinformation. Here is the description:

 The misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has possibly been the largest since the propaganda created in Nazi Germany. With even the CDC first telling everyone not to wear masks and now telling everyone to wear them, it can be extremely difficult to discover just what is right and what is wrong. Who do you trust? This book, filled with more than 300 cited references, was written to help you find the truth. It is a must-read if you are confused or if you want to find out if you have been able to sort through all the lies successfully. 30% of all the profits from the sale of this book will be divided equally and donated to a local YMCA and a summer camp that have been hit hard financially because of the COVID-19 business closures.

You can find the book on Amazon at the following links:

Full color version paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Big-Lie-COVID-19-Pandemic/dp/B08FP5V3JN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1597677713&refinements=p_27%3AJennifer+J.+Reinoehl&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Jennifer+J.+Reinoehl

Color E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G56JQVB

Black and white version paperback & black and white large print paperback--links to be posted within the next week or so. 

I am also going to be running some Goodreads Giveaways and will post those links as soon as they are ready. 

Lying about Serology testing

Many government entities and doctors offices are "afraid" of the inaccuracy of serology tests for COVID-19. The problem is that the FDA has given approval of several serology test kits. Early on, people were putting all sorts of testing kits on Amazon. These were fake kits, do-it-yourself-at-home-style, and did not work. However, labs use the approved kits. Despite this, news agencies like USAToday still insist on stirring up trouble. In this article, published April 24, 2020, the journalist states neither Abbot Labs nor Perkin Elmer have FDA approved tests. According to the FDA website, Abbot Labs had several other nasal tests for COVID-19 and at least one approved test on April 26 (the date the article was last updated). This should have been noted--but it was not.

Coronavirus and the CDC

I am not an alarmist. I am young enough that a 6% death rate for any disease does not bother me. I personally feel HIV is much more disturbing (especially since although you see "avoid public places" with coronavirus, but you do not see "avoid sexual contact and injected illegal drugs" with HIV).

However, something on the CDC webpage bothers me--they state bleach kills coronavirus and then give you a way to make a very dilute solution. The problem is that scientists have shown the bleach solution must contain at least 1% bleach in order to kill coronavirus. The CDC is only having you make a 0.1% solution. 1 cup  bleach to 5 cups water is what the recommendation should be.

Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws

I am so glad Illinois has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation. Consider this article: What It Takes to Obtain a Gun License in Illinois.

As you can see from this article: Chicago Appeals for Help After Dozens Shot Over the Weekend. Tough gun laws really have helped Chicago, Illinois gun violence issues... <sarcasm>

My solution:

1. Get rid of violent video games and movies- require an ID to purchase and if the content is shared with children under 18, enforce the same legal penalties as if the adult shared alcohol with children.
2. Get rid of violent television shows (and news) viewed on public stations between 7 AM and 10 PM.
3. Create a government regulated "KinderNet" that parents can set up as the sole source of Internet for their children with no PG-13 or higher content. 
4. Encourage monogamous relationships where raising children is the most important thing and encourage one parent to stay home with children while raising them.
5. Offer more government aid,including healthcare, to families with at least one working parent. 

• Numerous studies have shown that children who are raised in preschools are more violent than those raised by their parents. It is impossible for a child to develop a long term relationship with an adult when that adult is constantly changing from year-to-year or month-to-month as they do in preschool environments.
• Numerous studies have shown that children who view violent or sexually explicit material at young ages (under 13) are more violent. 
• Numerous studies have shown that money is one of the major things couples argue about. Take away that stress and provide better access to healthcare so parents can seek therapy and improve communication without having to find thousands of dollars to do so.

I recognize that single parenting is sometimes necessary. There are also people out there who should NOT be parents. But for the most part, making it easier for families to raise children and making it more difficult for children to view violent explicit content will lower gun violence. That is what the research shows- the problem is, media is a big lobbyist. People who hate "welfare" and "government handouts" don't seem to recognize that the people who truly need it are not jobless scam artists. People with low paying jobs need government help for their families and the government should encourage people to work instead of cutting off all services once families do work. Still the government takes their payoffs from big Media and makes promises about squelching "free-handouts" while in actuality they cut-off working families from needed aid. Restricting guns does nothing to reduce gun violence as anyone in Chicago should know. It is time for America to wake up and address the real problem instead of trying to stick a cheap bandage over it.

Are Generic Anti-Depressants as Good as Name Brands?

My husband has been on an anti-depressant (Cymbalta) for years. Aside from the initial two-week adjustment period, it has worked great. Over the summer, he switched to the generic to save money. Slowly, over a two-week period, he fell back into his old patterns: getting angry about nothing, popping ibuprofen daily for pain issues, and being generally depressed. It finally came to the point where I asked, "Honey, have you taken your anti-depressant today?" To which he growled, "Yes, I have!"

Because I could see that something was seriously wrong (he did not notice), I did some research and discovered many complaints exist online about people taking antidepressants who have issues when they switch to generic. This was around the time of Robin Williams committing suicide, so I began to wonder if Mr. Williams had not also recently switched to generics.

The day we switched back to the name brand (at $12 per pill out of our pocket mind you), he was fine. No more ibuprofen, no more grumpiness, and no "readjustment" period. I reported the issue to the FDA immediately. The FDA told me that generics can vary their binders by 20% from the original. The generic drug company (who also contacted me) told me that some people metabolize these different binders more quickly than what they metabolize the originals - thus leading to a serious issue with the extended release system. Where the name brand will keep releasing slowly throughout the day to maintain your blood level of the drug, the generic may end up dumping it all too fast. This means you will have up and down medication blood levels. Based on my research since, this only effects 2% of the population (according to the few scientifically published studies on the topic). However, when you are dealing with a drug that prevents you from killing yourself, 2%, in my opinion, is significant. Ironically, the reason ALL anti-depressants carry a block box warning about increased suicide is because the suicide attempt rates among placebo vs. antidepressants is 2% greater in anti-depressants. I have to wonder if they were using the generic for those studies?

Over the summer, my son also had to go on anti-depressants because he began making some very depressive statements. The doctor naturally prescribed a generic for Lexapro. I thought nothing about it. For six-months, my son hid from me, my husband, his family doctor (the prescriber), and his psychologist, that he actually felt worse on the drugs because "he didn't want to change them." He began smoking rolled index cards (at 12 years old). He began getting in trouble daily at school, from fights to talking out of turn. He also began to think that no adult cared about him because we did not recognize that something was wrong. The only thing we thought was wrong (aside from puberty) was that his ADHD medications were not working - which we upped.

In January, my son began behaving very bizarrely in school. He came home, and when we collected his iPhone at 6:00 PM for the night, he went ballistic. First he ran away, and we went and got him. Then he attempted to hang himself from the top bunk with a bathrobe belt. Thankfully, I heard gagging noises and went in and found him before he passed out.

When you are on anti-depressants, you should NEVER feel like you want to kill yourself. This is the sign your anti-depressants are NOT WORKING and you NEED NEW ONES. However, you, like my son, are probably an expert at hiding your feelings. Please, tell someone - especially your doctor - if you have this feeling. Many people may care about you, but the ways they are trying to help you may not work unless you spell out to them what is wrong.

My son, of course, was hospitalized, and his medicine was changed to name brand Zoloft. In less than a week in the hospital, he went from being withdrawn, uncooperative, and self-harming to realizing EVERYTHING (from smoking to the suicide attempt) was wrong. The way he explained it was: "I didn't want to do those things, but I couldn't stop myself." The doctors and nurses at the hospital, who initially took my statements that it was a medication issue with a grain of salt, were amazed at his recovery. They told us on entry that the average stay was 14 days. My son was out in a week.

Ironically, the pharmacy (despite the fact it is in their computer to only give name brand Zoloft and despite the fact that is the way the doctor writes the script) gave my son generic this month "on accident." My husband picked it up and didn't notice. After several weeks on it, my son was again suicidal- this time over a missing tablet. He also began to self-harm. No one will ever convince me it wasn't the generic- the day he went back on name brand, he came in and told me how happy he was because he was feeling so much better.

Most insurances, including Medicaid and Medicare, do not want to pay from name brand medications. Some will require you to actually have a negative reaction before allowing you to get on it. Report any adverse reactions to your doctors and insurance companies IMMEDIATELY.

Most importantly, if you have had a bad reaction to a generic anti-depressant - i.e. you were on a name brand, you switched to the generic and had awful "side-effects," and then you were immediately relieved of these side effects once you went back to the name brand - you really must report it here. There is a list of what you can and can't report on the left, and you click on the "Consumer/ Patient" button on the right to get started. It takes some time and you will need to go to the pharmacy and ask them for a printout with the name of the manufacturer, the strength of the generic drug, the NDC number and the lot number to fill out the second page. However, if enough people are having trouble with this and report it, we can make a change in the way generic anti-depressants are treated. 

Our society has become very focused on the need for mental health reform. However, we will continue to struggle with school shootings and other violent crimes (more than 50% of all prisoners have mental health issues that are untreated) as long as we keep thinking mental health issues, such as bi-polar, depression, and ADHD, are all "in someone's head." People on Medicaid and Medicare should be able to receive better mental health treatment (i.e. the government should loosen its purse strings so more mental health specialists are inclined to participate in their programs and so those participating don't end up filing for bankruptcy), and they should be able to receive name brand mental health drugs if the doctor can support one previous negative reaction to the generic. What may seem initially costly will save money on many levels in the end. It will also save families and loved ones much trauma.