[Kim Jaeho's Life Story]<190> The Achilles' Heel of the Coronavirus

Among those who have suffered greatly due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), New York Governor Cuomo cannot be left out. The United States accounts for 27.6% of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases and 27.4% of deaths. Among the 50 states, New York, which has the highest number of cases, has over 400,000 confirmed cases and 30,000 deaths, representing 5.4% of global confirmed cases and 7.3% of global deaths. Only Brazil and Russia have more confirmed cases than New York, and only the UK, Brazil, and Italy have more deaths.

To estimate how many New York residents have been exposed to COVID-19, the state conducted a sample antibody test on 3,000 residents, finding that 21% of New York City residents had antibodies. Including an additional 4,500 tested individuals, 24.7% of New York City residents and 14.9% of New York State residents showed positive antibody responses.

COVID-19, which first appeared in China at the end of 2019, spread at an incredible speed, plunging the entire world into a state of fear. Many countries implemented extreme lockdown measures restricting even the most basic routine activities to prevent infection, but these measures were generally limited in effectiveness. The human toll of COVID-19 snowballed, with global infections surpassing 7 million and deaths exceeding 400,000 within just half a year.

Without vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, the best short-term prevention measures are social distancing, mask-wearing, and handwashing. However, for these measures to completely block the virus, people would have to give up many things they have long enjoyed, which is a practical limitation. Most developed countries have shown limits in controlling the spread of COVID-19, and even in South Korea, which has relatively well-maintained control, about 40 new cases continue to be reported daily.

Will the vaccines and treatments that many eagerly await effectively prevent COVID-19? Developing vaccines and treatments is a difficult process requiring significant time and cost, and even if successful, their effectiveness may be limited. Influenza vaccines and treatments exist, yet globally 250,000 to 500,000 people die from the flu annually. In South Korea, 720 people died from the flu in 2018, and in the United States, 20,000 to 50,000 people die each year from the flu.

Vaccines are effective in preventing infectious diseases but, as past examples taking over 10 years show, development takes a long time and must be redone whenever variants appear. Antiviral drugs, commonly called virus treatments, do not kill viruses but inhibit their replication, often with limited effectiveness, and are difficult to develop.

If blocking infection is difficult and vaccines and treatments are not complete solutions, is there a good way to overcome COVID-19? Viruses have a fatal weakness, their Achilles' heel: vulnerability to immune cells. People tend to think that once a virus enters the body, illness is inevitable, but as seen in the Guro-dong call center and New York examples, many people do not develop symptoms or recover naturally over time thanks to immune cells.

According to New York's antibody test results, about 2.7 million New York City residents are estimated to have been infected with the virus, but only 400,000 were confirmed cases and 30,000 deaths occurred. It is said that antibody testing will soon be conducted in the Daegu-Gyeongsan region of South Korea, which will also confirm the important role of immune cells.

Fortunately, our bodies are equipped with excellent shields?immune cells?that can overcome any virus or bacteria. The performance of immune cells is determined by our lifestyle habits. Whatever virus appears, what we need to do is simply create an environment where immune cells can function well, nothing more and nothing less.

To maintain high immunity, one must practice a life that turns on the life switch through pro-life habits (see Life Story Part 6). Meals should be healthy, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to supply sufficient nutrients, while limiting sugar, saturated fats, salt, and alcohol (Part 33). Quitting smoking, engaging in appropriate exercise (Part 39), getting enough rest and sleep (Parts 47, 48), and managing stress well (Part 52) are also very important.

Jaeho Kim, Independent Researcher

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.