Coronaviruses are a type of enveloped virus, that is, they are encased within a double-layered lipid (fatty) membrane. Non-enveloped viruses have a hard outer shell called a capsid. Enveloped viruses tend to be sensitive to heat, while capsid-coated viruses are not. Coronaviruses get their name from their characteristic appearance. They are round rather than sharp or pointed, and have proteins projecting outward from their surface forming a halo around the spherical membrane, much like the corona surrounding the sun. Most coronaviruses infect animals, and some of these have crossed over to infect people. There are seven unique coronaviruses identified so far that infect people, including SAR

Resources from U.S. Agencies on Managing COVID-19 Prevention The CDC’s “Steps to Prevent Illness” says: Clean your hands often Avoid close contact Stay home if you’re sick Cover coughs and sneezes Wear a facemask if you are sick Clean and disinfect These simple and effective steps are described more fully in this handy reminder card. Hand washing seems obvious, and it works to reduce risk for most kinds of infections. Still, washing with soap is especially effective against the coronavirus because the soap literally destroys the virus rather than just rinsing it away. See the bottom of our “About the Virus” page to learn more about how that happens. Treatment The CDC’s treatment guidelines f

Doctors working with COVID-19 patients in China observed many patients having better medical outcomes when they used vitamin C supplements. These observations were so consistent they initiated a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of high dose IV vitamin C as a stand-alone treatment. This phase II study began on February 11, 2020, is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, and expects to have results by September 30, 2020. Their registration listing references a body of literature showing vitamin C has positive treatment effects on a wide range of COVID-19 related symptoms. That said, there is as yet no direct evidence that vitamin C supplementation has prevention or treatment value for the v

We see waves of fear moving through the world right now. Fear can be rational or irrational. It can be a reasonable and adaptive response to a perceived threat. In this case it helps us mobilize the resources we need in order to take effective action. But if fear persists or becomes irrational, it can lead us to panic and take ineffective actions. We might go out and break isolation to buy three years’ worth of toilet paper; after all, everyone else is doing it so we should do it too. As Paul Atriedes said in Dune, “Fear is the mind killer.” When it persists, we stop being able to think rationally and stop being able to take effective action. Living in chronic fear also profoundly weakens ou

International The World Health Organization (WHO) Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 Interactive Map Contains up-to-the-minute reports of infections, recoveries, and deaths around the world United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Full site dedicated to providing the most current and highest quality information about COVID-19 CDC Testing in the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine Multiple resources, including 94 clinical trials on coronaviruses Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Other U.S. Government Agencies Including travel restrictions California California Department of Public Health Includes daily reports about the

Thomas Brophy, PhD, is president of the California Institute of Human Science. He also serves as president of the Society for Consciousness Studies. He is author of The Mechanism Demands a Mysticism: An Exploration of Spirit, Matter and Physics (see https://amzn.to/3abDkGz) as well as The Origin Map: Discovery of a Prehistoric, Megalithic, Astrophysical Map and Sculpture of the Universe (see https://amzn.to/30hM9tH). He has also coauthored, two books with Robert Bauval titled Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt (see https://amzn.to/2Rhh1qb) and Imhotep the African: Architect of the Cosmos (see https://amzn.to/38721SD). His websites are https://www.cihs.edu/ and https://co

Dear CIHS Community, Promoting wellbeing is at the center of our intentions as we as a CIHS community do our part to protect public health. In this important initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, it is important to implement practices that will slow the transmission of the virus. On March 9, I sent out a communication encouraging students and faculty who have any concerns about the virus to take advantage of the Zoom class delivery option that CIHS has implemented in all courses except for laboratory or interpersonal modality courses. The communication also encouraged administrators and on-campus employees with any concerns about possible exposure to the virus to wor