How do we overcome Covid19 - All you need is love

Like most of you I’ve been trying to forget about Covid. But I came across some research in recent weeks that has really got me thinking about the pandemic and more to the point, the measures in place to control it. 

This little piece of research has implications that are so far reaching that I felt compelled to share it with you all. 

In a mouse study, mice were infected with SARS-CoV2 infection or COVID-19 and were given Oxytocin (love hormone). The mice not only recovered from the infection quickly but found that it offered them protection from the virus. “Oxytocin has now emerged as a strong candidate for treatment and prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 
Let's focus on the wonderfulness of this for a moment, before we jump to feelings of ‘why the hell were we all starved of seeing our loved ones for so long?’. Maybe love really does conquer all? In my musings I wonder “did Covid become so prevalent because there seems to be so little love in the world?” And then, because my brain is hard wired to jump to fertility it got me thinking about all those pregnant women who need to be induced because they don’t have enough oxytocin to get the show on the road, let alone to deliver the afterbirth. “1 in 3 women in the UK now need to be induced, an increase from 1 in 5 ten years ago.” And of those 2 of 3 women that go into labour naturally only a very small fraction will deliver the placenta without the need for an injection of Syntocinon - synthetic oxytocin. This is standard practice and unless it is specifically stated on your birthing plan that you do not wish for it you will have been given Syntocinon as a matter of course. So the amount of women who can legitimately say they gave birth “naturally” are very few indeed! 

Not only is Oxytocin (OXT) a powerful hormone in pregnancy it has so many other health benefits. “OXT can block viral invasion, suppress cytokine storm, reverse lymphocytopenia, and prevent progression to ARDS and multiple organ failures. Importantly, besides prevention of metabolic disorders associated with atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus, OXT can protect the heart and vasculature through suppressing hypertension and brain-heart syndrome, and promoting regeneration of injured cardiomyocytes. Unlike other therapeutic agents, exogenous OXT can be used safely without the side-effects seen in remdesivir and corticosteroid. Importantly, OXT can be mobilized endogenously to prevent pathogenesis of COVID-19.”

We knew that oxytocin was important in the fight against cold viruses back in 2014. A study group of 404 healthy adults were intentionally infected with flu virus and were asked how often they received hugs from a trusted person during their illness. "Among infected participants, greater perceived social support and more frequent hugs both resulted in less severe illness symptoms”.
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So there you have it… All you need is love. And to never be locked down and socially distanced again! 

Wang & Wang, Cardiovascular protective properties of oxytocin against COVID-19, April 1 2021, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7837104/ )

Rise in women having induced labours, NHS figures show, BBC News, 2018 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45978623)
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Hugs Help Protect Against Stress and Infection, Say Carnegie Mellon Researchers, December 2014 (https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/december/december17_hugsprotect.html)