In early January, I travelled to Mexico to attend the Dead and Company “Playing in the Sand” music festival at a resort in Cancun.
The entire resort was booked by the festival promoter for attendees, and the staff were extremely careful and diligent about Covid-19 prevention measures. All attendees needed to provide proof of vaccination, and a negative coronavirus PCR test within 48 hours of arrival. On arriving, we all had to take rapid antigen tests which had to read “negative” in order for us to enter the hotel grounds.
Unfortunately, many of the performers and crew members tested positive upon arrival in Mexico. One of the musicians testing positive and not permitted to perform, was the guitarist/singer John Mayer—a key player in the headlining Grateful Dead offshoot band, Dead and Company.
With Mayer sidelined, and so many other musicians testing positive, the festival’s promoter had no choice but to cancel the entire festival. Since they had good insurance, all festival-goers were refunded their money and allowed to complete their weeklong stay at a very nice beach resort in Cancun.
The promoters clearly did the right thing in cancelling. And while all of the above-mentioned precautions were science-based, they were not foolproof. And they did not prevent me from getting Covid.
The Most Infectious Organism
The transmissibility of the Omicron variant should not be underestimated. This is the most infectious organism I have ever seen, and I’ve been treating infectious diseases for the past thirty years. Since Omicron causes less virulent disease in most vaccinated individuals, it may thankfully accelerate the move toward generalized herd immunity. But that should not be construed to mean it is harmless.
How did I catch the virus? An impromptu jam with some fellow festival attendees is the most likely scenario.
I had brought my guitar with me to Mexico, hoping to find some like-minded musicians to play with on the beach. Toward the end of my stay, as the festival crowds were thinning out, I decided to take my guitar out and play some music.
There was a really nice, glass-enclosed kiosk overlooking the beach near my room—a perfect place to sit down and play. Within a short time, I was joined by two other guitar players, a singer, and several other people happy to finally hear some live music!
Everyone had a great time, and after a couple of hours of playing, we decided to meet again after dinner on the hotel’s veranda to continue the concert.
False Sense of Security
None of us were wearing masks. We were all vaccinated, and we had tested negative on admission to the resort…right? The party continued for several hours after dinner, and it was a lot of fun.
“The transmissibility of the Omicron variant should not be underestimated. This is the most infectious organism I have ever seen, and I’ve been treating infectious diseases for the past thirty years.“
I went back to my room, finished packing and awoke the next morning feeling great. This was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that I had spent a full week without being consumed by Covid-19 precautions, at least not while outdoors.
But there was that singing session in that glass-enclosed atrium.
After a week on the beach, I was ready to return to the US, pending one final step–a mandatory rapid antigen test the day before my departure. After a ten-minute wait, my antigen test came back negative. “So far, so good.”
Then the bad news hit.
While flying back to the States, I received a text from one of the musicians I played with: he had just tested positive and needed to stay in Mexico to isolate until he tested negative.
Great…I had just spent several hours singing in close quarters next to this guy without a mask. Sure, I knew the risk I was taking, but I believed I was in a safe bubble. I was lulled into lowering my guard by the beautiful surroundings, and the wonderful feeling of not worrying about Covid for a little while.
A Raging Sinus Battle
My symptoms began the day after I arrived home. I initially felt like I had a combination of a flu and a really bad head cold. I could tell that a battle was raging in my nasal passages and sinuses, though thankfully I did not have a cough or any lung involvement. Not surprisingly, my PCR test came back positive.
My symptoms included profound fatigue, a low-grade fever of 99.5 degrees, incessant sneezing and profound rhinorrhea (nasal discharge). I knew I had been infected with Omicron because this infection had no interest in my lungs–a major difference with this variant. It is highly attracted to the nasal passages and less attracted to lung tissue.
Though I was fully vaccinated and boosted, I’m also in my sixth decade, which means that a Covid-19 infection is nothing to take lightly.
I isolated myself at home and began the treatment regimen listed below. After three days of symptoms, I was steadily improving. After one week, I was completely recovered. After ten days, I felt better than ever. The infection cleared and I have no residual symptoms.
What Worked for Me
This is the treatment program I would recommend to any of my patients who test positive for Covid-19:
1. K-PAX Immune 4 tabs 2x/day: This is an immune-boosting formulation I helped develop which contains zinc, vitamin C, B vitamins, and a clinically proven mitochondrial cocktail to support the immune system.
2. Vitamin C: 1,000mg, 2x/day
3. Vitamin D: 5,000 units, 2x/day
4. Aspirin: 325mg, 1-2 tabs 2x/day: Aspirin acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic. It also prevents blood clotting, which has been linked to long Covid symptoms.
5. Allegra-D 12-hour antihistamine/decongestant: 2x/day: A combination of fexofenadine and pseudoephedrine), this OTC product suppresses histamine and lessens sneezing, rhinorrhea and swelling of the mucous membranes. Swollen nasal passages can play a role in the loss of smell associated with Covid.
6. Low dose steroids (equivalent to Prednisone 2mg) 2x/day: This will suppress an overly aggressive inflammatory response and the collateral organ damage it can cause.
7. Nebulizer treatments with diluted, medical grade hydrogen peroxide: Breathing nebulized hydrogen peroxide (start with 1 part 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts normal saline) for 10 minutes, twice daily, kills virus particles within the nasal passages and sinuses on contact. This thereby lowers the overall viral burden. Check out my video on exactly how to do this.
My experience with Covid-19 left me with the following thoughts and perspectives:
• The current mRNA vaccines are a medical miracle. I’m sure having a surplus of antibodies ready to spring into action helped me a lot.
• Natural therapies work. Plain and simple.
• Ivermectin and monoclonal antibodies are not necessary to treat most Covid-19 infections.
• Unvaccinated individuals are 20 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than vaccinated individuals.
• Vaccinated and boosted individuals are 97 times less likely to die from Covid-19 than unvaccinated individuals.
Jon D. Kaiser, MD, has been treating individuals with chronic medical conditions for over thirty years with a combination of natural and conventional treatments. Dr. Kaiser also specializes in mitochondrial biology and has published several research studies on the link between mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic diseases. He is on the faculty of the University of California Medical School in San Francisco and is the author of several books on the immune system. www.JonKaiser.com.
