This article tells the story of my own personal encounter with COVID and how I treated it naturally, with medicinal herbs. It also offers advice and counsel for those who want to treat their COVID the natural way.
I recently had my own personal encounter with COVID 19; after having had a few glancing blows with it, it finally hit me head-on. And believe me, it was no walk in the park; it was not anything that I would wish on anybody. Perhaps my previous glancing blows had all been with older variants of COVID 19; this new Omicron variant is reputed to be much more contagious than the older variants, so perhaps that is why it hit me head-on, and with full force. Anyway, the day it hit me, which was January 18, was not really much of a surprise; as a Medical Astrologer, I knew that that was the day at which transiting Uranus, which is a major player in my natal astrology chart, came to a station to go direct forming a very, very exact opposition to my natal Mars, after the almost one degree correction for equinoctial precession since my birth had been factored into the equation. Transiting Uranus opposing natal Mars – this painted the perfect astrological picture of an external attack of some sort, and an exogenous pathogenic factor fit into that picture perfectly. And being so exact, and with transiting Uranus targeting the core affliction of my natal chart, I knew that this one would be a “biggy”. And so, I was kind of dreading January 18, 2022 and what it might bring; but it was no big surprise to me that it brought COVID 19 in its wake.
Previous to my bout with COVID, I had made the personal health decision not to get vaccinated, because I have been experiencing multiple food allergies and sensitivities that seem to be getting worse every year, escalating with no apparent end in sight, and I was afraid that the unnatural and invasive immune system provocation of a vaccine might put that escalation process into overdrive. If and when I become allergic to the vast majority of foods, it only stands to reason that I would die a slow and debilitating death through gradual and progressive starvation and malnutrition, and I did not want any unnatural provocation of my immune system to aggravate or hasten that process. I know from my natal astrology chart that my own immune system tends to be hyperactive, with a tendency towards overblown inflammatory processes centering on my digestive system and GI tract. In addition to my relatively advanced age – I am now 69, and will be 70 in May – I also have a comorbidity, which is my blood sugar levels, which are not the best; you might say that I am diabetic. I had also had pneumonia twice before, when I was in Mexico; the first time, I had to take antibiotics for three days, but the second time I was able to fight it off naturally, by taking Neem leaves, which are a specific antimicrobial herb targeting Klebsella pneumoniae, the bacteria that causes pneumonia. Anyway, I knew that deciding not to get vaccinated was a bit of a gamble, but since my digestive system and GI tract have been my real Achilles heel healthwise, and my respiratory tract one of my strongest and most resilient areas by comparison, I decided that the gamble was worth it.
COVID Attacks!
COVID hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks; it hit me like a freight train. The fever and inflammation were pretty intense, and I also had a headache, as well as lots of phlegm and sputum in my nose, my throat, and so on. I had my herbal war chest handy just in case I got COVID, and so I was ready. I hit it hard, fighting back with everything I had in my arsenal. I was popping capsules of Echinacea, Olive Leaf extract, and Andrographis herb like candy, and biting into capsules of Oregano Oil to release the expectorant and antimicrobial oil directly into my throat to help my respiratory tract expel the phlegm. I took a couple of doses of Ocillococcinum, a homeopathic flu remedy, to break the fever. And then later, I brewed up a pot of Boneset tea (Eupatorium perfoliatum), an herb that had been one of the top performers used by the old Eclectic physicians during the 1918 flu pandemic. The Boneset tea brought immediate relief and the resolving of symptoms; the only undesirable side effect it had for me was its diuretic action, which was a bit excessive, since I have a delicate and hypersensitive urinary tract.
The second day, I was so fatigued and exhausted by the battle against COVID that had been my overwhelming focus the first day that I spent almost the whole day asleep in my bed, almost too tired to even move. COVID had taken a heckuva lot out of me, alright, and I felt that, in addition to hitting me like a freight train, it had also scrambled me up like a scrambled egg, and I felt that I had really been put out of kilter. In short, I felt really sick and screwed up. I took a few herbal remedies, but nothing like the rapid fire, intensive popping of them that characterized the first day. The third day, I awoke to find myself feeling much, much better, and figured out that I had knocked a lot of the wind out of the sails of whatever I had the first day, that I had broken its back, so to speak. But, since I had not yet been tested, I was not yet sure that I had COVID. In spite of feeling generally a lot better, there was still a bit of nagging cough and phlegm congestion, as well as a thin, furtive sweat that is a cardinal symptom in Chinese medicine that one’s immune system is still engaged in the fighting off of exogenous pathogenic factors. The following couple of days, the severity of my symptoms inched up a bit, and it became apparent that what I had would make a resurgence if I was not proactive and vigilant with my herbal treatment, and kept on it.
I Finally Get Tested
But still, a couple of more days passed, and I wasn’t quite making the progress I had hoped for in fighting this thing. I walked into my friend’s health food store and chatted with some of the customers there, telling them my story, and they suggested that perhaps, I had just gotten a bad case of the flu, and it might not really be COVID. Perhaps the most distressing set of symptoms at that point was that my lungs and chest felt a bit stuffy, I wasn’t breathing as smoothly and efficiently as I usually do, and my face and eyes were getting puffy; this last is one of the cardinal symptoms that, according to Chinese Medicine, indicates that the lungs aren’t doing an optimal job of misting and circulating the finer fluids of the body throughout the chest and upper body. That night, I went in to eat at my favorite local Mexican restaurant, and one of the waitresses noticed that I appeared to be under the weather, and not feeling right. She happened to have a COVID test on hand, and administered it to me; sure enough, I tested positive for COVID 19. Upon hearing that I had not been vaccinated, she told me that I could not eat at the restaurant until I had recovered from COVID, and told me to quarantine myself for ten days. Fair enough.
COVID 19 – the COVID era’s version of “the Big C”! Finally, I knew for sure what I had, and was therefore able to more precisely target it with my herbal therapy. I had to keep at it, monitoring my level of health and wellness day by day, and how my symptoms and their severity waxed and waned in accordance with my overall level of wellbeing. My sister sent me one of those little devices that you clip onto your finger that monitors one’s blood oxygenation, and it was a bit distressing to find that my oxygenation levels were two or three percentage points below where they should be. Nevertheless, I felt that I had been making progress; I had felt pretty good on recent hikes that I had been on, and had noticed no particular slacking off of my performance there. Even though I did not have my usual vitality level, I did not feel unduly fatigued. At my sister’s urging, I took advantage of my Medicare and went down to the local emergency room so that I could get some kind of objective assessment of exactly where I was in my case of COVID, and my recovery from it.
I Check In to the Emergency Room
I finally went down to the emergency room on a Sunday evening, exactly one week after I had tested positive for COVID. The first thing that the doctors there did was to check my blood oxygenation levels; the results showed that I was at 96, which was clearly within the normal range. My oxygenation levels on the home monitoring device that my sister bought for me online were a few points lower, like 94 or 93, which are a couple of percentage points below the lower limit of normal; I simply chalked that up to the fact that the home monitoring device was not as sensitive and accurate as the professional quality device down at the emergency room. So that was a relief; OK there. Next, a doctor came in to listen to my lungs with a stethoscope; his examination of me was lightning fast, as he only spent a few seconds listening to my lungs. I assumed that he had heard no abnormal whining or wheezing sounds in my lungs; A-OK there too. Next came the chest X-ray, after which I stayed in a waiting room for the longest time, for over an hour waiting for the doctors to interpret the results and tell me their findings. OMG – they must have found something that concerned them, I imagined to myself as I was waiting. But here again, what they saw indicated that, although I did have a COVID infection, they told me that it was mainly around the periphery of my lungs, and that my gradual recovery from COVID was basically normal and on track.
One thing that the doctors at the emergency room did offer me was a prophylactic prescription for antibiotics, because my lungs and respiratory tract, having been attacked by COVID, were vulnerable to other infections that might creep in. I accepted their prescription but never filled it; instead, I just doubled down on my Neem leaf capsules and continued to bite into my Oregano Oil capsules to disinfect my throat and help me expectorate phlegm. Eat well to keep my basic immunity levels up, and get regular exercise to keep the cardiovascular aerobic machinery of the body in good shape. A mild to moderate fitness regimen was important in the recovery process, they told me. In a way, my trip to the emergency room had seemed to be a big nothing burger, but at least I left the place feeling more confident and self assured that my gradual recovery was on track. The doctors told me to be patient, that full recovery from COVID would take a while, but with Mars sitting smack dab on my Scorpio Ascendant, patience has never been my strong suit. I walked out of the emergency room and started the long walk back to my car with a spring in my step, and basically feeling fit. About a couple of weeks since my positive COVID test, I went back to the Mexican restaurant, got my nostrils swabbed again, and tested negative. Hooray!
My Recovery: Let’s Get a Move On!
You might say that my final negative COVID test officially began my recovery from COVID, but even when I walked into the emergency room, I felt that I was on the path of getting better, day by day. The recovery process seems to be ongoing, as I don’t know whether or not my lungs and respiratory tract will ever recover completely to exactly where they were previous to COVID; perhaps there will always be telltale scars that will remain. We shall see. However, COVID seems to have done no major damage to my respiratory system. Regarding my general state of health, I have noticed that I seem to be more sensitive to chills and cold drafts now than I was before. And, especially on some days, but not others, I have been left with a minor lingering cough. Respiratory allergies, especially to things like dust, seem to have popped up, or gotten worse than they were before COVID. If I ever decide to move somewhere, I sure don’t want to move to any place that is much colder than southern California, where I live now.
I am taking an online continuing education course on the latest clinical data on how COVID is treated with herbal medicine in China. It’s been quite enlightening. I am now in the recovery phase from COVID, and during this phase, my online instructor tells me, you have to tonify lung Qi and nourish lung Yin; in other words, you have to improve lung function and respiratory efficiency while repairing the damage that COVID has done to the inherent moisture and structure of the lungs. You also have to tonify the Qi of both the lung and spleen. Of course, COVID attacks the lungs and respiratory tract most directly, so lung Qi is injured, but also affected is the Qi of the spleen, or the spleen / pancreas and its Earth element (Chinese system), which is responsible for the digestion and assimilation of nutrients into the body, as the spleen Qi supports the lung Qi. One thing I have noticed in my recovery process is how easily excess phlegm from digesting a heavy or rich meal gets lodged in my throat, and how much time I spend trying to clear it out. Anyway, armed with this new information on what to do herbally speaking to recover from COVID, I went down to a Chinese herb store and put an herb formula together that does all the things my instructor told me needed to be done, and it is working quite well for me, and accelerating the healing and regeneration of my lungs while boosting my overall immunity. Time for those lily bulbs and Ophiopogonis tubers – yummy!
Looking at COVID in the Rear View Mirror
Now that I have made it through my ordeal with COVID, I can definitely see why many people have chosen to get vaccinated; as I said at the beginning of this article, COVID was definitely no walk in the park, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. In addition, COVID can put you on the mat or out of commission for quite a long time, especially when you factor the recovery period into the final total. Although getting vaccinated won’t make you absolutely immune to COVID, it can lessen the severity of the illness and keep you out of critical care or hospitalization if you are especially vulnerable to it. Yes, I went through quite an ordeal; you might say that I’ve paid my dues when it comes to COVID. And in return, I now have my body’s own natural antibodies to COVID, which are better than the artificially manufactured and imported antibodies of a vaccine. Has my encounter with COVID changed the way I look at the whole pandemic? Not really. I felt, even previous to catching COVID that, from what I had seen, the COVID pandemic had been greatly overplayed and sensationalized in the mass media; at any rate, if I had to say one way or another, I’d say that it has been overplayed in the media rather than underplayed.
My friend, who has the health food store, also happened to have a copy of a book entitled The Real Dr. Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has been branded as a renegade anti-vaxxer by the mainstream media. I read its opening chapter, in which he gives a broad overview of his main arguments, many of which are quite compelling. Dr. Fauci, according to Kennedy, functioned mainly as an attack dog and foot soldier for the pharmaceutical industry, which had a huge financial incentive to develop and market vaccines, by discrediting all the alternative treatments that were out there, like Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, which actually had considerable effectiveness in treating COVID and reducing its severity. He also berated Dr. Fauci for telling COVID victims that there was nothing that could be done for them therapeutically until they were in need of a respirator and critical care at an emergency room, and thereby greatly increasing the death toll from COVID.
Hydroxycholoquine? That is an antimalarial drug useful for treating low grade or intermittent fevers; in the African countries in which this drug has long been used to treat malaria, it had been used to treat COVID as well, with considerable success; Kennedy wrote that the mortality rates from COVID in these African countries were actually much lower than in the United Sates, where its use was suppressed or discouraged. Hhhmmm… An antimalarial drug? For me, that was my cue to head for the hills, to the California Sagebrush that grows wild there, which is a local variety of Wormwood, to munch on it when I was on my hikes. Heck, why not? At least it’s free! Its taste is quite bitter, but I don’t mind; I have been taking medicinal herbs for many years now, and what once tasted bitter to me now tastes sweet. If you should have a problem with the bitterness, just soak the Sagebrush in red wine for a couple of weeks; strain and drink. The ancient Greeks used this preparation, called Vermouth, to subdue fevers. And the California Sagebrush, as our local variety of Wormwood, is also an antimalarial herb.
My Herbal Tool Box, or War Chest Against COVID
While the apologists for big pharma and the vaccine manufacturers were busy shooting down all alternative treatments for COVID and herding everyone, like docile, frightened sheep, into the vaccine corral, I was discovering that healing was to be had all around you, in Nature’s God given herbs. Were the herbs I took absolutely essential to my recovery, and would I have gone into critical care or died without them? In all honesty, I cannot go so far as to say this; perhaps what I can say is that they smoothed the way, perhaps even by quite a bit. Although herbs are, as a general rule, much milder and gentler than pharmaceutical drugs, most of them, especially the gentler ones, have little or no toxicity, and therefore, it is virtually impossible to overdose on them. Therefore, they can be taken quite frequently, in repeated doses, and are usually much more effective in treating infections like COVID when taken in that manner. Luckily, I turned out to be one of those people who does not have a great immune vulnerability to COVID, and my natal astrology chart does not have any signs of any marked respiratory issues or vulnerability.
“In this corner, (fill in your name). In that corner, COVID 19. Think of it as a boxing match, in which you are squaring off against a pathogenic opponent, which is the COVID virus. Who will emerge victorious? And so, going into this battle, you need to really take stock of yourself – your overall vitality and immunity, your health strengths as well as your vulnerabilities, your constitutional makeup, and so on. For most people, I strongly recommend that you consult with a physician or licensed health care practitioner in making your initial assessment. If you wish to go the holistic, natural route in preventing or treating COVID, then I highly recommend that you seek out and find a more holistically oriented healthcare practitioner, like a naturopathic doctor or a holistic MD. And if you feel like you would be better off getting vaccinated after making this initial assessment, then by all means, do so. That being said, and with these initial cautions and caveats out of the way, let us now proceed to a discussion of the major herbs and nutritional supplements that I used in my fight against COVID:
At the very outset, for preventive purposes, and to reduce or mitigate the symptoms of COVID if you do manage to catch it, three important nutritional supplements are necessary to maintain optimum immunity: Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, and Zinc. If you are not taking these supplements, you’re not really COVID ready, and you may not have optimum immunity. Vitamin C, and especially Vitamin D3, are vital for controlling and moderating the inflammatory response. Now for the herbs:
American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) – COVID is often characterized by severe fatigue and devitalization, and so, munching on pieces of American Ginseng, or drinking a warm herbal tea brewed from it, is very useful for alleviating these symptoms. American Ginseng is preferable to the Chinese variety here, since Chinese Ginseng can be overly stimulating and lead to things like insomnia; American Ginseng alleviates fatigue and induces vitality, but does not overstimulate. American Ginseng is also a very good tonic and adaptogen to use in the recovery phase from COVID; traditionally, Native Americans used it to facilitate recovery from chronic illness.
Andrographis (Andrographis paniculata) – Called Kalmegh in Ayurveda and Chuan Xin Lian in Chinese herbal medicine, Andrographis is a powerful anti-inflammatory herb, capable of removing latent heat and choler even deep down in the organism – and controlling aggravated or runaway inflammation is of vital importance in treating COVID. Andrographis is also a great liver protector and a broad spectrum antimicrobial and antiviral herb as well. Andrographis is used in many herbal formulas to treat colds and flu, and it is used in many liver formulas as well.
Apricot Kernels (Prunus armeniaca) – Apricot Kernels, called Xing Ren in Chinese, are used in just about every herbal formula for treating COVID 19 in China. The reason for this is simple; they are very effective at opening up the respiratory passageways. But wait a minute – don’t they contain cyanide? That was what is known as the big cyanide scare, which is largely untrue, or at least grossly exaggerated, that was concocted by the medical establishment to scare people away from Laetrile, a natural and alternative cancer therapy that utilized Apricot Kernel extract. You know the Almond Chicken that you order in Chinese restaurants? If you are able to read the Chinese characters, you will know that the almonds are, traditionally and originally, Bitter Almonds, because it is denoted by the Chinese Xing Ren. Chicken soup is an old Jewish grandmother’s cold remedy, and to the chicken, the Chinese have simply added Bitter Almonds, or Apricot Kernels, to open up the respiratory passages, as many traditional Chinese recipes are therapeutic, containing medicinal herbs. You know the Amaretto Liqueur? Well, the main ingredient, that which flavors it is Bitter Almonds, or Apricot Kernels, with Amar being Latin for Bitter, as it is in Spanish. You probably thought that the root word for Amaretto had to do with love, but that was just a fanciful tale concocted to draw young people to drinking the liqueur, and to bypass the cyanide scare associated with Bitter Almonds, or Apricot Kernels. Xing Ren, or Apricot Kernels, can be found in many Chinese supermarkets, as it is a common household herb, especially during cold season. If you’re munching on Apricot Kernels, how many are safe to eat? For the average person, about ten to twenty, which is usually sufficient to open up the lungs and respiratory passages; when you have reached your limit, the lips will begin to tingle, and that’s how you know when to stop.
Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceous) is indeed a powerful herb in boosting and stimulating immunity, but it is not as powerful and versatile as many people believe. There are times when you should use Astragalus, as well as times when it is contraindicated, and, when dealing with infectious disorders like COVID or the flu, that is during the acute or exogenous phase of the disorder, especially when there is marked fever, chills, sweating abnormalities and upper respiratory distress. At such times, Astragalus will only aggravate the patient’s symptoms and prevent the expulsion of the viral pathogenic factors causing the illness. Astragalus is most useful in stimulating overall immunity in the prevention phase, and in rebuilding immunity in the recovery phase. Astragalus is classified as a Qi Tonic in Chinese herbal medicine, and one of the things it stimulates or strengthens most markedly is the protective immune Qi shield of the body. If you strengthen this outer shield with Astragalus while there are pathogenic factors still inside the body, this is like locking the thief inside the house. And so, to get around this undesirable side effect of Astragalus, it can be cooked up into a tea with generous amounts of fresh Ginger root, which releases and regulates the exterior or surface level of the body, or you can combine it with two other Chinese herbs – Fang Feng or Radix Saposhnikoviae; and Bai Zhu, or Atractylodes macrocephala. This herbal threesome is called Yu Ping Feng San or Jade Screen Powder in Chinese herbal medicine, because it strengthens surface immunity while still allowing the release of exogenous pathogenic factors.
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) was one of the star performers of the herbs used by the Eclectic physicians in treating patients suffering from the 1918 flu pandemic, many of whom used it “from start to finish”. I myself have used it in treating chronic or severe respiratory illnesses, and it has never disappointed me. This is one of the old American herbs used by the frontier herbalists, who got it from the Native Americans. It treats deep seated or malarial fevers, and was very helpful to me. Boneset has a marked diuretic effect that may be a bit strong for those with delicate or sensitive genitourinary systems. Some shun this herb for its content of Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, but I have never experienced any problem with it, and consider this herb to be perfectly safe to use.
Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) was also a favorite herb of the old Eclectic physicians, and has chemical constituents that prevent or inhibit the spread of viruses. Until the antibiotics came along in the mid 20th century, Echinacea was considered to be a leading antimicrobial agent. Today, it is commonly combined with Goldenseal in immune boosting herbal formulas that are sold in health food stores. Echinacea is a powerful cleanser of the lymphatic system.
Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis) is frequently used in combination with Echinacea as an antimicrobial and immune stimulant. Goldenseal is an excellent anti-inflammatory herb whose anti-inflammatory properties focus mainly on the mucosa, or mucous membranes, of the genitourinary, gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Its soothing anti-inflammatory effect on the respiratory mucosa also stimulates the fluidification and release of thickened mucous secretions, which can be very useful in treating COVID, since this is often a problem.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) – The Japanese Honeysuckle flower, called Jin Yin Hua, or “Gold and Silver Flowers” in Chinese herbal medicine, has strong antiviral properties, and was found to be most effective against COVID’s close cousin and immediate predecessor, the SARS virus, which shares about 96 percent of its DNA in common with COVID. You can get it in any Chinese herb store, both in bulk as well as in herbal patent medicine form. Jin Yin Hua is one of the main ingredients in Yin Qiao San, a popular Chinese herbal cold and flu remedy that is often called the Chinese Contac.
Neem Leaves (Azadirachta indica) – Neem leaves are a broad spectrum antimicrobial herb from India; it is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine. Neem leaves are biologically active against the bacteria that causes pneumonia, which is Klebsiella pneumoniae. Neem leaves can be useful as a prophylactic against other respiratory infections while you are battling COVID. Take it in capsule form, in frequent doses.
Olive Leaf Extract (Olea europaea) – Olive Leaf Extract is one of the broadest spectrum antimicrobial herbs out there; it is antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral, and so, it was a key ingredient of my herbal medicine chest against COVID. Olive Leaf Extract is also rich in powerful antioxidants that protect against cellular damage, to the lungs as well as the rest of the body. Other health benefits of Olive Leaf Extract include dilating the blood vessels for improved circulation, as well as a beneficial effect in lowering blood sugar as well as high cholesterol. It is one of Greek Medicine’s miracle herbs, and capsules of it should be taken frequently during cases of COVID; it is also effective for treating colds or the flu.
Oregano Oil (Origanum vulgare) – Biting into capsules of Oregano Oil, provided that the Oregano Oil is of sufficient concentration and has not been overly diluted, can be very effective in helping the lungs and respiratory tract to expel excess phlegm, which is important in treating COVID 19. If Oregano Oil capsules of sufficient concentration should be unavailable, then taking a teaspoonful of the bulk Oregano herb and chewing it slowly before washing it down the gullet with water should have a similar effect. Although pure undiluted Oregano Oil is available in some health food stores, it should never be taken internally, as it is too concentrated.
Oscillococcinum is a homeopathic remedy for symptoms of cold and flu that is commonly available in health food stores, as well as some pharmacies. I used it about two to three times to break or bring down my fever in the initial stages of the acute COVID infection.
Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) – Sagebrush is the common name for the aromatic local variety of Wormwood that grows wild in the hills of southern California. As I am an avid hiker, I have often picked it and eaten it, or brewed a tea up from it, with very good results for my health. First of all, Sagebrush is an antimalarial herb, useful for rooting out deep seated fevers like those experienced by COVID sufferers. Secondly, it is very useful for treating digestive disturbances and balancing out the liver, stomach and spleen if poor appetite, indigestion, malaise or nausea should be part of the overall symptom picture. And thirdly, it is a powerful vitalizer and immune stimulant. Since my digestive tract has been a frequent problem area for me health wise, I have frequently been aided by the bitter yet aromatic Sagebrush.
In conclusion, let me make one thing perfectly clear: None of the herbs or supplements that I have discussed above should be considered to be a cure for COVID. They are merely useful tools in treating or managing the illness and the symptoms that arise during the course of it. In treating infectious illnesses or disorders, a key part of the art of healing is to know what stage of the illness the patient is in, and to treat it with herbal and natural therapies that are pertinent to the current phase, and what most urgently needs to be done. This is yet another reason to not go it alone, but to partner with a practitioner of holistic healing, or complementary and alternative medicine, to be your coach and guide during the whole process. Remember – with COVID 19, strictly speaking, it is not the virus itself that can be fatal, but rather the over-reaction of our immune systems to it in sensitive or vulnerable individuals. This is the cytokine storm that is so frequently talked about in medical discussions of COVID 19, which is only the natural inflammatory reaction of the body when it is out of control. Therefore, natural treatment for COVID consists mainly of managing its symptoms, and treating the patient, and not just the virus.