[drumhead]

A combination of triumphalism and Stupidity. The govt there thought that they'd seen off the worst of pandemic and that they'd achieved herd immunity, so they didnt bother preparing for a second wave. Then politicans decided to hold massive election rallies, allow the largest religious festival in the world to go ahead and open up stadiums for sporting events.

[k__]

How come their second wave comes so late?

[ryandrake]

What if it's early and we just don't know yet? Everyone acts as though "COVID is almost behind us" which is part of why we keep seeing these new waves. We are in such a rush to get back to normal at all costs, and keep doing it too early.

[lambdaba]

If people would spend more time outside in summer, destressing, getting vitamin D, improving their immunity etc. then we can expect the current cycle to end as respiratory infectious diseases tend to.

The coercive measures by govs are pushing in the opposite direction.

[hesarenu]

But is there any evidence that spending time outside, vitamin d etc reduces covid. April and May are peak summer time in India. Most of the states are open not in lockdown mode, but cases are growing rapidly.

[lambdaba]

Haven't people changed their behavior though? Avoiding going outside, having fewer diversity in social interactions but longer durations, and indoors.

There is definitely evidence for vitamin D, it's odd this is still not yet widely acknowledged, I can't say I reviewed the research myself but credible people have and have been spreading the information. I've definitely heard of some governments having taken measures for prevention with vitamin D, but there are also some results if administered early enough after infection.

Vitamin D is essential for immune system function, but the wider picture is more complex with high vitamin D levels also correlating with better nutrition (diets higher in cholesterol, which is essential for hormone synthesis - is generally lower in people having severe forms), better immune system function (infections deplete vitamin D), and even activity levels (spending more time outside).

[stefan_]

There are working vaccines but we still have Vitamin D clowns on HN. Can we just ban this already?

[ericlewis]

> The govt there thought that they'd seen off the worst of pandemic and that they'd achieved herd immunity

because they thought they had solved the problem, and once they let up - it happened again