Covid Study among US Marine Corp Recruits - Interesting Results

 First, here is a link to the study abstract if you want to get into the nitty-gritty.

This study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (no backwater medical journal that!) Was conducted by Cedars Sinai Hospital in New York and the U.S. Navy.  Marine Corp recruits at Parris Island, SC were the test subjects.

The basic conculusion drawn from this report was that extreme quarantine, sanitizing, and personal hygiene procedures are not effective in stopping the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus.  Infection rates within the study group were 1.9%, which is slightly higher than rates I have seen for the general population.

Here are some of the details;

Methodology

The study took place during a supervised (by Marine Drill Instructors!) quarantine period each recruit (regardless of participation in the study) had to undergo before their actual boot camp started at Parris Island.  The participants were tracked and had additional study-related testing performed while they were in the supervised quarantine.  Here is a description of how the quarantine was implemented, pulled directly from the NEJM abstract:

To reduce the risk of introducing SARS-CoV-2 into basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, in South Carolina, the Marine Corps established a 14-day supervised quarantine period at a college campus used exclusively for this purpose. Potential recruits were instructed to quarantine at home for 2 weeks immediately before they traveled to campus. At the end of the second, supervised quarantine on campus, all recruits were required to have a negative qPCR result before they could enter Parris Island.

After potential recruits had completed the 14-day home quarantine, they presented to a local Military Entrance Processing Station, where a medical history was taken and a physical examination was performed. If potential recruits were deemed to be physically and mentally fit for enlistment, they were instructed to wear masks at all times and maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet during travel to the quarantine campus.

During the supervised quarantine, public health measures were enforced to suppress SARS-CoV-2 transmission.  All recruits wore double-layered cloth masks at all times indoors and outdoors, except when sleeping or eating; practiced social distancing of at least 6 feet; were not allowed to leave campus; did not have access to personal electronics and other items that might contribute to surface transmission; and routinely washed their hands. They slept in double-occupancy rooms with sinks, ate in shared dining facilities, and used shared bathrooms. All recruits cleaned their rooms daily, sanitized bathrooms after each use with bleach wipes, and ate preplated meals in a dining hall that was cleaned with bleach after each platoon had eaten. Most instruction and exercises were conducted outdoors. All movement of recruits was supervised, and unidirectional flow was implemented, with designated building entry and exit points to minimize contact among persons. All recruits, regardless of participation in the study, underwent daily temperature and symptom screening. Six instructors who were assigned to each platoon worked in 8-hour shifts and enforced the quarantine measures. If recruits reported any signs or symptoms consistent with Covid-19, they reported to sick call, underwent rapid qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2, and were placed in isolation pending the results of testing.

Instructors were also restricted to campus, were required to wear masks, were provided with preplated meals, and underwent daily temperature checks and symptom screening. Instructors who were assigned to a platoon in which a positive case was diagnosed underwent rapid qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2, and, if the result was positive, the instructor was removed from duty. Recruits and instructors were prohibited from interacting with campus support staff, such as janitorial and food-service personnel. After each class completed quarantine, a deep bleach cleaning of surfaces was performed in the bathrooms, showers, bedrooms, and hallways in the dormitories, and the dormitory remained unoccupied for at least 72 hours before reoccupancy.

 Comment

This is my commentary, not pulled from the study.

First, it should be understood that the military undertook this study because they are looking for ways to keep their soldiers, sailors, and Marines healthy and out doing their jobs rather than being in quarantine or in the hospital.  Their solutions to these problems will be different than what can be implemented on the general public, as we in the general public are not under orders or military discipline as these Marines were.  Indeed - most people would not accept the kinds of restrictions placed on these Marines.

When I first heard of this study, I thought that it was a special group that were selected and quarantined in this way.  But as I re-read the abstract, it became clear that this is how all Marine recruits are processed into Parris Island, and the study participants were just a tracked and studied subset of the entire recruit class of around 3000 Marines. Having this subset allowed the Navy to understand how effective the measures they had implemented actually were.

Second, it is apparent to me that quarantines and lockdowns and even some of the public health measures we are being told are the best way to combat the Wuhan virus are not effective.  In this case, the virus spread at a slightly higher rate than in the general public, even with double-masking and rigorous sanitizing, and social distancing - things that most people don't do.

One would have expected the infection rate to be significantly lower with the extreme measures taken with these Marines.  Yet it wasn't - it wasn't even slightly less, it was slightly higher.  How could this be? The study doesn't go into that. But to me it calls into question the effectiveness of lockdowns and quarantines.

Another interesting factoid from the study: none of the infected Marines were discovered via the health screenings - that is, the temperature test and short questionnaire.  Zero.  None.

There is still much more to learn about controlling this virus, but this study adds to the growing body of evidence that lockdowns are not effective, even extreme ones, and that we have to find other ways of dealing with the virus that are not injurious to our lives, property, livelihoods, and liberty.  The petty tyrants have had their chance and their methods are not working.  So rather than repeating things that haven't worked, let's spend the public's money on discovering new things that do work, that are effective, and that preserve our society.