By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT
tsmtih-cartwright@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Rastafarian community says none of its members has contracted COVID-19 thanks to natural remedies that have safeguarded them as cases surge in the country and around the world.
High Priest Rithmond McKinney made the claim yesterday while stating that no Rastafarian will take COVID-19 vaccinations as they believe being injected with “any foreign substance” is against their religious beliefs.
Mr McKinney made it clear Rastafarians use a more natural approach to warding off COVID-19.
“The Prime Minister said we must not use bush medicine against COVID as there is no benefit,” said Mr McKinney. “It’s ironic that he never said how we can boost our immune systems, especially those who have not made up their minds to take the vaccine. He never said how they can prevent themselves from getting it, different from wearing masks and social distancing.
“I think medical officials here should have told Bahamians how they could help themselves this way. The Rastafarian community totally believes in bush medicine. We continue drinking our bush medicine along with cannabis as a part of our regime to prevent COVID.”
Adamant against the vaccine, the Rastafarians produced a document that reads as follows:
“RNA & DNA from 11 species contaminate vaccines. We see the vaccines being detrimental to the holistic development of our children. Recent court decisions have upheld the rights of individuals seeking exemptions from immunisations based upon personal and religious reasons.
“Rastafarians believe that the dangers of vaccines outweigh the benefits and are strongly opposed to any policy that demands immunizations as a condition for Education and/or work.
“We therefore declare our fundamental right to refuse the Novel Covid -19 vaccines in any of its brands and ask that the fundamental rights and freedom as enshrined in our Constitution be respected.” As early as last December while celebrating Human Rights Day at their community on Fire Trail Road, Rastafarians made it clear that they had no intention of taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
High Priest McKinney proudly told The Tribune that to date, no Rastafarian in his community has tested positive with the coronavirus.
“We don’t believe in taking the vaccine,” he said. “I think they will have a problem if they want to vaccinate the rastamen. So far from our community, there is not one of us who have been infected with the COVID virus. I think that is a good thing.
“Of course, we also practice a form of social distancing. We wash our hands often and keep our environment clean. And, we are proactive. At the same time the rastaman community, in The Bahamas and the entire Caribbean is not participating in taking the vaccine.”
Comments
Bonefishpete 3 years, 3 months ago
People don't think CBD be like it is but it do.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
Why would the Tribune publish this?
Enabling.
Shame....
John 3 years, 3 months ago
For the same reason they publish when Super Market is having a bisquit and Crackers sale. Africans love bisquit but they think the crackers are too dry.
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
The Tribune is not racist. Under old man Dupuch it was historical and nostalgic colorful in the details of the past for me DOB 1961 and the present for my dad DOB1927. The clarity of writing I read of Dupuch experiences sparked vivid images of life on Rotterdam Harbor for a Bahamian on a ship ending of WWII. Editorials guide this nation that is for all.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
What the hell does racism have to do with this?
Are you crazy???..
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
Prejudices not racism. There is a difference.
Cobalt 3 years, 3 months ago
That’s what I was thinking.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
He believes taking bush medicine will prevent him from being infected. Impossible. That would effectively mean its a cure. The only way to prove that would be to expose, with intention, someone taking their concoction to the virus.
It is possible that bush medicine properly administered might give his immune system the boost it needs to better fight the virus if infection sets in and it might help alleviate some symptoms.
The 2nd thing in their favour, Ive never seen an obese Rastafarian. Appears to me that obesity is a big factor in the deaths. I dont think theyre saying enough about it. Can't say much about infections because noone posts pics of people who are only infected.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
implication being "severe" infection. Anyone can get infected just as anyone can catch a cold and everyone with just a common cold has difficulty breathing, loss of taste and some get nauseous.But who when infected with COVID is getting so ill that they need hospitalization.
After COVID it will be interesting to see how employers treat employees with a common cold. You cant wear a mask with a cold..
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Alt 1. No has been tested been in this community.
Alt 2. No one shared test results with community leaders.
Alt 3. As you suggested a Rastafarian diet and lifestyle has resulted in average lower BMI within the community which has limited the incidence of severe covid that would require hospitalisation or resulted in death.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
Im suggesting that 99% of the pictures posted of people who died under 60 are obese. I have no clue if there is a 1-1 relationship, Im saying check it out. We dont have to wait on the world
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Fact check : true
C2B 3 years, 3 months ago
You are correct; 80% of people hospitalized for Covid in the US are obese. The untold story.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Pass de kushing ping, Pass it over. If you ever witnessed a Rastafarian Celebration you would see why they are corona free. Even the mosquitoes go home empty. But everything is done in order, honor and and favor and praise of Almighty Jah. Rastafarian! He should’ve also mentioned that Rastafarians are the most crime free Religion in The Bahamas. True Rastafarians that is.. most of them are home before sunset. Jah know
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
I often wonder about these communities who vow not to be ruled by "the man". They end up working very hard for another leader. I often wonder how free they really are especially the women.
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
The Tribunes Junkanoo motto. NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI. Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master.
And if you understand only stupid. f u & that you think Tribune's truth has your conscience and petty bigotry in mind. Then no sorry. The World reads The Tribune. Truth is real. Stories are real. People are real. The Tribune is real. Life/death and all between are real.
ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago
Good for the tribune they have no master.
But you should follow that principle and refrain from bowing to the tribune.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
Pretty sure plenty rastas have had covid. Pretty sure plenty are asymptomatic too.
Dumb article Tribune. Should never have been published...
Twocent 3 years, 3 months ago
I am relieved to see evidence of freedom of speech in this country while my faith in global media to uphold that diminishes. Each individual will have their own perspective and opinion, and because we have one does not make it the only one. There is scientific evidence, ethical directive, and legal precedent which support this controversial (for our times) article and the principles it suggests. Is being bullied into one opinion and one policy really good for the welfare of humanity?
C2B 3 years, 3 months ago
Science is not about opinion. It is about facts determined through the scientific method. Everyone has their own opinion but there are only one set of facts.
C2B 3 years, 3 months ago
Let me get this straight; this guy pollutes his lungs with smoke all day but doesn't want to introduce any foreign substance into his body? You are already doing it my friend. You look 90 and you are probably in your 50s. Death from lung disease will take you early as it does many Rastafarians. But ignorance is alas, bliss.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Exposing my ignorance - I don't think I knew there was a semi organised Rastafarian community in The Bahamas - applaud the Tribune for sharing their position even if it is against the narrative of the medical community. Without difference there is only darkness; alternative perspectives shed light...
SP 3 years, 3 months ago
The number of so-called intelligent individuals obviously ignorant to the fact that many top medicines are derivatives of plants or synthetic versions of plants is astounding!
Worldwide, between 50,000 and 80,000 flowering plants are used medicinally (IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2007; Marinelli, 2005). In the United States, of the top 150 prescription drugs, at least 118 are based on natural sources: 74 percent come from plants, 18 percent from fungi, 5 percent from bacteria, and 3 percent from vertebrate species such as snakes or frogs (Ecology Society of America, 1997).
Contrary to PM Minnis's totally irresponsible, very stupid, misleading, statement that "bush medicines don't work on COVID-19", the Ministry of Ayush (India) has collaborated with the U.K.'s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to conduct a study on ‘Ashwagandha’ (Withania somnifera) for promoting recovery from COVID-19.
A Ministry release said that the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Ayush, and the LSHTM recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct clinical trials of ‘Ashwagandha’ on 2,000 people in three U.K. cities — Leicester, Birmingham, and London (Southall and Wembley).
‘Ashwagandha’ (Withania somnifera), commonly known as ‘Indian winter cherry’, is a traditional Indian herb that boosts energy, reduces stress and makes the immune system stronger. It is an easily accessible, over-the-counter nutritional supplement in the U.K. and has a proven safety profile. The positive effects of ‘Ashwagandha’ have been observed in Long COVID, which is a multi-system disease with no evidence of its effective treatment or management.
Instead of looking down on and dismissing the Rastafarians' report, we should be hurriedly investigating what they are doing differently that protect them from COVID-19! Had this man been of a lighter hue, with blue eyes, the response would have been markedly different!
Even more astounding is the number of people that willingly swallow hook, line, and sinker, anything from a so-called leader's mouth without questioning or 10-minute self-investigation to find the truth for themselves. You people are dangerously scary!!
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
He's essentially saying he has a cure. There's no other interpretation.He said theyre not going to get sick. I say that is impossible. Now I might be wrong. But he has to prove it. The only way to prove he has a cure is to expose someone taking the herbal stuff to the virus. If he is right he's a billionaire.
I 100% believe that if you get COVID herbal medicines can alleviate the symptoms... if you're not obese or have some other condition, in that case you shouldnt be "experimenting"
As to the herbal stuff and source of all medicines, I said maybe 5 years ago COB should establish a bush medicine research division
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
In the United States, of the top 150 prescription drugs, at least 118 are based on natural sources: 74 percent come from plants, 18 percent from fungi, 5 percent from bacteria, and 3 percent from vertebrate species such as snakes or frogs (Ecology Society of America, 1997)
First thing - This info is nearly 25 yrs old. A lot has changed in the drug science world since then. Secondly, the use of the term "based on" is extremely misleading and ambiguous. It does not mean the same as 'derived from'. Usually it means a plant substance/chemical has been synthetically produced and then synthetically modified (usually quite extensively) into a totally new substance/chemical that has demonstrated clinical efficacy.
Sort of like saying plastics are 'based on' trees, because plastics are derived from crude oil, and crude oil is made from decomposing trees etc.
SP 3 years, 3 months ago
Your ignorance is only surpassed by your hate!
"How long have people been using medicinal plants?"
Evidence exists that plants were used for medicinal purposes some 60,000 years ago. A burial site of a Neanderthal man was uncovered in 1960. Eight species of plants had been buried with him, some of which are still used for medicinal purposes today.
By 3500 BC, Ancient Egyptians began to associate less magic with the treatment of disease, and by 2700 BC the Chinese had started to use herbs in a more scientific sense. Egyptians recorded their knowledge of illnesses and cures on temple walls and in the Ebers papyrus (1550 BC), which contains over 700 medicinal formulas.
Hippocrates, 460-380 BC, known as the “Father of Medicine,” classified herbs into their essential qualities of hot and cold, moist and dry, and developed a system of diagnosis and prognosis using herbs. The number of effective medicinal plants he discussed was between 300 and 400 species.
A full 40 percent of the drugs behind the pharmacist’s counter in the Western world are derived from plants that people have used for centuries, including the top 20 best-selling prescription drugs in the United States today. For example, quinine extracted from the bark of the South American cinchona tree (Cinchona calisaya) relieves malaria, and licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) has been an ingredient in cough drops for more than 3,500 years. The species native to the United States, Glycyrrhiza lepidota, has a broad range from western Ontario to Washington, south to Texas, Mexico, and Missouri. Eastward, there are scattered populations. The leaves and roots have been used for treating sores on the backs of horses, toothaches, and fever in children, sore throats, and cough.
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Strong language. I think it's you who has the hate.
I didn't say anything about plant based therapies not being useful or effective (Paclitaxel & Ipecac come immediately to mind). I'm talking about the very ambiguous term 'based on'. You now the same term that pops up at the beginning of some movies 'Based on a true story'. It doesn't mean the storyline in the film is true, it just means that some elements of the movie have been 'inspired' by actual events.
If you can show me that 118 of the top 150 prescribed drugs of 1997 were made from, or derived from plants, fungii etc, I'll donate $100 to the charity of your choice.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
I couldn't anymore disagree with the High Priest Rithmond McKinney's misguided claim that no Rastafarian will take COVID-19 vaccinations as they believe are being injected with “any foreign substance”, is against their religious beliefs.
It seems to be an unfair bias attack unfairly and intentionally attacks aimed directly at the peaceful, law-abiding Rastafarian community's beliefs but not at those anti-vaccines members of the high profile medical community who cast a far greater, damaging and reaching influence net, yes?
John 3 years, 3 months ago
During Slavery, run away slaves on islands like Haiti and Jamaica would escape up into the mountains. The slave master would form a posse and chase the run always up into the mountains, but they would only go so far because once the former slaves already living up in the mountains were alerted they would come to the rescue and the confrontation could be bloody, if not deadly. And so the runaways formed communities in the mountains and had to grow and produce everything they consumed. And they lived close to nature with fruits and herbs and farm animals. And since most of the animals were part of the community, meat wasn’t an everyday occurrence and so what is now known as Rastas learned how to cultivate and live off a plant based diet. Water was always plentiful and most stayed healthy. Then in the 1980’s, the US in its fake ‘war on drugs’ started flying over Jamaica and Colombia and Mexico and spraying the fields to eradicate ‘illicit drugs.’ Many of the trees and plants in the mountains died and many people became ill Everything they consumed including air water soil animals and crops were poisoned by this wicked so called ‘war of drugs’. By the United States. But after time the air became clean again, so did the ground soil and the water. The Rastas got new animals and planted new crops. So don’t blame them if they don’t want to put ‘poison’ in their undefiled bodies.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
Missing out conversation is the connection of one of we very own who remains a visible stranger to WePopoulacess, thee Comrade Joseph Robert Love, elected politician, activists journalist, physician, rector, plus, plus whole list achievements, was born on 2nd October 1839 right here in Nassau. later to live and die in Kingston, Jamaica Occupation. Rumored to be traceable family roots former talk show host Chrissy Love, yes?
SP 3 years, 3 months ago
"Cannabis compound inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in human lung cells"
Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that a cannabis plant compound inhibited infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human lung cells.
SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe posing a threat to global public health and the worldwide economy.
Marsha Rosner from the University of Chicago in Illinois and colleagues found that cannabidiol (CBD) and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD potently blocked SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells.
The CBD inhibited viral gene expression and reversed many of the effects the virus has on host gene transcription.
The compound also induced the expression of interferons – cell signaling proteins that are produced by host cells as an early response to viral invasion.
Furthermore, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was up to an order of magnitude lower in a cohort of patients who had been taking CBD, compared with matched patients who had not been taking CBD.
“This study highlights CBD, and its active metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, as potential preventative agents and therapeutic treatments for SARS-CoV-2 at early stages of infection,” says Rosner and the team.
A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
"potential" is the key word. There was a day not do long ago when fully vaccinated people couldnt get and alternately die from COVID
SP 3 years, 3 months ago
"Cannabidiol Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Promotes the Host Innate Immune Response"
The rapid spread of COVID-19 underscores the need for new treatments. Here we report that cannabidiol (CBD), a compound produced by the cannabis plant, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection. CBD and its metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, but not congeneric cannabinoids, potently block SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells.
CBD acts after cellular infection, inhibiting viral gene expression and reversing many effects of SARS-CoV-2 on host gene transcription. CBD induces interferon expression and up-regulates its antiviral signaling pathway. A cohort of human patients previously taking CBD had significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence of up to an order of magnitude relative to matched pairs or the general population.
This study highlights CBD, and its active metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, as potential preventative agents and therapeutic treatments for SARS-CoV-2 at early stages of infection.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
The US had ONE THIRD of the world’s Covid-19 cases. But yet they saying you must now be fully vaccinated to visit that country. What’s wrong with the vaccines? 100 minutes 333 is 666.. the world as you know it may be coming to its history but keep your soul alive for the next dispensation
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
They have not said you have to be fully vaccinated to visit the US. There's a story floating around that its an option that was considered. But remember that option was "considered" months ago and abandoned. Id be surprised if they did but its not outside the realm of possibility.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
And they are failing to tell you that vaccinated people are causing unvaccinated persons to test positive. Then these people panic and go take the vaccine. For the amount of activity that is going on on New Providence, the number of new cases is relatively low. And remember there is more testing going on than ever before. Despite the spike yesterday, the seven day average is still lower than seven days ago. Now the numbers will start to decline as natural immunity sets in.
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