@Andyk:

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@ Thegreatunwashed:
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I wonder if the Diamond Princess is really quite the perfect natural experiment as it seems, at least in one specific respect. Being a cruise, I imagine it is possible that a large portion of the passengers got heavy doses of natural vitamin D that they normally wouldn't get when not on vacation. That may have boosted their innate immunities and saved many of them from infection.


I doubt it. A typical 1 to 2 week cruise isn't enough sun time to really boost your Vit D by a significant margin.

I agree. Also, consider that the passengers on that ship were likely heavily skewed toward the elderly, probably most with comorbidity. Still, only 20% (+/-) affected.