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Each morning Donna marked 33 baggies with a Sharpie pen and filled them with each person's three daily doses of vitamins, supplements, and medications. She also made sure the family kept moving. "I think the biggest thing is just to stay active. If you're lying in bed, the fluid stays in one place and can turn into pneumonia," she suggested. e now 81-year-old father-in-law has diabetes and blood- pressure issues but went out every day to do his chicken chores. "I told him, 'Dad, you have to walk.' So twice a day, he would go out to the barn. We were a lile worried about the baby, but she got her treatment through breast milk," Donna said. Because Donna, her husband, and in-laws have preexisting conditions, the clinic recommended monoclonal antibodies, which the four took. "Aer about three days, we were feeling beer," Donna said. "We had no fevers aer four days, and we quarantined for 14. Also, aer about four days, the guys were out hunting. It's great to be quarantined in Montana during hunting season. All the tags got filled." Ida Kleinsasser of Great Falls and husband Dave contracted COVID in November 2020. "e whole family had it. My daughter had it prey bad, my husband had double pneumonia, and my mom, age 70, was being treated for colon cancer at the time—she was very sick as well," Ida said. Life in rural Montana instilled in Ida a natural approach to the family's healthcare: "I had my three children at home with a midwife when we were living in our Huerite family," she noted. When COVID afflicted the family, Ida said, "We took zinc, we took Vitamin D and C, and are still taking it." Ida, her husband, mom, aunt, and daughter also took ivermectin. Dave, who took ivermectin late into his illness, visited a walk-in clinic because Ida recalled, "he was coughing so hard and had been home 1 1/2 weeks." He was prescribed budesonide at the clinic in addition to his three doses of ivermectin and recovered. "Everybody received the vaccine info. If people want to take it, fine," Ida said. She added that she and her husband were recently checked for antibodies and "tested off the charts" while other vaccinated people she knows show none. She's also convinced that her husband's longtime dermatological issues disappeared as a result of the ivermectin. Stuart Anderson, owner of Anderson Family Pharmacy in Great Falls, has seen an uptick in sales of Vitamins C and D, zinc, melatonin, and quercetin, all reported to boost natural immunity. "A lot of people are coming in for liposomal Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and zinc over the past year. ey can help your immune system," Anderson said. A compounding pharmacy, Anderson's business creates customized medications to meet patients' individual needs. is includes smaller dosages of medications than are available at large retail pharmacy chains, as well as medications free of allergens and preservatives. It's the first pharmacy in Montana to carry the OTC nasal spray, Cofix. According to its marketing materials, povidone-iodine, the active ingredient in Cofix, is "proven to protect against germs and viruses in seconds." Anderson cautioned that Cofix is "not intended as a substitute for the vaccine. But a lot of people are geing it just to have it in their medicine cabinets. It adds another layer of protection." e pharmacy started encapsulating ivermectin several months ago in response to increasing calls from physicians. Previously, the only ivermectin product on the market for human use was a 3 mg anti-parasitic tablet. Anderson can now encapsulate the drug to meet the dosing prescribed by a physician and based on a person's weight. "It's very patient- specific," Anderson said. Finding a Cure, Dermatological Conditions and All Ida and Dave Kleinsasser: A Pharmacist's Perspective Stuart Anderson has seen increased sales of vitamins, supplements, and other therapeutics. Anderson Family Pharmacy compounds medications to meet exacting dosing requirements. 49 farm406

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