4 ms·

> Yep, some of these predictions are outright comical. "has covid ended handshakes forever" or "will we ever go back to bars?". I agree. Do people think it's r

> Yep, some of these predictions are outright comical. "has covid ended handshakes forever" or "will we ever go back to bars?". I agree. Do people think it's really a good idea to always be coddling your immune system? If this were to happen, the next pandemic will probably be far worse. Just saw a study that says that having the cold recently could help your immune system fight covid-19. Of course I don't know how accurate it is, but the one thing I do know is that nobody fully understands covid and how the immune system handles it.

mathw 6y ago
There is some indication that exposure to some other coronaviruses may improve immune response to the pandemic one, but I think it's still a bit vague and undefined. Since there are coronaviruses in circulation which cause colds, this is possibly true. It's not something to base public health policy around though! You are certainly right that we lack a lot of understanding, including about various kinds of immune response to the virus which is critical to developing an effective vaccine. The level of scientific activity around this one virus is utterly phenomenal though. I'd like to think this is going to be a defining moment for human medicine, but I fear it might turn out otherwise.