4 ms·

"The amount we still don't know about the long term effects of being infected with COVID-19 is terrifying" The amount that we do know about the potential long

"The amount we still don't know about the long term effects of being infected with COVID-19 is terrifying" The amount that we do know about the potential long term effects of various other illnesses, including some that most of us have already had in our lifetimes, is also terrifying. Let's not forget that many illnesses can, in some percentage of cases, cause serious and ongoing problems. COVID-19 doesn't appear to be bizarrely unique in this respect, it's just new and receiving a uniquely massive amount of attention (obviously for good reason).

skulk 6y ago
> COVID-19 doesn't appear to be bizarrely unique in this respect I don't agree. How many highly contagious, long-incubation, temporarily debilitating, and permanently damaging (cardiovascular, neurological, etc) diseases do we deal with regularly that we aren't already vaccinated against/haven't mostly eradicated? I haven't been alive long enough to remember tuberculosis, so this is quite bizarrely unique to me.
- Izkata 6y ago
  > I haven't been alive long enough to remember tuberculosis, so this is quite bizarrely unique to me. You're alive right now, aren't you? From wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis): > In 2018, there were more than 10 million cases of active TB which resulted in 1.5 million deaths.[7] This makes it the number one cause of death from an infectious disease.[13] [..] About 80% of people in many Asian and African countries test positive while 5–10% of people in the United States population test positive by the tuberculin test.[14] Mentions of tuberculosis stick out for me because there was a scare in my middle school that resulted in lots of us getting tested for it (in 2003, in the US). Luckily it was only a scare, as far as I'm aware none of the tests came out positive (and I know mine didn't).
- standardUser 6y ago
  Influenza can cause all kinds of serious and long term health problems. So can most STDs any given bacterial infection if they are left unobserved/untreated for long enough. Most pathogens have some chance of causing serious problems, they are just usually rare, just like with COVID-19.

skulk 6y ago

> COVID-19 doesn't appear to be bizarrely unique in this respect I don't agree. How many highly contagious, long-incubation, temporarily debilitating, and permanently damaging (cardiovascular, neurological, etc) diseases do we deal with regularly that we aren't already vaccinated against/haven't mostly eradicated? I haven't been alive long enough to remember tuberculosis, so this is quite bizarrely unique to me.

Izkata 6y ago
> I haven't been alive long enough to remember tuberculosis, so this is quite bizarrely unique to me. You're alive right now, aren't you? From wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis): > In 2018, there were more than 10 million cases of active TB which resulted in 1.5 million deaths.[7] This makes it the number one cause of death from an infectious disease.[13] [..] About 80% of people in many Asian and African countries test positive while 5–10% of people in the United States population test positive by the tuberculin test.[14] Mentions of tuberculosis stick out for me because there was a scare in my middle school that resulted in lots of us getting tested for it (in 2003, in the US). Luckily it was only a scare, as far as I'm aware none of the tests came out positive (and I know mine didn't).
standardUser 6y ago
Influenza can cause all kinds of serious and long term health problems. So can most STDs any given bacterial infection if they are left unobserved/untreated for long enough. Most pathogens have some chance of causing serious problems, they are just usually rare, just like with COVID-19.