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I keep hearing that Covid is never going away (see recent Atlantic article). How is it surprising when vaccines designed to prevent hospitalization don't preven

I keep hearing that Covid is never going away (see recent Atlantic article). How is it surprising when vaccines designed to prevent hospitalization don't prevent infection.

micromacrofoot 5y ago
It's not surprising if you're very familiar with how vaccines work, but most people are not very familiar with how vaccines work. This type of article is exactly what it says it is: a warning. Vaccines aren't a silver bullet and you still need to be a little careful right now. That's really the whole message. If you're already aware, that's great! help inform everyone else.
Bellyache5 5y ago
I have heard similarly from various outlets that "we'll just have to learn to live with Covid-19, like we do with the flu and other viruses that we're unable to eradicate". What I find curious is that SARS-CoV-1 (e.g. the original SARS circa 2003) seemed to eventually disappear overnight. It leaves me pondering two questions: 1. Did SARS-CoV-1 actually disappear or do we just not hear about it anymore? 2. What is different between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 that makes us think the latter will persist indefinitely when the former seemed to disappear?
- pricecomstock 5y ago
  There were only ever 8000 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-1. It was able to be contained. Wikipedia mentions that quarantines were very effective because it wasn't often asymptomatically contagious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndr...
- nradov 5y ago
  SARS-CoV was less contagious and had a higher fatality rate, so it burned out quickly. There's no reliable evidence that it's still circulating in humans. SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious and less fatal so it has already spread worldwide. It also has multiple animal reservoirs so even if there was some way to simultaneously eliminate the virus from every human (there isn't), we would just catch it again from dogs or deer or something and the pandemic would restart.
jonnycomputer 5y ago
I imagine that it does make infection less likely, and make the likelihood of passing it on less likely too. I mean, most of the research on it says exactly that. But nothing is perfect.
bequanna 5y ago
Flu was the perfect crisis hiding right under our noses. Variants have been circulating throughout the population causing a high number of deaths for all of modern history. Now that we’ve encountered a somewhat more deadly and contagious version than normal and the “danger” of this version has been super hyped, we’re quite sensitive to all flu related news, all flu variants, all flu deaths, etc. Confirmation bias at work. We’re now noticing something that was there all along: people die from the flu. Even if actual flu related deaths reverted to a pre-2020 level, I guarantee it would still be news. People will still be wearing masks, state/local governments will be enforcing mandates, etc. Couple the above with the fact that a group of bureaucrats have managed to seize an almost dictatorial amount of “emergency” powers, you can bet this isn’t going away anytime soon.
- SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
  You're aware the coronavirus isn't the flu, right? It's a totally different type of virus, completely unrelated to influenza.
- conception 5y ago
  > somewhat more deadly A magnitude more deadly. Flu's death rate is ~.1%, Covid's is about 2-3%.
  - bequanna 5y ago
    That is an insane, alarmist claim if I ever saw one. The death rate is absolutely not 2-3%. What percentage of the population do think has been infected?
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      To be fair to GP, during the first few months of the pandemic - early to mid 2020 - this was the rate that was used in all publications. Though the rate might currently be known to be lower (or higher for all I know) this is the rate that I remember.
    - conception 5y ago
rcurry 5y ago
Covid is the next Afghanistan.

I keep hearing that Covid is never going away (see recent Atlantic article). How is it surprising when vaccines designed to prevent hospitalization don't prevent infection.

micromacrofoot 5y ago

It's not surprising if you're very familiar with how vaccines work, but most people are not very familiar with how vaccines work. This type of article is exactly what it says it is: a warning. Vaccines aren't a silver bullet and you still need to be a little careful right now. That's really the whole message. If you're already aware, that's great! help inform everyone else.

Bellyache5 5y ago

I have heard similarly from various outlets that "we'll just have to learn to live with Covid-19, like we do with the flu and other viruses that we're unable to eradicate". What I find curious is that SARS-CoV-1 (e.g. the original SARS circa 2003) seemed to eventually disappear overnight. It leaves me pondering two questions: 1. Did SARS-CoV-1 actually disappear or do we just not hear about it anymore? 2. What is different between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 that makes us think the latter will persist indefinitely when the former seemed to disappear?

pricecomstock 5y ago
There were only ever 8000 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-1. It was able to be contained. Wikipedia mentions that quarantines were very effective because it wasn't often asymptomatically contagious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndr...
nradov 5y ago
SARS-CoV was less contagious and had a higher fatality rate, so it burned out quickly. There's no reliable evidence that it's still circulating in humans. SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious and less fatal so it has already spread worldwide. It also has multiple animal reservoirs so even if there was some way to simultaneously eliminate the virus from every human (there isn't), we would just catch it again from dogs or deer or something and the pandemic would restart.

jonnycomputer 5y ago

I imagine that it does make infection less likely, and make the likelihood of passing it on less likely too. I mean, most of the research on it says exactly that. But nothing is perfect.

bequanna 5y ago

Flu was the perfect crisis hiding right under our noses. Variants have been circulating throughout the population causing a high number of deaths for all of modern history. Now that we’ve encountered a somewhat more deadly and contagious version than normal and the “danger” of this version has been super hyped, we’re quite sensitive to all flu related news, all flu variants, all flu deaths, etc. Confirmation bias at work. We’re now noticing something that was there all along: people die from the flu. Even if actual flu related deaths reverted to a pre-2020 level, I guarantee it would still be news. People will still be wearing masks, state/local governments will be enforcing mandates, etc. Couple the above with the fact that a group of bureaucrats have managed to seize an almost dictatorial amount of “emergency” powers, you can bet this isn’t going away anytime soon.

SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
You're aware the coronavirus isn't the flu, right? It's a totally different type of virus, completely unrelated to influenza.
conception 5y ago
> somewhat more deadly A magnitude more deadly. Flu's death rate is ~.1%, Covid's is about 2-3%.
- bequanna 5y ago
  That is an insane, alarmist claim if I ever saw one. The death rate is absolutely not 2-3%. What percentage of the population do think has been infected?
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    To be fair to GP, during the first few months of the pandemic - early to mid 2020 - this was the rate that was used in all publications. Though the rate might currently be known to be lower (or higher for all I know) this is the rate that I remember.
  - conception 5y ago

rcurry 5y ago

Covid is the next Afghanistan.