5 ms·

I'm so sick of hearing about COVID-19... The virus completely endemic at this point, it will never be eradicated. We have a vaccine that is effective and free

by rp1 5y ago

I'm so sick of hearing about COVID-19... The virus completely endemic at this point, it will never be eradicated. We have a vaccine that is effective and free to all who want it. Breakthrough infections happen, but not often and those who get them usually recover. Will I need to wear a mask for the rest of my life? Will I need to worry about my children staying home from school forever? I want to forget about the virus and get on with my life.

reureu 5y ago
I think everyone is sick of hearing about COVID-19, but hitting your information saturation point is not the same as a disease becoming endemic. The virus is objectively not endemic yet, as demonstrated by the overwhelmed hospital systems. This may not be the case where you live, but there are many places in the US where crisis standards of care are either currently implemented, on the verge of being implemented, or have just been ceased. While you're totally right about breakthrough infections etc, it's a bit premature to say we're back to normal when people are at risk of dying of treatable conditions solely because hospitals are full of mostly unvaccinated covid patients.
- rp1 5y ago
  The virus is objectively endemic. It's regularly found in people and cannot be eradicated. Even if you could somehow eradicate it among humans, it has animal reservoirs so re-contamination would always be a threat. If hospital capacity is an issue, then we should expand capacity to reflect the current state of the world, instead of hoping that the world will somehow return to how it was prior to the pandemic.
  - reureu 5y ago
    The question wasn't if we're trying to eradicate it or not, or if we're going to ever return to a pre-pandemic normal, it's whether we're in an epidemic/pandemic or endemic phase. My point is just that, as tired of hearing about it as everyone is, covid is still killing many people both directly (through infection) and indirectly (through tying up healthcare resources). We're still not at a place where covid is like the flu or colds because, as one example measure, it's overwhelming hospitals. We should definitely be talking about expanding healthcare capacity, if not for covid than for the burgeoning obesity, diabetes, and hypertension epidemic. Those are discussions that have been happening for years, and ultimately work on a decade timescale.
swiley 5y ago
I'll keep talking about the vaccine mandates publicly until I'm no longer affected by them.
iammisc 5y ago
Don't worry... They'll still tax you for the privilege of wearing a mask and having administrators make the decision to keep your child home.
Toutouxc 5y ago
> Breakthrough infections happen, but not often and those who get them usually recover. Data from my country (the Czech Republic), last Thursday (4th): 372 people newly admitted to hospitals, out of them 167 were fully vaccinated. I'm not saying the number is huge or alarming (much more vaccinated people in the population, those 167 people are also older on average than the other group), but it's still far from "not often". > Will I need to wear a mask for the rest of my life? Will I need to worry about my children staying home from school forever? I want to forget about the virus and get on with my life. Here's a scary thought: We the humanity are a bit more intelligent than other animals and a bit more flexible (also more destructive), but no one said we'll be the kings forever. Maybe a single lucky virus is enough to significantly hurt us. Maybe we're a couple of mutations far from never being able to forget the virus and yes, wearing masks for the rest of our lives. We can't forget that HIV exists, can we? Nobody said that a stupid new coronavirus can't be our downfall.

by rp1 5y ago

reureu 5y ago

I think everyone is sick of hearing about COVID-19, but hitting your information saturation point is not the same as a disease becoming endemic. The virus is objectively not endemic yet, as demonstrated by the overwhelmed hospital systems. This may not be the case where you live, but there are many places in the US where crisis standards of care are either currently implemented, on the verge of being implemented, or have just been ceased. While you're totally right about breakthrough infections etc, it's a bit premature to say we're back to normal when people are at risk of dying of treatable conditions solely because hospitals are full of mostly unvaccinated covid patients.

rp1 5y ago
The virus is objectively endemic. It's regularly found in people and cannot be eradicated. Even if you could somehow eradicate it among humans, it has animal reservoirs so re-contamination would always be a threat. If hospital capacity is an issue, then we should expand capacity to reflect the current state of the world, instead of hoping that the world will somehow return to how it was prior to the pandemic.
- reureu 5y ago
  The question wasn't if we're trying to eradicate it or not, or if we're going to ever return to a pre-pandemic normal, it's whether we're in an epidemic/pandemic or endemic phase. My point is just that, as tired of hearing about it as everyone is, covid is still killing many people both directly (through infection) and indirectly (through tying up healthcare resources). We're still not at a place where covid is like the flu or colds because, as one example measure, it's overwhelming hospitals. We should definitely be talking about expanding healthcare capacity, if not for covid than for the burgeoning obesity, diabetes, and hypertension epidemic. Those are discussions that have been happening for years, and ultimately work on a decade timescale.

swiley 5y ago

I'll keep talking about the vaccine mandates publicly until I'm no longer affected by them.

iammisc 5y ago

Don't worry... They'll still tax you for the privilege of wearing a mask and having administrators make the decision to keep your child home.

Toutouxc 5y ago

> Breakthrough infections happen, but not often and those who get them usually recover. Data from my country (the Czech Republic), last Thursday (4th): 372 people newly admitted to hospitals, out of them 167 were fully vaccinated. I'm not saying the number is huge or alarming (much more vaccinated people in the population, those 167 people are also older on average than the other group), but it's still far from "not often". > Will I need to wear a mask for the rest of my life? Will I need to worry about my children staying home from school forever? I want to forget about the virus and get on with my life. Here's a scary thought: We the humanity are a bit more intelligent than other animals and a bit more flexible (also more destructive), but no one said we'll be the kings forever. Maybe a single lucky virus is enough to significantly hurt us. Maybe we're a couple of mutations far from never being able to forget the virus and yes, wearing masks for the rest of our lives. We can't forget that HIV exists, can we? Nobody said that a stupid new coronavirus can't be our downfall.