7 ms·

It is worse than the flu, but it isn't that much worse. With vaccines now widely available, people will just have to learn to stop being afraid. Get your annual

It is worse than the flu, but it isn't that much worse. With vaccines now widely available, people will just have to learn to stop being afraid. Get your annual covid vaccine, bundled with your flu vaccine, and go live your life.

mdp2021 5y ago
Vaccines aside, many of us never saw others dying lung-less "after a flu". Vaccines included, some of us were never told that "a flu" could frequently provide long term impairment (this with reference to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29339783 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29339783 )
- helge9210 5y ago
  TL;DR If it got to lungs, they (COVID-19, flu) are both worse. Any lung infection will have a lasting effect (in survivors). In lucky cases, pneumonia is caused by bacteria sensitive to antibiotics. If it's viral (flu, SARS/MERS/SARS-Cov-2 or anything else) or antibiotic resistant hospital bactery, that's basically it.
- incrudible 5y ago
  Yes, "many of us" never knew about the risk of Influenza. That doesn't mean it wasn't there. COVID is significantly less dangerous to the younger age groups than Influenza[1]. We've known this for a while now, but you rarely see a table comparing the two, because the dogma that "COVID is not like the Flu!" must not be questioned. At the same time, COVID is also significantly more dangerous than Influenza for the older age groups. The two diseases are very different, but we still need to compare them to get an understanding of the actual dangers. We've always lived with the danger of communicable diseases. It's never going away. If we constantly bombard people with the risks of this particular disease, it will cause a lot of stress and anxiety, which is significantly associated with all-cause mortality. [1] https://freopp.org/comparing-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19-vs-influenza-by-age-d33a1c76c198?gi=ad1613953b29 https://freopp.org/comparing-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19...
- MontyCarloHall 5y ago
  > Vaccines included, some of us were never told that "a flu" could frequently provide long term impairment The article you link does not claim that long term impairment is frequent. From the article: > A UK study estimates that between 7% and 18% of people who had COVID-19 went on to develop some symptoms of long COVID that lingered for at least 5 weeks. However, this study does not consider severity of symptoms. Someone with a persistent cough for 5 weeks after infection is considered to have “long COVID,” just as someone with massive loss of pulmonary function is considered to have “long COVID.” It also does not control for long COVID symptoms that are merely correlatory, e.g. insomnia. I had intermittent insomnia for the first few months of the pandemic, because I was afraid for the state of the world. Yet if I had contracted COVID in those months, I too could be considered a long COVID sufferer. I have yet to see a study that estimates the prevalence of severe long-term symptoms causally stemming from COVID infections. My guess is that it’s vanishingly small; given the sheer number of COVID infections, it would be obvious to everyone if a sizable portion of them actually went on to develop severe long-term symptoms. If 7-18% of COVID infections actually resulted in the severe long COVID symptoms described in the article (e.g. “extreme fatigue, breathlessness, [or] difficulty concentrating”), it would be extremely evident on a societal level.
  - mdp2021 5y ago
    > vanishingly small You do not have relevant acquaintances to confirm that anecdotally - numbers aside, as a real risk? > it would be extremely evident on a societal level For the cognitive aspect, I am not sure it could become so evident, given the already suboptimal situation. (If you live in a place where "all are bright", please let me know what that encouraging utopia is: I will relocate within the month.) This is not sarcasm or even irony: I believe that cognitive issues are ignored in many societies, and/hence a further decline will hardly be visible. Again, a few in my circle have noted that, but they just go on working as before. This friend of mine had an accident years ago, and started losing his "laser-like precision": he mentioned his concern with the director, who replied «You are simply getting older». I believe that the consideration of relative cognitive falls is very normally relegated to either passing episodes or normal ageing as revealed in natural jerks.
- softwaredoug 5y ago
  My understanding is severe viral illness of any kind can lead to long-term symptoms. It's not specific to Covid. However, because Covid has led to more severe illness, we see more 'long-covid' than other viruses https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033403-400-long-covid-we-have-ignored-post-viral-syndromes-for-too-long/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033403-400-long-cov...
  - mdp2021 5y ago
    Well, then as a society (of societies) we should put that "post illness risk of long-term symptoms" as a priority as a topic of focus... Something that, with the relevant details (not just the idea of course), should already be taught in primary school, after the first notions of food theory, hygiene, anatomy, physical education etc.
- 01100011 5y ago
  On the contrary, many of us have lost loved ones to the flu. The flu is not a joke. That said, it is something we tolerate and manage as a society.

mdp2021 5y ago

Vaccines aside, many of us never saw others dying lung-less "after a flu". Vaccines included, some of us were never told that "a flu" could frequently provide long term impairment (this with reference to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29339783 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29339783 )

helge9210 5y ago
TL;DR If it got to lungs, they (COVID-19, flu) are both worse. Any lung infection will have a lasting effect (in survivors). In lucky cases, pneumonia is caused by bacteria sensitive to antibiotics. If it's viral (flu, SARS/MERS/SARS-Cov-2 or anything else) or antibiotic resistant hospital bactery, that's basically it.
incrudible 5y ago
Yes, "many of us" never knew about the risk of Influenza. That doesn't mean it wasn't there. COVID is significantly less dangerous to the younger age groups than Influenza[1]. We've known this for a while now, but you rarely see a table comparing the two, because the dogma that "COVID is not like the Flu!" must not be questioned. At the same time, COVID is also significantly more dangerous than Influenza for the older age groups. The two diseases are very different, but we still need to compare them to get an understanding of the actual dangers. We've always lived with the danger of communicable diseases. It's never going away. If we constantly bombard people with the risks of this particular disease, it will cause a lot of stress and anxiety, which is significantly associated with all-cause mortality. [1] https://freopp.org/comparing-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19-vs-influenza-by-age-d33a1c76c198?gi=ad1613953b29 https://freopp.org/comparing-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19...
MontyCarloHall 5y ago
> Vaccines included, some of us were never told that "a flu" could frequently provide long term impairment The article you link does not claim that long term impairment is frequent. From the article: > A UK study estimates that between 7% and 18% of people who had COVID-19 went on to develop some symptoms of long COVID that lingered for at least 5 weeks. However, this study does not consider severity of symptoms. Someone with a persistent cough for 5 weeks after infection is considered to have “long COVID,” just as someone with massive loss of pulmonary function is considered to have “long COVID.” It also does not control for long COVID symptoms that are merely correlatory, e.g. insomnia. I had intermittent insomnia for the first few months of the pandemic, because I was afraid for the state of the world. Yet if I had contracted COVID in those months, I too could be considered a long COVID sufferer. I have yet to see a study that estimates the prevalence of severe long-term symptoms causally stemming from COVID infections. My guess is that it’s vanishingly small; given the sheer number of COVID infections, it would be obvious to everyone if a sizable portion of them actually went on to develop severe long-term symptoms. If 7-18% of COVID infections actually resulted in the severe long COVID symptoms described in the article (e.g. “extreme fatigue, breathlessness, [or] difficulty concentrating”), it would be extremely evident on a societal level.
- mdp2021 5y ago
  > vanishingly small You do not have relevant acquaintances to confirm that anecdotally - numbers aside, as a real risk? > it would be extremely evident on a societal level For the cognitive aspect, I am not sure it could become so evident, given the already suboptimal situation. (If you live in a place where "all are bright", please let me know what that encouraging utopia is: I will relocate within the month.) This is not sarcasm or even irony: I believe that cognitive issues are ignored in many societies, and/hence a further decline will hardly be visible. Again, a few in my circle have noted that, but they just go on working as before. This friend of mine had an accident years ago, and started losing his "laser-like precision": he mentioned his concern with the director, who replied «You are simply getting older». I believe that the consideration of relative cognitive falls is very normally relegated to either passing episodes or normal ageing as revealed in natural jerks.
softwaredoug 5y ago
My understanding is severe viral illness of any kind can lead to long-term symptoms. It's not specific to Covid. However, because Covid has led to more severe illness, we see more 'long-covid' than other viruses https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033403-400-long-covid-we-have-ignored-post-viral-syndromes-for-too-long/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033403-400-long-cov...
- mdp2021 5y ago
  Well, then as a society (of societies) we should put that "post illness risk of long-term symptoms" as a priority as a topic of focus... Something that, with the relevant details (not just the idea of course), should already be taught in primary school, after the first notions of food theory, hygiene, anatomy, physical education etc.
01100011 5y ago
On the contrary, many of us have lost loved ones to the flu. The flu is not a joke. That said, it is something we tolerate and manage as a society.