4 ms·

> I'm really not sure what to do – we don't want to keep getting it, but we really want some sense of social life back. Why bother doing anything different? Ar

by koolba 4y ago

> I'm really not sure what to do – we don't want to keep getting it, but we really want some sense of social life back. Why bother doing anything different? Are you at specific risk or is this just general fear of some catastrophic outcome? Were you equally fearful of the common flu prior to covid? > My wife and I keep wondering / looking if there's anywhere in the world where people by and large take this infection seriously. Considering the overwhelming evidence that it's not statistically an issue for the vast majority of otherwise healthy people, and even more so if you factor in vaccination, what does it mean to "take this infection seriously"? Do you expect the world to wear N95 masks 24/7 and stop hugging each other just to assuage your personal fears?

whimsicalism 4y ago
Early in the pandemic, covid was much worse than the common flu.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  For the old. For the not-old, it was a lot like the common flu, and for the very young, it was much milder. For nursing home residents (the old who are pretty bad off) it was like a coin-flip death sentence.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    For the not old, the death and morbidity rates were still higher than the common flu. Only for young children was it less bad than the flu.
- bloppe 4y ago
  Part of the reason covid was so confusing is that the outcomes are extremely variable. Even among the earliest infections, many people were completely asymptomatic. Also, some young, healthy people end up dying from it. It's hard for a lot of people to understand that kind of risk. I've tested possible on 2 occasions now, pre- and post-vax, and can confidently say I'm much more concerned about flu than covid (for me).
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    Outcomes are extremely variable for most illnesses.
pessimizer 4y ago
> Considering the overwhelming evidence that it's not statistically an issue for the vast majority of otherwise healthy people Don't be an overdebunker. We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. Its love of eating brains and what seems like an ability to stick around in the nervous system indefinitely for some people like herpes or chicken pox are worrying. Especially for people who seem to keep getting repeat infections.
- _dain_ 4y ago
  >We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. and neither have the vaccines
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    Since you trust the long-term safety of the vaccines 100%, I guess it's reasonable to trust long-term predictions of the effects of covid 100% for you then.
- koolba 4y ago
  > We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. The flip side of that coin is we have no knowledge that it has catastrophic long term damage. And even it if does we have a critical mass of people infected to justify research to solve it. > Its love of eating brains and what seems like an ability to stick around in the nervous system indefinitely for some people like herpes or chicken pox are worrying. Sure but worrying to the point of living as a recluse for years to come? For an otherwise healthy person that’s frankly absurd.
  - xypage 4y ago
    Ok but if it turns out to be fine, being overly careful means you didn't get to be as social as you otherwise would be. An inconvenience, sure, a degradation of your quality of life, yes, but nothing too major. If it does turn out to have long term consequences, you could be losing years of your life, and making the years towards the end have a much lower standard of living. I'd much prefer to isolate more than normal now when I'm healthy and have that turn out to have been unnecessary than to not, and end up forced to isolate due to poor health limiting my ability to live my life. For the record, I'm not a recluse or anything, but I'm not going to concerts or things like that, and am still wearing a mask.
mcint 4y ago
Would male fertility impacts worry you? https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam/status/1596922071786741760 https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam/status/1596922071786741760

by koolba 4y ago

whimsicalism 4y ago

Early in the pandemic, covid was much worse than the common flu.

pessimizer 4y ago
For the old. For the not-old, it was a lot like the common flu, and for the very young, it was much milder. For nursing home residents (the old who are pretty bad off) it was like a coin-flip death sentence.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  For the not old, the death and morbidity rates were still higher than the common flu. Only for young children was it less bad than the flu.
bloppe 4y ago
Part of the reason covid was so confusing is that the outcomes are extremely variable. Even among the earliest infections, many people were completely asymptomatic. Also, some young, healthy people end up dying from it. It's hard for a lot of people to understand that kind of risk. I've tested possible on 2 occasions now, pre- and post-vax, and can confidently say I'm much more concerned about flu than covid (for me).
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  Outcomes are extremely variable for most illnesses.

pessimizer 4y ago

> Considering the overwhelming evidence that it's not statistically an issue for the vast majority of otherwise healthy people Don't be an overdebunker. We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. Its love of eating brains and what seems like an ability to stick around in the nervous system indefinitely for some people like herpes or chicken pox are worrying. Especially for people who seem to keep getting repeat infections.

_dain_ 4y ago
>We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. and neither have the vaccines
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Since you trust the long-term safety of the vaccines 100%, I guess it's reasonable to trust long-term predictions of the effects of covid 100% for you then.
koolba 4y ago
> We have no long term knowledge because covid hasn't existed over the long term. The flip side of that coin is we have no knowledge that it has catastrophic long term damage. And even it if does we have a critical mass of people infected to justify research to solve it. > Its love of eating brains and what seems like an ability to stick around in the nervous system indefinitely for some people like herpes or chicken pox are worrying. Sure but worrying to the point of living as a recluse for years to come? For an otherwise healthy person that’s frankly absurd.
- xypage 4y ago
  Ok but if it turns out to be fine, being overly careful means you didn't get to be as social as you otherwise would be. An inconvenience, sure, a degradation of your quality of life, yes, but nothing too major. If it does turn out to have long term consequences, you could be losing years of your life, and making the years towards the end have a much lower standard of living. I'd much prefer to isolate more than normal now when I'm healthy and have that turn out to have been unnecessary than to not, and end up forced to isolate due to poor health limiting my ability to live my life. For the record, I'm not a recluse or anything, but I'm not going to concerts or things like that, and am still wearing a mask.

mcint 4y ago

Would male fertility impacts worry you? https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam/status/1596922071786741760 https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam/status/1596922071786741760