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We have no idea what the long term effects of COVID-19 infection will be, however there's no reason to think the long-term impact will be any different from any

We have no idea what the long term effects of COVID-19 infection will be, however there's no reason to think the long-term impact will be any different from any other coronavirus flu. And given that the virus is endemic, and the vaccines only provided fleeting protection (they're not even being offered by the NHS here in the UK any more), we'll all get it sooner or later. There's no choice about it. Fortunately for the vast majority of people, COVID-19 is a mild disease that they will recover from quickly.

parasubvert 4y ago
You have no idea what you’re talking about and are spreading misinformation. 1. SARS-CoV-2 is not influenza. 2. Influenza is not a coronavirus. 3. Influenza usually kills 300,000-500,000 people annually 4. Consensus estimates of excess deaths from COVID-19 are 14 million over the two years of 2020-2021. 2022 isn’t looking great either. 5. All developed countries highly recommend the annual Influenza vaccine even with its variable annual efficacy, as a way of lowering the intensity and spread. The same will likely continue in many countries for COVID-19, where the recent Bivalent vaccines show reduced but still significant effectiveness against the recent variants of SARS-CoV-2. 6. COVID-19 has raised all cause mortality and lowers life expectancy across all age groups starting before middle age. 7. The UK NHS continues to offer standard two dose and 3rd shot booster COVID-19 vaccines (all mRNA now) for children over aged 5 and adults. This has not stopped. Beyond this, they’ve limited additional boosters to seasonal programs for target populations that are at greater risk. They had one in the Autumn of 2022 and is staring a new one for Spring of 2023 for the immunocompromised and elderly (75+). The UK also signed a deal with Moderna to begin producing mRNA vaccines within the UK by 2025. The vast majority of the UK population have COVID antibodies and are at far less risk than they were in 2020, but this continues to be monitored and may require broader seasonal vaccination campaigns if immunity wanes. 8. As with any disease vector there always is a choice to use mitigations such as masks in crowded indoor spaces, vaccinations, etc. to lower the spread. This is something other countries learned decades ago.
- realjhol 4y ago
  > You have no idea what you’re talking about and are spreading misinformation. I actually do know what I'm talking about. > 1. SARS-CoV-2 is not influenza. > 2. Influenza is not a coronavirus. I know. It's a flu-like respiratory illness from a class of illnesses that humans face every season. > 5. All developed countries highly recommend the annual Influenza vaccine even with its variable annual efficacy, as a way of lowering the intensity and spread. No they don't. The UK does not offer flu vaccine for anyone except member of vulnerable groups, young children or medical workers. > 6. COVID-19 has raised all cause mortality and lowers life expectancy across all age groups starting before middle age. The all cause mortality has risen. There's every indication that this is due to the mRNA vaccines. > Beyond this, they’ve limited additional boosters to seasonal programs for target populations that are at greater risk. Any why are they doing that? It's because the likelihood of hospitalisation due to a vaccine injury (1 in 800) [1] is greater than the liklihood of being spared from a hospitalisation due to COVID [2] in every age category except 70+. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/ [2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131409/appendix-1-of-jcvi-statement-on-2023-covid-19-vaccination-programme-8-november-2022.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... > The vast majority of the UK population have COVID antibodies and are at far less risk than they were in 2020 The vast majority of the UK population were at minimal risk of COVID to begin with. I myself recovered from it in less than a day. 8. As with any disease vector there always is a choice to use mitigations such as masks in crowded indoor spaces, vaccinations, etc. to lower the spread. This is something other countries learned decades ago. As the Danish mask study shows, the mask mandates were nothing more than securiy theater. The vaccines only offer fleeting protection of a few weeks, so it's not possible to keep the population on a 3-monthly treadmill of boosters. > This is something other countries learned decades ago. No the UK had a policy that explicitly recommended against mask mandates - especially paper and cloth masks.
  - heretohelp3546 4y ago
    Hiya, here to help. In reviewing the HN guidelines at the bottom of the page I was reminded that my initial reaction to your performance on this thread here today was uncouth, to be avoided. Instead I'll take the high road. For an account created ten months ago it seems possible you haven't read the guidelines for commenting. Maybe it will help you understand a bit of why you've been downvoted on this thread today. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html My two cents, your mind appears to be made up on this topic. It shows. It also tips your hand as to what media sources you likely consume beyond HN. Please consider (beyond the emotional reactions associated with this thread on this day) that you could perhaps use some improvement on having constructive discourse in this sort of forum. Chiming in because I like this place and have been here since near the beginning. I'd like to see discourse not devolve into factionalism or whatever more appropriate word could take it's place in this context.
bitL 4y ago
> no reason to think the long-term impact will be any different from any other coronavirus flu. Long covid is real and seems to affect up to 5% of covid patients. We have no clue what the risk will be with repeated infections and 1.05^n is a pretty steep exponential curve when viewed in decades.
- realjhol 4y ago
  > We have no clue what the risk will be with repeated infections and 1.05^n is a pretty steep exponential curve when viewed in decades. This is fantasy
  - bitL 4y ago
    Head over to /r/covidlonghaulers and read it yourself.
    - realjhol 4y ago
      There is zero evidence of the exponential growth you are describing.
      - bitL 4y ago
        Not yet, data collection takes time. On that link above there are stories of people who got long covid on their 3rd or 4th infection. If that could happen with repeated infections, would that lead to mass disability over time (e.g. 25% workforce with ME/CFS unable to do pretty much anything)?
        realjhol 4y ago
        > Not yet, data collection takes time. There is no evidence except for a few sketchy anecdotes from hyperchondriacs
        bitL 4y ago

parasubvert 4y ago

You have no idea what you’re talking about and are spreading misinformation. 1. SARS-CoV-2 is not influenza. 2. Influenza is not a coronavirus. 3. Influenza usually kills 300,000-500,000 people annually 4. Consensus estimates of excess deaths from COVID-19 are 14 million over the two years of 2020-2021. 2022 isn’t looking great either. 5. All developed countries highly recommend the annual Influenza vaccine even with its variable annual efficacy, as a way of lowering the intensity and spread. The same will likely continue in many countries for COVID-19, where the recent Bivalent vaccines show reduced but still significant effectiveness against the recent variants of SARS-CoV-2. 6. COVID-19 has raised all cause mortality and lowers life expectancy across all age groups starting before middle age. 7. The UK NHS continues to offer standard two dose and 3rd shot booster COVID-19 vaccines (all mRNA now) for children over aged 5 and adults. This has not stopped. Beyond this, they’ve limited additional boosters to seasonal programs for target populations that are at greater risk. They had one in the Autumn of 2022 and is staring a new one for Spring of 2023 for the immunocompromised and elderly (75+). The UK also signed a deal with Moderna to begin producing mRNA vaccines within the UK by 2025. The vast majority of the UK population have COVID antibodies and are at far less risk than they were in 2020, but this continues to be monitored and may require broader seasonal vaccination campaigns if immunity wanes. 8. As with any disease vector there always is a choice to use mitigations such as masks in crowded indoor spaces, vaccinations, etc. to lower the spread. This is something other countries learned decades ago.

realjhol 4y ago
> You have no idea what you’re talking about and are spreading misinformation. I actually do know what I'm talking about. > 1. SARS-CoV-2 is not influenza. > 2. Influenza is not a coronavirus. I know. It's a flu-like respiratory illness from a class of illnesses that humans face every season. > 5. All developed countries highly recommend the annual Influenza vaccine even with its variable annual efficacy, as a way of lowering the intensity and spread. No they don't. The UK does not offer flu vaccine for anyone except member of vulnerable groups, young children or medical workers. > 6. COVID-19 has raised all cause mortality and lowers life expectancy across all age groups starting before middle age. The all cause mortality has risen. There's every indication that this is due to the mRNA vaccines. > Beyond this, they’ve limited additional boosters to seasonal programs for target populations that are at greater risk. Any why are they doing that? It's because the likelihood of hospitalisation due to a vaccine injury (1 in 800) [1] is greater than the liklihood of being spared from a hospitalisation due to COVID [2] in every age category except 70+. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/ [2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131409/appendix-1-of-jcvi-statement-on-2023-covid-19-vaccination-programme-8-november-2022.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... > The vast majority of the UK population have COVID antibodies and are at far less risk than they were in 2020 The vast majority of the UK population were at minimal risk of COVID to begin with. I myself recovered from it in less than a day. 8. As with any disease vector there always is a choice to use mitigations such as masks in crowded indoor spaces, vaccinations, etc. to lower the spread. This is something other countries learned decades ago. As the Danish mask study shows, the mask mandates were nothing more than securiy theater. The vaccines only offer fleeting protection of a few weeks, so it's not possible to keep the population on a 3-monthly treadmill of boosters. > This is something other countries learned decades ago. No the UK had a policy that explicitly recommended against mask mandates - especially paper and cloth masks.
- heretohelp3546 4y ago
  Hiya, here to help. In reviewing the HN guidelines at the bottom of the page I was reminded that my initial reaction to your performance on this thread here today was uncouth, to be avoided. Instead I'll take the high road. For an account created ten months ago it seems possible you haven't read the guidelines for commenting. Maybe it will help you understand a bit of why you've been downvoted on this thread today. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html My two cents, your mind appears to be made up on this topic. It shows. It also tips your hand as to what media sources you likely consume beyond HN. Please consider (beyond the emotional reactions associated with this thread on this day) that you could perhaps use some improvement on having constructive discourse in this sort of forum. Chiming in because I like this place and have been here since near the beginning. I'd like to see discourse not devolve into factionalism or whatever more appropriate word could take it's place in this context.

bitL 4y ago

> no reason to think the long-term impact will be any different from any other coronavirus flu. Long covid is real and seems to affect up to 5% of covid patients. We have no clue what the risk will be with repeated infections and 1.05^n is a pretty steep exponential curve when viewed in decades.

realjhol 4y ago
> We have no clue what the risk will be with repeated infections and 1.05^n is a pretty steep exponential curve when viewed in decades. This is fantasy
- bitL 4y ago
  Head over to /r/covidlonghaulers and read it yourself.
  - realjhol 4y ago
    There is zero evidence of the exponential growth you are describing.
    - bitL 4y ago
      Not yet, data collection takes time. On that link above there are stories of people who got long covid on their 3rd or 4th infection. If that could happen with repeated infections, would that lead to mass disability over time (e.g. 25% workforce with ME/CFS unable to do pretty much anything)?
      - realjhol 4y ago
        > Not yet, data collection takes time. There is no evidence except for a few sketchy anecdotes from hyperchondriacs
        bitL 4y ago