4 ms·

This seems like a cheap shot, but such is the polarization of the debate that I can't tell from which direction or with what aim. The simpler, rational and bor

by ajross 3y ago

This seems like a cheap shot, but such is the polarization of the debate that I can't tell from which direction or with what aim. The simpler, rational and boring truth is that the CDC is basically right. Most people have had covid several times, existing variants are much less dangerous than the original ones, vaccines work very well. There are and will remain (and have always been, vs. all disease) populations that are susceptible anyway and will need to continue to be vigilant. There remain open questions of science as to exactly what the long term effect will be or how recovery from "long covid" works (though to be fair, the dire predictions of an epidemiological time bomb haven't come true -- covid does not seem like a major source of long term disability in aggregate). But... it's safe enough. People get sick and always will, and that sucks. But there's little more we can gain by treating this disease as special.

catlifeonmars 3y ago
This actually made me think of it in this opposite way: wouldn’t a better posture be to elevate other contagious diseases to the level at which we treated COVID? My takeaway from the pandemic is that this is likely a recurring event. Reverting to a more relaxed posture doesn’t line up with normalizing everyday practices to reduce spread of disease overall.
- wrs 3y ago
  That would require outrageously impractical practices like giving people enough sick leave so they could actually do the obvious thing of not going to work when they’re contagious. /s
- varelse 3y ago
  [dead]
jeromegv 3y ago
Depends what you mean by long Covid not being « major ». Seems like a lot of data out there that shows there’s quite a high amount of disabled people. Considering infection rate is close to 100%, doesn’t take a huge percentage for it to reach millions of people.
- ajross 3y ago
  I'm looking for the study now and can't find it, but it was shown somewhere a few months back that in fact total/all-cause disability rates are not increasing. They dropped over the pandemic itself (because when you're not working you tend not to seek treatment for low-impact conditions like long covid), bounced back, and have now leveled off roughly where they were. That is, "long covid" ended up displacing a bunch of other, routine long term disability diagnoses by giving them a name and a focus. But I can't find it right now, so it's possible I'm misremembering the spin. Maybe someone else can help.

by ajross 3y ago

catlifeonmars 3y ago

This actually made me think of it in this opposite way: wouldn’t a better posture be to elevate other contagious diseases to the level at which we treated COVID? My takeaway from the pandemic is that this is likely a recurring event. Reverting to a more relaxed posture doesn’t line up with normalizing everyday practices to reduce spread of disease overall.

wrs 3y ago
That would require outrageously impractical practices like giving people enough sick leave so they could actually do the obvious thing of not going to work when they’re contagious. /s
varelse 3y ago
[dead]

jeromegv 3y ago

Depends what you mean by long Covid not being « major ». Seems like a lot of data out there that shows there’s quite a high amount of disabled people. Considering infection rate is close to 100%, doesn’t take a huge percentage for it to reach millions of people.

ajross 3y ago
I'm looking for the study now and can't find it, but it was shown somewhere a few months back that in fact total/all-cause disability rates are not increasing. They dropped over the pandemic itself (because when you're not working you tend not to seek treatment for low-impact conditions like long covid), bounced back, and have now leveled off roughly where they were. That is, "long covid" ended up displacing a bunch of other, routine long term disability diagnoses by giving them a name and a focus. But I can't find it right now, so it's possible I'm misremembering the spin. Maybe someone else can help.