3 ms·
This is why I don't eat meat anymore. I know H5N1 had a high fatality rate before the current streak of diagnoses. If I'm reading (1) correctly, the death rate
by lenerdenator 2y ago
This is why I don't eat meat anymore.
I know H5N1 had a high fatality rate before the current streak of diagnoses. If I'm reading (1) correctly, the death rate since 2022, for all known cases worldwide, is ~27%. Still bad, but a massive reduction from the 50%+ it had before. Current cases in the US are mild, according to (1).
I have little faith in pandemic response after COVID, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
1) We managed to shove a decade of viral research into 18 months due to COVID-19. We now have mRNA vaccines, which can be made far faster than other types and can be switched more easily in production. People (well, more people than before) are willing to mask if they're sick, at least in my anecdotal experience.
2) Flu has been the one that public health officials, doctors, virologists, etc. have been watching for years. If you had asked someone in those fields what their thoughts on COVID-19 were in 2015, they would have asked "what the hell's covid?", but would have been able to give you a fairly complete picture of what was happening with the different varieties of influenza. The enemy is known, to the point where rural villages in Southeast Asia can have people quarantined for the virus.
3) Again, recent cases in the Western world have been mild.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD, DO, MPH, PhD, or anything else of that nature. I have never claimed to be smart. I am a dude on the internet. Listen to smart people before you listen to me and my one source.
(1) https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7321e1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7321e1.htm
- UncleOxidant 2y ago> "This is why I don't eat meat anymore." This is just one reason (though I think slightly different from what you're saying) why I don't eat meat anymore (the main one being my gallbladder was giving me pain when I'd eat meat/dairy - the doc wanted to take it out, but I found that going vegan solved that problem): Factory farms are very conducive to disease spread given the tight quarters the animals are raised in and can be viral evolution factories. But unless you're eating raw meat and drinking raw milk there's no worry about getting h5n1 from meat/dairy.
- fransje26 2y ago> [..] my gallbladder was giving me pain when I'd eat meat/dairy - the doc wanted to take it out, but I found that going vegan solved that problem Very interesting! Out of "scientific" interest, did you manage to fully recover your gallbladder functionality through your diet change? And secondarily, although you chose to go vegan, did you ever occasionally try back quality dairy or meat, without pain?
- UncleOxidant 2y agoMy main criteria is lack of pain. If you've ever had a gallbladder issue it's quite painful and the pain lasts for several hours and there's not a lot you can do about it after it starts. I haven't had an episode like this since going vegan. I do eat sardines occasionally just to make sure I'm not missing anything and that seems fine (no pain). Other than that I'm not too inclined to experiment since things are working well as is.
- fransje26 2y agoI see, and I can understand your take conceptually. I was asking as I coincidentally know a few people around me that have been having gallbladder issues recently. Thank you for your reply!
- giraffe_lady 2y agoAt least in the US we will simply not even attempt to mitigate the next pandemic. Things like mask requirements and limiting contact are extremely polarized political issues now, our leadership is too cowardly to even attempt it. Plus we now have concrete data that the most affected by far are disabled, poor, elderly, and minorities. Groups we broadly consider acceptable to harm for the benefit of everyone else, as a matter of national policy.
- throwaway3306a 2y agoIf you asked the virologists etc about "coronaviruses" instead of "covid", they would know.