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The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

theatlantic.com

211–220 of 1001 posts

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#212
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But wait... Abbott is fully vaccinated. That's a huge issue. No, its not. While the rates are somewhat higher with Delta, breakthrough infections were always expected. The accines reduce the probability of getting COVID with similar exposure, they don't 100% prevent it. > You can't slam him banning masks and all that. Yes, you can. Even if schools weren't full of unvaccinated people, which they are, the existence o…

> breakthrough infections were always expected That isn’t the way it was portrayed. The way that it was initially portrayed by the media is that these would be 99% effective and that after getting the vaccine you could go back to normal.

I mean, that's definitely not the impression I had after getting the vaccine (first shot March 24, well before anyone came up with the "Delta" name for B.1.617.2). I stayed home and wore masks just as much as I did before the vaccine. I knew the vaccine would make things safer when I did need to interact with other people, but also that it was hardly a reason to "go back to normal."

Maybe your problem is you listen too much to the mainstream media instead of doing research for yourself? The corporate interests are trying to get you to consume more and so they wanted to entice you with the prospect of "going back to normal" and consuming things you don't need.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK If you get it after being vaccinated, you still have a ~20% chance of becoming disabled.

That's a really extraordinary claim with no evidence whatsoever.

How does this not count as evidence?:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/well/live/vaccine-long-co...

It literally says: "While most of the breakthrough cases were mild or asymptomatic, seven out of 36 workers tracked at six weeks (19 percent) still had persistent symptoms. These long Covid symptoms included a mix of prolonged loss of smell, persistent cough, fatigue, weakness, labored breathing or muscle pain."

It's certainly not great data, but it's still the best information we have as of right now.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that in kids COVID is about as lethal as the ordinary flu. It’s more transmissible, but the number of kids we’ve seen suffer serious consequences across the US has been very, very low. We don’t make kids wear helmets everywhere they go, though it would be decidedly more efficacious from a safety perspective. It seems to me some relativity is in order.

If they fall down in the playground they don't carry that injury home and kill one of their parents with it.

The CDC estimates that the survival rate for the 18-49 age bracket (which accounts for most parents of young children) is 99.94%. And that's since the start of the pandemic without vaccination. For vaccinated parents now the survival rate is virtually 100%.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burd...

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#215
post #16

That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK. There isn't really a next step after having vaccinated the population, it is "steady state". So do they want us to have these restrictions (countries you can't travel to, endless testing, mask requirements) forever?

> That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK I cracked some ribs three weeks ago and coughing / sneezing are really painful. I am keeping my mask on because I really don't want even a mild cough, for whatever reason. More generally, the vaccines are not 100% effective, the virus can still be transmitted and spread. For lots…

So you want country wide restrictions solely for your own comfort? Sounds incredibly selfish.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Returning to normal is a terrible idea when COVID patients are overwhelming hospitals across the world. How can things be normal if our healthcare systems are nearing collapse? You might be willing to accept the risk of getting sick on your behalf, but by advocating a return to 'normal' before we have the capabilities to deal with this virus, you are advocating for putting even more stress on healthcare systems acros…

Are they really overwhelming hospitals? This keeps being repeated but most hospitals operate at about 80% capacity as-is. Places in Tennessee and Florida are currently, with COVID-19, operating at about 80%. [0] If we look at Israel, which has a very high vaccination rate, we see that they're supposedly running out of hospital space. [1] But the article linked doesn't say _anything about their actual numbers atm_ and…

Total bed usage is a very poor metric for this.

The bottlenecks here aren't total capacity, they are (in order of importance) 1. the number of vents, 2. the number of nurses with ICU level training, and 3. the number of ICU beds. The total number of hospital beds doesn't even factor in.

Source: I am a physician.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really extraordinary claim with no evidence whatsoever.

How does this not count as evidence?: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/well/live/vaccine-long-co... It literally says: "While most of the breakthrough cases were mild or asymptomatic, seven out of 36 workers tracked at six weeks (19 percent) still had persistent symptoms. These long Covid symptoms included a mix of prolonged loss of smell, persistent cough, fatigue, weakness, labored breathing or muscle pain." It's…

I don't think very many reasonable people would count a "persistent cough" as "becoming disabled".

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#218
post #132

What baffles me is the total failure to highlight one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of severe covid complications: don’t be obese[1]. It’s also a good life choice for those who also prefer not to die of non-covid conditions. Edit: And it increases your risk for long covid[2]. [1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/latest-evidence-on... [2] https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210608/obesity-increases-r...

The, uh, tone of your comment suggests that there is this epidemic of obese people who simply have neglected to press the STOP BEING OBESE button. "All you have to do is ..." "Can't you just ..." In technology, we hate hearing that from people who do not have a grasp of the situation -- why are you doing it here?

That button doesn't exist. That's the source of your bafflement.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#219
post #176
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since no one under 16 has been vaccinated yet, about 70% of the population is vaccinated (44M out of 67M). That might be barely enough for herd immunity for some diseases, but the case numbers in the UK are still very high and trending back upward, showing that this isn't enough for herd immunity for Covid. Hospitalization rates are also back up to significantly higher than they were this time last year. And that's w…

> Since no one under 16 has been vaccinated yet, about 70% of the population is vaccinated (44M out of 67M). This fact really bothers me. I feel like once adults got vaccinated we all spiked the football and said "F--k the kids, I got mine".

Actually the old have been fucking over the young to protect themselves since March 2020.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#220
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're saying society should keep wearing masks everywhere literally forever? That's so insane I can't tell whether you're even serious.

Is there a particular reason you think that people shouldn't keep wearing masks everywhere literally forever, or is it just that it hurts your feelings? Barely a century ago, it wasn't common for doctors to wash their hands, because it hurt doctors' feelings. Dr. Charles Meigs, an obstetrician, said, "Doctors are gentlemen and a gentleman's hands are clean." But, of course, factually they weren't clean, factually the…

It is very important for young children to be able to see one's entire face. Facial expressions such as smiles help them understand context when communicating.
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