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The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

theatlantic.com

281–290 of 1001 posts

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#281
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's unpopular. More precisely, once the vaccine is available to all age groups, the only people that need to be scared of it are the unvaccinated. And they will have had every opportunity to get vaccinated, so we shouldn't optimize for them.

I wish this was true. Most Europe is still under various lockdown restrictions, even though in a lot of countries, there's been enough vaccine for everyone (who wanted) to get vaccinated by now.

Children under 12 are a major group that drop vaccination percentages down significantly everywhere. The hope is that once this age group can also be vaccinated, we can find the new normal and let people individually hedge their own bets.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#283

Good article, but doesn't mention the other reason that covid-19 is never going completely away: animal reservoirs. We know that dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mink, white-tailed deer, a gorilla, and a tiger have been found to have been infected with covid-19. It is implausible that it will ever cease to have an animal reservoir, especially given the finding in Canada of 30% of white-tailed deer having it. Of dis…

How does covid transmit to wild animals like deer that have almost no interactions with humans ? The transmission chain must be very long. I'd appreciate any links or resources to read more. Perhaps we can learn to be more mindful of our interactions with other animals, wear masks in public spaces or public transport, and hopefully WFH becomes a permanent option. It seems that I stepped on many nerves, please, feel f…

You are assuming that it was humans that infected the deer, while it could have easily been another wild animal.

Wild animals are not commonly tested for covid-19, but those that have been have seen widespread infection. ...which means most populations of mammals and possibly birds are infected as well.

...so the deer could have caught it from any number of other animals in the wild - or more likely, from their droppings.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most are vaccinated, but they're still taking a risk Pre pandemic they took a risk every day as well, so it's a matter of acceptable risk, which I believe is what the article was focused on. What level of risk is that?

That existing risk was already at the limit of acceptability. New risk being added on pushes many past that limit. It's made worse by the fact that this additional risk is being left out of the discussion so often. People talk about what's good for the children and their parents and the economy, but not about what the teachers need. They're being treated as disposable, which exacerbates the perception of risk further…

> That existing risk was already at the limit of acceptability.

Do you actually thinks so? I've never heard that aspiring teachers are thinking about their increased risk to illnesses, especially since many have children of their own and are exposed to an increased risk by children anyway.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because there is a non-insignificant portion of the population that is thriving off corona hysteria.

And a not insignificant proportion of politicians more than happy to take advantage of the fear and expand their power.

Tale as old as time.

I'd say I'm disappointed and surprised that more people aren't concerned about it but there's a reason it's a historical trope.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#286
post #221

Good article, but doesn't mention the other reason that covid-19 is never going completely away: animal reservoirs. We know that dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mink, white-tailed deer, a gorilla, and a tiger have been found to have been infected with covid-19. It is implausible that it will ever cease to have an animal reservoir, especially given the finding in Canada of 30% of white-tailed deer having it. Of dis…

Unpopular opinion but as countries get majority vaccinated they have to learn to not be as scared of it.

Isn't that the mainstream opinion?

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#287
post #45
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?

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…

> That might be barely enough for herd immunity for some diseases

Also remember that herd immunity works best when those who are antibodies are evenly distributed. Schools will become major places where it's spread because of how many people without immunity are in one place.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#288
post #278

Good article, but doesn't mention the other reason that covid-19 is never going completely away: animal reservoirs. We know that dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mink, white-tailed deer, a gorilla, and a tiger have been found to have been infected with covid-19. It is implausible that it will ever cease to have an animal reservoir, especially given the finding in Canada of 30% of white-tailed deer having it. Of dis…

This is mostly irrelevant from my understanding. Of the few diseases that humanity has eradicated, one is found in wild animals. Animal resevoirs are simply not the problem.

Airborne diseases with wild animal reservoirs cannot be eradicated, and never have been.

It's unclear why you think a wild reservoir isn't a problem, nor which eradicated disease you're referring to.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's unpopular. More precisely, once the vaccine is available to all age groups, the only people that need to be scared of it are the unvaccinated. And they will have had every opportunity to get vaccinated, so we shouldn't optimize for them.

> the only people that need to be scared of it are the unvaccinated We often overlook those who were previously infected. I believe this is a common mistake that makes for inaccurate groupings, which negatively affect the common good.

We often overlook those who were previously infected

What aspect of them are we overlooking, and what is the impact on the common good? I know they have some resistance, though not as much as if they also got vaccinated, so it seems like the original point still stands: Unvaccinated should still be scared of it.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's unpopular. More precisely, once the vaccine is available to all age groups, the only people that need to be scared of it are the unvaccinated. And they will have had every opportunity to get vaccinated, so we shouldn't optimize for them.

I agree. Once my kids can get jabbed, I will cease giving covid much thought. I don't want to get a breakthrough case, even if it's not dangerous, because I loathe being ill, but getting sick periodically is an unfortunate fact of life.

Depending on the age of your children you can mostly cease giving it thought already.

https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19...

Barring unusual preconditions

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