And then what happens to oneās body when they have repeated insult after insult after being exposed to multiple variants. Scary.
I think we go too far sometimes with the fear of Covid. The facts are that it has been deadly for approximately 1% of the population (more like .1%-.2% for the vaccinated), it has been has been very transmissible, and it has some after-effects for a portion of the population which are all terrible outcomes.
But we as human beings have been surviving plagues and viral menaces since the beginning of human history and we have never been more prepared in the history of mankind to fight back.
We have friends who were infected very early on (is that called wild strain?) and were in London a few weeks ago and were reinfected (BA.2?). One is immunocompromised. They are fortunate to get the best medical care, but good treatment probably does not reduce the consequences of Long Covid.
Other than the thousands of people who die in the US each year from cancer caused by viruses and the tens of thousands who die from the infection itself. Those donāt survive. But yes, other human beings survive. Itās nice to be in the āotherā category, too bad someone canāt pick and choose. But having not a fear of Covid, but acknowledgement and respect, helps to tilt someoneās chances towards the āotherā category.
I like your optimism and hope you are correct.
Were they vaccinated? If so, some data show a lower risk of long covid in the vaccinated who do get infected.
I have very similar thoughts to yours! I donāt find any studies that I read to be personally very useful at helping me gauge the risks I care about. I am not highly concerned about the vast majority of long covid symptoms if I knew theyād clear up within 6 months, and a good portion of the symptoms donāt concern me much while others would concern me greatly. The studies seem to mingle all of this together. Iād love to see the risks for someone my age, fully boosted, without known long-covid risk factors such as diabetes, etc, and specifically for symptoms that would persist 6 months to indefinitely, that would get in the way of quality of life, AND with the current strain of the virus!!
It seems logical to me that Omicron will cause less long-covid than strains that caused more severe disease, but of course we wonāt KNOW the answer to that for another year. (Note that Fauci article above is from December, and he was just theorizing about the risk from Omicron, not referring to data). Iāve searched and havenāt really found quality information on Omicron-induced long covid, I think itās just too soon. Fortunately, I donāt know of a single person appearing to suffer from long-covid from Omicron despite knowing literally hundreds of people who got Omicron (meaning, all the people Iāor my family members-- know who had Omicron felt fully recovered in a few days and do not notice any residual issues). Iām sure there are people who will get long-covid from Omicron, but itās hard to not be influenced by what you see right in front of you with the people you know. Iām not sure it makes sense to use numbers from Delta or Alpha or wild-type when assessing the risk of long-covid from Omicron, but if we donāt look at that, then we have nothing to look at!
Long covid remains my biggest concern, but my concern level about it has dropped considerably from last year as I continue to see vaccinated people not get very sick and recover without lingering annoying symptoms. I read the articles about the people with severe long-covid and it makes me terrified, people who have to give up work and stay in bed all day. And then I realize that I donāt directly (or even by a couple degrees of separation) know of a single person thatās happened to. I believe they are out there, but itās clearly rare. But I remain grateful I havenāt gotten covid, and I am not cavalier about getting it.
There are so many variables, in particular the timing of the vaccinations/booster(s) relative to infection. I wonder if this makes a difference?
I hope the researchers are working fast and furiously on this (I am sure they are). I recently read that long covid symptoms supposedly resolve in 9 months, yet Iāve read of cases that havenāt. Itās kind of a cavalier statement re the 9 months, actually ā do all the MRIs, etc. show a complete return to normal? Do they have that kind of evidence?
Lots of speculation out there re long covid. I wish there was some good firm data!
99.9% of fully vaccinated and boosted individuals fall in your āotherā category when it comes to living despite catching Covid. That number jumps to well over 99.99% if you are a 20 year old in the āotherā category. For those who have chosen not to get vaccinated, I strongly disagree with that decision, but they absolutely have the right to make that decision. But they are removed from my personal ācalculusā when it comes to overall pandemic effects of serious long term consequences and deaths causes by Covid.
Almost 1 million people have died during the last 2 years due to Covid in the US, but how many were fully vaccinated or fully vaccinated and boosted? Why donāt we know that number since we are asked to make sacrifices for the greater good? Why are our hospitals not completely overwhelmed with Long Covid cases? I am not saying that we donāt have a problem with Long Covid (research is still ongoing), but our public health apparatus should clearly show the distinction between the vaccinated and unvaccinated with all data points to make a case why getting vaccinated is important.
J&J last year, P booster early October, second P booster next week. same for DH. At the time our local big push clinic opened, J&J was still on the radar and I was just glad tohave any vaccine at all.
Our immcomp son was double vaxxed and boosted once; he has been lazy about getting his second even though he has been eligible for much longer than us. Turning my hair gray, he is.
I have a sore arm from the booster yesterday, but thatās it. Iām still baffled as to why people hesitate to get this shot. It was encouraging that the pharmacist said lots of people are coming in for it. 
What you say is true. I was talking specifically pre-Covid numbers. The thousands who die each year from viruses caused by cancer, the thousands who die each year from autoimmune disease caused by viruses and the tens of thousands who die each year from the virus itself as I mentioned in my post are pre-Covid, as that number is obviously higher now. You referred to how people have lived with viruses āsince the beginning of human historyā. I am saying not everyone lived. Many die. But many were not infected in the first place. The magnitude now is obviously on a different level. And we have yet to see the coming wave of the burden of chronic disease caused by this virus.
Why would you remove them? Do you not agree that a large number of deaths and a long Covid occur in the unvaccinated?
As far as the overall numbers, I think the system was so overwhelmed that the numbers were impossible to keep up with, partly because hospitals do not care if youāre vaxxed or unvaxxed. They treat either way. Hospitals are not overwhelmed with long Covid. Clinics are.
Why? I think weāve moved past that argument long ago. Yes, it would be nice to know, but as far as making a case as to why someone should get vaccinated, I donāt think it would change anyoneās mind at this point.
True. I just wish everyone was taking advantage of this preparedness, meaning wearing masks when advised and getting vaccinated.
You have to be pretty sick to be admitted to the hospital. For many, long Covid is just a lower grade of misery that ends up at doctorsā offices or clinics.
This is my concern TBH, but weāve made the decision to keep living, fully vaxxed and boosted, in spite of it.
I canāt fathom why people who can wonāt get vaxxed. As far as I know, every single risk with the vax (except the sore arm) is multiplied far greater with Covid, itself. Relatively few die. Far higher numbers live with ongoing medical issues they know about and deal with, and it seems like far higher numbers than that have medical issues they might not know about yet.
But I refuse to live in a bubble. Weāll take the precautions that seem wise to us or are asked for by others. Then weāre going to enjoy life while we still have it to live.
I persuaded H to go ahead and get a fourth shot with me next week, as long as itās not at Walgreens. The pharmacy tech (or pharmacist, I donāt know which) at the Publix nearest us was rude on the phone and refused to answer any questions about availability or scheduling. I think some of her reaction was due to frustration with the corporate offices, which she vented about to me.
Our PCPās office said they couldnāt do it until right before Easter. Fortunately, I found another Publix pharmacy with an opening next week. Weāre canceling one of our routine babysitting days without explaining the reason in case H reacts like he did previously.
Weāre hoping this shot will be adequate to cover us through October. If yet another shot is recommended, maybe by then it will provide better protection against the variants.
Not sure what weāre doing about Easter. Unvaxād D will likely invite us to have dinner inside their home with her unvaxād in-laws. We previously turned down similar invitations. At some point, weāll have to go again and be prepared with lots of non sequiturs to avoid political discussions.
I got my Pfizer booster yesterday after having done Moderna x3. Happy to say while the Moderna kicked my butt, I barely even have a sore arm from the Pfizer. Havenāt taken any painkillers.
My 3rd booster, Moderna , I hardly had any reaction. I just had my 4th, another Moderna, a much bigger reaction than the last one. Ran a temperature and overall achy. Feeling a bit better today. Beats getting Covid
While I agree that getting a fourth shot is better than getting covid, that isnāt the decision that is being made. People are trying to decide if getting a fourth shot now, is going to substantially change their risk of getting covid, or if they should hold off a bit.
I am 4 months past my third shot. Iāve read things that say that the longer between shots the better since it gives the immune system time to respond. Iāve also got no travel planned in the next couple months but have a lot planned for the summer. I think Iām going to hold off for May or June. It will give me longer between shots and my shots will be fresher when we actually do travel.