I think most people aren’t testing, and if they do, it’s just once. People won’t be taking 3 antigen tests to end isolation…most won’t even take 1. Many aren’t even testing to see if they have covid.
The more transmission that happens, the greater chance for more variants that will further escape immunity. And the CDC, the Centers for Disease CONTROL, doesn’t care.
You do realize that your individual experience is not universal, right? That some people do get seriously il, some even die, and others are dealing with long covid? That’s what “all the fuss is about”.
I think the accusation is going too far. They have to draw a line at some point. A workable line. It won’t be perfect naturally. The best we can hope for is it be optimal, the best that is also practical. We now have vaccines and pills. We have tools to deal with it. People can also die of a common cold, or while driving, or of overdose, or even while walking on a sidewalk. Risk is inherent in life. If we keep bringing up the worst cases, it is misrepresenting. How many severe cases? Is it far worse than a flu for example?
In the US, there have been about 48,000 deaths of COVID-19 since the beginning of April (four and a half months, starting at the dip between the BA.1 and BA.5 waves).
A bad flu year results in about 50,000 deaths of flu.
Per an article upthread:
"That would conservatively put the death rates from the current omicron BA.5 variant around 0.19%, a more flu-like level, he said.”
At the hospital campus I work at there is an info area near every entrance that is usually manned with a staff member or volunteer. They literally sit there and if someone comes in masked they stand and just hold out a mask before the guest can go any further. It astounds me when I walk by how many people just walk in unmasked. I genuinely think that masking is not even a daily thought for lots of people.
I take my son to the hospital every Wednesday for ECT treatments (which are miraculous, by the way). They don’t even allow people to come in wearing their own masks. You have to use one they provide.
How good are the ones that they provide? (i.e. N95 / KN95 / KF94, or not as good?)
In some states/cities/areas, people, including staff, aren’t wearing masks in healthcare facilities/physician offices, etc. Sobering.
Absolutely true. I had to wear a mask recently for a medical appointment and it’s been so long since I had worn one that I actually had to think to remember where I had put the box.
But amongst the fully vaccinated and boosted, is it really much worse than a bad flu season? It would really be nice to see the data separated since the unvaccinated make such an outsized portion of the bad outcomes.
I saw a recent article where a doctor noted that he could not remember having a “bad outcome” for a previously healthy young or middle aged person who got early treatment with the current therapeutics. I have seen no deaths or long Covid amongst my “tribe” since vaccines have been available. I don’t ever want to catch Covid, but life must go on and Covid is not going away.
Just the cheap paper ones.
I had Covid back in May. Got Paxlovid, felt better in 4-5 days, negative rapid test on the 8th day. However, twice since then I have had an ordinary head cold that developed into serious wheezing. The first time I was diagosed with pneumonia and wound up in the ER for a day and a half after my PCP listened to my chest. Now, again, a month later, I started with mild cold symptoms and wake up seriously wheezing every single morning and I’m using the nebulizer at least 3x/day. I never, ever had this kind of prolonged wheezing before–bronchitis maybe 4-5 times over my lifetime of 74 years, only the mildest of asthma symptoms since I quit smoking 30 years ago. I have to think that it’s a symptom of long Covid and I wouldn’t want to wish it on anyone! I will see my PCP on Monday and listen to what she has to say. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
I really wish the feds would pump some money into studies of long covid.
Otherwise, we’ll never know if experiences such as yours are related, or just part of the aging process where a really bad cold can turn into pneumonia requiring hospitalizatoin. (precovid, a friend who was 67, extremely healthy, still active runner, with many marathons, got a cold, turned into bronchitis and was hospitalized with pneumonia.)
I got Covid over 2 weeks ago, and while I feel fine for the most part, I still have a mild cough and the almost constant sensation of needing to clear my throat. It’s probably getting on my DH’s nerves, hearing me constantly either coughing or clearing.
Yeah…I have to agree. My sister and mother are both widows now due to covid. I had it a few months ago and felt pretty crappy and same with my daughter. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve experienced but it’s wasn’t fun. I had odd joint pain that hung around for quite awhile after.
Agree.
400-500 death per day, each and every day is not insignificant.
We all know Covid was the 3rd leading cause of death in the US last year. So far this year it’s still the 4th leading cause of death.
For the vaccinated and boosted the Omicron version of the virus will usually be not too awful. Both my husband and I had it last month. We both got one round of Paxlovid. One or two days of fever and chills then low fever, cough, mild sore throat. My husband rebounded and it was two weeks from his first positive test to the last one. Neither of us are really quite back to normal. Lingering mild cough/post nasal drip, not as much stamina.
Agreed. The good news is some new long covid data came out in the last week, and there are at least 26 ongoing clinical trials focused on treating long covid. Summary of where we are, with links, here: Some Light on Long Covid - by Eric Topol - Ground Truths
My Covid experience was pretty much like yours - very mild and more of an inconvenience than anything else. Rather than wondering what all the fuss is about and chiding others if they worry or take precautions, I consider myself thankful.
Why? Because my uncle died, a relatively close friend of ours (vacationed together a couple of times friend) in his late 50s died from it (vaccinated with a booster), my oldest son was a long hauler on his first go, and H was miserable for a few days.
I’m very happy to have had an insignificant case, but others can, and do, get much worse. No one knows ahead of time what straw they will draw.
My youngest and his wife were just here from Puerto Rico. Both on the way and on their return they chose to wear masks flying even though only about 40-50% on the plane were wearing them. They feel lucky to have missed it so far, but still opt to take some precautions - and haven’t stopped living their lives (post vax). We haven’t either.
To each their own, but your chiding others seems way out of line to me. It brings on a rather intense anger (for me). Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen a couple of deaths and bad cases and you haven’t I suppose.