***Covid sucks***

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Yup. Heard from a friend today who picked up a variant around 7/4 who is STILL feeling chronic fatique and rapid come-and-go cold-like symptoms.

It's worth noting...

The public seems to have willfully or lazily lapsed into thinking COVID is done for. The assmptions seem to be:

* five years in, we have been exposed to DOZENS of variants in the population
* immune systems have probably effectively generalized protection against the worst that can happen
* certainly almost no one seems to be DYING with acute cases
* ergo, it's probably not worth losing sleep about

The reality is that

* it's TRUE almost no one is DYING of COVID
* it seems as though almost no one even needs hospitalization when they DO get it
* for most, current variants seem to have a cold-like duration -- isolate, rest for a week, DONE

However, the portion of people contracting "current COVID" who wind up with "long haul" symptoms seems to be about the same. And the rate at which long-haul symptoms crop up and their severity seems to have little correlation with the acuity of the actual inital infection. You just realize 2-3 or 4-5 weeks later you still feel exhausted or brain fogged.

We're in a wierd period right now because it doesn't appear like the CDC or vaccine makers have announced a "2024" edition of the vaccines reflecting current variants. The shots still available today in July 2024 seem to reflect the variant mix of roughly April 2023.

I guess the point here is that BAD OUTCOMES are still possible from current COVID variants. If it has been over a year since you got a vaccine, I would talk to your doctor about the prospects of an updated shot coming versus getting a current version now. And certainly, if you KNOW someone in your circle has COVID, STAY AWAY and avoid contracting it if you can.


WTH