- cross-posted to:
- health
- [email protected]
- cross-posted to:
- health
- [email protected]
Summary
Covid cases are surging across the U.S. post-holidays, with rising test positivity, hospitalizations, and deaths, while booster uptake remains low.
Only 21.4% of adults and 10.3% of children have received the latest booster, leaving vulnerable groups, including the elderly, at higher risk.
Experts warn of continued dangers from Covid, including long Covid and economic impacts, as the virus has not yet reached an endemic state.
With uncertain federal priorities, researchers stress the importance of monitoring infections, updating vaccines, and using preventive measures to mitigate future waves.
I reckon polio is a good analogy. That illness doesn’t seem so bad at first. Mild symptoms (or no symptoms at all), seems like you get better. It’s much worse in a small number of cases - potentially causing paralysis and death. But a big issue is post-polio syndrome, which surfaces many years later in a large percentage of people.
Covid is a bit like that. Most people who get it feel pretty rotten for a few days, and then its apparently over. But we’ve seen that for some people, covid causes permanent brain injuries resulting in chronic exhaustion and brain-fog. It’s unclear precisely how common this this, but we know that repeated exposure increases the risk.
I had never heard of post polio syndrome before… probably because we eradicated it here with vaccines.
Post polio syndrome hits people that contracted polio in the first place just 30+ years later. So you not hearing about it has more to do with you not knowing people that contracted polio than it’s eradication.