> COVID-19 can cause brain damage including loss of brain tissue, small blood vessels, and merged brain cells. In some patients, perhaps many, there is also damage to the immune system.
Now that, I did not know. Crazy how much damage COVID can actually do.
I suspect lots of viruses do tons of long-term damage in at least some cases, but it’s just less-studied or comes up less in the media. Flu, colds, hand and foot, all that stuff.
Though even allowing that, it’s still possible Covid-19 is worse than most viruses, as far as that sort of damage goes.
The big 2024 National Academies consensus paper says that they see similar long term damage from chronic fatigue syndrome and several rare diseases, but don't mention this as an outcome from more common viruses.[1] (Skip ahead to the summary).
The big open question is cumulative damage from multiple COVID-19 infections.[2] There are now many people who have had COVID more than once. (US: 60% at least once, maybe 11% more than once.) A few people have had it many more times, but that seems to involve some pre-existing condition. A VA study of older veterans indicates that cumulative damage is real in older adults. As
time goes on, there will be more previously healthy people who have had COVID multiple times, and this question will be answered the hard way.
Measles for example wipes out the immune systems memory of everything it has learned to defend against, leaving people newly vulnerable to everything they were immune to before:
There's a good chance that a lot of the "mystery diseases" are due to longer lasting damage from viruses, to organs and to the immune system, including ordinary colds and flu. Colds and flu are probably spread via the air also, yet this also remains unstudied (otherwise known as "there is no evidence") and hospitals don't take precautions for most patients, probably because the cost would be large to treat the air in all hospital rooms. It would mean ending practices like putting two patients in each room as well. I think that in the past a lot was overlooked as being too complex to deal with ("we can't cure flu, it mutates too fast") or too costly (but so was mapping DNA), or both (drugs personalized to each persons DNA) so a certain amount of death and disability was allowed and drugs and surgery statistically only work for some people (see "number needed to treat", NNT). Now we have better tools and understanding and these things should change.
I've heard Covid referred to in some quarters as "aerosolised HIV", which should be at least taken seriously, even if it is (possibly) overly alarmist. It's certainly easier to catch than HIV.
While it's useful to have a distinct name for the virus/disease, it really should have been called what it is: It's SARS-CoV-2 not Covid. SARS: severe acute respiratory syndrome.
I wear a n95 mask at work (medical practice) and I consistently wear one in shops, especially shopping centres. It's kept me safe so far.
> I've heard Covid referred to in some quarters as "aerosolised HIV", which should be at least taken seriously, even if it is (possibly) overly alarmist.
I've heard it too and it's definitely one of the more deranged takes I've run into.
> I consistently wear one in shops, especially shopping centres.
...I don't know how I feel about this, honestly. I respect everyone's right to be as cautious how they want in their life and dress how they choose but after 4+ years I think those who haven't returned to not wearing masks 24/7 outside the home are being a little, uh -- I guess a word for it would be over-dramatic.
I had COVID five times over the past four years. Last three times barely any symptoms.
> It’s kind Wrong to say that Covid causes these things. Because if Covid alone caused these issues then everyone would have these issues after Infected.
However, this is not sound logic. As stated in the study, it causes these different issues in some percentage of cases, not all.
vundercind|1 year ago
Though even allowing that, it’s still possible Covid-19 is worse than most viruses, as far as that sort of damage goes.
Animats|1 year ago
The big open question is cumulative damage from multiple COVID-19 infections.[2] There are now many people who have had COVID more than once. (US: 60% at least once, maybe 11% more than once.) A few people have had it many more times, but that seems to involve some pre-existing condition. A VA study of older veterans indicates that cumulative damage is real in older adults. As time goes on, there will be more previously healthy people who have had COVID multiple times, and this question will be answered the hard way.
[1] https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/27756/chapter/1
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/well/live/covid-reinfecti...
rapjr9|1 year ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-acute_infection_syndrome
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326619
Measles for example wipes out the immune systems memory of everything it has learned to defend against, leaving people newly vulnerable to everything they were immune to before:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-...
There's a good chance that a lot of the "mystery diseases" are due to longer lasting damage from viruses, to organs and to the immune system, including ordinary colds and flu. Colds and flu are probably spread via the air also, yet this also remains unstudied (otherwise known as "there is no evidence") and hospitals don't take precautions for most patients, probably because the cost would be large to treat the air in all hospital rooms. It would mean ending practices like putting two patients in each room as well. I think that in the past a lot was overlooked as being too complex to deal with ("we can't cure flu, it mutates too fast") or too costly (but so was mapping DNA), or both (drugs personalized to each persons DNA) so a certain amount of death and disability was allowed and drugs and surgery statistically only work for some people (see "number needed to treat", NNT). Now we have better tools and understanding and these things should change.
jerlam|1 year ago
Spod_Gaju|1 year ago
[deleted]
MrVandemar|1 year ago
While it's useful to have a distinct name for the virus/disease, it really should have been called what it is: It's SARS-CoV-2 not Covid. SARS: severe acute respiratory syndrome.
I wear a n95 mask at work (medical practice) and I consistently wear one in shops, especially shopping centres. It's kept me safe so far.
floren|1 year ago
I've heard it too and it's definitely one of the more deranged takes I've run into.
asynchronous|1 year ago
akira2501|1 year ago
I don't take things said "in some quarters" seriously.
> even if it is (possibly) overly alarmist
It's alarmist to the point of being damaging to prevention efforts and to the mental health of the population in general.
> It's kept me safe so far.
Case in point.
iamthirsty|1 year ago
...I don't know how I feel about this, honestly. I respect everyone's right to be as cautious how they want in their life and dress how they choose but after 4+ years I think those who haven't returned to not wearing masks 24/7 outside the home are being a little, uh -- I guess a word for it would be over-dramatic.
unknown|1 year ago
[deleted]
Spod_Gaju|1 year ago
[deleted]
iamthirsty|1 year ago
> It’s kind Wrong to say that Covid causes these things. Because if Covid alone caused these issues then everyone would have these issues after Infected.
However, this is not sound logic. As stated in the study, it causes these different issues in some percentage of cases, not all.