The ONS survey, over four weeks in November and December 2021, suggests, of those with long Covid:
- 51% have fatigue
- 37% have loss of smell
- 36% have shortness of breath
- 28% have difficulty concentrating
In line with previous analyses, about 20% said their symptoms meant their ability to do day-to-day activities had been limited a lot.
And those most likely to have long Covid are:
- women
- 35- to 69-year-olds
- people with underlying conditions
- those working in health, social care and education
University of Exeter senior clinical lecturer Dr David Strain said: "The stark warning here is that, based on this, in the previous waves, over 800,000 people have their day-to-day activities significantly affected over three months after catching Covid and nearly a quarter of a million report this has a dramatic impact on their quality of life.
âAs we continue to see case numbers of Omicron rise, we must be wary that our reliance purely on hospitalisations and death as a measure of the risk from Covid could grossly underestimate the public-health impact of our current Covid strategy.â
I guess this isnât shocking. People used to have fucking chicken pox parties. And before that they had fucking measles parties. People are dumb.
The GuardianâŚ
Almost twice as many people with Covid-19 are still infectious on day five of self-isolation compared to day seven, The Independent reports.
New government analysis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that one in three people, or 31%, are still infectious five days after first testing positive for Covid.
In contrast, just one in six, or 16%, are able to transmit the virus to others by the seventh day of self-isolation.
Scientists concluded the findings show that ministers would be âshooting themselves in the footâ if they decide to cut the self-isolation period from seven to five days.
Agreed. I wouldnât be surprised at all if the average life expectancy drops 10 years due to the effects of COVID-19.
Would we, though? We definitely experience cognitive loss over time as we age. We know this. Can we definitively say thatâs not partially impacted by whatever coronaviruses weâre catching every 1-4 years throughout our lives? Itâs not like weâre studying this whatsoever - weâd have to take brain scans, do cognitive tests, and test regularly for the common cold coronaviruses and compare the results before and after infection.
The WSJ had an editorial today opining we need to end any restrictions because we need everyone to catch Omicron as essentially a booster since it is so mild.
Itâs also really critical that we all get Omicron at the exact same time because reasons.
Do you have a link to the article and/or study? I ask because my girlfriend wants to quarantine from me within the house after she quits her job, and it will be very inconvenient for her - so Iâd like to have data to show her the minimum number of days to eliminate say 95% of the risk. Thanks!
Only seems to be all that mild if youâre vaccinated, and dammit we still need to vaccinate kids.
Yeah thought it was a bold take with hospitals bursting at the seams, but not going to be surprised to start seeing Omicron parties pop up
This may be controversial and conspiratorial to say here, but I feel like thatâs the unofficial but real government strategy, and Iâve felt that way for a few weeks.
I think the CDC and the Biden Administration realized they could not stop Omicron, the only question was how sharp the rise would be and how long the wave would persist, and they decided that shorter and more severe was best politically and societally. Some of the decisions and statements that our institutions at all levels are making would make a lot more sense if the context was trying to get everyone to catch it ASAP.
I think the supply chain is at risk as a result, but I suspect the disruption to it will only be for a couple weeks in each region, though those regional disruptions could ripple out.
Never mistake for malice what can be more readily explained by ineptitude.
We have to all get it right now so it canât mutate because of course hundreds of millions of people getting infected have never lead to a new mutation springing up.
I liked this post because Iâve thought the âmildâ hype was a mistake from the beginning but I donât think you needed to quote or reply to Wookie to post the WHO statement.
I feel like we all probably had a few epiphanies/conclusions from the pandemic. One was, holy shit, first impressions REALLY stick.
Masks donât work! Six feet is safe! Schools are safe! Omicron is mild!
Whatâs amazing to me is the duration of these first impression-based conclusions. Like it doesnât matter how many times you show masks work and six feet isnât enough, those are âfactsâ in society now.
This obviously applies in other areas of life, one that we probably all have seen it apply in is poker.
Are any posters ITT still taking a zero-risk approach to COVID?
I doubt it.
Even Cactus probably isnât completely YOLOing it.
EDIT: I guess I answered this as if the question said âzero risk reductionâ. That may not have been your intent.
I created the other thread because the topic of spread among the vaccinated genuinely interests me and I think it deserves somewhere it can have room to breathe without people complaining that itâs sidetracking this thread. I didnât create it as some kind of punishment or because I think itâs a lesser discussion topic.
I guess it depends how you define zero risk. Iâm currently only going out to stores and only with an N95. I guess technically thereâs some risk involved in going into the stores in an N95, but I think itâs extremely low.
No because Iâm sending kids to school, which is arguable but I donât have a remote option and the other alternatives are disruptive. Theyâre both programs that take precautions and the kids wear âgoodâ masks so hope to run pure. Outside of that very close to 2020 levels. May feel like a real moron down the line for the schools though.
EDIT: should add this hasnt been since March 2020, post vax/pre delta was a bit more open although not as ânormalâ as i would have been if had been able to vax my kids.