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   Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:19 JST Dave 🚀

   A Sunday morning article on COVID in New Zealand

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/525469/covid-19-will-be-with-us-forever-flu-expert

   Reading it the key messages seem to be:

   * Only those who are vulnerable really feel the effects of it.

   * No mention of long COVID and the health complications we know can come from infection.

   * It’s just sniffles we have to get used to

   It’s minimising, and an ableist + eugenicist take on it all.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:13 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     And just to add. It’s ok to start resuming mitigations if you’ve been slack/ignoring things for a while.

     There’s a weird wrinkle in human behaviour where people think it’s all or nothing, it’s really not.

     You could do a job where masking is impossible, and still mask up at the supermarket.

     You could switch to outdoor meetups when the weather is good.

     There’s a whole suite of minor inconveniences that could help you and others around you.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:14 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     For a lot of people (not everyone I know), it can come down to:

     “Masks weird me out, and taking precautions is hard because of peer pressure.”

     vs

     “I am now living with permanent disability.”

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
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     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:15 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     “It will be with us forever” is the headline of this article.

     And I mean yup, it will be thanks to a combination of:
     * Late stage capitalism
     * racism
     * ableism
     * social pressure and inertia
     * People individually opting out of social responsibility

     On that last point. If you can mitigate, but choose not to because of “the vibes”, you’re not pulling your weight.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:16 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     “We’ve got to live with it”

     Exactly. This doesn’t mean throwing other people under the bus, and waiting until you’re in their position to give a stuff.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:17 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     * You can get reinfected within weeks of a previous infection. Immunity isn’t guaranteed by infection or vaccine.

     This is because it is a virus that really damages your immune system. It is constantly mutating, due to being highly contagious and people not taking mitigation measures seriously.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave 🚀 (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com)'s status on Sunday, 18-Aug-2024 20:48:18 JST Dave 🚀

     in reply to

     The reality:

     * COVID impairs cognitive function, and this can happen even in “mild” cases in otherwise healthy people

     * COVID causes organ damage, and this can also happen with “mild” infection

     * Its damage is cumulative. The more infections you have, the more likely it is that you may become permanently disabled by it

     * It is not seasonal, and summer waves aren’t just something to get used to