@sun @feld @Binder @jeffcliff @tk life is change, after all. Many people are drawing short straws in life all the time just like some people are winning lotteries. I was pretty thankful for COVID-19 for my own personal situation. After 🐝beeing a NEET for a long time I decided to get a minimum wage job in January 2020, which I lost within 2 months due to COVID. Between not having to pay rent for 2 years and getting fat unemployment checks, I made out like a bandit. All that money was wisely reinvested to positive ends.

I have one family member and a few people in my IRL social network who suffer from long COVID. Sucks for them, but it is what it is. It's pretty clear TPTB are ready to "move on" from COVID.

I was hoping the lasting changes from the pandemic would be (A) sick people would wear masks in public, (B) sick people would stay home from work/parties, two things that would especially benefit me as an immuno-compromised individual, but alas it is not so in my city. Any time I go to a larger function I am pretty much guaranteed to get sick because idiots with colds/flus/covid don't want to wear masks or stay home, which as a type 1 diabetic sucks -- high blood sugars for weeks -- and sucks more for my wife, as an epileptic, who can't take cold medicine without the risk of getting seizures.

I've had COVID at least 3 times, once before the vaccine, the other two times after. Not sure whether it was due to my natural antibodies or the shots but only the first time was truly awful. No lingering effects AFAIK.

I still think it's the right thing™️ for me to wear masks indoors if I'm coughing or sneezing, and I still do it -- and lingering effects of the COVID-19 phenomenon still make it socially acceptable for me to wear a mask in the grocery store or bank when I'm sick, which I'm thankful for.