Well, I don't assume I'm going to get the flu either so I'm not sure what the point of this article is.
Because you asked me if I thought covid was never going away and if vaccines worked. Experts have said they think it will be staying
You also said that you were confused why people thought they wouldn't catch covid since it's going to be around for another 60 years. I'm telling you, I'm not resigned that I will catch the flu in the next 60 years either.
I have never had a confirmed flu case but I think it's very possible I've had the flu - I have just never been ill enough to warrant testing. Also, many people have no idea what flu symptoms are and think a flu is more like a stomach bug. This says that flu incidence is estimated to be between 5-20% of people per year. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934309/ That means that statistically, most people have had the flu (more than once, even!). And the flu vaccine is actually pretty low in terms of efficacy. It varies by year but I've heard 40% from my friend who works in the industry.
The R0 of omicron might be lower than measles but the measles vaccine appears to be way more effective at preventing infection. So an R0 of 10 still scares me quite a lot.
Although I am still taking quite a lot of precautions, I am also now taking a significant number of calculated risks (gathering with vaccinated family indoors without masks, sending my children to school, we traveled once this summer). So I do feel like infection is inevitable, and I feel that way much more strongly after reading about omicron.
I keep hoping to open up our world more but keep delaying due to changing circumstances. Hopefully when we know more and when hospitals and testing capacity is sufficient then we can open up even more. I'm definitely frustrated to be going in the other direction right now but I hope this wave ebbs soon.
”They found that while the children got flu on average every other year, flu infections became less frequent with age. From the age of 30 onwards, flu infections tended to occur at a steady rate of about two per decade in the people that they studied.
He said some infections were also silent - they might only show up if you went looking for them in blood.” So there are those trees falling with no one around to hear them…! 😆
PDQ but the friend I mentioned above works at Moderna and before covid was working on a universal flu vaccine. So actually, I do have hope that my grandkids will never have the flu, and that I will never have the flu as an elderly person. Yay science!
I’ve had it, have been vaccinated. I’ve been in a study with a university about my blood since may 2020. they’ve pulled some blood every 3-6months for research. I’ve been exposed twice before being vaccinated and had no symptoms.
I’m precautionary and am getting my booster after Christmas but I’m not as worried as most. Whatever variety of Covid I had seems to have made my body different.
If I wasn’t on this study with knowledge about myself I would feel very different.
“ With Covid expected to become a fixture — and considering how fast the omicron variant spreads — some infectious disease experts now think most everyone could be infected during their lifetimes.
“It seems to me it’s almost inevitable you’re going to become infected,” said Dr. Francis Riedo, an infectious disease physician at EvergreenHealth, a hospital system in Kirkland, Washington. “The real question is how severe that infection is going to be.”
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
If someone is basing on them trying to never get covid by assuming they've never had the flu but they also aren't testing for flu with every sniffle and diarrhea session that is confusing to me.
The question isn't do you think you'll die from covid, and no I don't. But, for me, I think trying to never catch what will become an endemic for my next 60 years (here's hoping) is also confusing to me.
But I don't think anyone is silly or stupid for doing what they need or want to do to avoid illness.
i'm confused about your 60 year point. You think we're going to be dealing with COVID for the next 60 years? Am I reading that right?
Scientists don’t think it’s ever going away. Projection is that it will turn from pandemic to endemic in 2024. eradication at this point is nearly impossible.
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
I am FAR more interested in framing the question, "Will I be able to book an international flight and just go - for fun?" Or will that be such a pain in the ass that it's not even worth it?
Basically I care more about how countries (over)react to the natural waxing and waning of this this that ain't going away. I'm being very selfish I realize, and only focusing on what impacts me.