No, but it could be - that's an excellent article that I'm sure no one will read or take to heart. Maybe in the Spring of 2022 when the next variant is surging elsewhere on planet, we can all read it again.
I'd add a
counterpoint to the idea that we are collectively about to see the end of the pandemic as a social phenomenon.
But in reality, the president’s message didn’t give it to anyone straight, or even accurately. That’s because Long Covid — a dizzyingly lengthy list of new, returning, or ongoing health problems some people experience for months (and in some cases, close to two years) following their initial infection — wasn’t mentioned as one of the potential outcomes of Omicron infection. In fact, Biden didn’t mention Long Covid at any point during his speech. Here’s why that’s a problem.
It’s still unclear how many people infected by the novel coronavirus end up developing Long Covid, but the researchers behind a recent study published in the journal JAMA Network Open estimate that at least 50 percent of those who survive their initial illness go on to experience a number of physical, psychological, and neurological symptoms for a minimum of six months.
Yeah, but this variant is new.
At this point, it’s not yet known whether Covid infections caused by Omicron can result in Long Covid, but experts, including Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci, have indicated that it appears to be likely. Speaking at a White House press briefing on Dec. 17, Fauci said that while there’s not currently enough information on Omicron and Long Covid, he “would not expect it’s going to be any different” than previous variants, including Delta, which have left an estimated 9.4 million Americans with the chronic condition.
Of note:
This far into the pandemic, we should be well beyond the point of thinking that Covid-19 infections end in either a full recovery or death. When Biden failed to mention Long Covid during his remarks on the Omicron variant, he further perpetuated that false dichotomy.
When he reiterated that if a vaccinated person does end up with a breakthrough infection, they’re most likely to have a mild case of Covid-19, he neglected to mention that mild, or even asymptomatic infections can result in Long Covid. And when the president told the American people that if they “are vaccinated and follow precautions” they should “feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays” gathered with family and friends, he may have prompted some people to take a much bigger risk than they realize.
I know we're almost 2 years into this, but truly -- vaccination reduces hospitalizations and deaths; masking reduces spread. Vaccination without masking means we are in a never ending loop.
