Comment on There should be a term for people who never really returned from the pandemic's social isolation
OpenStars@piefed.social 16 hours ago
I think a lot of people were waiting to see the results of the election. And COVID is still very real - immunocompromised people (e.g. elderly) will need to start taking vaccines twice rather than once per year due to recent mutations (except... hrm, I dunno if RFK will "allow* such, but at least that was the most recent guidance), plus everyone could get long COVID every time they get it despite the vaccine.
The pandemic changed our world, and it's nowhere close to being over.
Also, inflation, so less disposable income to "go out" with.
Anticorp@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
There’s no “over”. Coronavirus is here to stay now, just like the flu. Thankfully it has become a lot more benign as it has mutated, and we know a lot more about it and have vaccines now, so it’s pretty manageable.
OpenStars@piefed.social 2 hours ago
I hope we continue to manufacture vaccines in the future, rather than e.g. outlaw them. I wonder what would happen if government research into which strains are most prominent (needed to make the vaccines every year/season) were to be halted? Private companies may have to pick up the slack, like maybe you'll get your choice of a Google vs. Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Facebook vaccine? Maybe, if every accusation really is a confession, this time there really will be trackers embedded in them?
I say all that to emphasize that what "we" (all) know is in flux - e.g. if you were to ask RFK what he knows vs. the common man on the street vs. a scientist - and what will happen is heavily dependent upon the current status quo remaining in place. Which seems unlikely.
But maybe RFK will say something to anger Trump and be gone in a week or two, like so many before him. Who knows?
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 9 hours ago
By ‘the flu’, do you mean that virus where one entire strain was eradicated by masking and distancing over the winter?
THAT flu? The one with the strain that died out after trivial effort? Do you want to use it as an example of some perennial curse, or are you saying that we can eradicate covid again with similarly trivial effort?
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
It’s pretty clear that they meant “a constant factor in our daily lives”, you really don’t need to be this hostile.
theparadox@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
I think their point is that, with effort, it can be become a thing of the past.
However, so many are unwilling to put forth the effort because it’s either too inconvenient or they’ve been brainwashed into believing it’s a hoax.