COVID topic redux
by Lysander666 from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5DCVQ)
Before I start on this, I should mention that it appears the other topics are being closed because of irrelevant xenophobic and political rants.
If this goes the same way, it will be put out of its misery. However, this pandemic is not going anywhere soon so threads on it are inevitable, it's all about how [and which] users decide to contribute.
The reason why I opened this is because business_kid made a post which I think it's very important to publicly address:
Quote:
I think it's necessary to mention a few things. The reason why COVID is so important to be wary of in comparison to e.g. flu is that it is highly infectious [one could even say increasinglyinfectious dependent on the strain] and it has a steep pathway, i.e. it can be a very short amount of time between contracting the virus and death. Also, it's hard to predict how the virus will treat someone - someone in their 60s who's smoked all their life can get away with a cough, someone else in the 20s with no underlying conditions can die. It's very unpredictable [though not totally, by any means] and there's still lots we don't know about it.
Secondly the deaths of the elderly point. We are seeing more and more people who are healthy, with no underlying conditions, being killed, so everyone is at risk. And yes, people with terminal cancer can contract COVID and it is listed as a COVID death. The reason for this is simple - reduction of life expectancy. People with terminal cancer are normally given a set amount of time to live and this is drastically reduced if they contract COVID, and they are robbed of their remaining months [i.e they would have survived for longer if not for the virus]. This happened to a family friend - he had terminal cancer and was given a few months to live, he then got COVID just before Christmas and only lasted a few days. In retrospect, it was better that he died of COVID since it is a quicker, less painful death than dying of a cancerous brain tumour [the lesser of two evils though].
Unfortunately, as with many COVID skeptics [and even deniers] it's very difficult to change their minds until someone they know dies with it and/or they see first-hand its effects. The "death by vaccination" point was covered in the previous thread [in short, and crudely, it's inevitable with all vaccines because of allergies]. Additionally, it's not 'just' about death - one can survive the virus but still be left without a sense of taste and/or with breathing difficulties for months afterwards; the cases of 'long COVID' are evermore rolling in.
I think it's sad how much misinformation there is about this. Being skeptical is fine, but keeping an open mind is important. Hopefully this topic will go productively [though I don't hold out much hope].
If this goes the same way, it will be put out of its misery. However, this pandemic is not going anywhere soon so threads on it are inevitable, it's all about how [and which] users decide to contribute.
The reason why I opened this is because business_kid made a post which I think it's very important to publicly address:
Quote:
| My son is Covid skeptic. He's not thinking covid doesn't exist. He thinks it's overplayed. A large number of reputed doctors argue this likewise. He's not on his own. I don't agree with him, but I have to admit he has a valid viewpoint. Covid deaths are outnumbered by: Annual Deaths from suicide; Annual deaths from 'flu, and many other causes. Covid is way down the list. Of the Covid deaths in the elderly, he simply asks 'Were they healthy people who were taken down by Covid, or were they people near death anyhow? In some cases, people with advanced diagnoses (e.g. incurable cancer) died with Covid. The cause of death isn't investigated, if they test positive, it's put down as a Covid death. And now there's death by vaccination against Covid. |
Secondly the deaths of the elderly point. We are seeing more and more people who are healthy, with no underlying conditions, being killed, so everyone is at risk. And yes, people with terminal cancer can contract COVID and it is listed as a COVID death. The reason for this is simple - reduction of life expectancy. People with terminal cancer are normally given a set amount of time to live and this is drastically reduced if they contract COVID, and they are robbed of their remaining months [i.e they would have survived for longer if not for the virus]. This happened to a family friend - he had terminal cancer and was given a few months to live, he then got COVID just before Christmas and only lasted a few days. In retrospect, it was better that he died of COVID since it is a quicker, less painful death than dying of a cancerous brain tumour [the lesser of two evils though].
Unfortunately, as with many COVID skeptics [and even deniers] it's very difficult to change their minds until someone they know dies with it and/or they see first-hand its effects. The "death by vaccination" point was covered in the previous thread [in short, and crudely, it's inevitable with all vaccines because of allergies]. Additionally, it's not 'just' about death - one can survive the virus but still be left without a sense of taste and/or with breathing difficulties for months afterwards; the cases of 'long COVID' are evermore rolling in.
I think it's sad how much misinformation there is about this. Being skeptical is fine, but keeping an open mind is important. Hopefully this topic will go productively [though I don't hold out much hope].