As COVID cases rise once again, we are unprepared for the "mass disabling" event caused by long COVID

An alarming scientific pattern is revealing itself across intersecting areas of research, which suggests that long COVID could be linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's – having to do with the misfolding of alpha-synuclein proteins in the human nervous system. This misfolding is possibly triggered by an initial COVID infection and can lead to unwanted accumulation of alpha-synuclein and the formation of Lewy bodies, resulting in neurological disorders.

Long COVID patients are quite possibly experiencing the early stages of neurodegeneration.

  • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Masking, testing, targeted lockdowns, air filtration, vaccine mandates. Basically what China was doing until this year. Require everyone take a rapid test before going to work. Quarantine people they’ve been around if they test positive.

    • protist@mander.xyz
      ·
      1 year ago

      I work in a hospital, and I remember vividly doing all of these things for well over two years. I and everyone I work with know many people who have gotten COVID, some with severe symptoms and some who have developed long COVID. Since omicron became the dominant variant, I can't speak to anyone having fallen very ill, and almost no one reports anosmia as a symptom anymore (anosmia indicates the virus is replicating in someone's nervous system). The developing literature seems to indicate these newer, less severe variants don't cause long COVID the way the earlier variants did.

      Also speaking as someone who works in a hospital, the cultural implications of going back to strict COVID protocols would be devastating. There would be a serious decrease in job satisfaction and surge in resignations among healthcare workers, further exacerbating existing staffing problems. Front line staff have their finger on the pulse of this issue and just don't see bad COVID cases anymore. They would absolutely call bullshit on reinstituting COVID protocols when the evidence shows that new cases aren't at risk in the same way as cases from 2020-2021

      • Walk_On [he/him]M
        ·
        1 year ago

        Also speaking as someone who works in a hospital, the cultural implications of going back to strict COVID protocols would be devastating. There would be a serious decrease in job satisfaction and surge in resignations among healthcare workers, further exacerbating existing staffing problems.

        What are your sources regarding the "cultural implications" about going back to COVID protocols that aren't "Fuck you, I've got mine" or people just wanting treats? Or better yet, what are the implications exactly? No need to be vague about it.

        Front line staff have their finger on the pulse of this issue and just don't see bad COVID cases anymore. They would absolutely call bullshit on reinstituting COVID protocols when the evidence shows that new cases aren't at risk in the same way as cases from 2020-2021

        Why do I doubt your sources especially when there are podcasts like Death Panel or orgs like the People's CDC that are pushing for COVID protocols to come back. These two groups specialize in looking into this kind of stuff with the People's CDC actually having doctors and nurses among their ranks.

        • Fuckass
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          deleted by creator

        • barrbaric [he/him]M
          ·
          1 year ago

          In fairness to the "mass resignation" thing, hey that could happen. It's not like health workers are magical angels will all the right opinions; a coworker's ex is a nurse and a staunch anti-vaxxer.

          Some of this could be avoided by ramping up propaganda, by doing things like seizing the media and running a long-covid story every night on every news outlet in the country.

      • dat_math [they/them]
        ·
        1 year ago

        The developing literature seems to indicate these newer, less severe variants don't cause long COVID the way the earlier variants did

        Citation please and thank you in advance

      • TheModerateTankie [any]
        ·
        1 year ago

        Covid cases are less devastating now, thanks to vaccinations, and killing off a bunch of people most vulnerable to it, however:

        Conclusion 90 days post Omicron infection, almost 1 in 5 respondents reported Long COVID symptoms; 1 in 15 of all persons with COVID-19 sought healthcare for associated health concerns >=2 months after the acute illness.

        https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.06.23293706v1

        The solution to this problem everyone seems to be going with is to discourage testing people for covid.

        • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          1 year ago

          killing off a bunch of people most vulnerable

          People always forget this. It’s like saying “These new wildfires burn less” because all the kindling already burnt

      • InappropriateEmote [comrade/them, undecided]
        ·
        1 year ago

        The "cultural implications" of going back to Covid protocols. lol. Who upvoted this fucking loser? I wonder if the "cultural implications" of a population with continuously increasing numbers of CRIPPLING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE might be a little bit worse?

      • dat_math [they/them]
        ·
        1 year ago

        @protist@mander.xyz The developing literature seems to indicate these newer, less severe variants don't cause long COVID the way the earlier variants did

        Citation please and thank you in advance

        Yeah...that's what I thought deeper-sadness

      • macabrett
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        What about someone like me, who has to go to a hospital regularly due to a condition with medicine that makes me immunocompromised? Is it fair that the one place I absolutely cannot avoid going to is so unsafe for me?