I am growing increasingly frustrated by the rhetoric around COVID (esp masks, distancing, prevention, etc) that says the only thing we're trying to protect people from is dying.

Or that, if death doesn't seem a high probability for you, it's fine to "go ahead and get it".

Death is NOT the only concern here and the number of people coming out of this permanently disabled and chronically ill is massive.

COVID - even the "mild cases" - is being shown to cause:

Irreparable organ damage (not just to the lungs, but to kidneys, livers, hearts, etc),

Multiorgan failure even AFTER the symptoms pass (bc the lingering virus or introduction of a separate, tiny, beatable virus created a cytokine storm), diabetes, blood clotting issues, embolisms/strokes (esp surprisingly high in young people), heart attacks,

Gross muscle weakness and damage, extreme and incapacitating fatigue for months (or life, as in many autoimmune illnesses), known post-viral conditions like POTS/dysautonomia, ME/CFS, and autoimmune diseases, disruption to menstrual/hormonal cycles (which can affect fertility),

Circulation problems (Raynauds and erythemas), mast cell disorders, wide variety of neurological problems (nerve pain, dizziness, vertigo, spontaneous loss of consciousness), and sooo many other concerns that we learn daily the more data we pull from those who had it in February.

We also know NOTHING about the viral latency yet. Nothing.

Just as the varicella virus (chicken pox) can reactivate and become the far worse Shingles, and measles can reactivate to SSPE and be fatal, there is zero data on what reactivation or recurrence of COVID could look like.

NOTE: This is NOT the same as "getting is again" or immunity; they're different.

Could it be like mono/Epstein-Barr or norovirus and recur just as it looked the last time? Sure could. Could that mean asymptomatic folks get the real deal next time? Yup.

Could it mean those with a mild case the first time recurred with a round that takes their life? Absolutely can. ...esp w/ the erratic immune response created by the first round.

We cannot predict.

Protecting yourself and others is not just about not dying.

It's about protecting yourself from heart damage, lifelong disability, and a type of misery that few healthy people can fathom right now. Don't bring THAT upon strangers or loved ones either.

Just bc the numbers suggest that more people are LIVING through COVID19 - and that's great - it does not in any way, shape, or form mean that they are okay.

Period.