In every argument for and against any covid related policy, the debate falls apart when the participants fail to realize people have different risk assessments. Age, co-morbidities or lack thereof, pre-existing risk-taking lifestyle or not, co-habitating with anyone else or not, and the list goes on.
Also irrelevant. Think it through over the long term. Since the virus is now endemic and can't be eradicated anyone who lives outside of a sterile bubble will occasionally be exposed regardless of the protective measures they take. Just like with the other endemic coronaviruses such as HCoV-OC43. Differences in personal risk assessment won't change that reality. Unfortunately some people still have an irrational, unscientific belief that they will somehow magically be able to avoid the virus forever.
That said, I do hope that remote working will continue to be an option for those who want it as there are advantages besides virus exposure.
I'm usually on the lifting restrictions side of the argument, but do you honestly not see the difference in health risk of contracting the virus x times vs potentially (x + y) times? So far it seems like immunity is not permanent..
I honestly do not see the difference in health risk. Reinfections are rare but will be more common over time, just as with any other coronaviruses (or most upper respiratory viruses in general). Fortunately the vaccines and other treatments are pretty effective, and the natural immunity from surviving an infection typically reduces the symptom severity for subsequent reinfections.
The evidence indicates that another coronavirus HCoV-OC43 probably caused the 1889-90 pandemic and killed millions of people worldwide. The same virus is still endemic. It doesn't kill many people today because most of us get infected as youths and then retain some level of immunity which protects us later in life.
I'm not saying you should..I'm completely back to my pre covid behaviors and only wear a mask when I have to. That being said, I think a lot of your post is basically just conjecture; the claim that exposure to covid past the first infection or vaccination does not increase risk needs a little bit more evidence, and I don't blame people who are coming to the opposite conclusion.
Biologically speaking SARS-CoV-2 is just one more coronavirus and isn't particularly special or unusual. We already know that prior infection with other coronaviruses such as HCoV-OC43 provides pretty good protection against symptomatic reinfection with the same coronavirus as long as the patient is otherwise healthy. If anyone claims that SARS-CoV-2 is somehow different then the burden of proof is on them; extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
As for vaccines, we obviously can't have any data on long term effectiveness. But short term effectiveness against severe symptoms is pretty good, and periodic boosters are available to those who want them.
I don't think it's very constructive to call every personal risk assessment "irrelevant" without qualifications.
For one, there might be vaccines that work more broadly and give immunocompromised individuals better protection in the future, or cures/remedies that help your body fight the virus better when you do fall ill.
For another, right now hospitals are starting to overflow here and if I decide today to start going out and about as if nothing is amiss again, me or a loved one might end up there at a time where they're actually full. That is not cool for the covid patient, the medical personnel that usually already do overtime during normal times, or the people whose treatments are delayed again because it's full of covid patients again. We do still have a period to work through, either by (booster or initial) vaccinations or by forced inoculation for anti-vaxxers (aka having covid).
It's not about being too short-sighted to see that it's very likely we'll all be exposed eventually.
My sweet 79-year-old father-in-law has had his “elective” hernia surgery rescheduled twice, and now cancelled without a rescheduled appointment because too many people in Germany “trust their natural immunity” or “deserve to do their own research”.
The 2020s: when residents of the wealthy West discovered that “elective” procedure doesn’t only mean cosmetic or gender-affirming surgery, but anything that isn’t literally preventing you from dying right now, or a baby coming out.
New treatments are becoming available all the time, better vaccines will emerge, why wouldn't I want to delay? I take care of an elderly parent; becoming sick and not knowing it is potentially fatal to her.
I can be cautious and likely avoid significant exposure for another year or two at least, but not if my employer disallows it.
Sure, but I'm betting that an everybody does what they want to to the point that it doesn't endanger anyone else isn't even good enough for some people who feel the need to control the behavior of others.
What is this obsessive need to bring everyone back into the same poorly ventilated rooms? What business goal is served here other than literally making them look busy? Do you want to wear a mask for 7 to 12 hours a day on the job when you could be at home?
But also for those who feel that doing so is better than working from home, more power to you. Just don't make me join your club. It's just not my thing.
