Is it Better to get COVID 4 times than 5?
A new claim emerges
At long last, more and more people are admitting the reality that everyone will be infected with SARS-CoV-2. At the same time some of these people want to continue restrictions. What story have they invented to justify both?
It is better to be infected four times than five-- is their new mantra. Presumably this means that healthy young people are justified and rational to wear an n95 mask even after three or four doses of vaccine.
I don't know where to start. Of course there is no evidence for this claim. There is no cohort of people with 4 vs 5 infections, which would be confounded anyway. Better data would be comparing people who took precautions in perpetuity versus those who do not for their mental health, physical health, and more. And the even better comparison would be advising people to do one or the other in random fashion and measuring these endpoints. Of course, none of this exists.
But it doesn't even make logical sense-- already we get infected with many respiratory viruses many times in our lives. I've never heard anyone claim that avoiding human contact or wearing a respirator is desirable because it can limit the number of colds you get from 22 to 21.
There is no evidence to suggest that the fifth time you get COVID will be more dangerous than the fourth time. If anything data suggest it will be milder with subsequent infections.
We have reached a strange junction where people seem to want proof to live normally, and create elaborate fantasy stories as to why they are justified in continuing to abide by severe restrictions on their own freedoms. These fantasy stories often involve COVID-19 doing strange things, even if it is entirely asymptomatic. In the history of medical literature has anyone postulated and asymptomatic respiratory virus can do all these things?
Viruses have evolved to take advantage of who we are as people. That is people who see each other face to face, breathe the same air, and interact. You can't hold that at bay forever.
I wish people would just admit that they are really enjoying being (or pretending to be) disproportionately terrified of COVID-19 as a means of displaying their morality and wisdom over an amorphous, vaguely defined, but generally "lower-class" and "uneducated" mass of Others. Just be honest. But seems that many don't have the self-knowledge or courage to admit this.
This is so so good. Our local social media celebrity fear monger physicians are beating the drum that multiple infections will do cumulative damage. It’s nice to have a brief counterpoint to share with people. Thanks VP!