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Comment by BoiledCabbage | Hacker News Reader

I really wish people (not you) would stop pushing the idea that death is the only consequence of COVID. Three different NFL players have said their lungs still aren't recovered and they're still getting winded months after having COVID. These are people in their 30s and younger and in some of the best fitness in the world.

Plenty of stories of blood clotting leading to many other issues in the general population during and past recovery. We don't know the consequences of this virus. No it's not a death sentence - but it's also not a minor flu.

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Aren't we all going to catch this sooner or later, especially with recent reports that it spreads 30 feet in the air through just breathing [1]?

So while there are lasting effects on some who are infected, the vast majority probably handle it totally fine, there are probably more people who have had it than we previously thought, especially considering we're changing our assumptions on how contagious it is, and we're all going to get it anyway right?

[1] https://knowridge.com/2020/07/covid-19-may-spread-10-meters-...

> Aren't we all going to catch this sooner or later,

You can get it if you want. I'm gonna opt for the vaccine instead.

Of course covid19 can spread through the air because viral droplets can be tiny. But infection-at-a-distance has not been demonstrated. The null hypothesis should continue to be that infection risk is proportional to viral exposure and time. An infected person can shed billions of viral particles per day, and yet, they don't infect that many people even if they're careless. The human immune system is remarkably good and it won't get overwhelmed when exposed to only a tiny amount of viral mass. The WHO hasn't accepted the conclusions from this paper because it doesn't provide evidence that simply exhaling produces sufficient viral mass to cause infection at a distance.

> Aren't we all going to catch this sooner or later...

Not necessarily. China and most of Europe have done a pretty good job of reducing spread to the point where it's likely that most people won't get it, assuming we get a working vaccine eventually.

In the U.S., we've flattened the curve but whether we end up with the "herd immunity" scenario where most people get it or one where we get spread under control and it slowly dies out depends on our actions in the coming months. (We also might get different outcomes in different parts of the country.)

You're talking anecdotes, not data. Chronic illness is not a common side-effect for those who recover from COVID-19. It's in line with the side-effects you would expect to see when people catch a serious RTI. Influenza also causes lung scarring, exhaustion, blood clots, and so on. If you have a study that shows COVID-19 causing lasting damage in an significant number of cases I'd like to see it.

Ever had pneumonia? Same deal.

I had Covid, felt sluggish for a few months after all symptoms went away. Just yesterday did a 25km hike, felt great. It's shitty and a tad worse than the flu, but I have no doubt that 99% will eventually be 100% better.

Have a link to a story about the nfl players? Hadn’t heard that one.

>These are people in their 30s and younger and in some of the best fitness in the world.

Professional athletes are known to be playing fast and loose with performance enhancing substances. So I am not sure that fitness and healthy are synonymous for them.

I don't know why you are being downvoted! I agree with you... just because you are a professional athlete doesn't automatically place you in the "healthy" category. Its not just performance enhancing drugs either. These guys and gals beat the living crud out of their bodies and have to maintain body weight and strength that may not benefit their health. It is complex, but I don't for one second correlate healthy to professional athletes there are just too many cases that point toward, "its complicated and actually points toward, it is dangerous for your health to be a professional athlete."

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