There are no stats for the number of post-recovery problems, but the sheer scope and range of those problems are grounds for serious worry. It was already known that some ICU survivors were experiencing PTSD and major psychological trauma.
Now, it’s physical trauma, with physical symptoms across a wide bandwidth of organs. The Guardian has a very disturbing report outlining the effects on those who had “mild COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization, and it’s grim reading. This new range of problems makes the virus a lot more difficult to manage and potentially impacts many people who’ve had COVID-19.
Why these post-COVID conditions are so truly dangerous
What’s so horribly wrong with this picture is that the virus is adding a whole spectrum of different medical problems to its range of effects. These effects include:
• Severe fatigue
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Memory loss
• Major weight loss
• Hearing and vision loss
• Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome a possibly serious risk for young kids
You’ll notice that NONE of these symptoms are respiratory conditions. They affect organs outside the respiratory system. This may mean that the infection path of the virus tracks outside the respiratory system, and/or has unknown effects causing these difficult and dangerous conditions.
Debunking the pandemic myths idiocy
Before going on with this, some necessary clarifications. Recently there have been many statements by political figures who clearly understand nothing at all about the pandemic.
The worst of those statements boils down to “only .01% of people die”. Those claims are totally and deliberately wrong. Current stats say the exact opposite. In the US, there are currently 2,911,888 official diagnosed cases. Deaths are 130,101. That’s around 4.5%. In the UK, 287,290 people are diagnosed, deaths are 44,321. That’s around 14%. At no point has the death toll anywhere on Earth been 0.1% or anything like it.
Another totally fraudulent statement is “Only old people get it”. Wrong again, and this statement is almost incredibly irresponsible. Many new cases are of much younger people, particularly in the US, and they’re also getting the worst of the COVID Survivor Syndrome after-effects. (I sincerely hope I didn’t coin that expression.)
In a sane society, these clarifications wouldn’t be necessary. In the US and UK, the countries with the worst infection rates and the worst death toll respectively, things apparently need to be spelled out.
The risks of COVID-19 Survivor Syndrome
The many disparate symptoms of the post-COVID-19 sufferers all have one thing in common. Those symptoms can be extremely dangerous. They all require ongoing medical care. ICU survivors have a long list of serious issues. Now, we have “mild case” survivors with big problems. These issues could affect a lot of people for years.
On a more technical level, the problems of dealing with a new virus are also very relevant:
• The virus is apparently much more dangerous to non-respiratory systems than first assessed.
• Viral strains may vary, a lot, and quickly, adding risks. This is a textbook scenario, with the virus apparently branching out.
• Treatment and diagnosis could become a lot more demanding if the virus has added avenues for its effects.
• Numbers of survivors with these conditions could be literally millions of people.
• “Herd immunity” doesn’t enter into any aspect of these additional medical conditions, in any form. (That intolerable theory must go. It’s been 100% wrong, and people aren’t “herds”.
At present, even just recognizing the many different symptoms as related to the virus would be extremely difficult. Some symptoms are nasty but wouldn’t be considered as risks for “developmental” conditions, for example.
A person with diarrhea doesn’t instantly qualify as being at risk of other symptoms that may develop. Hearing and vision problems don’t naturally track back to the virus, either. This means people with disparate symptoms may be at the early stages of serious multiple conditions, and it’s very hard to tell who’s at risk of what.
What to do? The obvious, preferably fast.
The virus is leading medicine and science on a long chase around multiple diagnoses and a whole bandwidth of treatments. The virus is the cause, however. Any and every method of reducing infections and combatting the virus must be used. We’ll have a planet full of cripples at this rate.
We need:
• Vaccination, ASAP.
• Instant lockdowns if case numbers spike, anywhere, anytime.
• Strong hygiene routines.
• Preferably “area defence” options like UVC to irradiate public and private spaces. This is the quick way to attack the virus at high-infection risk areas.
• A permanent end to public tolerance of useless political rhetoric and anyone denying the risks. The sainted culture of ignorance is killing hundreds of thousands of people. Shut up and pay attention.
• Immediate suspension and removal of incompetent governments by any sane means available. If this pandemic gets much worse, the world may be stuck with it for decades.
This is a GLOBAL crisis, remember? It’s just got a lot worse. The world is at risk. These post-recovery conditions can be extremely serious. The numbers affected could be huge. There’s no time for babble. Get on with it, or face the consequences.
