https://archive.md/7Ka29
"I’m sick of getting sick on planes.
I got another case of COVID-19 last month, on a domestic flight, sitting near a
woman who was sneezing. I wore an N95 mask, but she was only wearing the loose
surgical type. I suspect she knew she was infectious.
There was nothing I could do about it. There were no seats to move into and,
besides, to do so seemed a bit hysterical at the time.
Two days later – bingo. I wasn’t very ill, but I was visiting
immune-compromised people and I put them at risk.
Nowadays, talking about masks – and indeed the virus itself – is deeply unsexy.
They’re a symbol of a past we’d rather not remember, even though that past is
still our present and future while the disease keeps mutating.
But I still want to talk about masks because COVID-19 keeps happening to
travellers, ruining holidays and causing potential long-term health issues, and
yet airlines, government authorities and most passengers don’t want to know
about it.
Just look around any flight. Or bus or train. Despite a few people clearly
being sick, only a tiny percentage mask up. It’s not just as a precaution
against COVID-19. There’s influenza, RSV and other infections of a weakened
immune system which, perhaps unsurprisingly, can be caused by repeated COVID-19
infections.
Maybe COVID-19 is “just like a cold” and I shouldn’t fret. I certainly hope so
because scientists are still learning about how each infection harms the body,
with little idea what the consequences will be in three, 10 or 20 years.
I’m told I should “get over it”. But it’s not over with me."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: August 22, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-110556275
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
