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[Alex Atkin UK]

In fairness the current strains of covid have less effect on the average otherwise healthy person.  It was the early strains that had the more serious health risks.  The latest strain is supposed to be more contageous yet the symptoms aren't are severe.   It was the early strains that were the most fatal... and seemed to have lingering side effects.   

This is not much consolation to those in the high risk group.  :/  I hope your mum is feeling better than she was.

The problem with that assessment is how do you know it IS less harmful, rather than just appearing that way because the majority of people most at risk are now dead?

Like you said, its no consolation to the people who avoided it by isolation and are still concerned the statistics could be misleading.

[tubaman]

The problem with that assessment is how do you know it IS less harmful, rather than just appearing that way because the majority of people most at risk are now dead?
...

Because the science supports that the current strains are less harmful but more contagious. That is also the standard way that viruses evolve and COVID is no exception.

[kitz]

how do you know it IS less harmful, rather than just appearing that way because the majority of people most at risk are now dead?

Numerous scientific reports.  The virus has mutated many times, plus our own defence immunity mechanisms have increased due to having encountered the cirus first hand or by vaccination.   During the first year or so, practically every variant was said to be less harmful but more contagious than its predecessor.  Covid is not alone, its normal behaviour for most new viruses to mutate not only being more contagious, but evolve and change the amount of damage to the host.   It is not in the viruses best benefit to kill off the host.  They need live hosts to continue to spread.  As far as the virus is concerned its better if they have little impact on the host... who can then carry on with their normal routine and spreading their germs.

[Edinburgh_lad]

I'd like to see those (scientific) reports that say that the virus is less harmful, or do they talk about our response to the infection being less severe? These are two different things.

I think there's a lot of confusion - especially in the regular press - that leads to the misinterpretation of how serious Covid still is; most reports talk about Covid causing a relatively mild infection, but that's because of the population being vaccinated. 

Covid is still a very serious disease, and I've had reports from those who only had the initial two vaccines that their subsequent infections were more serious (for example some had the difficulty with breathing as one of the symptoms which they hadn't had before).

Finally, Omicron isn't the only variant circulating. 

With every viral infection, there's more damage done to the body.

I really  don't understand those statements that say that it's not in the virus' interest to kill off the host. This implies that the virus has some kind of intelligence. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

I really  don't understand those statements that say that it's not in the virus' interest to kill off the host. This implies that the virus has some kind of intelligence. 

Indeed, the biggest reason deadly strains end up dying off is because as humans we isolate those people so they have no opportunity to spread it.  Historically when we don't, entire towns end up dying off achieving the same result.

So naturally the ones that can spread the most are the strains that have randomly mutated into less severe symptoms.

One of the point is the UK has a terrible immunisation policy, hardly anyone is eligible to be vaccinated.  Its quite bizarre as for Flu anyone with Asthma can get it due to the risk of pneumonia, the same risk with COVID where Asthma does not make you eligible.  Both me and my mum missed an entire round of vaccination because they couldn't organise a home visit and unlike the Flu vaccine, I couldn't simply go to the local pharmacy to get it either.

[XGS_Is_On]

Finally, Omicron isn't the only variant circulating. 

I really  don't understand those statements that say that it's not in the virus' interest to kill off the host. This implies that the virus has some kind of intelligence.

Every variant circulating is a descendant of Omicron. If you've evidence to the contrary please post.

Regarding viruses killing hosts it's a shorthand way of stating the obvious: the longer a host is alive the more they can spread the virus so viruses that don't kill their hosts very quickly have a replication advantage.

The evidence on Omicron being less severe is partially based on how it works: it doesn't bind to receptors in the lungs as readily as the earlier variants it's far happier in the upper respiratory tract so is less likely to cause SARS.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Regarding viruses killing hosts it's a shorthand way of stating the obvious: the longer a host is alive the more they can spread the virus so viruses that don't kill their hosts very quickly have a replication advantage.

Plus I'd think the longer the host survives, the more likely the virus is to be mutated as its changed by the hosts immune response.  Thus we get variants.

The evidence on Omicron being less severe is partially based on how it works: it doesn't bind to receptors in the lungs as readily as the earlier variants it's far happier in the upper respiratory tract so is less likely to cause SARS.

Let's hope this continues and the evidence is strong enough to convince my mum at some point.

[Bowdon]

Hi everyone, I'm just checking in to let people know I'm alive, just about.

I'm still suffering with long covid, and over the course of time my situation is gradually going downhill. I've been bedbound 24/7 since the start of this year (after trying to stand up for a minute).

Getting the doctors to take an interest is a struggle. I'm testing some beta blockers as I started getting adrenaline rushes that would send my heart rate up to 120bpm, which made it difficult to breath for me (I already have type 2 respiratory failure before covid).

I'm still on oxygen when I'm moving around the bed.

I'm hoping at some point I'll start recovering, as I'm approaching my 2 year anniversary in December.

I'm not sure I'll recover on my own, so I've been keeping my eye on the research going on. At the moment we're in mainly in the research phase on how covid attacks the body. There are some trials that are on going so hopefully we'll see some good results.

My situation is dire. But mentally I'm resilient because I was born disabled, so the mental impact of becoming disabled hasn't effected me as much as it's effected others.

So I just thought I'd keep the thread updated on my progress.

Try and avoid getting covid. It might seem like you shake it off and recover. But the more times you get covid it wears your immune system down and starts lingering in the body. I now realise the first time I got covid and appeared to get over it in 5 days, the itchy reaction to shampoo on my leg that at the time I thought was a seperate issue seems now to have come from that "harmless" first infection. The third infection is what give me long covid. I never fully recovered, mainly breathing oxygen, and heart rate problems.

Take care everyone!

[meritez]

Message received  :'(

[Alex Atkin UK]

I had to pay 99 quid for the vaccine this year as the NHS decided carers no longer qualify for it under the NHS.  Well worth it though reading some of these horror stories.

It infuriates me though as I've always qualified for the Flu vaccine which has far less health risks than Covid.  The government should be taking this far more seriously.