SARS-CoV-2 Reinfections and Long COVID in the Post-Omicron Phase of the Pandemic 2023, Boufidou et al

Abstract:
We are reviewing the current state of knowledge on the virological and immunological correlates of long COVID, focusing on recent evidence for the possible association between the increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections and the parallel pandemic of long COVID. The severity of reinfections largely depends on the severity of the initial episode; in turn, this is determined both by a combination of genetic factors, particularly related to the innate immune response, and by the pathogenicity of the specific variant, especially its ability to infect and induce syncytia formation at the lower respiratory tract.

The cumulative risk of long COVID as well as of various cardiac, pulmonary, or neurological complications increases proportionally to the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, primarily in the elderly. Therefore, the number of long COVID cases is expected to remain high in the future. Reinfections apparently increase the likelihood of long COVID, but less so if they are mild or asymptomatic as in children and adolescents.

Strategies to prevent SARS-CoV-2 reinfections are urgently needed, primarily among older adults who have a higher burden of comorbidities. Follow-up studies using an established case definition and precise diagnostic criteria of long COVID in people with or without reinfection may further elucidate the contribution of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections to the long COVID burden. Although accumulating evidence supports vaccination, both before and after the SARS-CoV-2 infection, as a preventive strategy to reduce the risk of long COVID, more robust comparative observational studies, including randomized trials, are needed to provide conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of vaccination in preventing or mitigating long COVID in all age groups. Thankfully, answers not only on the prevention, but also on treatment options and rates of recovery from long COVID are gradually starting to emerge.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/16/12962

 

Post-Omicron? Uh, well, all current variants are still considered Omicron. They've evolved a lot so they're not, but because it's all managed as a PR thing they don't use new names anymore, seriously holding on to the belief that naming things accurately is scary. I see a lot of important MDs tut-tutting the people doing all the open source effort to track variants, calling all of it fear-mongering. These people really Don't Look Up.

So yeah that's a problem, because now literally every variant since Omicron is labeled the same way. It's really fortunate that there are volunteers doing the work that institutions are refusing to do because they decided to wish it all away.

Oh, that ship has long sailed, sunk and been swallowed by a giant sinkhole that is now a churning volcano. The only way out of this mess is to figure out how it works, how to treat the illness and repair the damage. There is no more prevention available, the hopium-based strategy of mass reinfections guaranteed it.

Seriously, there is never going to be another opportunity to control the spread of airborne viruses. There is a significant % of the population who is irrationally angry about the very idea, they will not just resist it, they will actively fight it. And this is why public health is supposed to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Because now their only real authority, their credibility, is no longer in effect. They turned a stable long-term weapon into a single-shot cannon. For rich people's yacht money.

And this is just weird:

Most people are vaccinated. It made very little difference, there is no valid reason to try this, and there wouldn't be controls anyway, which are necessary for valid results. And again the same issue: they used their long-standing credibility as a single-shot cannon, and now any attempt to get more people vaccinated will fail anyway.

We are more like the aftermath phase of a wildfire. The fire has burned. There is no trying to protect the land anymore, the only way forward is to figure out how to undo the damage. While the fire is still going on, because they just poured all the fuel they have on it.

Seriously this is why public health is supposed to tell the truth. It's what their own textbooks say. They thought they were smarter than nature, I guess. Or that people in the past weren't as smart as they are.