How Much Should We Still Be Afraid of COVID-19?
It’s 2023. It’s late 2023. Should we still be terrified of COVID-19? I’m hearing some people say yes, many say no.
The truth is we probably shouldn’t be terrified of COVID-19. Unless you are immunocompromised or a family member is, in which case it should be one of a host of worries.
At the same time, we shouldn’t be forgetting this still somewhat nasty virus exists.
So, what is the current state of COVID-19?
Summer Surge Waning, but Winter Is Coming
COVID-19 once more produce a summer surge, albeit much smaller than some of the surges in the past.
Tellingly, it did not produce extremely high levels of hospitalizations and deaths. However, it’s worth considering the timing. Most respiratory viruses do not surge in the summer.
The timing of this surge was marked by two things:
1. The start of the school year.
2. A heatwave.
COVID appears to be more influence by our behavior than it is by reduced temperatures. So far, anyway. When people come indoors more, there is more COVID. Flu doesn’t do this. But perhaps other human coronaviruses do and we don’t have the surveillance to assess whether colds in the summer…