Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread

[vivster]

chakkra said:

vivster said:

I assume those numbers are based on confirmed cases. If we consider that especially among younger people there are way more unreported cases those numbers really are laughable for anyone under 40. Also not included in those stats are additional health issues like smoking, obesity asthma etc. Which brings down the hospitalization rate for young and healthy people down even further and the fatality rate close to zero. So pretty much what is expected.

I'm well aware of the ramifications of this virus and I wouldn't recommend to any young person to leave their house for any non essential reason. I just don't like the increased dramatization of "OH LOOK, THERE IS A SICK YOUNG PERSON! THAT MEANS THE VIRUS WILL KILL EVERYONE!" when that's incredibly far from the truth.

I think everybody KNOWS that the virus will not actually kill everybody, especially if you are young and healthy, BUT almost everybody have people on their lives that they care about that might be in a higher danger than them, and they don't want to be the ones who take the sickness into their families.

And you have been downplaying this since the very beginning, like when you said: "Just checked and in 2017 in the US alone 55000 people died from Influenza and Pneumonia. Haven't seen any panic about that anywhere." and "It's some kind of virus that spreads fast and has comparably mild symptoms. If I was worried about that I shouldn't be able to even leave my home because flu and cold season is coming and that shit also spreads fast and kills people. But this virus is new and sexy and a novelty, which is why so many bored privileged people are suddenly "concerned" about it." back in January 26th.

If the world had listened to you back then, we would had been in a much, MUCH, worse state right now.

I kinda still stand by what I said because it was based on solid data. Also I never suggested to not take measures against it, that was just inferred by my lack of care. I applaud governments who took steps against it and shaking my head at those who didn't. The fact is, by that time the world actually listened to me because they had the same numbers to look at. And looks like it still turned out better than all the doom sayers were preaching. We're still far away from the worst case scenario that I imagined and we'll never reach it at this point be cause the virus simply isn't strong enough.

What I do admit is that I definitely overestimated the health systems of other countries. Thinking that other developed countries had a similarly well prepared health system as Germany was a mistake. I should've known better since I'm always the one saying that Germany is the best place in the world to live a healthy and safe life. Thanks to the virus I actually got that confirmation now.

I'm still not scared about the virus and I do not expect any significant lasting effects from it long term. I have a robust trust in my country and the world as a whole to recover quickly from this special inconvenience. I would consider myself a realist, but in a time where everyone is a pessimist I guess I'll take on the role of the unshakable optimist.

Preventable deaths aren't a good thing, but it would be a bold faced lie if I said I really care. Every year millions of people die from preventable deaths and I didn't care then either and neither did anyone who cares now. I'm probably also gonna die some day of a preventable cause and it's gonna suck. But if I went that way looking at my life I might as well kill myself now because that is no way of living.

When I look at the death numbers I don't think of the lives lost or the pain of their loved ones. It's impossible to take all of that in. Instead I think of freed up ICUs to save more people and I think of a slightly lower death rate in the coming years. On a global levels those "scary" numbers are still not scary to me because they dwarf against the people who are unaffected. You might say that I'm cold or a sociopath and that is probably true, but I know that me being sad or scared in this situation is helping exactly no one. I'm just doing my job and so should everyone else.

And you know what's gonna be the real fun? After all of this is over, people like you will just go back to not caring again and we'll still have preventable diseases spread like wildfires. People will look at influenza deaths and laugh about them, refusing to wear face masks, not wash their hands and go sick to work. And people whose lives were saved by vaccines will do campaigns about not trusting vaccines. And people will continue to smoke and drink and kill other people in the process. And you won't care and neither will anyone else. But at least for once in your life you can have the moral high ground over some random guy on the internet because of a temporary global pandemic. Now go and pad yourself on the back, you sure showed me. 

Last edited by vivster - on 01 April 2020