Thread by @elisaperego78

Not a positive take, I am afraid, from the @guardian about "endemic covid" and "mild" #Omicron
I don't like calling a "ray of light" a SARS-CoV-2 variant which is spreading at the speed of light, is putting children in hospital, and is killing

🧵

theguardian.com/world/2022/jan…

It is possible that #Omicron is "milder" on average in the acute pulmonary phase --I say milder, not "mild" --than other variants of concern. But we still don't know in detail about the full spectrum of disease that this VOC can cause in the long-term, especially in #LongCovid

We don't know which long-term trajectory of development this virus will take in months or years. We don't know if #Omicron or other evolving SARS-CoV-2 strains will give rise to new, more dangerous variants. We already know omicron is killing and putting people in hospital

We already know our vaccines are losing efficacy variants after variants. We know #Omicron has immune escape properties that allows it to reinfect people with prior covid | 2 doses more easily. We are already reporting about people in #LongCovid being hit hard by reinfection

We all hope, of course, the pandemic will end soon. But promoting the view that a SARS virus --with the potential to induce vascular damage and immune dysfunction-- is becoming a "cold", is not the best strategy to deal with the pandemic emergency

#LongCovid

And, of course, the usual reminder that "endemic" in epidemiological terms doesn't mean "mild"