[tablespoon]

> You say infected, but were they severely ill? More than a "normal" influenza infection?

Aren't "normal" influenza infections pretty brutal (e.g. feeling really crappy for a couple days)? I wonder if the end state will be the immune-compromised will need to be on their toes forever, and the rest of the population will end up taking a lot more sick days on a regular basis.

[nuancebydefault]

Well, i truly believe covid has already evolved to the level of influenza (high spread, less deadly), our collective immune system just needs to catch up, which at the current rate of infections will be a matter of months. Since it appears so infectuous, everybody will get in contact, a lot will get infected, some of them moderately ill for several days. The more you got in contact earlier (naturally or via an injection), the less chance of getting severely ill. Covid will be an addition to the list of active diseases, but since it will compete with other viruses, the total amount of sick people will be the same as before the pandemic. I could be wrong, but mark my words . Good point about the immune compromised... those are/will still be in though waters, as with any infectuous disease though.

[sharken]

I think that analysis is spot on, we now have a second flu-like disease, that is very similar to the flu.

What remains to be done, is remove all these restrictions put in place and go back to treating Covid as we treat the flu.

That includes letting the COVID passport go and realise it's no longer needed. I'm looking at you Europe.

[dont__panic]

A lot of people label random illnesses "the flu" when they are very much not the flu. Vaccinated flu infections are a lot like you describe: fever, respiratory problems, stuffy nose, etc. for 2-3 days, if the vaccine is decently effective. Unvaccinated flu infections can give you a 101+ fever for up to a week, severe body aches that make doing anything painful, in addition to a stuffy nose, post-nasal drip, sometimes even gastrointestinal symptoms. Getting the flu when you aren't vaccinated can kick your ass for like 2 weeks, easy.

I got covid around Christmas, with two vaccines and a booster shot. Kicked my ass for like 3-4 days of very mild fever, and I also had body aches and all the other flulike crap. Took until this week for my lungs to feel like they're 100% again, though -- running has felt much harder than usual lately.

I, too, wonder if the immune-compromised are basically fucked in this timeline. With folks unwilling to wear masks in public spaces, you'd have to be crazy to expose an immune-compromised person to public events any time soon.