Based on hundreds of sources, the risk for Long Covid hovers around 10 percent for both adults and children. That's the number given by an important study "The Immunology of Long Covid" in Nature Reviews Immunology. Conditions range from "breathlessness and neurocognitive impairment" to "increased risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and types 1 and 2 diabetes." As the authors put it, "the oncoming burden of long Covid...is so large as to be unfathomable."

Another study in Medical Review puts the risk for Long Covid even higher, at 10-30 percent for a single mild infection. According to this study, that number doesn't include the organ damage caused by mild and asymptomatic infections. Once you take all the research into account, your risk rises to somewhere between 50 and 70 percent. As the authors state, "well over 50 percent of people...who have contracted Sars-Cov-2 suffer damage to their organs." That's worth repeating:

More than 50 percent.

Fuuuuuck

When you wear a mask, you're showing the world you care more about doing the right thing than what's popular or convenient. You're showing the world you actually trust science, and you don't cave to peer pressure or groupthink. It's both a symbol of collectivism and individuality. It's no accident that those of us still masking have already learned how to handle peer pressure, gaslighting, harassment, bullying, and abuse.

The Scientific American piece I opened with makes a good point. We have to acknowledge our mistakes, but what matters most is what we do going forward. We know Covid is airborne. We know there's no such thing as a mild case. We know masks work, especially now.

It's never too late to do better.

Ever.

As months go by, incidents where Threads consistently failed to uphold its understood promise of a better-moderated Twitter-like platform have added up. Today, for many non-white, non-straight, non-male users, it is a repulsive social media experience, where their voices are silenced and where hate speech offenders who target them go unpunished.

The CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) dashboard took a break in reporting updated data during the week of June 30 – July 6th, and is scheduled to resume updates during the week of July 7 – 13th. As a result, the weather roundup below is a reflection of national COVID spread as of June 27th, 2024.

Welcome to the Pandemic Roundup: an inclusive, curated selection of new information and fresh perspectives on Covid-19 published every Thursday.