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sithelephant t1_ivuzsr1 wrote

Aged 11, I got mono. Like some percent of people who get it, I got a syndrome that basically precisely matches the symptoms of longcovid. (the set of longcovid patients that don't recover in 6 months and remain ill).

I have never been able to work, and am hoping for a cure by retirement age, which is looking increasingly unlikely.

I have cost the UK of the order of a million pounds (counting expected benefit for my remaining years, lost tax revenue, lost carer tax revenue and extra pension spend, and interest).

Post-acute viral diseases (longcovid, ME/CFS, ...) are comedically neglected in medical research and have had little work done on them in the last decades.

For covid, if you look at the life-years lost to death, and compare with the life-years lost to disability (counting as half a year per year for being unable to work), for about under age 45-50, longcovid dominates. And this assumes a cure tomorrow.

We have no idea of a mechanism for longcovid - there are many debated ones, and no idea what a drug to reverse that cause would do, even if it worked. A newly developed drug is likely twenty years out if we have no understanding of the mechanism right now.

(Clearly, some are out of the workplace due to non-covid related illnesses, for example healthcare delays due to the collapsing healthcare system)

https://resources.depaul.edu/newsroom/news/press-releases/Pages/mecfs_mono_2021.aspx

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Bloorajah t1_ivv44qd wrote

I’m honestly horrified of what will become of workers with long COVID in places where there are not robust social programs.

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WateryTartLivinaLake t1_ivv84o8 wrote

Replying to fleurgirl123 (#495,857)

I have had the same condition as u/sithelephant, and was able to work (barely, I had to sacrifice every other aspects of normal living, family, relationship, hobbies) for most of my life until my condition slowly worsened to the point where I had to stop working two years ago. I am now in the process of being diagnosed with what is likely MS. I am almost completely incapacitated and my quality of life has always been less-than, but is now extremely poor. I shudder to think what we are setting ourselves up for by letting this novel virus rip unfettered through our society, especially schools. I believe China knows the insidious, immune system-crippling nature of the virus, and that is why they are continuing to protect their own with extreme zero COVID protocol. The potential long-term effects we are inviting on working class people and our already insufficient healthcare infrastructure are unthinkable.

ETA:This article is a good read and outlines the possibility of what we are in for:

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/11/07/COVID-Reinfections-And-Immunity/

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AzulMage2020 t1_ivvarkn wrote

Are UK social programs any good? These times folks need all the help they can get. Maybe those still in the work force would be willing to pay a small tax for temporary emergency social services???

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[deleted] t1_ivvbcw9 wrote

At least there isn't any really bad preventable economic disaster coinciding with this problem.

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sithelephant t1_ivvgnpt wrote

Replying to Bekiala (#496,084)

For added fun, vaccines do almost nothing to reduce the risk of longcovid. In some studies it's 50%, others find no benefit. (There is significant benefit against prompt severe outcomes, so get vaccinated)

Combine that with vaccination meaning the excuse was given to allow infections to roll through the population, and you've got nearly perfect conditions for a mass disabling event.

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ArrrGaming t1_ivvhgqs wrote

Replying to WateryTartLivinaLake (#496,100)

Long COVID has always sounded miserable enough that we (my family and I) have never stopped wearing masks, social distancing, etc. I read that someone lost their ability to read due to what is being described as "brain fog".

I hope they discover a way to help you during our lifetimes, just like I hope they figure out long COVID.

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PM_ME_KITTYNIPPLES t1_ivvn55i wrote

Yeah, mask mandates shouldn't have ended when the vaccines came out. The vaccines didn't stop the spread or reduce the risk of long COVID enough. The US vaccine only public health policy resulted in more deaths in 2021 than in 2020.

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InncnceDstryr t1_ivvua0p wrote

Replying to colossalboom (#496,310)

I don’t have a problem paying a high rate of tax.

What I have a problem with is a corrupt, morally bankrupt government wasting it in every way they can find that doesn’t actually benefit the population.

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ZY_Qing t1_ivvw3tv wrote

I wonder what the long term illness hmmm so hard to guess

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sugar_addict002 t1_ivw12gg wrote

They are going to need to upgrade their public healthcare system. They really should have taxed King Charles' inheritance.

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Wolfram_And_Hart t1_ivw2ky5 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#497,478)

Or Brexit seriously fucked people’s livelihoods and added to their overall stress

Or we live in 2022 and mental health is being taken seriously.

But yes, I think many people are suffering from LC and don’t even know it.

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HardlyDecent t1_ivw6wy6 wrote

Replying to ArrrGaming (#496,376)

Haven't heard about the loss of reading ability, but for a couple weeks after COVID I would regularly lose pretty common words and spoken sentences would just dissolve into pauses.

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StewofPuppies t1_ivwb5oz wrote

Replying to SpammingMoon (#496,843)

For real and a federal judge trying to stop the loan forgiveness got PPP loan forgiveness. This country is fucked because of grifters and amoral capitalist lol but it's still socialists and immigrants thats the problem for them

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sithelephant t1_ivwcc6v wrote

Replying to ConfidentWin3397 (#497,588)

Observe the above table. It did not exist for new claimants. The number of existing claimants is not yet zero.

The rates for DLA have never been significantly higher than PIP since the creation of PIP as a benefit. I have been following this, as I have been on DLA since before the introduction of PIP, migrating some three years after PIP came into existance.

If your father was getting significantly more than PIP, on DLA, either he was found to be not meeting the criteria for PIP, or he was getting some additional benefit, possibly help with health care costs.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistics-august-2022/dwp-benefits-statistics-august-2022 - showing there were 1.2M claimants remaining in 2022.

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Burnstryk t1_ivwessg wrote

The long term illness is called Tories

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NotBlastoise t1_ivwjwu7 wrote

Luckily there’s a whole heap of Albanians ready and waiting to cross over for work… ^^^^^^^^^/s ^^^^^^^^^ilovealbanians

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psychicsword t1_ivwxy9y wrote

Replying to fleurgirl123 (#495,857)

Wasn't there an article recently that Alzheimer's increased in lab mice after swabbing their nose or something like that? I remember the headline suggesting that viral infections after picking your nose is the cause of the disease.

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StraightConfidence t1_ivx26dx wrote

Replying to WateryTartLivinaLake (#495,931)

And as an added bonus, there won't be enough medical staff to care for you. It's going to be even more of a complete shit show than it already is.

I don't want to be super conspiracy-ish, but yeah, I do think China knows more about long Covid than we do. I remember at the "beginning" of the pandemic they were already feverishly building hospitals, then there were all those harsh lockdowns. It makes you wonder.

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InncnceDstryr t1_ivxgy4n wrote

Replying to adam2696 (#498,875)

No.

I have issues with a government that exploits a global crisis to spend billions on filling their friends pockets instead of fulfilling an emergent life saving need.

I have issues with governments that manufactures the biggest political divorce since the fall of the USSR, with the sole intention of making already rich people much richer.

I have issues with a government that, in an energy supply crisis which is directly creating untenable cost of living increases for the majority of the working class, chooses not to change regulations that allow unnecessary profiteering, chooses not to put money directly in the pockets of the struggling public, rather provides a bailout in the tens of billions for the global energy giants that are already generating record profits on a promise that those don’t further increase already record high prices.

I have a problem with corruption. Competence has a ceiling, especially in the context of a democracy. Governments can make mistakes, missteps and when they do, absolutely should be fairly criticised.

The UK is currently on 5 out of the last 6 Prime Ministers initially gaining power by an internal party vote. Yes 2 of those 5 went on to win General Elections but that’s still periods of years we’re talking about where the government that was elected is not the government that’s in power - 2 of those governments are since the most corrupt government in modern UK history was elected and fell apart.

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MilfagardVonBangin t1_ivxhch0 wrote

Replying to HardlyDecent (#497,747)

This just gave me a jolt. I’ve been doing this for the last several months and I noticed it not long after I had Covid. I also get a lot of headaches now too which I thought might be Covid related but the losing words thing never occurred to me.

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manniesalado t1_ivxnk1r wrote

These folks have to GET BEHIND BREXIT!!! You sent away all your Poles.

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HardlyDecent t1_ivxqpb2 wrote

Replying to MilfagardVonBangin (#499,932)

Oh, damn. I've had nearly constant headaches too, but that's been happening since COVID started at least (I assume that is heat/stress related).

Just for discussion purposes, my headaches feel like mild to moderate hangover level, sometimes one-sided, and acetaminophen/NSAIDS do almost nothing. And they come on with no apparent cause. Yours?

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ButterflyAttack t1_ivxsuag wrote

Replying to noweirdosplease (#499,896)

Mate, if I were in charge you'd be welcome. But if I were in charge we wouldn't have left the EU either. Whatever people tell you, a lot of the motivation behind brexit was xenophobia and a desire to stop immigration. Fuck the fact that migrant workers are essential to parts of our economy, and the brexit voters were largely elderly people who certainly weren't going to fill the job vacancies created.

But I've met a fair few Americans working in England, so it can be done. And we're pretty welcoming to tourists. The pound isn't doing well against the dollar recently so it may be a good time to visit if you can afford to. Drop me a msg if you do and I'll show you some great English pubs!

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Ok_Vacation3128 t1_ivy1qvr wrote

Replying to sugar_addict002 (#497,423)

2.5m people - could have taken all his cash and that’s still only $50 a head.

You can’t afford a welfare state when your country is piss poor. The UK is in decline and welfare will accelerate it.

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Ok_Vacation3128 t1_ivyiekc wrote

Replying to sugar_addict002 (#501,374)

The healthcare system in the UK is pretty exceptional. I moved to the US a few years ago and would love for you to try and tell a poor person here struggling with insurance that it isn’t welfare.

But that’s besides the point. The wealthy aren’t “killing the UK”. It’s lack of productivity is. The number of hours worked is in decline, and has still not got back to pre-Covid levels. Businesses do not want to operate in a country with rubbish trade deals, murky future prospects and a population missing the skills they need. Oh, and a bunch of people with their heads so far up their asses about what they “deserve”. Covids just the latest excuse; Brexit was the start of the decline and 51% of the population voted for that. Far more than the 1% you’d like to blame.

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sclerenchyma2020 t1_ivynxpq wrote

Replying to art-love-social (#496,686)

These additional deaths and illness clogging our healthcare system impacts all of us. I might wear a mask because I see the writing on the wall, but I am also dealing with issues getting medical care because others are not taking precautions.

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sugar_addict002 t1_ivypj2f wrote

Replying to Ok_Vacation3128 (#501,792)

UK's healthcare system is lagging and will get worse a its population ages. am mostly referring to long term care of the aged.

Productivity gains from increased tech has been accruing to owners and not rewarding the workers. This productivity decrease you noted is just a reallocation of the benefits to the underpaid and very deserved worker class.

It is good to remember that business does not make the world go around. It is how we finance the world going around.

I do agree with you on Brexit. This was a white man's folly. UK racists voted for it because they believed the UK would deport all the others. Brexit will cost UK much.

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WatchandThings t1_ivyqw6b wrote

Replying to art-love-social (#496,686)

Masks can reduce the chances of catching the covid, but does nothing to prevent continuous spread of the covid by the unmasked. This means the covid will continue to spread, and need for masking will being years or decades long thing.

Though I do think the 'stop the spread' ship has sailed years ago. The covid is too wide spread from not having proper plans early on, the economy has taken too big of a hit at this point to try another proper covid control attempt, and the covid's wide spread existence internationally means the disease will make it back into the US sooner or later.

The early years were key and we dropped the ball, and our next generation will have to live with this thing long term. They'll have to live with the masks being a forever thing or live life normally and find out how bad the life expectancy and quality drops with long covid damage.

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art-love-social t1_ivyr7td wrote

Replying to sclerenchyma2020 (#502,070)

> hcare system impacts all of us. I might wear a mask because I see the writing on the wall, but I am also dealing wit

... I have several relatives working in front line health care - it is not covid cases that is clogging the system up

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neo_nl_guy t1_ivz4yv9 wrote

Good thing all those Polish workers are there to fill in and keep things going.

O wait ...

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crs8975 t1_iw01p46 wrote

Replying to Grouchy_Occasion2292 (#501,646)

But what does that pay equal? I have a buddy in the Midlands who was out of work for a few months due to a knew injury. His pay was zilch. No way could he have paid all of his/his family's bills without his wife having her job.

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