Imagine: You’re in your mid-30s, doing mid-30s things. One day, you get sick. You almost die, & it doesn’t go away. You’re now disabled. Other people report dying & becoming disabled by the same illness, while still others accuse the sick of lying. It’s chaos for a time.
3 years later, 25M+ people have the same disease in your country alone. They’re attacked, shamed, & humiliated when they discuss it. Billionaires & corporations spend money to convince the public they CAN’T get your disease, & folks resume normal life while getting sick & dying.
Half the public tells you a vaccine that didn’t exist made you ill, & the other half tells you you’re just unlucky & mistaken—it’s a you problem—but THEY aren’t in any danger at all. If they were, it would be on the news! No one changes their behavior, & the virus keeps mutating.
People keep getting sick & quietly drop out of society, one-by-one. Everyone talks about how mysterious it all is, while you desperately try to warn people. People laugh & call you hysterical while your broken body is diagnosed with yet more new medical conditions.
As you keep getting reinfected, you no longer have the energy to fight & warn people like once did. Your family & friends don’t believe you. Your community treats you with open hostility. People are still dying & becoming disabled, but it’s their fault. You’re exhausted.
The government does nothing to help you. Media pretends you don’t exist. The entire world moves on without you & your family. You’re no longer welcome in society because you serve as a constant reminder all is not well. You’re attacked for taking precautions. You have no place.
This is what life is like for millions upon millions of Americans. It’s HELL. We aren’t allowed to work together, the system needs us to fight. The most vulnerable are openly sacrificed. The sick are gaslit. Our KIDS are getting sick & dying while folks party. This is who we are.
What people perceive to be “THE END of the pandemic” is just us killing off/disabling everyone, one by one, quietly & behind closed doors, while pretending we’re doing something else.
LongCovid is debilitating & life-changing. We are going to disable millions more.
“Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to CDC data.” axios.com
“Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to CDC data.” axios.com
While I didn’t include the entire history of post-viral illness in my personal account, I personally believe I meet the diagnostic criteria for MECFS, like nearly HALF of all LongCovid patients. I have tweeted about it a lot in the last 2 years, so please know I am aware.
You may think you don’t know anyone with LongCovid, but many people don’t feel comfortable sharing. We’re mercilessly attacked & accused of malingering. Everyone unloads their fears on us, determined to PROVE we’re “wrong” so they can pretend it can’t & won’t happen to them.
Those of us who got LongCovid in early 2020 didn’t even have a word for what we were experiencing. We kept hearing “Covid doesn’t do that.” I was personally misdiagnosed with an orphan disease. A lot of us are traumatized, which makes the personal attacks even more painful.
The pandemic isn’t over, & this is likely an undercount. Protect yourselves. No one is exempt.
“As many as 21% of Americans who caught the SARS-CoV-2 virus this summer ended up suffering from LongCovid starting 4 weeks after infection.” thedailybeast.com
“As many as 21% of Americans who caught the SARS-CoV-2 virus this summer ended up suffering from LongCovid starting 4 weeks after infection.” thedailybeast.com
Loading suggestions...