Connor Brown outlined the simple things you might consider at this stage as many are proclaiming the pandemic “over.”
1. There is no upper limit to the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections any individual can have.
2. Each infection increases an individual’s risk of a cardiovascular problem, and increases an individual’s risk of developing Long Covid.
3. Long Covid can disable people for weeks, months, or years.
4. Cardiovascular problems can disable people for weeks, months, or years.
5. On average, with no mitigations, it is likely that any given individual will get Covid-19 twice per year.
6. With each infection, the risk of cardiovascular problems and / or Long Covid is always present. 1 in 5 people develop long COVID. That is worst odds than roulette gun with one chamber loaded.
7. On a population level, this means that as time passes, more people will tend to become disabled from cardiovascular problems and Long Covid than those who have fully recovered.
8. Therefore, as time passes, the percentage of the population disabled by Covid will increase.
9. Since people who are disabled may be unable to work full-time, or unable to work at all, the available workforce will decrease.
10. A decreasing workforce pool will damage productivity.
11. In tandem, an increasingly disabled population will lead to an increased demand on healthcare services.
12. Governments will have fewer workers to tax, and will need to spend more on healthcare services.
13. As such, allowing SARS-CoV-2 to spread in an entirely uncontrolled manner is very, very bad for the economy.