Moody Monday: listen to the CDC

In case anyone missed the postscript to last week's Moody Monday post, it's a message (bold emphasis mine) worth repeating. The USA's CDC has finally admitted that they know what I've been saying for years already.

"Emerging evidence suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, can have lasting effects on nearly every organ and organ system of the body weeks, months, and potentially years after infection. Documented serious post-COVID-19 conditions include cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, renal, endocrine, hematological, and gastrointestinal complications, as well as death."

Keep in mind that at this moment they are only giving this message to coroners, so they can properly code cause-of-death information. They're not sending this message (yet) to primary care doctors or the general public. Probably, after coroners begin complying with this new information, as data slowly accumulates (reminder: unnecessary deaths), then they will eventually send a broader warning.

Canada's chief science adviser is also suggesting that the long term impacts of infection may have been underestimated by authorities until now. The newspaper uses the phrase that some of us have been warning about for a long time: "mass disabling event". A trip to the hospital during the acute infection phase is absolutely not the only danger. Here's what can happen, even if the virus doesn't immediately kill you, even if you're young and healthy, in this emotionally jarring health update message created by a friend of this educational channel that I previously subscribed to on YouTube:

Watch on YouTube

Keep masking, despite any headlines to the contrary. Upgrade to N95 masks instead of cloth, if you haven't already. I've used these, and you can reuse them after storing them in a paper bag for a few weeks. Install air purification in areas where you have the authority to do so, using devices like my homemade Corsi-Rosenthal box. Write a message to the authority (school principle, building manager, city council) for areas where you don't manage the indoor air quality. Be careful out there. The world changed in 2019 December. Please don't get left behind in this new era of shared-air health precautions.