What if most people have already had the virus?

Self ^ | 03/28/20 | self

[Pining_4_TX]

There is an article in the Financial Times saying that a medical researcher/statistician at Oxford believes that half of the UK's population has already had the virus. Several people disagreed with his study, but it is intriguing.

I suspect that I and several members of my family may have had the Wuhan virus in February. We assumed we had the flu, but the symptoms were not like typical flu symptoms. The cough was the worst.

If you think you may have had the virus, but didn't realize it at the time, please comment about your experience. Some think this virus was circulating in the US as early as last October.

If a whole bunch of people already had this virus and recovered, perhaps we can get back to normal much sooner than we thought.

[Nuc 1.1]

I had something late November through through December and early January. Had most of the symptoms especially the you can’t breath symptom. Forced myself to cough and cough hard. Not to be gross but almost drowned on what came up. Went to doctor and was diagnosed with allergies. Breathing slowly improved but never fully came back to normal. Never tested. And yes I am one of the groups targeted for elimination by the Woo Hoo Flu.

[fireman15]

The authorities here are doing all that they can to avoid reporting about the declining serious illness and deaths. Normally when someone dies of pneumonia this time of the year a high percentage are presumed to be secondary to the flu... Now they are presumed to be secondary to coronavirus.

[lepton]

What if you never got it because you had this year’s flu vaccine in November?

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Then it would an if/then which is yet undiscovered. The flu vaccines to date do not seem to affect whether you can contract the Wuhan Coronavirus.

[Aria]

Yes, I’ve thought about that. Maybe just a coincidence.

[lepton]

There is an article in the Financial Times saying that a medical researcher/statistician at Oxford believes that half of the UK’s population has already had the virus. Several people disagreed with his study, but it is intriguing.

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Not unless their medical health system is appallingly bad, and so bad that NO ONE noticed in x-rays or CT-scans the characteristics of severe COVID-19 in what would have had to have been a great many ill amongst the millions.

We have had the same argument for here in the US. If this had been going around en masse, then by pure chance you would have had enough chest x-rays or CT-scans each for pneumonia checks, and for unrelated injuries that the distinctive characteristics would have been noticed.

I find it difficult to believe their health-care system is that horribly bad, even with partly socialized medicine, in failing to live up to even 1930s standards.

The flu going around in late-Nov to Mid Dec, and in mid-January, were both pretty ugly, but neither were the Wuhan coronavirus.

[lepton]

Since then, I’ve wondered how many weird things are probably always circulating among us, but just aren’t as quickly infectious as this particular one is.

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There are over 200 types of rhinoviruses that cause roughly 80% the common colds. Then you have most of the rest caused by coronaviruses, with some other viruses causing the remainder.

The flu constantly reconfigures itself by exchanging genes with each other of someone is infected with more than one variety at once, and occasionally some other pieces of genetic material, so you can’t become immune to all forms by infection.

[lepton]

The question is are more people actually being infected or are just the number of tested people going up?

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If the number of positives going up was predominantly from additional testing, one would usually to nearly always get a positive result when testing. That is very much not the case, even in NYC. A month ago, positive tests for people meeting the previous standard for testing were reported as 3%.

I’ve heard that even in NYC, only about one in eight people tested with symptoms actually has the coronavirus.

[familyop]

"Sounds like the doctor got the better end of the deal. Like being fired from the Titanic the day before it sailed."

Good perspective! :)

[lepton]

My son believes he had it in January. He is 27, in great shape. Got an awful sore throat. Drove himself to Urgent Care and passed out.

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There’s evidence that there were a few cases wild in the US in mid-January with the disease, but not very many. Probably was something else, but in theory he could have had it.

There were probably fewer cases in all of the US that there are people on FR alone who think they had it then.

[lepton]

Supposedly you can’t have both the cold and the flu at the same time, as the antibodies that are generated by one inhibit the other.

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Moreso that the immune-system is engaged already when the second comes to infect, much more than crossover anti-bodies.

[Jamestown1630]

Thank you.

I suspect that we all just have to take our chances, then - short of wrapping ourselves in bubble paper, and staying away from human society forever :-)

[Grey182]

I think I got it in mid-February from an Ohio relative. Light sore throat, moderate chest cold, feel breathless at times. The later two seem to keep coming back after a few days of feeling good. May be I am reinfecting myself somehow.

Considering Ohio is a hotspot, it seems likely.

[lepton]

As was reported by one Italian authority, every death of a person who tested positive for Corona has been blamed on Corona, even if whatever else they had would have killed them anyway.

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As reported by other Italian authorities, the deaths are being categorized as either FROM Coronavirus, or WITH Coronavirus.

[Keyhopper]

I got sick at the end of January. I had a dry cough that lasted a month. Treated it with Mucinex and abutiral.
Don’t know if I had a fever since my daughters lost them both. Only missed 2 days of work.

[Pining_4_TX]

Zombies?

Then what we need are anti-zombies! Nycuk, nyuck, nyuck.

[calenel]

At least everybody knows to try headshots, first.

[David Chase]

I agree. Much better explained than the way I’ve been trying to explain to people. Thanks.