The bad taste of better days

[sovay]

I just wish to submit it is unreasonable to have to deal with the outbreak of a rare disease in the middle of an ongoing pandemic of a novel virus which far too many people are treating with pure denial because they got bored with it, thanks. "One expert told Reuters the recent outbreak of monkeypox could be due to increased travel after COVID restrictions dropped." Wheeee.

Comments

[rachelmanija]

I'm really curious if people will take monkeypox more seriously if it gets widespread enough that they get to see horrifying sores and blisters. It's been something I've wondered about for the entire pandemic.

[sovay]

I'm really curious if people will take monkeypox more seriously if it gets widespread enough that they get to see horrifying sores and blisters.

I don't know! I would have thought the thing where COVID-19 caused thrombophilia to the point where you could see the fatal blood clots swarming and blooming on the MRI in real time was body horror sufficient to be taken seriously and that happened in the first months of 2020 and there were all the ventilators and the medical comas and the mortality rate and long COVID and and and and people still behave like it's a cold with fringe benefits. At some level I am not convinced that a high probability of coming out looking like the prime leper of Molokaʻi would scare people enough to act as a deterrent. People want to do what they want to do and if there are consequences, it's always someone else's fault.

(Did I already inflict my rheumatic fever spiel on you? It boils down to an extra layer of frustration with the failure or refusal to recognize how a mild case of COVID can classically fuck up a body for life when we have had for centuries a well-known disease that gives you a miserable couple of weeks from which you recover because it's actually quite hard to die of strep throat and then it turns out that somewhere in the process your antibodies turned on your internal organs and in consequence you now have a dicky heart and might end up with chorea. Like, I understand that facts have nothing to do with people's behavior around this pandemic, one's response has become a signifier of political identity and a casualty of culture war, but it really is not as though the delayed reaction is an unknown facet of illness which no one has ever had to consider before. And I'm just pulling an example that I happen to know about. I'm sure it's not alone.)

It's been something I've wondered about for the entire pandemic.

Legit. I still hope you won't mind if we don't have to find out with monkeypox. I could deal with not living in the worst timeline for once.

[selkie]

You have me as the COVID Example and Nicole as WHY YES, IMPOVERISHED/UNTREATED PEOPLE STILL GET MILIARY SCARLET FEVER AND NOW THEIR RESTING HEART RATE IS 107. I think we'll just skip monkeypox and bird flu, keyn ayin hora.

[sovay]

You have me as the COVID Example and Nicole as WHY YES, IMPOVERISHED/UNTREATED PEOPLE STILL GET MILIARY SCARLET FEVER AND NOW THEIR RESTING HEART RATE IS 107.

I remember that! Cases in point.

(I think the four-month sinus infection which fucked up my body for life lasted too long to qualify for this conversation.)

[kore]

we have had for centuries a well-known disease that gives you a miserable couple of weeks from which you recover

And it's not like there were decades of people brushed off with "yuppie flu" who were suffering post-infection sequelae that were never taken seriously! Nooo this is all Brand New Information OMG

[sovay]

And it's not like there were decades of people brushed off with "yuppie flu" who were suffering post-infection sequelae that were never taken seriously!

I'd managed to forget it was called that. Why do people suck.