I’m going to briefly join the fray with these examples of not arguing in good faith in this thread. An exchange between @amanset and @FigNorton in which amanset is correctly arguing that we shouldn’t simply focus on covid death rates. So FigNorton decides to grill amanset on one specific aspect of long covid (amputations). I found the exchange so frustrating, I jumped in. He then focuses on testosterone levels. Nope, not interested in further engaging.
So what is Sweden’s current amputation count?
I don’t know. From what I understand lung issues are far more common. I mentioned it as I thought it might resonate with the Americans reading, seeing as the White House Security Director has had part of his leg amputated.
ETA:
To make it clear, I was offering the range of complications that don’t involve death. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by people and media outlets that concentrate on deaths alone. But again, EVEN THEN, Sweden’s death count is bad.
Well, there’s approximately 185,000 amputations every year in the United States. Do you think covid will contribute to that figure significantly?
I’m not going to bother getting into speculating about American amputations. I was offering a range of serious complications that are well documented. The point was that using death as the only metric of success or failure is wrong.
So give us the metric on Swedish amputations. Or lung scarring. Because everyone always says that we should talk about that but really, they don’t. It’s usually used merely as a tactic when the death count argument isn’t going right. So tell me, how is covid affecting the number of amputations or of people with permanent lung scarring?
If you’re truly interested, you can read this Vox article as a starting point to do some research on long term effects of Covid. Since the virus infects so many cells, the damage can happen in several body systems. Lung damage has even been reported in people who were asymptomatic. Cognitive decline is a major lingering effect. Myocarditis, deep vein thrombosis, strokes, hypogonadism, etc. These effects sometimes last for several months.
I am aware these are happening, some of them quite serious. But I think a lot of it is stuff that we’d probably see in other diseases if they were studied this intently. I mean would it really shock you if men hospitalized for any number of infections had low testosterone? And " between 10 percent and 88 of Covid-19 patients will experience at least one symptom for many weeks or months" covers a whole lot of ground.