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Indiana_Jawns t1_j0mh9tk wrote

Reply to comment by H00die5zn in Flu, COVID, and RSV have strained Philly hospitals. Is the ‘tridemic’ our new normal? by jargito

The idea that covid lockdowns weakened our immune systems has been debunked, especially considering things have been pretty much normal for a while now. Covid itself will fuck up your immune system though.

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PhillyPanda t1_j0mj15u wrote

I’m confused, if it’s debunked, Why does the article and Covid 19 White House coordinator seem to lend credit to the concept? Or is the concept of non-exposure different from weakened immune system?

>What makes this season unique isn’t the emergence of a new virus but that many are getting sick after not being exposed to flu and RSV in recent years. It’s a concept experts call “immunity debt.”

>This has left the population “more susceptible to a bigger wave of infections,” said Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator.

>Prior to the pandemic, nearly all kids caught RSV before their second birthday. But after two winters of masking and social distancing to prevent COVID, the cold-like virus has been infecting a population of children who did not build up antibodies in their first years.

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OccasionallyImmortal t1_j0o1s7f wrote

The UK is saying the same thing as they deal with unusually high cases of strep and scarlet fever. The chief medical advisor at UKHSA said,

>But on Monday, Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at UKHSA, confirmed for the first time on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that lockdown did play a role.

>“We’re back to normal social mixing and the patterns of diseases that we’re seeing in the last number of months are out of sync with the normal seasons as people mix back to normal and move around and pass infections on,” she said.

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PhillyPanda t1_j0o3oav wrote

I have heard some talk about the fact that it just doesn’t have to be this way, in a sense, it’s voluntary for adults and even involuntary for children to be sick in general. We shouldn’t accept that people need to be exposed to these illnesses. Just put masks on, social distancing as a norm, no intimate contact unless in a bubble, and quarantine if you have a cough/cold. And then you don’t need forced upon you antibodies.

If you continue that for your whole life, can’t go wrong.

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