Dr. Fauci on why the U.S. is 'out of the pandemic phase'

[Ms. Toad]

23. Yes. And I am extremely disappointed in Dr. Fauci

for using well-defined medical terms improperly.

His words provide confirmation bias for those who are inclined to believe COVID is no longer a serious threat. The reality is that this disease impacts more systems within the body that there are likely to be long-term impacts from having COVID - similar to polio (post-polio syndrome which emerges decades later), or chicken pox (shingles).

We have far too little data (since it's only been around 2 years) to focus solely on minimizing the immediate impact of the disease, rather than continuing to focus on eliminating transmission of the disease.

The things we do know about long-term impact suggest that this is not an innocuous disease - even when mild. There is a risk of increased cardiac events for at least two years. We don't know if it is permanent, since we don't have a population which had COVID decades ago. There are ongoing impacts on cognitive function (executive function, memory, size of brain) for at least 2 years. We don't know if it is permanent, since we don't have a population which had COVID decades ago.

In addition - long COVID is real, and common.

It is estimated that anywhere from 10% to 30% of patients might experience long COVID after recovering—even if they weren’t very sick in the first place. This leaves many COVID long-haulers with questions about symptoms and what to do. One physician aims to clear up confusion about long-haul COVID-19 and what patients can expect.

Long COVID—or post-COVID conditions—is a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health problems people may experience more than four weeks after being first infected with SARS-CoV-2. Even people who did not have any symptoms can experience long COVID, which can present as different types and combinations of health problems and can range in lengths of time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-long-covid

(I have seen estimates which are as high as 50%.)

This sends the wrong message - just like the CDC announcement last May that masks are no longer needed was premature.