This is a good article
“Immunity debt,” a theory to explain the global surge in non-covid infections since pandemic restrictions were lifted, is increasingly being challenged by emerging evidence. Nick Tsergas reports
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a bacterial infection not known to cause widespread hospital admissions. “I can count on my two hands the number of times I’d ever seen mycoplasma pneumoniae before 2023,” says Samira Jeimy, clinical immunologist at the University of Western Ontario. “All of a sudden I feel like everybody has it.”
Over the past three years similar reports have circulated of rising bacterial infections, flare-ups of old viruses becoming more common, and children landing in hospital with diseases not usually seen in young, healthy people. One explanation offered by public health leaders has been “immunity debt”—the idea that precautions taken in the covid pandemic suppressed routine exposures to circulating pathogens, leaving people more vulnerable to them when restrictions were lifted.
The theory landed in the public consciousness at the right moment. A simple idea that sounded like science, it soothed a public seeking answers just as the world was returning to a semblance of normality. And it served a policy function, allowing governments to focus on economic recovery.
But its explanatory power has faded as the number of non-covid infections has kept rising each year. A 2024 analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that invasive group A strep infections saw their most dramatic year-on-year increase from 2021 to 2022, well after most precautions had been lifted in the US. Rates have been abnormally high since then, raising questions about what might be behind the trend.
This is a pretty good article, it’s basically researchers explaining that they are seeing immune system effects after covid and then then Ashish Jha going “No, that doesn’t happen. shut up. It only happens to a small percentage of people.”
It’s good but tbh it pisses me off when people give Immunity Debt even the slightest bit of legitimacy. It’s like arguing with flat earthers. Some asshole in France made up a term in 2022 to blame lockdowns that barely existed and now we’ve gotta argue with idiots forever. Like at this point, when some politician says immunity debt… There’s the large stack of research out there showing how fucked we are that they’re not gonna listen to or…
Isn’t it pretty well accepted that Covid damages the body’s immune system long term?
It was accepted even before Immunity Debt was a thing, but as usual the media and politicians are carrying water for the death cult.
The back to normal scientists claim it’s only a few outliers. “A small percentage” whatever small means, and also it’s normal for a virus to do that so don’t worry about it.
The people researching it are seeing more widespread effects, which are more significant than other viruses, and also COVID is way more contagious and mutates more rapidly so we can expect to be infected by it more often.
Normal people are unaware of any of this and will think you are a conspiracy theorist or a hypochondriac if you bring it up.
Is this the same argument RFKjr makes to explain swimming in raw sewage? I guess kids should be swimming in more raw sewage to strengthen their immune system.
To be fair, I heard George Carlin make this argument once, but I don’t take medical advice from him either.
Yes, we went from trying to avoid disease and making jokes about licking doorknobs, to being anti-vaccine and pro-disease because of how the pandemic was handled. The increase in illness was taken as proof that trying to prevent disease actually made things worse, so we all gotta swim in sewage. It’s a pretty common conservative trope. “If you try to do good, you are actually making it worse dummy. shut up and stop giving a shit”
And Carlin was joking, at least.
I know this could be a matter of editing, but I find it very interesting the phrasing that Jha uses. It’s not “well there’s clearly something going on but we don’t have enough evidence to say it’s COVID-19 so we need further research” it’s
“LALALALA COVID DOESN’T DAMAGE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM”Yeah, it’s the same tactics people use to deny climate change, and will follow the same tactics.
- It’s not happening.
- Ok It’s happening but it’s normal and not a big deal
- Ok it’s a big deal, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
- AI Science wizards will use magic to solve the problem for us.
Had someone on step 4 the other day, who 100% seriously said “well we solved the hole in the ozone layer through technology so we can solve this too!”. He voted for Trump lmao.
Lol. The ozone thing required all relevant nations to collaborate, something we are refusing to do with climate change because at it’s core the US is an oil cartel and dependent on the industry for economic power and world domination. I’m sure we’ll go all in on some bullshit geoengineering scheme eventually, but we won’t stop pumping oil until we are somehow forced to stop.
