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A poll about Covid

Brian Leiter

MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY

A lot has changed since Spring 2020 in terms of the Covid disaster.  Academic readers are, as a class, more careful than most.  I'm curious about the experience of readers of this blog with Covid, whether you've had it and how many times.   If you were sick but couldn't get tested (very common early on), you'll have to decide whether you think it was Covid or not based on the symptoms.  Please respond, I imagine I'm not the only one curious about how one segment of academia has been affected by the pandemic and especially by the phenomenon of repeat infections.

How many times have you had Covid?

 

 

 

 
 
pollcode.com free polls

UPDATE 7/11 8 am:  A strikingly good response to a poll posted on a Sunday afternoon in summer; here's the results:

How many times have you had Covid?  
Selection   Votes 
Never  53% 463 
Once  41% 360 
Twice  5% 46 
Three times or more  1% 12 
881 total 
 

In the U.S. about 40% of the population has not been infected; I don't know what the numbers are elsewhere, and since the readership is international the comparison may not be too illuminating.  Some interesting comments at the poll site, and I'll open comments here too.  Some wondered whether those with multiple infections also had received vaccinations or boosters.  I'd be curious to hear (anonymously is fine of course) from those who had it twice or thrice whether it was less severe in the subsequent cases. Any other comments on Covid-related experiences also welcome.

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7 responses to “A poll about Covid”

  1. s. wallerstein

    I write from Chile with a population of 19 million people and over 4 million confirmed cases, with 59, 000 deaths. 92% of the population has been vacccinated with two doses, generally with Sinovac, the Chinese vaccine. The vaccination process has not been politicized in Chile: there is no left vs right divide about it.

    Many of us have also received two booster shots, in my case, the first booster with Oxford and the second with Pfizer.

    I checked yes to Covid once because after having been vaccinated and with the two boosters I had a bad cold which got worse on a three-day holiday weekend and I imagined that it would be a drag to try to get a PCR during that weekend, with long waits in an emergency room or laboratory. I live alone so I didn't come into contact with anyone and so I didn't bother with a PCR and by the time the holiday was over I felt better. The next day I saw a woman friend, but both of us wore masks and maintained a distance of two meters between us with a window wide open to ventilate the room.

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  2. Rollo Burgess

    I've had covid twice, in December last year and again over the last 2 weeks. I have been double vaccinated and boosted (astrazeneca X2, then Moderna booster)

    I have been very fortunate and not been particularly ill either time I got covid, which is presumably partly attributable to being vaccinated, and then to previous infection.

    Re the most recent bout I started feeling dodgy end of the week before last, tested positive on Sat 2 July, felt pretty bad Mon-Weds (worked a bit from home in the mornings and conked out in the afternoons) and started perking up on Thursday; had a normal weekend and back in the office today. Even though I was not ill for very long, I felt worse than I did in December. My symptoms had two very distinct phases, firstly a heavy cold, which then cleared up causing me to think I was better, but I then just felt very tired.

    PS I am based in the UK, not an academic but go into office in central London 3-4 dpw)

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  3. P. Taborsky

    I've had the standard double vaccination, but haven't taken any of the booster shots. I've also stopped wearing masks since the mandates have been lifted here (Ontario, Canada), and have never worn a mask outdoors at all since the beginning (many have done so and still do, although it has never been required). I was fairly serious about following all the rules at the beginning, but have become really lax about it over the past several months, and no longer wear a mask in class (we haven't been required to since the start of this month). I've never had Covid (to my knowledge), nor has anyone in my household.

    On the other hand, my younger brother, who is meticulous about protecting himself (two masks at all times, even outside, carries hand sanitizer with himself everywhere, three shots, tests himself constantly, stays far away from others in public, uses a key to press elevator buttons, and so on) came down with Covid earlier this year.

    I'm not sure what this means; perhaps there is a limit to the effectiveness of being careful, and the rest has to do with personal susceptibility to corona-virus illnesses which I would guess (as a complete amateur) has something to do with one's genetic make-up and epidemiological history.

    I don't want to discourage anyone from taking Covid seriously, but I see so many people acting as though Covid were as lethal as Ebola yet more transmissible than Measles, which is such utter madness. Given that Covid is quite literally never going to disappear (if I have understood the reports correctly), and that many will get it mutliple times and be more or less fine, I should think some perspective is needed.

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  4. Brian Leiter

    I have to admit I've never met anyone so ignorant that they think Covid is as lethal as Eboloa and as transmissble as measles! Maybe such a person exists, but I doubt policy should be made with such people in mind.

    Reply
  5. TT professor

    Got it twice: once before vaccines (before masks etc. even) and then again more than six months after my third Moderna dose. I had symptoms both times, but the second time they were shorter and milder.

    Reply
  6. J-P

    My wife and I have suffered through the coronavirus four times. My wife is a speech-language pathologist who works in a rehabilitation center/old folks home. The virus raged through those buildings, and a new wave is (allegedly) coming. I’m a professor of philosophy at a fairly large state school. We decided early on that we were going to continue to provide the best possible service that we could—she for her patients, me for my students and colleagues. Unlike most academics, we did not go remote. She continued to work with her patients one-on-one. I taught in-person throughout the pandemic, knowing full well the pedagogical advantages of in-person over online delivery. My students were *so thankful* that a few professors were still willing get back to work in the classroom. The alpha variant knocked us down pretty hard. I was close to hypoxic but recovered quickly. (We’re athletic.) Delta was a drag and left us with cold symptoms, muscle soreness, and fatigue. The Omicron (and possibly post-Omicron) variants didn’t do much but sap our strength for a few days. We’ve had both vaccines (Moderna); I’ve had a booster; she’s had two. Given my experiences, I’m becoming somewhat skeptical that the vaccines do much at all to prevent infection or the spread of the disease. I’d like to see some good evidence, especially about workers who continued to labor in the trenches and on the front line throughout (at least most of) the pandemic.

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  7. Brian Leiter

    My reading of the evidence is that the vaccines were quite good at preventing infection with the original variant, less good with Delta, and almost useless with Omicron, except for the first few weeks after the booster. On the other hand, the evidence that the vaccines are still effective at preventing hospitalization and death, even with Omicron and its variants, remains strong.

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