Covid is an airborne disease and still dangerous to everyone!
It may not be getting the media coverage or government briefings, but COVID-19 is still infecting and reinfecting people every single week, killing and disabling people at an alarming rate. COVID, short for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, can bring multiple organ damage to your body, compromising your energy, cognition and stealing the things you love most away from you. It is an airborne illness that is spread symptomatically or asymptomatically, meaning people can/have/will transmit infections without even knowing it. While it spreads through respiratory transmission, it is a vascular disease. Even the "mildest" infection can have long term, dangerous impacts you may not be able to recognize immediately. The risk of these dangers increases with each infection. Each new infection risks new damage to your brain, immune system, lungs, heart and more.
The CDC has confirmed that Covid-19 deaths has killed more people than colon and prostate cancer combined. And if Covid does not take the life of individuals, it leaves them with life long disabilities, including long covid. To date, long covid cases has climbed to over 400 million people! And even worse, these numbers are underreported! The numbers are staggering and hard to sit with. You (yes, you!) can do something to help keep yourself, your loved ones and your community safe!
Wanting to learn more? Here are some expansive resources below…
General Resources on COVID education
Public Health resources with information to combat ongoing pandemics: https://linktr.ee/EndPandemics
Advanced COVID FAQ: https://www.covidresilience.org/advanced-covid-faq
https://resistcovideugenics.carrd.co/#covidart
https://resistcovideugenics.carrd.co/#studies
https://newlevant.com/covidzine
What COVID does to the body- Part 1 and 2: https://www.panaccindex.info/p/what-covid-does-to-the-body and https://www.panaccindex.info/p/what-sars-cov-2-does-to-the-body?r=1lq8bh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
Resources on Masking:
Why we Mask ZINE: https://laurellynnleake.com/WhyWeMask/
Mask Bloc- lists active Mask Blocs around the world. Blocs provide masks, COVID-19 tests and other equipment to their communities for free. https://maskbloc.org/
Masking Do’s and Dont’s https://whn.global/guidelines/masks/
Mutual Aid/ Community Building/ Tips and Tools
How to talk to your loved ones about COVID: https://covid.tips/ and https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NVXCp1g6p847-DgNfjP69wjDVCOZNVv2XAaQW1miWrM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.izp132bcc0a9
Covid Meetups- a free resource for finding individuals, families and local businesses/services who take COVID precautions in your area: https://covidmeetups.com/
WastewaterScan Dashboard – https://www.data.wastewaterscan.org/
People’s CDC: COVID 19 “Weather Reports” – https://PeoplesCDC.org/
Great news?? You can still do your part to help stop the spread!
There are a variety of ways to keep yourself, your loved ones and your disabled community members safe from the mass disabling event that is COVID 19.
Wearing a quality, respirator mask with a good seal (N95 or KN95) in all public spaces
The more ventilation the lower the risk! Whether this is fresh air diluting infectious aerosols OR the use of a high performance air filtration system
Stay up to date with regular vaccinations- SARS-COV-2 keeps mutating, with new shapes in the spike protein that evade old antibodies. That's why it's important to get updated shots that are better matched to currently-circulating variants!
Regular, PCR testing- PCR tests from a clinic or at-home molecular tests (like Metrix or Lucira) are much more sensitive. Contrastly, rapid antigen tests only detect high virus levels--typically when you already feel sick.
Treatment – Antivirals such as Paxlovid can reduce the duration and severity of COVID-19. There are other promising antivirals and combination therapies in random clinical trials, and as more treatments become available, testing for the virus will become even more important so people know when they might need medication.
A framework I really like is the Swiss Cheese Model of Prevention, which recognizes that each individual protection from transmission has its own holes and cannot be 100% effective. However, when protective barriers are layered together, like swiss cheese, these holes can be greatly reducing risk of infection.
Remember, each new reinfection puts you at more risk for developing Long COVID and other significant organ and brain damage! Consequently, reducing the amount of infections is integral to your health.
