How, Functionally, Does Covid Differ From the Common Cold?

I posted this as a response in another thread, but now i'm genuinely curious. As people should know, the common cold is a coronavirus.

In the majority of people, the symptoms of covid are the same as the common cold. The people most especially vulnerable to covid are the same as the common cold, the majority of deaths from covid are in the same age range as people as deaths from the common cold, the majority of complications that occur from covid are the same as the common cold, the disease spreads pretty much identically to the common cold, infection rates are pretty much the same.

In what way functionally does it differ from other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, to warrant this global response?

Why haven't we done this every year everytime cold season comes around if it's so horrifying?

Frequancy of symptoms

More people will have less common symptoms with more people infected

But thats a rather simple explanation for a complex problem

a reply to: dug88

There does not appear to be much difference at all.

As opposed to people actually paying attention to the chronic conditions people are dying of, they focus on the scary Rona!

This will go down in history as an extraordinarily powerful example of how dangerous fear porn spread from the MSM/Big Tech can be.

People have been conditioned to hate those who do not fear.

People have been conditioned to believe that agreeing with shutting down their businesses and demanding further lockdowns is virtuous.

And people truly believe that wearing masks everywhere is the new normal and breathing in what your body is exhaling has no negative effects whatsoever.

a reply to: dug88

Why haven't we done this every year everytime cold season comes around if it's so horrifying?

Why don't hospitals approach full capacity every year?

Sweden’s capital is considering shelving all non-essential health-care services to free up resources needed to tackle the relentless rise in Covid-19 cases.

www.msn.com... jfiunG3aup99PYkC77M2-TI648Uv8

Isn't it obvious? COVID has a scary name, comes from bats in China, and gives our elected officials the excuse to declare all kinds of unconstitutional restrictions on civil liberties in the name of public safety.

That's how they're different.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: dug88

Why haven't we done this every year everytime cold season comes around if it's so horrifying?

Why don't hospitals approach full capacity every year?

Sweden’s capital is considering shelving all non-essential health-care services to free up resources needed to tackle the relentless rise in Covid-19 cases.

www.msn.com... jfiunG3aup99PYkC77M2-TI648Uv8

Probably because, typically, they don't lockdown their buildings, operate on reduced staff and refuse to treat non-covid patients as they've done all year.

Covid is extremely intelligent, it can pick and choose where, when and who to attack and it constantly changes it's mind. This week it only attacks after midnight.

a reply to: dug88

Probably because, typically, they don't lockdown their buildings, operate on reduced staff and refuse to treat patients as they've done all year.

That makes no sense, but is that what Sweden did?

a reply to: Phage

$$$? Cares Act?

Just a thought.

Are hospitals at full capacity? There is some evidence that that just isn't the case. Hype?

a reply to: Xabi87

Some places, it can tell when you are in your own home with too many people and when they are from too many households and if they aren't related to you. Supposedly, if you live with 10 people in your immediate family, it knows you're all good, but if two households get together and have 10, it knows to pounce. But, those same two households outside will be OK.

a reply to: Phage

Why does sitting down after entering a restaurant stop the Rona?

And how does it know when curfew kicks in?

a reply to: elementalgrove

How is entering a church socially distanced different from entering your local small business different from entering Walmart? Apparently, the Rona can pick and choose between all those too.

And it can sometimes tell when you're out paddleboarding all by yourself on the ocean or playing with your daughter in a deserted park.

a reply to: Phage

Not sure, but hospitals here have been empty most of the year, doctors have refused to see patients, I lost two good friends this year, not from covid, but due to their inability to go to the hospital or the doctor's because it wasn't covid related, hospital staff has been layed off to 50% capacity, yet at least in my country, the majority of deaths have been in long term care nursing homes.

originally posted by: dug88
I posted this as a response in another thread, bur now i'm genuinely curious. As people should know, the common cold is a coronavirus.

In the majority of people, the symptoms of covid are the same as the common cold. The people most especially vulnerable to covid are the same as the common cold, the majority of deaths from covid are in the same age range as people as deaths from the common cold, the majority of complications that occur from covid are the same as the common cold, the disease spreads pretty much identically to the common cold, infection rates are pretty much the same.

In what way functionally does it differ from other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, to warrant this global response?

Why haven't we done this every year everytime cold season comes around if it's so horrifying?

The single biggest functional difference between the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and the ones that cause the common cold is that the COVID-19 virus is a novel virus and the common cold viruses are not.

A novel virus is one that has not appeared in human hosts before. Up until a year ago or so, no human had ever been infected with the particular COVID-19 strain.

Being a novel virus is an important distinction for at least two reasons. First, as viruses take up residence in a new host population, they tend to become less deadly over time. That's because if they are too deadly, they kill their hosts too quickly before the host has a chance to infect someone else. This is a well known evolutionary process, and it means that a virus is likely to be most deadly when it first enters a host population. That's why the case mortality rate for COVID-19 is significantly higher than for the common cold. After the COVID-19 virus has been around for a while, we would expect it to evolve into less deadly versions.

Second, when a novel virus first enters a population, essentially nobody has any immunity to it. That makes it much more contagious than a similar virus that has been around for a while. In any given year, somewhere around 50% (plus or minus) of the population has effective antibodies to the common cold or seasonal influenza. That means that maybe only another 20% of the population or so has to get a cold or the influenza to arrive at herd immunity for that season and have the outbreak of that particular infection die out. When a novel virus enters the population maybe 70% of the population has to get it before herd immunity is established.

Put those two factors together and it says that a novel virus can kill maybe ten times as many people in the first year or two after it comes out, compared to the common cold or influenza.

a reply to: 1947boomer

Every year we have 'novel viruses'. That's why every year, you can get the cold or the flu again, despite getting it the year before. Every year we face strains of novel coronaviruses and other viruses. If we didn't, we'd get the cold and the flu once in our lives and never again. Every year's strains of cold and flu are novel and new mutations from last year's or some other strain. This has been an ongoing thing for a long time.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: elementalgrove
How is entering a church socially distanced different from entering your local small business different from entering Walmart? Apparently, the Rona can pick and choose between all those too.
And it can sometimes tell when you're out paddleboarding all by yourself on the ocean or playing with your daughter in a deserted park.

Man it really is an intelligent disease, super scary really.

It does not even have any regard for biohazard concerns, nor the impact all the masks have on the environment.

Newbie here, my beautician said to me today, "where did the flu go?" She asked, " do these people think we are really this stupid?"

This was only after I said, this year really sucked.

originally posted by: elementalgrove
a reply to: Phage

Why does sitting down after entering a restaurant stop the Rona?

And how does it know when curfew kicks in?

We won't know that in Michigan until the middle of January now thanks to Gretch's new extended ban of indoor dining. I honestly think she's trying her hardest to kill small business here, otherwise she would have shut down the crowded big box stores too.

originally posted by: dug88
a reply to: 1947boomer

Every year we have 'novel viruses'. That's why every year, you can get the cold or the flu again, despite getting it the year before. Every year we face strains of novel coronaviruses and other viruses. If we didn't, we'd get the cold and the flu once in our lives and never again. Every year's strains of cold and flu are novel and new mutations from last year's or some other strain. This has been an ongoing thing for a long time.

You retain some immunity to the next strain over time u lose immunity in 2 ways

The virus mutates enough so immunity is reduced

Your immune system loses its ability to produce antibodies the longer its been since you have been exposed to the virus

a reply to: dug88

Immunized workers who do catch the flu return to work half a day sooner on average

hahahah! Half a day!!! Wow. So, let me see...If I get the flu jab, I still might get the flu but it won't be as bad. I can return to work a whole half a day earlier than if I just sweat it out. smh

Yep. I really read that on a Wikipedia (barf!) page.