this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
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Absolutely, yes. Back when it first started in early 2020, there were still a lot of unknowns. People were suddenly dying, there were no vaccines yet, a lot was unknown and every government and business was basically trying to invent protocols to stay safe.
How long could a virus survive on a particular surface or object? Most people didn’t know. So they panicked and pretty much did what felt most appropriate: disinfect the ever living fuck out of everything that might’ve been touched by someone, somewhere.
People were doing contactless package delivery. Folks were disinfecting cardboard packages so as not to catch the ‘rona. Of course, that was all a bit of an overreaction - but pretty understandable considering how scary that time was for a lot of people. That, at least, was something they could do.
The scenes from New York, which seemed like they were pulled out of an over the top science fiction horror, was enough to justify cleaning the bar of soap with more soap before using it.
Yep. When you saw headlines about mass graves and refrigerated trucks full of bodies in New York, it’s understandable that people got a bit scared. And the situation elsewhere was much, much worse…
It is better to overreact and feel silly, than to under react and be dead.
That’s pretty much what I said back in 2020-2022. I followed all the government mandates, masked up, got the shots, social distanced, worked from home, etc. And because of it, I was about the last person in the country to get it back in late 2022.
Everyone in my family trusted the science and followed the rules. We never lost someone, even the people in fragile health made it through without an infection. The science works.
Our company also had people who didn’t do any of that. We had some plague monkeys that basically went around coughing on doorknobs and ignoring every bit of advice meant to keep people safe. So thank god I was able to work from home.
One of my buddies lost his best friend to covid really early in the pandemic, so we took precautions very seriously. Somehow I never got it, even though my wife did. We were sleeping in the same bed for the first 3 days she had it, since we didn't know that it was covid, and I still never got it. She isolated before the symptoms got really bad, but logic seems to indicate that I should have got it during those three days. Thankfully she didn't get it until 2022, and we were both double or triple vaccinated by that point. She was definitely sicker than I've ever seen her, but no long term side effects as far as we can tell.
Honestly, the long covid effects scared me more than actual death did. There’s people who now have a permanent lack of energy, brain fog, on permanent disability, etc. That was definitely my main concern in trying to avoid corona.
When I got it, it wasn’t bad - but it was definitely different than what the flu usually does. My symptoms were mostly muscle aches, things tasting off, and a mild cough. I didn’t get things like a sore throat or runny nose like the usual flu symptoms.
Yeah my wife said that it was different from the flu or a cold too. Her symptoms appeared to be a severe flu, but she said she knew immediately that it was covid when the symptoms became more serious since it was different than anything else she'd ever felt before.
Very few people did this. If you were this paranoid, you left your city to live in the country. Or you didn't buy your Cheetos for a little bit.
You could just leave shit in the sun for a bit if you really wanted to kill everything. UV and dry air will zap and dessicate a lot. I believe bacteria likes to hide in crevices, so move it around. A few hours of you want to be "sure".
Remember, infection depends on the amount of exposure. One virion is going to get stuck in your mucus and die. You don't need to get every one because they can't replicate outside the body. Salmonella or shit in your bathroom can be way worse than someone sneezing on your Cheetos.
Nobody knew any of that at the beginning.