|
I got some news today about the brother-in-law of a friend.
The brother-in-law (in his early 60's) has been a total COVID denier from the beginning. The whole package, refused to wear masks, denigrated people who did or even believed in the pandemic, etc.
Then last spring he tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily for him, his acute course of illness was mild, no worse than a bad cold. It only further emboldened him. He spouted endlessly about how COVID was not as bad as the flu, it was just like a cold, piling it higher and deeper, etc. etc.
He became even more strident in refusing to wear masks or socially distance. In addition to his believing that COVID was no worse than a cold, he also crowed about how he was now 'immune' and could do whatever he wanted (despite the fact that his actions could endanger the lives of countless people around him, including his 90 year old father). He refused to hear that he could become re-infected. He didn't care.
This morning my friend told me that (to no one's surprise) his brother-in-law has become re-infected with SARS-CoV-2, and has been hospitalized with severe pneumonia. His prognosis is poor, and chance of survival not encouraging. So much for not being able to get re-infected.
Those who irrationally deny the realities of SARS-CoV-2 and the pandemic will preferentially take themselves out of the gene pool. It will ultimately be a self-limiting problem. The issue is how many totally innocent people they might take with them. My friend and the entire family are now quarantining, sitting on pins and needles.
|