BA.5

Word on the street (graphs and numbers ganked from the CDC) suggest that we’re looking at a HOT HOT COVID SUMMER!

COVID variants BA.4 and BA.5 are taking over the midwest (wherever Alabama is) of the United States. It was brought over–again!–by tourists coming home from European vacation.

And this one? It targets lung tissue.

Hospitalizations are going up, up, UP! Same with the deaths and long-COVID results and all those horrible things having to do with an active pandemic.

What does it mean for you?

Well…

• wash your hands
• wear a mask
• definitely wear a mask when you’re indoors with a bunch of people

If you want to party this summer… enjoy the great outside. And expect that the dude that only wears a mask when you insist is going to bring this terrible variant into your breathing space. Because as we’ve learned from the previous variants of COVID: Human beings are selfish unrealistic assholes.

Like, the shit never went away. People just decided to stop wearing masks or do anything to care for the public good.

And sure, the vaccines have done a bunch to mitigate all the deaths, but vaccines alone cannot stop the plague… especially when some people insist on refusing FREE vaccination and the virus has the time and freedom to mutate in their bodies.

Anyways: We’re looking at a COVID summer as the BA.4 and BA.5 variants swallow up the unvaccinated and unmasked idiots that will be massing together to listen to bad music while sharing sweaty porta potties with strangers.

PLUS, considering the complete assholicness of SCOTUS’ decisions, there will be a LOT of protesting happening this summer.

As such, I suggest that anyone attending protests wear N95 mask–not just because it helps you stay anonymous, but because it will keep you from getting a lung full of COVID (or tear gas).

• stay hydrated
• don’t OD on vitamin D (there’s talk that people with low-vitamin D correlate to cases of long-COVID, but there’s a delicate balance between "healthy human levels of vitamin D" and "Oh shit, I’ve got bone spurs forming on my face." But don’t stress, as you’ll notice if you’ve taken too much vitamin D before the effect becomes dangerous. You will notice a loss of appetite, constipation, dehydration, disorientation, dizziness, and fatigue. So if you take vitamin D and you notice those symptoms… dial it back. You’re taking too much.)
• wash your hands with soap (because remember: the fats (? lipids?) in the soap bond with the spike proteins in the COVID, which means the spikes can’t grip onto you. No spiky, no sicky–like a zombie with no teeth)
• set up an air filter unit (there are DIY instructions that should let you make an affordable filter unit–looks kind of like a big box, so it does require a bit of space, but it’s proven to work. So if you’re gonna have a big party and you’re gonna insist on packing people in like sardines, you should at least do the bare minimum to protect your friends and loved ones. It’s called a Corsi Rosenthal box, instructions here => https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters/)

What to do if you’ve caught the COVID? Well, if you’re vaccinated it will hopefully be a mild case. Just make sure that once you’re "over it" you don’t exert yourself.

From the long-COVID sufferers I’ve come across online, it seems that a bulk of them were "pretty much over it" when they decided to go back to their regular lives. Basically, they pulled themselves out of their sick beds and tried to get things back to normal as soon as possible–BAD DECISION.

There’s a reason why a lot of previously athletic people are being effected by long-COVID. It seems that in trying to "get back to where they were before," they ended up exhausting their reserves before the later symptoms began to show up.

If you catch the COVID, take the time to get completely over it. And even then, for the next like 6 months, DON’T overindulge yourself with exertions. You’ve just survived a deadly disease… give your body a chance to get back on an even keel before you start training for the Olympics or power walk 30 miles.

I know that people are beginning to treat COVID as no big deal, but really: It is a big deal.

COVID is growing and evolving and learning the best ways to kill human beings and our animal friends. And without ALL humans working together to stop its spread, it keeps spreading and changing, and at this point, BA.4 and BA.5 don’t give a fuck that you’ve been vaccinated. They’ve evolved past a lot of the protections vaccines provide. And they love mangling lung tissue.

Stay safe.

Stay alive.

Enjoy the sunshine. Don’t overheat. Stick it to the man. Wash your hands and feet.

You are not alone.

Pax,

~HarperWCK