But isn't COVID novel in the damage it poses to microvascular systems (importantly brain and lungs), compared to other viruses? E.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7556303/
My understanding is that this is still different from other viruses.
So if large swaths of a country get that damage from delta vs omicron vs some future weaker variant, that could have very different public health consequences in the coming decades...
Disclaimer: In tech for over a decade, but once upon a time I did an honours degree in biochemistry, so I'm only maybe half-capable of musing my way through some of these papers :)
Maybe. But I suspect actually the reverse is true. "Normal" viruses (virii?) are probably far more damaging than we have ever credited.
The fact that we can vaccinate against a cancer (cervical cancer) and the fact that asthma went down more than expected during lockdowns, suggests that we are significantly underestimating the risks that "normal" pathogens incur.
The Epstein-Barr virus for example can make you tired for months or years.
I am not saying long Covid isn't a thing, but it is not 'special' in any way.
Virus infections can cause damage. Years ago I had an infection that damaged a nerve. So virus infections can leave marks. But most of the time, as with Covid, you will recover from it.