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A comment on Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B. Parent comment

Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by ahelwer on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @10:35AM (#33881711)
Yep. I went from being sick roughly one week out of every 1-2 months before covid to only getting sick maybe once a year now that I mask in public places, thoroughly wash my hands with soap every time I arrive somewhere, and occasionally wash my phone. Never going back. This whole "train your immune system" thing is BS. Hygiene is important!
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Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by clcaev on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @11:37AM (#33882816)
I muse to myself ... masks do in fact "train your immune system". Since they are no where near perfect, pathogens do make it though. However, the "initial viral load" is much smaller, giving your body more time to mount an effective defense. So, I would like to believe you are not neglecting your immune system by masking, but rather just being less sick, on average.
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Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by fundad on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @12:38PM (#33883971)
I want to carry you on my shoulders among a cheering crowd.
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Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by lamontcg on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @02:10PM (#33885384)
> However, the "initial viral load" is much smaller, giving your body more time to mount an effective defense.

That's a myth from the early pandemic. Viral dose doesn't correlate with disease severity:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-relationship-viral-do...

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Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by amanaplanacanal on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @02:55PM (#33886107)
But:

the likelihood of becoming infected may rise with the size of that "dose."

So a small dose might still prime the immune system even if you don't get sick.

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Re:Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453B by lamontcg on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:13PM (#33889489)
> the likelihood of becoming infected may rise with the size of that "dose."

This is correct.

> So a small dose might still prime the immune system even if you don't get sick.

This does not follow.

If you don't get infected following a small dose, you'll have fought it off with your innane or intrinsic defenses. You won't generate any humoral immunity, form T-cells or B-cells or neutralizing antibodies and won't be any better off for the next round with the virus.

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