There are now more than half a million scientific publications related to COVID-19 and a rapidly growing body of evidence linking SARS-CoV-2 infection to immune dysregulation, microvascular injury, autonomic dysfunction, clotting abnormalities, viral persistence, and measurable cognitive changes. And to the people constantly sick, exhausted, dizzy, forgetful, exercise intolerant, waking up to feeling like you got hit by a truck on the daily or suddenly developing strange inflammation, heart issues, GI problems, or “mystery” symptoms after repeated infections… At some point you and society as a whole must confront the reality that repeated infection with a vascular and neurotropic virus was never as harmless as everyone wanted it to be. I choose to live in reality. That virus is still here. It is still spreading through the air. And it is still associated with long-term vascular, immune, and neurological consequences for many people. Protecting yourself from that threat — through cleaner air, better ventilation, filtration, vaccination, and high-quality masks in high-risk settings — also reduces your risk from many of the other respiratory pathogens constantly circulating around us. And if you are tired of watching people suffer while being told this is “normal,” then start demanding urgency. Ask why Long Covid clinics are closing instead of expanding. Ask why immunologists, virologists, neurologists, vascular scientists, and pathologists are not being funded at Manhattan Project scale to investigate viral persistence, immune dysfunction, clotting, mitochondrial damage, and cognitive impairment. Ask why billions can appear overnight for almost anything else, but millions living with chronic illness are told to “pace themselves” and move on. Support researchers (the ones who are still focused on Long Covid that don’t conflate the disease) Support clean air initiatives (two strong efforts happening in Illinois right now! Help us!!). Support disability advocacy. Pressure institutions to improve indoor air quality. Stop mocking people for protecting themselves. And stop accepting “everyone is sick all the time now” as a normal feature of modern life.

This. It’s always this. If you’ve lived through Covid and didn’t learn this, we’re all screwed.

I talk about COVID in almost every class. I explicitly tell students not to come when they’re sick. We go over the limits of testing. We talk about what “safe” actually means. It’s not 1 day. Not 3 days. Not 5 days. Often not even a week. If you’re thinking in arbitrary timelines, you’re already missing the point. And yet, every year, I see the same pattern. Students “cry wolf” on skip days… then show up to class for two straight weeks, spaced just far enough apart to make it obvious what’s happening. Still coughing. Still symptomatic. Clearly contagious. No mask. If we’re being honest, they should be missing closer to three classes when they’re sick. But that exposes the real issue. No one can afford that. Not students. Not workers. Not anyone operating inside systems that punish absence more than they prevent transmission. So we end up with the worst possible compromise: people showing up sick, spreading illness, and calling it normal.