You will end up worse off if you never get sick and built immunity.
Discussion
Getting sick doesn’t build immunity. It’s the immune system being overrun. It’s impossible to not be exposed to bacteria and viruses everyday. I’m not asking that we live in a bubble. Simply that people who are acutely ill stay home both for themselves and for the community. When you’re acutely ill it’s when virus and bacterial load is highest with whatever’s got you down. If it’s viral a good rule of thumb is when you have a fever and for 24 hours after.
What people think of as common viruses are being shown to cause health issues down the line. My age group our parents put kids together when they were young to get chicken pox over with. I don’t think they knew then that it caused Shingles. Epstein-Barr virus is linked to Multiple Sclerosis. You don’t need to get ill to have a good immune system. People with the best ones seldom get ill.
I’m asking for common sense and common courtesy.
I wouldn't go to work sick. But I'm also not staying at home out of fear of having been sick.
Most people still feel pretty shitty in the 24 hours after a fever breaks. I’m just asking people to stay home when they’re acutely ill. You’d be surprised by how many people don’t.
If someone is going out when they’re acutely ill I’d like them to be honest with themselves that it has nothing to do with other people’s immunity and more likely for personal financial reasons or FOMO.
I get that staying home if you feel ill sounds logical, thankfully I can afford to do this, but it’s actually a very privileged thing to ask of others. Most people don’t have the luxury to miss a day of work. There’s also no way to enforce this either without being part of a medical apartheid so I don’t believe there is a rational solution to this.
Listen I get it. I’ve been poor and broke. Working in a restaurant trying to get enough tip money to be able to go to the doctor when I knew I had strep throat. I didn’t have the luxury to think about anyone else and was just trying to get through the day. It sucked and I didn’t make it to a doctor before it transitioned into Scarlet Fever. It sucked so hard. But I never once thought or said anything about it being for the benefit of other peoples immunity. It was just a shitty byproduct of my economic situation. If I was in the situation of having to show up to work ill, I’d have the courtesy to wear a mask. It would serve 2 purposes trying to keep my germs to myself and probably pissing off whatever boss I have.
I haven’t said anything about policing this. I’m just saying how I would appreciate people behaving in this society. I’m completely aware people will make decisions as they feel best benefits them. We also have a problem that in the US culturally we don’t prioritize health in a multitude of ways. I think some problems need to be addressed in this world by challenging cultural norms. Leaping to laws and policing isn’t frequently the answer imo.