one of the culprits here in the public obliviousness about covid is that medical science has completely failed to integrate the fact that infections and injuries have permanent effects into wider culture. it has been documented and known for decades that narcolepsy follows viral and bacterial infections but most doctors wont mention this to you and many of them dont even know about it. every single time you get strep throat, an ear infection, the flu, food poisoning, a bonk on the head, major surgery, sepsis, or cold sores, you have a N% chance to develop permanent disability from it. the 'shit happens' principle of medical science has been seemingly purposefully erased from the public consciousness and im not entirely sure why. american litigiousness and the drug testing process maybe. getting food poisoning from someone not washing their hands before making your meal at a restaurant can not just kill you, but it can give you a permanent chronic illness like narcolepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroparesis, whatever. instead of this just being common knowledge we have this bizarre concept of diseases as being ineffable and irresistible but simply an inconvenience all good citizens must endure