Brian William Meissner comments

Well looks like the numbers are gonna be even higher now, during this 9th wave. Hospitals will be more busy.

Eastman I agree with you….

Call me old fashioned but, if patients are not up to date with vaccines, and have not followed other governmental guidelines, should they not be expected to pay fully for treatment?

> > > does this apply to those who have been medically advised not to get vaccinated?

Keep up the reporting even when no one else does please so we know when to relax and when to be vigilant

So much anti mask rhetoric in the comments section and not a single care for the sick, life altered and dying… I hate seeing this as a long Covid patient.

I’ve almost given up reading japan today due to this nonsense

And before you say everyone has inflammation, not like this.

Had systemic inflammation ever since.

I guess for most Covid is now a distant memory and those that were afraid can now enjoy life again, onwards and upwards

> too bad even if I want to forget Covid like all the others I cannot caught Covid January 2022 and it completely changed my life.

I will continue to be cautious well past the spring change because I know first hand how terrible this illness can be.

Assfgts@

I 100% agree with you, though it seems no matter how much verified data you throw at people they will still decide to do what’s in their own selfish interest instead on focusing on what’s actually good for society.

what I meant to say was, that long covid impacts are very similar to long term complications from the vaccine.

-There is literally 0 verifiable data to back up this claim, though I will say the long covid impacts are strikingly similar to that of long covid... That does not mean though the vaccine cannot cause long covid. My long term symptoms did not start after I got the vaccine myself, they only started after I caught covid.

"Long covid" is another way of saying the vaccine side effects wreaking havoc on your immune system. They lied to you. And they will NEVER admit it on any mainstream source.

0( +0 / -0 )

There is literally nothing I can do as a long covid patient to probably slow down this process and not sure if I really want to because at the end of the day even a 5% long covid chance (while devistating), it is much more devastating if the entire economy collapses.

Though I hope even with the change people will stop calling covid the flu and respect the idea that this is more of a change to help then economy than it is related to the actual severity of the disease, as mentioned previously there was 28,000 deaths in 2015 from the flu globally and in 2022 by august globally we have surpassed 1 million deaths.. This is actually verifiable data.

We still need socialite medical support for Long Covid, as under the ADA long covid is considered a disability in the US and they are also pushing for the same thing in New Zealand. We still need the public educated on the possible ramifications of catching covid to be best informed for the risks one decides to take in society...

Brian Meissner

i can assure you even if Covid is downgraded it’s still not the damn flu and never will be. In 2015 the flu killed 28,000 globally and by august of last year we surpassed 1 million deaths for the year of 2022. The government can do what they want but the statistics don’t lie. My guess the most convincing argument to downgrade the virus is to open up more hospital beds.

Sad to see cases back up again and so many people dying and sad to see japan to even fathom putting this virus the same status as the flu, literally defying all logic.

I understand that Japan, where I liveand have lived over a decade, that They medically have a disease category system, which is outlined in the article. What I really want to say about this, is Japan is looking to downgrade Covid to the same level as the seasonal flu here…. Let me be absolutely clear though that this does not mean that Covid and the flu are not the same thing. Covid has caused the pandemic, In 2022 alone we hit over a million deaths globally by August and in 2015 only 28,000 globally died of the flu. Covid not only brings a painful experience and or death at times but it also can bring on new or exasperated medical conditions..  

I understand the push for this change is a more economical one and allowing for society as a whole to get back a sense of normalcy, even with a 5% chance of developing long term complications due to Covid (based on most conservative studies) and the current death count still does not outweigh the trouble it may cause for society as a whole. There are even good things potentially about this change which would be that every hospital will now be able to treat Covid patients and thus hopefully less people will be tuned away from critical medical treatment.

I will say it one more time for thick skull people Covid is not the damn flu and is statistically causing a higher chance of death or new health complications than the damn flu!

Before I caught Covid I took 2 pills and now I take 11 medications to have have some sense of normalcy in my life after Covid and I know I never ever want to catch this damn disease again!!!

And remember living and dying are not the only fates Covid causes one also runs a risk of life altering medical complications after Covid, caused by Covid

It is clear in the article that doctors and medical professionals are starkly against a downgrade of the virus. I guess in 2023 we only listen to our doctors when it’s convenient.

Everyone knows the true numbers and knows Covid is nothing to mess with, I really don’t see the correlation between the number of deaths and infected with downgrading the virus, I’m guessing this info in discussion purely economically driven. This is why everyone is still masking regardless of downplaying the virus.

Read the article very closely Most symptoms clear up” this does not mean all. I am living somewhat of a normal life now after a year of long Covid though I have a few lingering symptoms that many complain about after a year, mostly fatigue. Though I will say I’m about 80% recovered.

As a long Covid sufferer, what I’ve learned from this thread, the only thing is how inconsiderate and non caring the expat community can be here in Japan. Record deaths and that does not count those that will go on to develop long term complications like myself… All of you that are saying “let it rip” “only the elderly are impacted”. Or “the rest of the world has moved on”. Really should not be posting that crap in here it’s nothing but inconsiderate to those suffering from Covid and really should rethink your opinion. I want children here but I don’t want children in a society that does not support each other and raise each other up.

Stay safe, vaccinate and mask up, don’t take unnecessary risks, especially not now.

Hideomi that is the most intelligent thing I’ve heard about Covid on this thread for a while. Anyone downplaying this pandemic is falling into the fake trap that everything is okay when in actuality it’s far from it here in Japan.

52 out of 15 million or so. In other words nothing. The "infection" figure simply reflects testing. What is the point of permanent panic about a virus that is highly infectious but harmless for most people? It seems the government and media are just unwilling to let go of the narratve.

by most conservative estimates 1 in 5 go on to develop long term complications, that along with the death count is nothing to be taken lightly.

Wow this is quite bad…..

These numbers are actually still me of the worst japan has seen Since the beginning of the pandemic and not something to be taken lightly.

Additionally by most conservative estimates 5% of people suffer from long Covid. I’m suffering and have suffered from long Covid

many think with a milder variant long Covid is no longer a threat but this is far from the truth. My sister caught Covid a month ago and is now testing negative for everything and is clearly sick. Be careful everyone.

Given those numbers masks and vaccines have failed miserably. We knew this in the summer but we all know this now..even if some still continue to bury their heads in the sand.

A year since a milder variant emerged Japan has seen by far the most cases and deaths related to covid. Yet vaxxed and masked to max. These are just the realities. Only consolation is the huge numbers getting covid now means massive natural immunity so numbers will likely fall quite sharply by about mid-Jan.

you do realize this virus mutates quite quickly many have had Covid 3 times since the pandemic started.

living or dying is not all that matters with Covid, Covid can cause long term health complications, please keep that in mind when making your daily risk assessment when seeing these numbers.

Lots of people are getting covid. People will die having covid but to say they've died of covid is often a stretch.

In Kyoto 48.6% of beds for covid patients are taken. Of beds for serious cases 7.8% are taken.

as a long Covid patient I need to 100% disagree with you. There is still a lot we don’t know about Covid and it caused me to double my medication I took for years before getting Covid. There are reported excess deaths at least in the UK and the cause is unknown but to say it’s not possibly caused by long term health complications caused or exacerbated by Covid is just plain ignorant.