Like the Plague: How it spreads
Covid spreads in the air by traveling on these two types of particle
What are Aerosols and Droplets?
N95 Respirators filter out this percentage of airborne particles
Doubles the risk of developing Long Covid
What is reinfection?
Long Covid is a multisystemic long lasting condition that can be developed after a Covid infection
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(25)00496-7/fulltext
The Covid vaccine does not contain live virus like in the olden days, it instead uses this
What is mRNA?
Basically this vaccine hands your immune system instructions on how to produce the spike protein found on Covid. Your body will dissolve the mRNA strands after producing the spikes, then it will produce antibodies in response to the spike proteins in the body.
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/therapy/mrnavaccines/
You are at risk of developing and being hospitalized for viral ______ and other infections while your immune system is weakened by flu.
What is pneumonia?
"It's just like the flu!" is often used to minimize the danger posed by Covid. However, the flu also has a body count (in the US) of about 6,000-50,000 per year.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/could-you-die-from-the-flu
Bars, classrooms, waiting rooms, and buses and trains all have one of these three Covid risk factors in common
What is poor ventilation/crowds/packed indoor spaces?
https://www.weforum.org/stories/health-and-healthcare-systems/most-likely-catch-covid-new-study/
The Cochrane review released a controversial study in Jan 2023 claiming that "mask wearing is ineffective". But their study wasn't researching the efficacy of masks themselves, it was researching the efficacy of this
What is mask interventions/encouraging mask wearing?
" Meyerowitz-Katz said the “entire purpose of running this review” was to determine whether mask interventions were effective in preventing COVID-19 in communities, and it basically found there wasn’t much research examining that. “So why do the review at all?” he said. "
Covid is capable of damaging nearly every system in the body from the brain to the gut, but it most often affects this system in the body
What is Pulmonary/Lungs?
SARS stands for "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome", CoViD is shorthand for "Corona Virus Disease", basically Covid is a respiratory disease (the ailment) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the organism) that can attack multiple systems in the body, such as the heart, brain, lungs, GI, and more.
https://www.medicinenet.com/which_organ_system_is_most_affected_by_covid-19/article.htm
You should get your boosters for Covid and Flu because these viruses tend to do this, which makes vaccines slowly become outdated and ineffective over time
What is mutate?
Boosters are needed yearly because new strains mutate quickly and circumvent vaccines that work better for older strains. Immunity also naturally wanes over time due to antibodies fading from the bloodstream. Memory T cells are able to produce them, but the gap between those antibodies being produced vs already having them leaves you vulnerable.
https://scienceinsights.org/why-are-booster-shots-needed-waning-immunity-explained/
This is the name of a new mutation of the flu going around, also referred to as a super flu, that causes more intense symptoms and evades current vaccines at higher rates than other strains
Symptomatic or not, an infected person is contagious for approximately this many days after onset of symptoms or first positive test
What is 10?
When infected, the CDC currently recommends returning to your normal schedule after 24 hours of both; symptom improvement, and any fever being completely resolved without fever reducing medications. However, studies have shown that regardless of symptom severity or presence after a positive test, contagious virus particles shed first at their peak from days 2-5 of initial onset of infection or positive asymptomatic test, and then drops substantially around day 10.
https://scienceinsights.org/how-long-should-i-quarantine-with-covid/
Particulate Respirators catch those pesky particles smaller than the gaps in its fibers using this physics phenomenon
What is electrostatic attraction?
https://scienceinsights.org/how-do-n95-masks-work-filtration-and-fit-explained/
Long Covid is often compared to these two chronic health conditions
What are POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
https://www.iomcworld.org/open-access/long-covid-pots-and-mecfs-lifting-the-fog-98646.html
Novavax, or now known as Nuvaxovid or Sanofi, is an alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. This vaccine, similar to traditional vaccines, is ______ based, but has a similar efficacy to the other two options.
What is protein?
Instead of mRNA, this vaccine directly hands your immune system the spike protein from covid attached to a harmless virus cell (an insect virus grown in moth cells!), stimulating your body to create antibodies to the Covid spike protein.
The percentage of the population required to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against the highly contagious Measles
There is lingering in the air, Covid hangs like cigarette smoke. By some estimates, it can stay hanging in the air in a room with little to no airflow for up to approximately this amount of time
What is an 4 hours?
N95 Respirators save lives during pandemics and wild fires. However, while they're great at filtering out particulates, you'll still be able to smell and be at risk for this hazard
What are chemical gases/vapors?
" If you still smell smoke through a well-sealed respirator, that is the gas half of smoke — and a signal to cut your time outside. "
https://actfirstsafety.ca/n95-respirators-and-toxic-gases-or-vapors.html
https://filterbuy.com/resources/air-quality/masks-and-ppe/n95-mask-for-wildfire-smoke/
The estimated number of children affected by Long Covid
What is 6 million?
Asthma was once the most common chronic condition in children. In 2025, LC surpassed it and became the most common chronic condition in children
https://pizer.law/long-covid-now-most-common-chronic-health-problem-in-children/
The Covid vaccine, everyone say "Thank you Dolly Parton", isn't effective at total prevention of infection, but very much still saves lives by its main function of reducing this
Alongside its characteristic bumpy rash and fever, Measles also poses a huge risk to your immune response by causing this
What is Immune Amnesia?
Immune Amnesia was thought to be a short term symptom of Measles, but between 2015 and 2019, it was found that this symptom can last for years.
https://www.harvardmagazine.com/health-medicine/measles-immune-amnesia
Asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic Covid is still contagious. According to a study done in 2021, approximately this percentage of all Covid infections are spread from asymptomatic vectors
Take a deep breath in. If your mask pulls in that's a good sign. Breathe out. If you don't feel air escaping around your face that's another good sign. But you can't guarantee a proper seal without this bittersweet experiment
What is a (qualitative) fit test?
This is a test that involves putting a mask on, then a plastic hood over your head, then spraying either a sweet or bitter aerosol (that you've tested you can taste/smell without a mask on first) into the hood and seeing if you can taste/smell it despite the mask. If you can't despite multiple sprays, you have an effective seal.
https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-an-n95-fit-test-and-why-does-it-matter/
Everyone, whether they were able bodied or disabled before being infected by Covid, is at risk of developing Long Covid. This percentage of adults who catch Covid go on to develop it
What is 6%?
Millions of people are estimated to be affected by Long Covid, 6% may seem like a small number until you consider it's out of billions of people, and that means approximately 15 million adults are affected by the condition. In children, the rates are higher, sitting around 10-20% of infections leading to Long Covid.
https://scienceinsights.org/how-common-is-long-covid-prevalence-by-the-numbers/
A rare and infamous side effect of the Covid vaccine, but also Covid itself, that disproportionately affects young males
What is Myocarditis?
The reason this is a rare symptom/side effect is because it is the result of an autoimmune response from predisposed individuals who have a higher number of mast cells (a type of Immune cell). Immune cells react to the invader in the heart with something called a "cytokine storm", a hyperactive immune response that leads to damage of healthy cells as well. While scary to experience, the vast majority of cases resolve on their own or under monitor by healthcare professionals. However it can persist in cases of the chronic condition caused by Covid.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.321878
The vaccine Abrysvo can be given to pregnant individuals 32-36 weeks into pregnancy to protect newborns from this respiratory illness for up to six months after birth
What is RSV?
RSV is typically mild, but for infants, elders over 75, people with certain chronic conditions, and the immunocompromised, severe illness is a much higher risk. Seek medical help if your loved one has difficulty breathing, blue or grey lips, wheezing, and/or a high fever.
https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/hcp/vaccine-clinical-guidance/adults.html