The Covid Economy

You can catch the Covid twice, but it’s not likely. There have been three recorded cases, one in Hong Kong, one in Reno, and most recently, one in Seattle, according to this story from KIRO.com.

“Most of the reported cases are more mild the second time around,” [Dr. Jason Goldman, who leads the COVID Research Team at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle] said. “So even if the immune system has failed to prevent a second infection, it does seem to be limiting the severity the second time around.”

Goldman said it appears that the antibodies your body develops with an infection works the majority of the time and can make a second exposure easier.

“In the vast majority of patients who have gotten infected with COVID have recovered and not been re-infected, so that’s the second reassuring finding.”

Funny, isn’t it, that Dr, Jason Goldman says “Most of the reported cases are more mild the second time around,” when there have only been three cases. According to the article, all of the people who have been reinfected reported milder symptoms.

That’s good news for the scientists who are working to develop a vaccine. Even if the vaccine is only partially effective, it might reduce the severity of the infection.

But that leads to another idea.

What if we let those people who have had Covid hang out with each other?

What if we had Covid only bars?

According to EPStrong.org, El Paso County has had 24,666 cases of Covid reported. 20,212 people have recovered. Of the total cases reported, 10,182 are between the ages of 20 and 39. Those are the prime ages for bar clientele.

If all the bar patrons had already been infected, you wouldn’t expect them to be reinfected, so you wouldn’t expect them to be any greater risk to the community than they already were.

Even if an infected person were to belly up to the bar, if everyone else had already had the Covid, there shouldn’t be any infection risk.

The risk arises when you mix infected people with uninfected people. Then you risk spreading the virus.

Think about it. We could have Covid Night at Southwest University Park. Covid Night with the Chihuahuas.

We could have Covid house parties. Covid orgies.

You might get some thrill-seekers going into a Covid-only bar. And then they might get the Covid, and tax our health resources, and maybe expose their healthy friends and family. So maybe we make those survivors declare themselves, like maybe with a big red C on their clothes.

Or we could just give them I.D. cards, so they’re not mistaken for Cincinnati Reds fans.