According to the CDC about 40% of Americans from ages 20 - 39 are obese. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html In terms of only 0.2% of Americans under 50 where COVID-19 is fatal. That is possible but again fatality isn't the only consequence of the COVID-19. We are seeing a lot of cases where people survive but have lingering health conditions.
I don't buy that the UK has herd immunity. They are still getting about a 1,000 cases a day. True that is down from their peak of about 9,000 a day back in April but they was before they locked down. They are seeing an uptick in cases as they reopen. Looking at the evidence from the UK when they didn't lock down cases surged. When they did it plummeted. Correlation isn't always causation but that is a very strong correlation.
That's being thrown around a lot to scare people, but to put that in context, it's also true of basically every respiratory illness including influenza. The lingering effects can be more severe if you have COVID-19 that progresses to pneumonia, but the talk of lung damage from mild cases of COVID-19 is a situation where people are telling you something technically true, but misleading. Either way, I think we all agree that it's better to not get sick if you can help it.
https://bestlifeonline.com/best-and-worst-face-masks/ These Are the Best and Worst Face Masks, Ranked by Science DUKE RESEARCHERS TESTED SEVERAL TYPES OF FACE COVERINGS, AND THERE WERE SOME OBVIOUS WINNERS AND LOSERS.
“The state-run Gamaleya research institute last week launched Phase III trials of the Covid-19 vaccine involving thousands of volunteers.” I’m going to wait for news of phase 3 trial progress in the US, UK or one of the EU
I hopped in the car for a quick errand earlier and SportsTalk 790 were in the middle of an interview with some lawyer. He said he was hearing 70%+ of COVID-19 patients, including those who had little to no symptoms and those who had no previous health issues, had permanent heart damage. Now, once I got back to work I googled that and found some articles referencing one study of 100 patients so I'm not sure where he's getting his information. But that is something to keep an eye on as well.
The surgical masks are unbelievably more comfortable for me. The n95 that I had felt like sandpaper on my skin, and breathing becomes a bit labored after 20 minutes or so with that on I was quite miserable. I could wear a surgical mask all day. .
Filtered masks will be harder to breathe in. I've been using them since the start. I tried a surgical mask and it was like breathing with nothing on. I can't believe people complain about breathing in them.
I know three people how have had it under 40 who are suffering some very unpleasant long term effects. Not just lung issues but also GI and neurological issues. While these three are anecdotal there are many more cases of long term consequences. It would be more misleading to project that death is the only thing to be concerned about the virus.