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Frosti11icus t1_izdg6fl wrote

Reply to comment by feidxeno in A Swedish study of over 200,000 people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between March 2020 and July 2021 has found that women, people with asthma and those with previous mental health disorders are more likely to experience long-term effects of COVID-19. by MistWeaver80

There are theories that Covid can reset your immune system similar to the measles which according to the theory is why we are seeing such massive surges of flu, Covid, and rsv as well as people getting sicker than usual from common cold. No immunity to an allergen means your immune system won’t attack the allergen, until your body recalibrates.

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Jetztinberlin t1_izdpbdz wrote

> Covid can reset your immune system

Source? Every bit of coverage I've seen states simply that the surges are due to reduced exposure over the last 2.5 years, which is a much more common sense and less frightening explanation.

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SnooPuppers1978 t1_izdvy0g wrote

I think it doesn't have to be that binary either. It could be that it affects immune system priorities, where it for a period of time will prioritise defending against Covid-19 over anything else and during that time be more susceptible to other viruses. Current surges could be combination of both, lack of exposure and somewhat realigned priorities. Wouldn't call it reseting, but more like temporary reprioritisation.

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Jetztinberlin t1_izec4v5 wrote

That is an entirely different claim medically, however. Claiming COVID resets the immune system is a serious charge and shouldn't be batted around lightly and with no supporting evidence, especially when there's perfectly plausible common sense explanations for the same phenomena.

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Vespertine t1_izpmpp3 wrote

It's common for viral infections in general to depress immunity in their aftermath (why bacterial infections are quite common after flu, for example). Though covid may be doing this in different ways and for longer.

There's more and more mention of this about in discussions online between scientists and doctors, though English language newspapers aren't covering it much, albeit some articles present it as one of a set of competing theories. (It is not settled in the wider medical/scientific community.)

2021: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33821250/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-021-00750-4

recent preprints (late 2022):
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/even-mild-covid-cases-can-have-lasting-effects-on
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1034159/full

General media articles taking issue with 'immunity debt' or the way the term is being used:

https://www.ft.com/content/0640004d-cc15-481e-90ce-572328305798
https://www.liberation.fr/societe/sante/bronchiolite-et-dette-immunitaire-un-concept-fumeux-qui-ne-tient-pas-la-route-20221209 (article by medical doctor)
https://www.irishtimes.com/health/your-wellness/2022/11/28/has-covid-19-caused-permanent-damage-toour-immune-systems/ (article by medical doctor)

Presenting it as one among various possibilities:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/06/strep-a-uk-myths-deaths-children (article by academic health scientist)

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Jetztinberlin t1_izt4wth wrote

Again, depressing immune activity =/= erasing immune memory (ie measles, the original claim). Lots of things depress immune activity, as you say, and as you say, and it's an important thing to be aware of! But AFAIK almost nothing erases immune memory like measles does, it's measles' most terrifying property! So it's a function and a claim entirely of another order, and that was my objection.

Thanks for the sources, and I look forward to checking them out.

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