Would covid deniers and downplayers take the disease more seriously, if one of the common symptoms, the loss of a sense of taste, was permanent?

If you lose your sense of taste, you can eat yucky foods. No problem.

And if you lose your sense of smell, you can live with a stinky person, or near the sewage plant, where real estate costs are low.

There’s always a silver lining.

Possibly. If they got COVID first.

No, the possibility of death doesn’t make them believe that Covid is real, so why would the possibly of losing smell or taste? They don’t believe it is real, so they don’t take it seriously.

But the could eat dog shit and skunk assholes.

Of course not. That happens to other people, people who deserve it like illegal brown people, not them.

I’ve seen some reports where the loss of taste and smell was permanent—at least that it hasn’t come back for them yet. Sounds horrible.

Not likely.

Deniers love a challenge

I think if it permanently shrank your penis by an inch or two, it would have reduced the amount of opposition to mask wearing.

I think if it was a high percentage of people it would make an impact. Many of you know I was in a bad golf cart accident several years ago. My friend who was in the accident with me hit her head badly and it resulted in brain damage from the accident and will never taste or smell again. Whenever I have discussed what happened to us people are fairly horrified about her permanently losing those senses.

Here is an article from Cleveland Clinic Yes, Covid can cause erectile dysfunction in men

This should make a few guys sit up and take notice. Or maybe we should consider it a Darwinian factor and keep it a secret.

Yep. That’ll get ‘em @LuckyGuy!

It’s not just that you lose your sense of taste but that pleasant things can smell or taste disgusting. This can continue for at least a year and is another reason I want to avoid Covid.

Whether they take it seriously or not they take the consequences. .death. .thus less deniers.

It happened to me. Not even cheesecake, which is my favorite, tastes good.

“lose your sense of taste, you can eat yucky foods. No problem”
Not really… someone I know lost most of her sense of taste following a stroke and what happened is that nothing tastes good and she didn’t want to eat except to sustain herself.
You won’t want to eat yucky foods or tasty foods or anything else. Upside is that it’s Very easy to lose weight.

I think @Kardamom is right, if the same people aren’t wearing masks when faced with the possibility of death, then don’t count on them thinking about losing their sense of taste well enough to motivate them to wear a mask.

Maybe, just maybe, if the campaign is framed about never tasting beer or fried foods again… you might change a few minds but wouldn’t count on it.

Eating just enough to sustain yourself isn’t a bad thing. It’s not fun but it’s OK.

@Caravanfan One member at our golf club had no symptoms other than loss of taste and smell. This happened about 4 months ago. Lat time I saw him, about two weeks ago, I asked him; he said “NOT YET”. I was flabbergasted! And more determined than ever to take very possible precaution, even the despicable mask!

My wife and I have now received our two doses of Moderna vaccine. So we are essentially guaranteed no serious disease.

@crazyguy You aren’t guaranteed no serious disease. It’s just less likely. And if the vaccine doesn’t work against a variant in the future and you don’t protect yourself you’ll still get sick.

The loss of taste and smell can be prolonged. There are many people who have reported that it hasn’t come back yet.

Will the vaccines have any effect against new strains?

@Caravanfan Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that there were ZERO incidents of serious disease in the vaccine groups.

@Dutchess_III As far as I know, effectiveness against the South Africa variant is reduced substantially, but is still sufficient to fight off the virus. The UK variant is much easier to handle for the vaccine.

I was asking @Caravanfan.

@crazyguy It’s all about statistics. The only way the risk will be completely eliminated is if the disease is eradicated. Bottom line is suck it up and wear a mask when you go out until the all clear whistle is blown. But the risk is substantially reduced.

@Dutchess_III @crazyguy may be correct on his answer, although the data are still early.

@Caravanfan The CDC has finally published guidelines for the fully vaccinated folks. As I have come to expect with all COVID guidelines, these leave a lot to the imagination. What I gathered:

1. Vaccinated folks may meet other vaccinated folks normally – no masks, and no social distancing. BUT only in small (undefined) groups.
2. They may also meet unvaccinated low-risk (again undefined) people from a single household normally.
3. However, there is no relaxation when it comes to medium-large groups, and in public.

I think the concern is asymptomatic spread. In other words, a vaccinated person may get and multiply enough virus in his/her mucosa that s/he may spread the disease while remaining symptom-free.

@Caravanfan Are you aware of any statistics on this possibility?

@crazyguy No, I’m not an epidemiologist. I trust the CDC experts.

I doubt that. The good ol’ boys will claim that some commie Dem slipped into their house, and put some New World Order pill in their moonshine, so’s they can slip out with the guns. Get their taste back for moon pies and rot gut whisky soon enough.

@Nomore_lockout Maybe – - maybe not, I’ve got a friend that had COVID-19 in November, Still has brain fog off and on and still cannot taste or smell. He has a taste for high dollar Scotch and Bourbon. He laments on FB about missing smells and tastes.

Well normal people will admit to that. But I was referring to the conspiracy central, Trump is right, Covid is all a lefty Dem plot to take over the nation set. @Tropical_Willie