AIBU to think that those who say “covid is just a cold” would rather just have a cold than covid if given the choice?

its worth bearing in mind that long covid is still very under researched and not well understood. I have ME following glandular fever, but i meet lots of fellow ME/CFS sufferers who got it following covid infection.

I've had Covid twice. The first time l was in bed for days, barely making it to the bathroom..so sick . The second time l just had a horrible pain in my back for a few days. Only knew it was Covid as we were still testing then. Neither were as bad as a horrible flu l got a few years before that where l was so sick, pains all over, miserable for a long time and just couldn't even get out of bed for days. Not wishing any of them to return.

This.

I was on a residential course two weeks ago. COVID ripped through the class, knocking out 11 of the 16 participants. Symptoms ranged from an uncontrollable 3-day headache, fatigue, barking cough, exhaustion for a number of them (all symptoms each), to a mild sore throat for one of them. All of them were unable to work for a week (apart from the mild throat one who WFH anyway), so several of them lost money due to self employment. Several tested negative for the first few days until around day 3 or 4, although a few showed immediately. As I was in contact with most of them on the group chat, I can say that very few of them thought they had a bad cold. It really was something else. Ditto for a friend who had the razor throat variant, and for my own partner who was horribly unwell with it for a week recently. Bizarrely, I managed to not catch it both times, which as an asthmatic I'm infinitely grateful for. Like a common cold it definitely was not.

I had to check I hadn’t time travelled 5 years.

Who cares.

I had COVID in 2021, was pretty bad. Had it twice since and it was much easier. I’d rather have COVID now than a cold TBH.

It's different for everyone surely!!
I had it twice. One of the times it developed into pneumonia. The other i didn't even really have any symptoms, i wouldnt have even noticed only we had to regularly test due to my husbands job.
However my friend who was in her late twenties and pretty fit, had it and had a pulmonary embolism due to it!! She's still not back at 100% even now.
Another old school friend died in his sleep due to covid.. only early 30s.
Another friend has long covid and his life is still a nightmare.
None of these people had underlying medical issues
So actually I guess despite having covid once with next to no symptoms.. I'd choose the cold because it seems like covid is a ropey lottery

@GeneticallyModifiedGrump Covid isn't going to disappear or stop disabling people because it has gone out of fashion to care about it. It is still causing significant long term damage and disability in plenty of people of all ages. Quite different than a cold.
https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2022/01/covid-19-increasing-stroke-risks-people-of-all-ages
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-are/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit

I did recently because, having it so bed two years ago, I wanted to keep tests in. I didn't think the onset of my cold would be covid, but it was. Thankfully it was more like mild flu, this time round.

I have had Covid twice, and it was like a very mild cold for me. I have had colds that have knocked me for six. The type were you are counting down the minutes to the next dose of Lemsip. I always seems to have one around New Year time.
Both colds and Covid vary so much. Some people had Covid with no symptoms at all.

There's a petition here for improved monitoring from UKHSA if anyone would like to sign
Good timing as it looks like we're heading into another wave after it being at quite low levels for a while
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/732047

I had diarrhoea then back pain then a bit of a cough. I've had colds that were much worse with various phases, really painful sore throat and loss of voice, etc.

Yep, if they're 95 they know they could go at any time anyway and may prefer to see people.

I think this is appalling policy from NHS trusts
At the very least, patients should be informed if the health professional they are seeing is infectious and should be offered the opportunity to change their appointment or wear a mask

I always let people know if I am under the weather with anything - that leaves them to make an informed choice

Covid (x3) for me has been like the flu. And I’ve only had the flu twice in my whole life. I’d take a common cold any day of the week.
my covids have involved 40th fever and a heart rate over 100 when sleeping. And I’m healthy otherwise with no immune issues.

Yes, but some parents want to see their adult children even if they have a cold. In fact, the older the person is, the more likely they may be to want to take that risk. It's not as straight forward as you make out.

Not necessarily.
Obviously, I hope I don't get a serious bout of Covid, but mild Covid can be less annoying than a cold.

I agree. I find it bizarre when people say things like “I’ve got a horrible cold, but I’m going to make sure it’s not Covid before I visit my elderly relative”. Well if it’s not Covid it could be a horrible cold that they don’t want, or flu, which (despite some people’s insistence) can be mild enough to make you feel rotten but still able to get out of bed.

"just a cold" can also be dangerous for some people
I don't like people who trivialise either

A cold can vary hugely in severity, from a mild sniffle to something that puts you in bed for a few days. Covid can also range from very mild to severe. I’ve had asymptomatic covid, and miserable colds. I’ve also had mild colds (and I assume asymptomatic ones, I just wouldn’t know), and miserable covid.

If you have a chronic respiratory illness, or a compromised immune system, or look after someone with a life limiting condition, Covid is bad news. No-one seems to give a shit about people with long term health conditions though. So whilst the pandemic may seem a long while ago to you @Owlonbranchtwo, for some of us, it is still very much present in our day to day awareness.

If I came into contact with someone who had Covid and I passed it to my cared for, there is a possibility I would kill them.