It’s benign in the sense of fatalities, but the lingering health issues from it seem more and more common now. I even know someone who is dealing with long term health symptoms that began right after dose 2 of the vaccine (I’m not an antivaxxer but this correlation is hard for them to ignore as they face their daily struggle to be the person they were before).

I hope we continue to manufacture vaccines in the future, rather than e.g. outlaw them. I wonder what would happen if government research into which strains are most prominent (needed to make the vaccines every year/season) were to be halted? Private companies may have to pick up the slack, like maybe you'll get your choice of a Google vs. Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Facebook vaccine? Maybe, if every accusation really is a confession, this time there really will be trackers embedded in them?

I say all that to emphasize that what "we" (all) know is in flux - e.g. if you were to ask RFK what he knows vs. the common man on the street vs. a scientist - and what will happen is heavily dependent upon the current status quo remaining in place. Which seems unlikely.

But maybe RFK will say something to anger Trump and be gone in a week or two, like so many before him. Who knows?

Coronavirus is here to stay now, just like the flu.

By 'the flu', do you mean that virus where one entire strain was eradicated by masking and distancing over the winter?

THAT flu? The one with the strain that died out after trivial effort? Do you want to use it as an example of some perennial curse, or are you saying that we can eradicate covid again with similarly trivial effort?