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And you have those threats with other viruses. There is a reason there was always such a strong push to get people to get flu shots. Plenty of people die from pneumonia and other complications.
Covid is/was a global threat because of the combination of being highly contagious, having dangerous symptoms, and being something most people have no antibodies for. Vaccination, as well as mutations, have negated a lot of those. This is why getting covid in early 2020 was a potential death sentence and would leave you curled up in a little ball unable to function. Getting covid in late 2023 is often so mild that people may not even think to test.
And if you have a compromised immune system or are otherwise at risk? You really should be masking up and avoiding crowds anyway. Because influenza is still a thing as are plenty of other colds. The only difference is that the vast majority of people won't bat an eye if you wear a mask to the supermarket these days (aside from the hardcore republicans who may scream slurs at you).
These threats didn't start in late 2019 when we were starting to hear about some weird "coronavirus" that was totally going to be the next Y2K joke. Like, I remember my cousin (rest in peace). She didn't need to live in an outright clean room but she generally avoided going to crowded spaces because nobody knows how to sneeze into their arm. And when we went to visit, we were expected to reschedule or stay outside if we at all "felt sick".
In a perfect world? We would have learned from covid that you cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and to try to avoid being near people when you are sick. Instead... we at least semi-normalized wearing a mask?