COVID-19 can result in brain damage. The effect of COVID is cumulative, that is, if you have COVID more than once, these subsequent infections compound the damage from previous infections. Such facts about this damage to the brain must be foremost in the managerial class thinking.
The wisdom of office work in the aftermath of COVID is drawn into question as a practical matter. “DOGE”‘s advisory government members, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy plan to save money by having civil servants who have worked remotely, be forced to work in traditional pre-COVID centralised offices. Those that refuse to do so would have no other option than to leave their jobs. This would not be the first time in history workers would be forced to work in potentially unsafe conditions, with the only alternative, losing their livelihood, if they refuse to follow the dictates of the managerial class.
Studies continue to show persistence among some people having long term COVID, such as “brain fog”. It may be the case that brain damage and other forms of long COVID suffered by some of these unfortunates can be irreversible. Brain damage may continue to negatively impact functioning, including ongoing deterioration of cognition in old age, although the extent of this cannot be known with certainty at the present. After approaching the latter years of life, only then will the full damage be shown. COVID first only became prevalent in the past five years.
There are many other reasons why hopefully the bosses would not enforce such a policy requiring in office work if other alternatives could be found. Those with COVID, where there is harm to the other workers, (i.e., in poorly ventilated offices), if they worked remotely negative outcomes could be avoided. This would also make the families less at risk because remote workers would not be sick. Anything that decreases transmission is preferred, especially if it still is unclear the long-term course of any COVID infection or infections.
In the news it has been reported that after the COVID pandemic, students are scoring markedly lower on standardised tests. While studies show that children have a much lower risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID, persistent damage cannot be ruled out. A decrease in functioning is often attributed to the lack of interaction with peers when home schooled, which makes it crucial to know each individual who is or has been infected.
Using a sensitive diagnostic criterion, a serious look must be made to ascertain the outcomes of those in school classes in even “mild cases” and to make sure all these cases are identified and rigorously evaluated. The relationship between the seriousness of the individual infection and the risk of future persistent damage, (including residual long COVID) has not been quantified, although those with a severe infection seem to be more likely to acquire long COVID. Perhaps one might have mild COVID but persistent long COVID. In any case one can still move forward with an effective strategy.
People who work in centralised offices are at greater risk of contracting COVID, as people who work in offices tend to be working more closely together in greater numbers, perhaps with poorer ventilation and therefore increasing the risk of transmission. Not only is such an environment favorable to virus replication, but over time as people continue to be effected, the damage wrought to the human body increases including the risk for permanent brain dysfunction.
The ethical problem becomes that not only the damage done to the individual is wrong, and can be avoided, but also the risk of the products of their labor, whether tangible or not, could have many deleterious outcomes on all aspects of vital civil service work as well as public work. This consequence of the civil servants production could have many unforeseen effects. Repeated infections further complicate the evaluation of ones functioning. The viability of critical products manufactured by such workers, could further be drawn into question with unforeseen consequences.
Under many circumstances there is no reason people cannot work efficiently while working remotely, if the managers so choose to allow it. In many cases such an outcome would be clearly preferred. With the age of the Internet and its advantages of Video Conferencing, Email, chat platforms; there is no reason much work cannot be done in this manner. Not only can the worker be protected, but the integrity of their products can be ensured.
Using materials such as gasoline, plastic, paper and other compounds, it is widely known that alternative materials can be found for products that are environmentally sound, but the capitalist investment in old technologies and new strategies based on outmoded materials continues on with the status quo. Like gas and plastic, the capitalist may already own not only the materials of production, but the infrastructure to produce them, so it is not profitable to change course. This in turn can result in less than safe factory procedures, especially where there is a fertile environmental workplace where COVID can easily proliferate. Fortunately with some ingenuity such barriers can be overcome.
Not only was the US population greatly harmed by COVID and still is, not taking post pandemic realities seriously, including long COVID, which has not only further impacted the health of the US workforce, but also the viability and integrity of the products produced can be thrown into question. The issue of brain health, especially on a national scale must be seriously examined.
