Omnicron

Hi ElderLez,

Are you having a senior moment? Not judging -- I have them a dozen times a day.

Anyway, are you referring to a new COVID variant named omnicron?

If so, haven't heard of this one.

Hi Elder Immunologist! Hope you are well.

Yes, the Botswana (?) variant was just named.

(Not that that doesn’t mean I am having a senior moment.)

OMG!!

Screaming wordlessly as I type. Have been scratching at my face and body since I read about this.

Thank you for providing another thread to panic in!

OMG!!!!

From WHO. It looks like I added a stray “n” courtesy of my senior moments.

O-M-I-C-R-O-N, OP. It's a Greek letter, you know.

Biden imposes travel ban on southern African countries

Wait, I thought it was Nu? Now it's Omicron? Isn't that a planet they visited on Star Trek?

I guess they were scared to use a Greek letter that is also a Yiddish inquiry.

It's bullshit, Lez.

Was the last variant lamba? I haven't been paying attention.

There are 3 other threads on this already. They are so prevalent that I can’t even be bothered posting links to them.

[quote]Was the last variant lamba?

L-A-M-B-D-A

At least try to get the GAY one right!

I'm prepping my candles for the Necronomicon variant.

Less than 24 hrs after discovery it is now rampaging all over the planet. How convenient.

R14 Actually it was discovered (emerged) around 3 weeks ago and now accounts for 90% of all sequenced cases in SA. That’s why Europe is freaking out.

Z-E-T-A

As in Catherine Zeta-Jones.

seriously, fuck China!!! Fuck them for giving the world this virus!!!

The vaccine companys are awaiting news on whether the current vaccine can fight it. If not, it will take them 100 days to develop one. That's over three months! I'm guessing if that becomes the scenerio that happens, everyone will be clamoring for it and they'll have to set up large areas as they did with the original vaccine.

R18 They're certainly hoping so. Prediction: their vaccine will definitely not work.

It’s a boon for Big Pharma to be sure.

I'm already shitting blood from Beta Zeta Pi.

Elder Lez can you speak to why it's been said to have evolved in an HIV positive person, or AIDS sufferer who wasn't aware of his or her status?

The articles with this tidbit in their titles, as I've discovered upon a cursory google search, all serm to be behind a paywall...i.e. The Telegraph, The Independent, Bloomberg.

I understand how an immunocompromised host can allow for a greater number of mutations, but I don't understand the jump to concluding this host is/was HIV+ and untreated, or an untreated AIDS sufferer.

Omicron is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. There are only 24 letters (omega is the last.) Will we run out of letters before we run out of variants?

Omicron sounds like one of the bad robots in Transformers.

Fun fact: O-micron means "little 'o'" (micro=small, as in "micropeen") and O-mega means "big 'o'" (mega=big, as in "megahung").

Omnicron throated to sue for libel so they had to go with the far less sexy/scary Omicron

NY Gov just put a stop to elective surgeries. It’s going to be a long winter.

R27 Seems like a massive overreaction. Unless she knows something.

[quote]Omnicron

Oh, dear.

Do you have a link R27?

There’s a lot of surveillance in New York now.

R22 Elder Immunologist is really the better person to ask, but I would guess just based on location there’s a lot more people in Southern Africa that are HIV positive than are say, on Humira.

[quote]Was the last variant lamba? I haven't been paying attention.

It was the lambada.

Omicron is an anagram for Moronic.

Elective surgery order only impacts Hospitals with limited capacity, no known cases in New York yet.

R30 Thanks EL.

Perhaps this was simply sloppy wording, or a hasty conclusion. Aside from prevalence of HIV in the population, I should think any of the immune modulating meds (like Rituximab or its biosimilars, as in the case below) could very well be as responsible.

Psoriasis, MG, RA, Lymphomas, and Leukemias, and other cancers are quite prevalent in African populations as well, especially S. Africa.

LOL

[quote] The World Health Organization announced Friday it was naming a new Covid-19 variant “Omicron,” skipping over a politically sensitive letter of the Greek alphabet.

The WHO made the announcement about the B.1.1.529 variant out of Johannesburg, South Africa, passing over a letter many observers presumed would be next — “Nu” — as well as the subsequent letter, “Xi,” which composes part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping‘s name. The virus joins earlier variants named for letters of the alphabet, including the Alpha variant out of the United Kingdom; the Beta variant out of South Africa; the Gamma variant out of Brazil; and the Delta variant out of India. Additional variants include Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Mu.

Why’d they skip ‘Nu’ though?

Where's the "This just cost the Dems the midterms!"/"This just cost Biden reelection!" troll?

R36 Nu means nude in French.

R37 Democrats benefit from Covid.

r38 r39

[quote] why it's been said to have evolved in an HIV positive person, or AIDS sufferer who wasn't aware of his or her status?

This tweet from a virologist explains one possible explanation for the HIV connection. It has to do with the specific mutations this new variant has.

Thanks R41!

R35 thanks for linking. I sometimes worry about the medication I am on which selectively suppresses immune response in the Gi system, a place where the virus binds quite well.

Another coronavirus, influenza, mutates constantly too. Its seasonal vaccine doesn't guarantee someone won't get it or get it with less severe symptoms necessarily, either. And some people forget or unaware that the flu is present and can be contracted all through the year, not just from the the late fall through early spring when it's usually most contagious and high-profile in the media. Why is this not ever covered, too? I never see daily reports on how many people have contracted or died from the flu or what its daily case-total migrations are between states and nations. Not to mention again that there are people who contract Covid who are reported to have been "fully vaccinated" yet, from the start or somewhere along the line during the process of them receiving their full-vaccination regimen (i.e., 1st shot, 2nd shot and then booster), they may have already been infected with Covid and, so, in such cases the 1st, 2nd or 3rd shots wouldn't have helped protect or fully protected them anyway. We need just to remember to follow common sense and do the best we can to protect others as well as ourselves: Also don't touch surfaces then put your hands to your eyes, nose or mouth, or touch the floor, etc. You know, like we have done through our lives to help minimize exposure to other already identified viruses for which there may and may not be vaccines yet. Fingers-crossed for everybody/all of us with this newly identified variant.

Cheers R41

R42 My pleasure EL. Assuming you are using Infliximab, yes I left out all those with UC and Crohn's patients using monoclonal antibodies. There are probably dozens of different types developed presently. I wonder just how many are marketed in African populations.... Hope you're having great success with your treatment, and thanks so much for all you've contributed on Covid threads.

Influenza is not a coronavirus.

This is wonderful news....I predict a lot of Hillbilly Trumpers might be in for a bad 2022....Oh, and their kids too...

Viruses follow a similar pattern of adaptation and mutation no matter what 'family' they are from.

Thank you R44! I m happy to say that based on the pathology report I am in a complete remission. (Vedolizamab)

R43, no, just no.

R45 You are correct making the distinction, as SOME common colds belong to the Coronavirus family, not any of the influenza types, however we know influenza strains mutate more readily in immunocompromised patients as well.

There is a similarity to how all viruses adapt, and find their way to a favourable mutation. Therefore, R43 has a valid point in reminding us all about influenza.

I still have hope a deleterious and catastrophic mutation occurs again with another strain. SARS Cov-1 had that occur, and some are saying Delta in Japan has had something similarly happen.

R48 That's great news EL. Mazel Tov!

More on Delta in Japan...

Another brief one...

Omicron, I’ll go back into a winter hibernation from January to March if you can just hold off long enough to let us have Christmas and NYE.

R43, you are a fucking idiot.

r36 Why didn't they skip over "Mu?" I find it offensive.

How much Horse Medicine will it take to cure Omnicron?....I'm not asking for myself. I'm asking for Florida and Texas..

Can someone explain why being hosted by an immunocompromised patient helps the virus mutate faster?

Is this because the patient's immune system allows the virus to stay in the body, at least long enough for some mutations to occur?

Zeta Eta Pi.

R56 Yes, and it's unable to mount a defence. Even in the event of three jabs, immuocompromised individuals have fewer antibodies than the rest of us.

O-M-I-C-R-0-N

R56 See R41.

Belgium's health ministry said a case was spotted in an unvaccinated young woman who got tested after suffering symptoms. She had returned from Egypt 11 days ago, suggesting it is already widespread in Africa.

Marc Van Ranst, the virologist who detected the new variant in Belgium, told Reuters that it was more likely that the infected woman had contracted the variant in Belgium rather than while travelling outside Europe.

She had been in Egypt earlier in November, but developed symptoms only 11 days after her return to Belgium. She is not vaccinated.

Switzerland imposed on Friday a requirement of 10-day quarantine and a negative test for travellers from Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong, in addition to travel bans on southern African countries.

A passenger flight from South Africa to the Netherlands was denied entry by local authorities today as it hovered in their airspace. The Netherlands suspended arrivals from the region at midday.

Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid has raised the prospect of travel being suspended from more countries, saying the variant is a clear sign the pandemic is 'far from over'. He called on everyone to get their booster jabs.

Some sources will put a disclaimer, like the adverb "possibly" into the statement "500% more transmissible". Others use "up to" or alternately "conceivably". It bothers me just a bit that so many seem so very certain as regards this percentage.

I was quite surprised Deutche Welle (as well as others) had immediately broadcasted its headline without reservation, and without a hedge or other qualifier.

I'm a bit sceptical, if only based on the many previous predictions, and percentages: i.e. some surmised or misinterpreted Delta was a thousand times more transmissible than the original Covid strain found in China. due to viral load being measured a thousand times higher than measured previously. (one of the highest was 1,260 to be more exact)

The CDC initially said Delta was "more than 2x as contagious" than previous strains. (still to be found by searching) Others made the claim the Delta variant was as transmissible as Chickenpox. It wasn't any of those things, despite being highly transmissible at a 50-60% higher rate than Alpha strains. I hope Omicron has been overestimated at 500% more transmissible.

Elder Lez and Elder Immunologist, do either one of you think it's too early to formulate a precise percentage such as this? Despite the DW headline, Virologist Wolfgang Preiser at Stellenbosch University in Western Cape claims we cannot say yet iwhether Omicron is stronger than Delta, or more transmissible than Delta. He draws quite a cautious conclusion, but for different reasons, and remarked "we no longer have a lot of data on Delta around anymore". Could very well be English is perhaps his second or third language, so that last sentence seems curious.

New hardcore vaccine resistant variant... Just in time for Christmas. How convenient. :/

Omicron is completely new (nu?) to me, but I’d guess that when they estimate the level of infectiousness they are looking at that curve from South Africa. You can estimate things based upon how quickly the virus out-competes other variants.

I wish they’d go back to talking about R0s and compare to wild type, not another variant. Wild type had an R0 over 2, alpha was twice as infectious as wild type. My understanding as a non-scientist is that Delta has a R0 over 5, possibly 6. That is consistent with it being 50% more infectious than alpha. I don’t think people properly understand that at that level of infectiousness it’s a vaccination miracle that every hospital isn’t collapsed.

Is the NY order about halting elective surgeries being massively cautious or does she know something we don’t?

R65 right?

The headlines are misleading. It isn’t a blanket order, it only applies to limited capacity hospitals.

R59, see r5.

[quote]If not, it will take them 100 days to develop one. That's over three months!

And then it must be mass produced, so it will be a while before it actually hits the market (if needed).

Just call this thing the OMG varient, easier to remember. Here we go again.

The hype around this before we know anything is symbolic of the crappy clickbait news we have now vs journalism of old. No nuance, no appreciation that we know nothing about the vaccine effectiveness, just headlines on very news site.

The reality is Europe was dealing with a massive surge already so not sure it will affect their trajectory. NY Gov and others here are right to be proactive as we will get the Europe surge here at some point too.

Don't worry all you folks in NY planning on getting some work done over the holidays - elective surgeries will only be cancelled in hospitals overcrowded with Covid patients.

There is no order to stop ALL elective surgeries.

[R23], thanks for your help with the Greek alphabet. You must be aware that most present day college graduates couldn't recite the fucking English alphabet without googling it (after they ask you how to spell 'alfuhbet') on their phone, yes?

We certainly have a loony-tunes grandstander here.

A little more creepy than entertaining.

Thank you for clarifying the NY order. That makes sense.

Don't bother....they're already heeeeeeere.

Omnichron is the new smart watch I want for Christmas.

From what I have read viruses mutate and become somewhat milder, the mutation only makes it more transmissible so if that is the case all we can do is get vaccinated and limit exposure. We can’t keep freaking out every time a new variant is found and think this is the big one.

The key issue with this variant seems to be that it is highly infectious, and this will lead to hospital overcrowding, as the elderly and those with medical conditions start getting sick.. Care will have to be rationed,

[quote]the mutation only makes it more transmissible so if that is the case all we can do is get vaccinated and limit exposure. We can’t keep freaking out every time a new variant is found and think this is the big one.

indeed. delta was indeed a fraction less deadly, but more contagious. omicron is likely even more so

21 months in, no vaccine, and I remain completely fine. No Covid-19 and no Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and now Omicrom variants. Shazam!

^^^ OmicroN ^^^

R8, they skipped xe

R74 Lez is beloved, kindly fuck off.

R81 - never say never. I know some people who said the same thing you just did and then they dropped dead because of covid the following month.

[quote] I know some people who said the same thing you just did and then they dropped dead because of covid the following month.

Hell, there's a whole website devoted to such folks.

[quote]I know some people who said the same thing you just did and then they dropped dead because of covid the following month.

R85 And I've been reading the same dire predictions for the last 21 months. Yet here I am. Completely fine.

R87 Is getting added to the 2022 death watch list.

R87 lives in his mommy's basement. that's how he survived. he doesn't live in the real world.

[quote] If not, it will take them 100 days to develop one. That's over three months!

[quote] And then it must be mass produced, so it will be a while before it actually hits the market (if needed).

Pfizer says they can adapt the vaccine in 6 weeks, and manufacture and distribute it in 100 days.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The passengers in the Netherlands have been placed in quarantine hotels while the authorities investigate whether they have been infected with the variant. Some complained at being left on the plane for hours with no snacks or water.

Authorities in the country have just announced the early closure of bars, restaurants and some shops due to the record-breaking surge of Covid sweeping through the country.

'We now know that 61 of the results were positive and 531 negative,' the Dutch Health Authority (GGD) said in a statement

'Travellers with a positive test result will be placed in isolation at a hotel at or near Schiphol.

'Of the positive test results, we are researching as quickly as possible whether they are the new variant of concern, now named Omicron.'

The Dutch government banned all air travel from southern Africa early on Friday. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said that passengers already en route to the Netherlands would have to undergo testing and quarantine upon arrival.

Passengers on the two KLM flights, from Cape Town and Johannesburg, said they were kept waiting on the tarmac for hours.

Stephanie Nolen, a New York Times journalist and passenger on the flight, wrote on social media: 'Vigorous applause because there is a bus that has come to take us somewhere.'

In a later Tweet, she said: 'Bus to a hall to a huge queue. I can see Covid testers in bright blue PPE far on the distance. Still no snacks for the sad babies.'

A spokesperson for the health authorities in Kennemerland, the Dutch region that oversees Schiphol, said the positive cases were being analysed by a Dutch academic medical hospital to determine whether they are the new strain.

Officials in Germany today confirmed the first suspected case of Omicron in the country came from someone returning from South Africa.

'The Omicron variant has with strong likelihood already arrived in Germany,' Kai Klose, social affairs minister in the western state of Hesse, tweeted, referring to the strain first detected in southern Africa.

Klose said that tests late Friday on the traveller who had returned to Germany from South Africa revealed 'several mutations typical of Omicron'.

'As there is this strong suspicion, the person has been isolated at home. The full sequencing is still to be completed.'

Klose's ministry said that the person had arrived in Germany, the EU's most populous country, at Frankfurt international airport, the country's busiest.

Omnicron = the return of gay bashing

And no one with the variant has been hospitalized - never mind died - yet. This is such social media panic that passes for new today.

R88 R89 I've figured out to get on with it and stay healthy. Obviously. Perhaps you both should find something more constructive to do than juvenile fear mongering.

I am Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8.

[quote][R87] Is getting added to the 2022 death watch list.

That's if he makes it through December.

r95, yes because you are so much smarter than other anti-vaxxers. You will catch this virus. Please don't clog the hospitals with your medical needs if you become deathly ill.

R98 The minute these antivaxxers feel sick they run to the hospital to demand horse dewormer and monoclonal treatments without giving a flying fuck about others or how they got there in the first place, R95 will likely end up with long haul COVID symptoms if not dead. Antivaxxers are selfish twats with no regard or respect for others.

I concur

Keep spinning that chamber, r95.

R81 would have piped the same thing about having unprotected sex in 1992.

Bye, bitch. Tick Tick Tock.

[quote] The key issue with this variant seems to be that it is highly infectious, and this will lead to hospital overcrowding, as the elderly and those with medical conditions start getting sick.. Care will have to be rationed,

So far there have been reports of only very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

R103 Quarantine Africa! Send Biden to the bunker!

Elder Lez I completely agree that most watching a news programme cannot conceive the reality of "500% more infectious". The RO or Reproductive Number is more mutually intelligble.

After a somewhat lengthy search, apparently SK Weiland, a disease modelling scientist first made this statement. Weland doesn't have a ResearchGate profile, and I'm unable to come uo with much about him or her. Weland's past papers do not appear to be infectious disease related, for whatever that's worth. (Asthma, Allergies, Cholesterol Studies, and Familial Hypercholesterolemia.)

I'm suspicious of perfectly round figures, as well as percentages. I didn't want to jump to accuse "fear mongering" by media, as I figured a DW journalist wouldn't have made that statement out of whole cloth. I'm not denying this has the potential to be alarming, just tired of ratios and percentages. I think spurious is the term for such predictions. Time will tell I suppose.

How long until "this is whitey's fault for not making sure that every African was vaccinated"??

R106 is posting from the 1970s.

this is just more proof that the planet is fucked. It's over folks, we're the last generation, there is no future.

Future is bleak. No clean air, no clean water, no oil, everything is polluted and shit. Goodbye planet earth! mother nature wants us gone!

R108 Hun, I'm from the South. We've been on the nigh of somebody's apocalypse my entire life. Yours isn't gonna happen either. Calm your tits.

Thus far, the cases seem to be presenting with quite mild symptoms.

yes but it's still too early to tell. who knows what kind of problems (long term) this new variant will cause?

R105 I find sometimes that people in the press just repeat things they’ve heard without really understanding what the terms mean. I guess it’s just human nature and I am sure I am equally guilty on occasions for things outside of my area of expertise; like for instance, the spelling of the English names of Greek letters.

Oh it would be fabulous news if Omicron outcompetes all other variants while also being extremely mild. If it just makes everyone exhausted for two days well thank goodness for Netflix.

The issue with the idea of an HIV+ patient zero is, I am still unclear why the putative host wouldn’t have been infecting people with interim versions of the virus over the past year. It seems strange that re-infectiousness seems to have reappeared a year plus post infection after not transmitting to anyone for such a long time. Could the virus have been in an animal reservoir? Was the virus suppressed, but not cleared and re-appeared when the immune system weakened.? Was it in a person like me with a hyperactive immune system everywhere but the intestine, and transmission ineffective from patient zero because it wasn’t being exhaled? I’m not sure if I am making sense, but something seems weird.

Being exhausted a couple days is okay, but if it lasts a couple weeks or more that could still be a problem, especially if a lot of people are sick and unable to work at the same time. And there's still the issue of long COVID.

I posted this in another thread and thought I'd share it here.

There is a glass half-full/glass half-empty aspect to Omicron: if it is indeed more transmissible but less deadly it could in fact be the perfect "natural vaccine" that will out-compete deadlier variants (such as Delta). After recovery, it may confer immunity against all strains of SARS-CoV-2.

Imagine that! We would still need to use "proper" vaccines (because the elderly and those with co-morbidities may still be at greater risk) but Africa may vaccinate itself, in a manner of speaking, with this apparently more infectious but milder variant.

I like Omnicron better, so that's what I'm calling it now.

Is anyone else simply unable to freak out at this point? Even if I came across a headline declaring an Ebola outbreak in the states, I suspect I'd just go, "Huh," and keep scrolling.

I hear you about the fatigue R115.

If Ebola hits, just don’t touch anyone.

ElderLez, you once posted a link to a website that showed the statuses of all of the Covid vaccines in development. Would you please post that again? I can't seem to find it.

OMNICRON- Rated R , now at playing at a theater near YOU.

Sounds like the name of a science fiction HORROR movie like Alien ca. 1979.

Here you go R118

The thing that would help the most is if Biden were to make a mask mandate, indoor and outdoor for the entire country and make sure it is enforced with huge fines and jail time for the non-compliant. But he is too much of a coward to do that.

Oh my god, R120.

Thanks ElderLez.

I am excited that Doctor Fauci has some new meaningless things to say on the network news. The "wisdom" of Fauci = So this COULD be bad or worse. Or NOT!!.....And we should get vaccinated!!.........Fauci is like my crazy granny at the nursing home who brings up the time Grampa left her on Christmas Eve 1989 for a waitress he met at the diner. Same old Same old. Nothing new to say....

[quote] But he is too much of a coward to do that.

You are an idiot.

[quote] Fauci is like my crazy granny at the nursing home who brings up the time Grampa left her on Christmas Eve 1989 for a waitress he met at the diner. Same old Same old. Nothing new to say....

And so are you.

R120 He better have the justification of all justifications for that shit. It better be WWIII and the End of Days.

R120 and R125 both stink. Biden is not a coward and maintaining rational and necessary public health guidelines need not involve your Mama's Second Coming.

South African doctors reporting all cases of Omicron appear very mild with no hospitalization. So why the hysteria?

It is not Faucis fault that he was vilified by Trump and the Right. But it IS his fault for not recognizing he is no longer helpful to the cause of Covid vaccinations or information distribution. Sadly Fauci is a stereotypical Attention Whore.

[quote]Belgium's health ministry said a case was spotted in an unvaccinated young woman who got tested after suffering symptoms. She had returned from Egypt 11 days ago, suggesting it is already widespread in Africa.

Why is Belgium letting unvaccinated people into the country???

Wait until 2 more strains after this.

R87 is the Life is a Banquet PREP Troll.

If you think of it as O-Micron it becomes easier to spell.

Unfortunately, there are already a few signs that we will do theatrics and haphazard measures, rather than a comprehensive effort.

Many countries have started issuing travel bans, but targeting passports rather than the virus.

The one in the United States doesn’t even start till Monday (viruses don’t work on the weekends?) and isn’t paired with testing or quarantine at the border—just a blanket ban on a few nationalities.

That’s pandemic theatrics, and we have had too much of that already for two years.

Hot Damn!!!....I am ready for my close up AGAIN!!!......America loves my Attention Whore Shtick...!!...4 tv shows to say NOTHING new, all in less than a day!!..I really am such a star!!!....Thank You Omnicron!!!

Opinion | Travel bans are stupid and won’t work. Omicron is most definitely already everywhere you want to be. Here’s why that’s probably a good thing

I fired that mean bitch three times then she wrote a book about me and then disappeared.

You assholes would bitch about anyone they were to replace Fauci with.

And no matter who that might be, you still wouldn't get a fucking shot.

You just need an easy excuse to be an asshole.

With the new variant--an OLD STAR is REBORN!!!....Madame Fauci is ready for his closeup!!....ABC....NBC....CBS....CNN.....Attention Whore Tony was ready!!!...Christmas has come early!!!....What "wisdom" has Fauci dispensed today ?....It's some of his most meaningless greatest hits from 2020!!------>>>"we don't know yet"!!.... "this could be bad. Or not"......"Get vaccinated"...."we are studying it"...."even though we don't know the effect of the vaccine on the new variants, get your boosters"...........

R135 R139 Someone has a hate boner for Fauci.

If people would turn off their TVs they’d never encounter Fauci.

I get all my Covid news from Twitter (and not from Eric Feigl-Ding, thank you very much), and Fauci doesn’t even register.

R133 Free rapid testing. I suggested something similar a year ago but was called crazy. I suggested it again when it was clear the vaccine was losing efficacy and once again was called crazy. Well, it looks like it wasn't such a crazy idea after all. Once again, for all his bleating about Trump, Biden didn't seem to learn anything from Trump's mistakes. Looks like we should be looking to other countries for actual leadership.

It's apparent that testing is in fact just as important as vaccination. Yet we made it our policy to shun the unvaccinated, even the ones with were medically exempted or who had natural immunity. This will go down as one of the most misguided and shameful decisions of all time.

People who flew in from South Africa today told CNN they were shocked that they weren't tested upon arrival.

Say it ain't so Joe.

Who cares anyway. We know it’s everywhere. And it’s been circulating in South Africa a bit longer than people think.

And it’s much milder than Delta overall.

The testing is unreliable. Crazy amount of false positives.

(((cough...cough))))) We have it now.....That means so does the U.S.------------signed, Canada......Link.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, who discovered the Omicron variant, reassures

Chinese Government (March 2020) = No need to worry. Not dangerous...........South African Doctor (November 2020) = No need to worry. Not dangerous............Excuse me if I don't believe ANYONE from a 3rd world nation providing me with medical advice. We already went down this road with China and ONLY after a Covid infected doctor sounded the alarm (and died) did we find out how dangerous Covid was.

China was saying don’t worry while they bulldozed the roads, locked people in apartment buildings to starve and closed all their factories. If you think that is analogous to what is happening in the messy Democracy that is South Africa, well…. (And FWIW based on income, I think they are both too rich to be third world, now Malawi is third world.)

The rapid antigen tests seem to be plenty available by me.I ran and got one Thanksgiving morning since the one unvaccinated person at church got COVID this past week and I found at late Wednesday night. My brother out in the Western part of the US had a similar experience, but with his kid’s sport coach and they stopped at a pharmacy and did the test in the car on the way to his in-laws. The tests weren’t free, but it was about $20 for a pack of two and there were plenty available. It was a pleasant surprise.

Look around for FREE at home Covid tests in your state...Some states have free test kits at Health Depts that you pick up....Some states (like Ohio) have free at home tests at the local libraries (LINK)....Check your area for most up to date info...

R151 Those tests are about as reliable as anything else you'd get for free through the mail. Great way to make people panic and isolate themselves with false positives.

R152 = QUIT spreading FAKE NEWS....People are on a budget and those tests are free and reliable. Go back to FOX....

South African doctor who identified it from seeing patients with different symptoms than Delta - “they all had mild symptoms…we didn’t admit any of them” to hospital. It may be true that this is a step in the detoxification of the virus - rather than an intensification. In any case, the panic this has set off globally before we know anything definite is insane. A sign of how on the edge the world is - and ready for it to be over.

The Omicron variant is likely to spread internationally, posing a “very high” global risk where Covid-19 surges could have “severe consequences” in some areas, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said this morning.

“Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” the WHO said. “The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high.”

The Guardian:

[quote]The newly-discovered Omicron variant is likely to fuel a surge in South Africa’s coronavirus cases that could see daily infections treble this week, a top epidemiologist has warned.

[quote]SA reported over 2,800 infections on Sunday, up from a daily average of 500 in the previous week and 275 the week before.

[quote]“I am expecting we will top over 10,000 cases by the end of the week per day (and) pressure on hospitals within the next two, three weeks," said Dr Salim Abdool Karim said at an online health ministry press briefing.

[quote]“Even if Omicron is not clinically worse, and certainly the anecdotes don’t raise any red flags just yet... we are going to see (rising cases) in all likelihood because of the rapidity of transmission,” Karim said.

That's why countries are taking steps such as cutting off travel (fruitless though those steps may ultimately be) -- a variant that has the potential to spread this rapidly would quickly overwhelm hospital systems. Even if it turns out to be relatively mild, there's going to a certain percentage of folks who end up in the hospital.

*sigh*. Why am I not surprised?

[quote]The former White House doctor who raved about Donald Trump’s “excellent” health to a skeptical public is now claiming that the disturbing new COVID-19 variant omicron is nothing but a midterm election ploy by the Democrats. Dr. Ronny Jackson, now a Republican MAGA congressman from Texas, scoffed at the variant the World Health Organization has deemed “highly transmissible” and “concerning.” “Here comes the ... Midterm Election Variant!” Jackson quipped in a tweet Saturday, calling it nothing more than a trick to “push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots.”

[quote]“Here comes the ... Midterm Election Variant!” Jackson quipped in a tweet Saturday, calling it nothing more than a trick to “push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots.”

So, it's a good thing!

NYers - if you need free PCR tests - check out those LabQ vans throughout the city (I went to one on the upper east side on Lexington). I was referred to it by an urgent care that was out of tests (passing by I had assumed they were scams). It was fast, free and easy and I was emailed my results within 12 hours. I’ve since gone back and if you screenshot your QR code from the first time you register they can scan that and the process takes all of 5 minutes.

I’m unclear who funds them (the state?) but you don’t even need to provide your insurance. Just a photo ID and your email for the results.

Of course this is the same doctor that said that Trump weighted 239 lbs.

R157 It's already been established that the media hysteria surrounding Omicron is not warranted by its severity. It appears to be a cold.

No hospitalizations or deaths in South Africa from Omnicron. Possibly spin by South African government - but also possibly a compete media-manufactured meltdown. Today could be a good day to buy stocks before everyone realizes this is nothing.

[quote]It's already been established that the media hysteria surrounding Omicron is not warranted by its severity. It appears to be a cold.

It's too early to have "established" anything of the sort. This might be well be the case, but a handful of anecdotes is not medically conclusive.

[quote]No hospitalizations ... in South Africa from Omnicron.

See R156.

Who says differently r161. You sound like a Covid denier .

The Covid Doom Troll at R149 is furious that this variant isn't lethal.

[quote]Of course this is the same doctor that said that Trump weighted 239 lbs.

Oh, dear.

All the anti-vax and conspiracy theory verbal diarrhea is coming from one person, the Defacto troll. Knowing that makes it easier to tune out.

We’ve already seen in other threads (via red tagging) how it posts multiple comments agreeing with itself to create a fake community of dissent. It’s one pathetic crank.

What exactly do they mean by “very high” Covid risk, R165?

Also, when did this variant likely first start circulating in Southern Africa?

[quote]possibly a compete media-manufactured meltdown. Today could be a good day to buy stocks before everyone realizes this is nothing.

Or it could be the beginning of a very long backslide.

Why would that happen, R170?

This is not the end of the world (hopeful). The messaging throughout this by the CDC and Federal gov has been a mess. First Trump's fantabulism, now with more information and better guidance, still contradictory at times. The masking issue, from the type of masks, to don't wear it if vaccinated, to wear it if vaccinated- has been horribly bungled. With correct guidance from CDC, states should never have lifted the mask requirements.

If there had been a cohesive plan, starting with "this is what we are doing regarding mitigation efforts and vaccines and will continue to do" and including wide scale tracing and testing, new variants wouldn't result in hysteria.

Somehow the meaning of a pandemic has not sunken into the public's consciousness. The desire to have it over with (economy, schools, free-dumb) and the willful disregarding of science has been driving policy at all levels of government.

[quote]now with more information and better guidance, still contradictory at times

Since that is the very nature of the scientific method, I find no fault.

SA is big mad!

Very Big Mad

What are “reagents”?

Why do all these Trump Cult Males look like German officals, circa 1942?

A class of laboratory supplies.

necronomicron

I've noticed that more people are back to wearing masks.

One interesting thing is how rapidly hospitalizations in Gauteng Province (SA, including Johannesburg) have ramped up in the past 3 weeks since this variant popped up. They’ve tripled.

Captain Trips! (But probably not)

R181 Which is the concern - Omnicon may be relatively low impact but if it’s as virulent as believed then there will be a significant number of hospitalisations among the vulnerable/aged/immunocompromised etc which will have a corresponding effect on the ability of nations’ health services to respond.

I’m really pissed that SA has the nerve to bitch about travel bans when they should be concerned with avoiding the spread of COVID and getting their country fully vaccinated. It’s tone deaf considering all of the victims globally.

R183, that would only be a concern if it breaks through the vaccines. Which, let’s be clear—everyone has had the opportunity to get vaccinated. The “third dose” boosters are even available now.

But isn’t the jury still out on how transmissible it is? Or do we know already for sure that it’s (X) times more transmissible than Delta?

I’m still pro-Omicron. I don’t care what anyone says. This shit NEEDS to turn endemic and mild. And if it’s as mild as a cold… how is it any worse than a regular seasonal cold?

R184, the people don’t want to be vaccinated. Yes it would be nice if it was made MANDATORY. But… is that really a thing that they would or could do? Which countries have done that?

[quote] And if it’s as mild as a cold… how is it any worse than a regular seasonal cold?

Well, for one, a cold doesn't leave you with Long Covid issues, or cause you to keel over from a blood clot a few weeks or months later.

"Long Covid" = adverse vaccine reaction 😉

How do we know that a milder form of Covid will necessarily result in Long Covid?

(And I knew that would be the response. It’s always something. Not sure how we ever get to the point where the virus mutates into a form that everyone can live with, if every variant of it supposedly necessarily leads to hospitalization and death in certain people… which by the way minor colds and the flu do in certain people… those also can cause post-acute syndromes.)

the doctor said no loss of smell or taste but extreme fatigue and something else, can't remember.

R190, the third was mild tachycardia.

[QUOTE] Yes it would be nice if it was made MANDATORY. But… is that really a thing that they would or could do? Which countries have done that?

Austria, but the population quite like a dominatrix style government.

The "But...Long Covid!!!!" trolls are annoying AF. Now watch one of them will post a tweet as "evidence" that "long COVID" exists in some huge percentage of people who have COVID. Question the source and the motive. Question the integrity of the source. If being fatigued for a few weeks after recovery puts someone into the "long COVID" bucket, think hard before concluding anything about any statistics quoted from that source.

"Keeling over from a blood clot a few weeks or months later" is not a common result of COVID. Just stop. No need to post any questionable tweets to "prove" this either. Thanks.

You should have stayed at a Hilton!

[quote]What are “reagents”?

Aretha Franklin's management team.

Omnichron sounds like one of the evil companies in Robocop films.

I have had "long covid" from other viruses never identified. No one seems to talk about this. I am talking a couple times in 25 years.

[quote]How long until "this is whitey's fault for not making sure that every African was vaccinated"??

Well, I didn't have to wait too long. Here's the South African President blaming the G20 countries for South Africa's abysmally low vaccination rate...

Which state do you think it will first discovered in?

r200 Of course they'll "discover" it in Florida first.

NYC, there are so many flights from S. Africa to this area

I think Omicron is going to pop up someplace unexpected...Ohio is surging.....6700 new cases yesterday. That is before the Thanksgiving Surge kicks in. We were doing about 3200 a day but it keeps going up....

My guess for “first state” was going to be either NY or some landlocked state like Michigan. I guess Ohio is a contender.

Georgia for the win.

It’s a dud, OP. No one is seriously I’ll or dead from it.

25,000 people die in Ohio. Wow. That is insane. That has to change the landscape in some way.

Even the trolls who claim they were all in nursing homes. Ok, so are all the nursing homes empty now? Did they close up about 400-500 nursing homes which it would take to account for that many dead in nursing homes.

This is insane. Trump killed these people.

I have heard a theory that letting this virus pass through naturally would be a good thing because it is supposedly more mild. I'm not endorsing this idea ( I have no intensive scientific background) I'm just curious what people think.

Edit : I meant this variant of covid not the virus in general.

the coronavirus megathread 10 is paywalled

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Michael Babcock, the executive producer of TMZ Sports, said James, 36, took three COVID tests on Tuesday and two were positive.

'Test 1 (lateral flow) was positive. The 2nd (PCR) test was negative,' Babcock tweeted.

'James was then given a 3rd tiebreaker test which came back positive. I'm told he's asymptotic at this time.

'Team chartered a private jet to take Lebron back to L.A.'

Under the rules imposed by the NBA, anyone who comes into close contact with a COVID-positive person must then quarantine.

Moderna CEO is bummed about Omicron.

Moderna is sounding the alarm...They are on top of Omicron and they are worried which is why Stock Market tanked again yesterday...Interview Link...

The stock market futures have it bouncing back up tomorrow R214. Stop being hysterical.

Dead cat bounce r215

[quote] Moderna CEO is bummed about Omicron.

Oh yeah, I'm sure he's devastated $$$$

The vaccine doesn't prevent you from testing positive.

It's mild, it's like all you gays and your herpes, it comes you feel ashamed then it goes away.

I don't want to get it, even though I am vaxxed, set to get 3rd tomorrow. Brain fog and permanent exhaustion do not appeal to me, and no one knows the long term effects of any of the strains.

yes, I read that 2 doctors from Israel who are fully vaxxed with boosters got it. One of them went to a conference in london.

I am trying very hard to finish my job in NYC and get the fuck out of here and back home where I don't have to be around hundreds of people a day. Another week and a half to go.

[quote] I don't want to get it, even though I am vaxxed, set to get 3rd tomorrow. Brain fog and permanent exhaustion do not appeal to me, and no one knows the long term effects of any of the strains.

Will you people please stop with this?

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R224, you are a stupid cunt.

50% of people who survive have lingering effects.

R224, you are a stupid cunt.

50% of people who survive have lingering effects.

sorry for the double post!

50 percent of people who survive covid-19 face lingering symptoms, study finds

At least 50 percent of people who survive covid-19 experience a variety of physical and psychological health issues for six months or more after their initial recovery, according to research on the long-term effects of the disease, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Often referred to as “long covid,” the adverse health effects vary from person to person. But the research, based on data from 250,351 adults and children, found that more than half experience a decline in general well-being, resulting in weight loss, fatigue, fever or pain.

About 20 percent have decreased mobility, 25 percent have trouble thinking or concentrating (called “brain fog”), 30 percent develop an anxiety disorder, 25 percent have breathing problems, and 20 percent have hair loss or skin rashes. Cardiovascular issues — chest pain and palpitations — are common, as are stomach and gastrointestinal problems.

Those affected by post-covid conditions, sometimes called “long haulers,” can include anyone who has had covid-19, even those who had no symptoms or just mild ones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But additional research published in a subsequent issue of the journal found that cognitive dysfunction has occurred more often among those who had more severe cases of covid-19 and required hospitalization, and their brain fog issues have lingered for seven months or more. “One’s battle with covid doesn’t end with recovery from the acute infection,” one researcher said.

It's worth repeating, r228

R224 doesn't believe in long covid, no matter how many article and medical studies you share with him.

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I believe that PASC exists, but hospitalization resulting in cognitive dysfunction is a thing regardless of the cause of hospitalization so a milder variant that doesn’t cause hospitalization should reduce rates.

However, a variant is NOT a strain. There are no new strains at this time.

[quote]a milder variant that doesn’t cause hospitalization should reduce rates.

I believe in “long COVID”, I just don’t believe that every person who’s been diagnosed with it (or self-diagnosed) actually does have “long COVID”.

And I’ve said before, they need to fine-tune the diagnostic criteria for it. “Anxiety” needs to be taken off the list. “Anxiety disorder,” too.

Yes, I believe PASC exists, and that it occurs in people why are asymptomatic and people who have mild disease. I also believe adverse outcomes based on hospitalization itself exist. I also know we are unable to pull apart what percentage is which exactly in COVID survivors who were hospitalized at this time, but that anything that lowers rates of hospitalizations should also lower rates of long term impact.

I just remember the normal, healthy young man who recovered from covid but the virus fucked up his heart and he needed a heart transplant.

COVID-19 damages a healthy young father’s heart, requiring a transplant

Al Brown thought he’d won the battle against COVID-19. The healthy 31-year-old spent a week in University of Chicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in May 2020, receiving oxygen to help him breathe. But a few weeks after being discharged, he started having sharp pains in his chest. His legs and ankles swelled, and small tasks made him unusually tired.

Brown was readmitted to the hospital and received a shocking diagnosis: heart failure caused by COVID-19. His doctors at UChicago Medicine immediately listed him for a heart transplant, and after only 12 days on the waiting list, he underwent successful transplant surgery in October 2020.

“When they told me it was my heart, I was more shocked than anything,” Brown said. “I had no previous health issues. I’d never even taken medication for anything before this, so I didn’t know why COVID-19 was affecting me so much.”

What happened to Brown is also occurring worldwide. In a small and seemingly random group of people with COVID-19, the virus travels into the organs and damages them, sometimes so severely that a transplant is required.

“I don’t think we understand yet the exact mechanisms for why this happens, but I know we will in the near future,” said heart transplant surgeon Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, director of the UChicago Medicine Heart and Vascular Center. “I think it’s going to lead to increased demand for organ transplants. We will start seeing more people with COVID myocarditis, and if it lingers, they will need a heart transplant.”

Researchers are now studying the long-term effects of COVID-19, even in people who had mild cases. One study of relatively young and healthy patients showed that 78% of people who recovered from COVID-19 had “cardiovascular involvement,” regardless of preexisting conditions. Other studies suggest that COVID-19 can cause myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, which can weaken the heart and, in extreme cases like Brown’s, cause it to fail.

UChicago Medicine cardiologist Sean Pinney, MD, an expert on COVID-19 myocarditis and co-director of the Heart and Vascular Center, said this happens to less than 3% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

“There does not seem to be a specific risk profile to identify patients who are more or less likely to suffer myocarditis. Anecdotally, it does seem more common in younger patients, particularly those in their 20s to 40s,” said Pinney, who also leads UChicago Medicine’s Post-COVID Recovery Clinic.

Brown’s primary cardiologist, Ben Bow Chung, MD, searched hard for evidence that something other than COVID-19 caused Brown’s sudden and scary heart failure. However, all signs pointed to the virus. He had no risk factors, no other medical conditions and no family history.

“We tested him for a number of things and he was not positive for any of them,” Chung said. “We just knew there was general damage to the heart. There were signs on his MRI of chronic myocarditis that he may have developed in May, when he had COVID-19.”

Chung and his team even looked at the pathology of Brown's heart after transplant surgeons removed it, and found no evidence of anything that would cause inflammation.

“Because he was young and healthy, he could hide the symptoms of heart failure. Young people like Mr. Brown who have heart failure can seem like they’re well for a long period of time, but when they get sick, they can fall off a cliff,” Chung said. “By the time he was back in the hospital, his heart was functioning at only 10% capacity.”

r238 odd that the University of Chicago article neglects to mention whether or not he was vaxxed (fully or partially) before contracting COVID and subsequently Myocarditis, a verified and well known vaxx reaction. This is a critical piece of information missing from this article! If he were unvaxxed he probably would have been denied the heart transplant, no?

Omicron, you Omidorn.

r239 The article reports that he contracted Covid in Spring 2020, before vaccines had been developed.

Most vaccinated state

r241 You're correct. Good catch.

First case detected in CA!

First US case of Omicron COVID variant confirmed in California

The “variant of concern” that has been reported in at least 17 countries has now spread to California, the president’s top medical adviser said while flanked by White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

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R239 I know you’re frothing at the mouth to link heart failure to vaccines, but UNOS doesn’t care about vaccination status.

ElderLez, or anyone who can give a straight answer to this, have there been trials done on any of the vaccines which studied possible links to congenital birth defects? I can Google around if you tell me what to look for.

I have a screeching harridan going off on me on another thread because I dared ask such a thing.

This press conference is a mess. I haven't heard much about Omicron, but I do know that the extremely loud and relentless heckler wants everyone to buy his book.

What press conference?

SF Department of Public Health; it just ended.

The Omigod virus is here!

The stock market had been up until the first US omicron case was announced, then it tanked 600 points. Like a bunch of toddlers scared of the boogeyman. This was expected, why the hysteria?

[quote]CDC orders all airlines to turn over names of passengers who've been in eight African countries facing travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant

Damn! I guess this means I won't be wintering in Gstaad this season.

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[quote]Joe Biden is considering tougher entry requirements for travellers going to the US in a move which could include forcing arrivals to quarantine for seven days;

This makes no sense. It’s already here.

The story about the Israeli doctor doesn’t seem particularly newsworthy. What am I missing?

He was triple vaxxed and wore masks, so it's newsworthy that omicron was able to evade those defenses. Not that Delta can't, of course.

R258, those cases where they say they always wore a mask and still got it inevitably include the part where they always wore a mask except when they went out to dinner with a bunch of friends.

True, but the booster shot is supposed to restore the vaccine's efficacy rate to about 96%. Although he had the booster in August so maybe there's already waning after three months.

yes, R260, I think there is waning after 3 months.

R261, any links to that information becasue that's not what the entirety of the scientific world is saying.

Hopefully, this virus follows the path of previous pandemics and the virus gets more communicable but less virulent. Maybe Omicron is that step in the evolution.

Hi R249 the CDC has been tracking this. So far vaccination seems to have no impact on birth defect rates.

Be best, EuroPCR cardiologists!

You too, Dr. Maor.

R262 I'm not R261 but that's what German state TV reports too. It's not hard to find good sources. Google "vaccine immunity fading" and select "past week". Here is the summary of a Swedish study from the LA Times.

Wear a fucking mask indoors.

Get fucking vaccinated.

Really, it's that simple.

Yes, R265, but we're talking about the booster, not the original two-shot regimen.

Masks have always been about substantially reducing risk not completely eliminating it. No one is going to a conference in full pappers. (sp?)

I've not seen anywhere that has said the booster wanes after three months.

R269, that asshole was a troll or just really, really stupid.

[quote] , those cases where they say they always wore a mask and still got it inevitably include the part where they always wore a mask except when they went out to dinner with a bunch of friends.

Because wearing a mask 100% guarantees one won’t become infected?

It's PAPR, but they weren't even wearing surgical masks.

R271, no but eating with a bunch of people while not wearing a mask significantly raises your risk of getting infected. Are some of you really this logic-challenged? And, as seen above, they weren't even wearing masks while sitting next to each other for hours during the conference. If they had worn their masks as they should have been when around other people, they most likely would not have been infected.

Re: the LA Times story about waning effectiveness, that’s about the wane after 2 doses. It doesn’t include any data about the 3rd (booster). Unless I missed it.

No one knows the efficacy of the vaccines or boosters because Omicron has just emerged. Everything you've heard from experts is a reasonable guess and they're probably right. But we won't really know for a couple of weeks.

So calm the fuck down

R273, I’m sorry, I didn’t know which incident you were referring to, re: masks at a conference. I have a lot of people blocked and may have missed a link.

Anyway, if there was a situation where the infected parties definitely were sitting in a room maskless with infected people, then yes, that would’ve increased their risk. BUT, just as many on this site like to point out, even vaccines aren’t 100% effective. And masks are certainly FAR less effective than vaccines at preventing infection in THE WEARER of the mask.

We know this and have for many months.

9000 new cases today in Ohio.....It is getting out of control for anyone thinking of coming here for the holidays...

That conference looks like a mess. I'm leaving for WCIRDC tonight and they've been emailing and texting mask reminders almost daily for two weeks now. Proof of vaccination was also required at registration.

All together now:

[bold]O M I C R O N[/bold]

Omnichron (sp?)

9000 new cases!?

Ohio must be in the dark red/near-black “extremely high” transmission zone on those transmission maps.

Michigan will be the elevator scene from the Shining next.

The South African doctor article linked above seems to be ignored in the mania around this. I get it looks different structurally. But the reaction has been bizarrely extreme just based on the insane news cycle world we live in where we are inundated with simplistic clickbait headlines that are designed to stoke fear and attention.

R281....Yes....Our numbers are skyrocketing in Ohio...Columbus has a mask mandate in public places but it is ignored and there is no enforcement. And remember ---the Thanksgiving surge hasn't kicked in yet. It is getting ugly. The GOP run legislature has blocked mass mandates or shutdowns....Be prepared if you are coming to Ohio for the Holidays..

Is there any indications at all that Omnichord is anything other than mild?

Anything at all. I know “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” but … we have evidence it presents as mild or asymptomatic in a LOT of cases. Are there ANY that suggests it’s “deadly” as the OP of one of the other Omniscient threads described it?

Most cases of Delta are mild, too, but that hasn’t kept that variant from pushing my local hospitals to the limit. One now has more covid patients than at any time in the pandemic, another is at 105% capacity.

Don’t dismiss this variant just yet ladies and gentlemen . I remember much scoffing and mocking of original Covid too.

[quote] Is there any indications at all that Omnichord is anything other than mild?

Dr. Fauci this evening: “The idea that omicron is more mild is an assumption for which we don’t have any data.”

[quote] Dr. Fauci this evening: “The idea that omicron is more mild is an assumption for which we don’t have any data.”

Cool. So there are a bunch of mild cases that we know of. No “deadly” cases that we know of. We have incomplete data landing on one end of the spectrum, and none on the other end.

We may not know enough about Omnipotent yet, but we know *a little*, and none of it is particularly breathtaking..

I got the third dose of mRNA a little over a week ago. I am not worried about this new variant. I have done all I can do and will continue to live my life like it’s 1999.

r273, I have a friend who has a grown daughter that lives with her. The daughter, my friend and her boyfriend all shared a bong together while her daughter had Covid. She didn't know she had it, just thought it was a cold. Neither my friend nor her boyfriend caught Covid. They lived in the same house, did not wear masks, inhaled from the same damn bong and did not catch it. This was prior to the vaccine.

I understand wearing a mask in public, but it's just silly to think it is the only thing stopping you from getting Covid. There has to be other things in play that we aren't yet aware of because otherwise, my friend would have caught it.

I think the worry isn't that it's much more deadly but that it might dodge the vaccines. If it is as transmissable (or more transmissable) than Delta AND dodges the current vaccines the places that are already drowning in covid cases will see a new level of tsunami that will bring healthcare to a halt and the places where it is somewhat controlled by the population being vaccinated at a high rate will begin to look like the shitholes of the US and the world are currently looking. We'll all be Florida while Florida will be India at the beginning of Delta.

If it is as mild and transmissible as it seems anecdotally then I’d be less concerned about the hospitals being overwhelmed and more concerned with them being unstaffed. A virus that causes two days of extreme fatigue and body aches (as miserable as that sounds) is only a problem insofar as “everyone” getting it at once.

R291 I had a similar, although bong-less, experience with my wife last winter. She was half vaxxed when she got COVID and didn’t transmit it to me. Was your friend’s daughter vaccinated?

Florida boasts they have the lowest delta cases now

All new variants affect the young and healthy first so it’s hard to tell at first. You need a few weeks until it starts hitting older people and more people to see what it’s goi to do.

Wall Street thinks this is a killer. It could be because although it’s not really strong, it will effect more people because it’s easier spread so more overall casualties if even less severer individually.

r293, no. She got Covid before the vaccine became available.

[quote]Florida boasts

Pretty much sums it up.

Number of people who have died from the Omicron variant worldwide: NIL

Number of shut in trolls on here who are desperate for the world to lock down again so they can stop feeling jealous of people with social lives: 84

R291 - the extreme heat of the bong would have prevented any covid transmission.

I certainly hope the world doesn’t shut down again. I’ve got Hamilton tickets.

I still get stuck on the weirdness of all these mutations in a highly infectious variant suddenly appearing without there having been evidence of transmission of the virus with partial mutations first. I keep trying to think of reasonable explanations and coming with an outlandish idea instead, like “Is there some HIV+ park ranger in Botswana on a remote animal preserve for over a year by him or herself and it wasn’t until the once a year trip to get provisions that the virus spread to another?”

R298, is a Trumper

One sister got Covid before vaccines. Her husband never caught it. The other sister's husband got Covid, before vaccines, and she never caught it. So yes, Covid's vaunted extreme contagiousness is somewhat confusing to me.

[quote]Cool. So there are a bunch of mild cases that we know of. No “deadly” cases that we know of. We have incomplete data landing on one end of the spectrum, and none on the other end.

We don't have any data, we have anecdotes. And I find even them suspect -- the South African doctors says all the cases she's seen are mild. Well, why were patients going to see the doctor for a two-day headache? I don't run to the doctor every time I have a headache or body aches.

[quote] the extreme heat of the bong would have prevented any covid transmission.

Umm.... have you ever used a bong?

Why? You willing to share r304?

R302, yes but the covid variant back then wasn't as infectious as the one now. Back then I remember they said you had to be spending a while with that infected person. a few min was OK. Remember, the virus hangs in the air even after the infected people leave the room. it's airborne.

It’s pretty clear that some people are efficient spreaders and other people are not. What isn’t clear is why that is.

Oh, the denizens of the Datalounge are known for their efficient spreading r307.

R298: shut up and drink your Clorox & Ivermectin cocktail.

Fuck you Biden! More travel restrictions gonna be announced today!

I mean, why do I have to quarantine if I get negative?!

[quote] All new variants affect the young and healthy first

How convenient! Of course they do... At the exact same time they're pushing/mandating their "vaccines" on children.

[quote] If it is as mild and transmissible as it seems anecdotally then I’d be less concerned about the hospitals being overwhelmed and more concerned with them being unstaffed. A virus that causes two days of extreme fatigue and body aches (as miserable as that sounds) is only a problem insofar as “everyone” getting it at once.

I agree with this, ElderLez.

Another person with Omnicon in Minnesota who traveled from NYC. It's time for the WH to set up large vaccine spots with National Guard giving the shots like in the beginning of COVID. Pharmacies have small staff and it takes too long to get an appointment.

Omicron Persei 8?

I can almost hear the nutcases screaming, "Big Pharma conspiracy!"

Number 3 has been reported in Colorado. We need to know if these people were vaccinated.

Colorado lady is fully vaccinated

I just heard one of them was fully vaccinated with the booster.

Well, the Israeli doctor was fully vaccinated with the booster. It's already been established that Omicron can break through all of that.

It's been in Europe before the S. African doctor alerted to its existence, that's been demonstrated. And one of the cases here in the US just spent the weekend at an anime' convention along with 50,000 other people, so if it's so transmissible it has effectively already been delivered to every urban center in the US, abundantly. Still, the S. African doctor said NO ONE who had it there had been admitted to a hospital so far; so while the hysteria is predictable, the news so far indicates maybe we're getting a LESS virulent strain now. And there are several news stories online right now indicating that the Delta variant appears to have evolved itself into extinction in Japan. I don't know how that works, but somebody seems to think it has put itself out of business there.

The one in CA has omnicron and said it's "extremely mild." So that means ya'all are panicking for nothing. No word on if the person who has it was vaccinated. It's likely though. And frankly, if it kills the unvaxxed who cares?

The one in CA was vaxxed but no booster yet.

Maybe the Japanese version of the Delta variant looked at the local birth rates and decided to be culturally appropriate by not reproducing?

5 cases of omicron variant in NY state. 4 of them in the city. they don't know the vax status of 4 of them.

The doctor involved with the CA case says Omincon is worrisome in that it may be 3x more infectious than Delta and the possibility of resistance to our vaccine. He said now that they've had a case there, they'll be growing the virus in the lab to learn more but it will take four to six weeks for results. I plan to proceed with caution.

My recollection of early Covid 19 in 2020, was that the people who were getting it had mild symptoms and people dismissed the virus as “ Just a cold, just the flu.” 800,000 dead Americans

Don’t underestimate this variant

We already had Lambda and Mu variants, which never took off. The next logical greek letter would have been Nu, which sounds like "new". The next after that would have been "Xi", pronounced the same as the name of the leader of China.

Which is I'm guessing how we wound up skipping two greek letters to get to omicron.

Indeed R330

Except Xi in Greek is pronounced "Kai". But we certainly DO NOT want to step on Xi Jin Peng's toes, do we? Make those people angry and next thing you know it's WWIII...

I welcome our new Omnicron overlord to nyc.

R332 Don't project western pettiness to China, please. Like they care what you call it since they actually let their medical experts do the work of fighting the virus instead of letting idiotic politicians call the shot.

r332 [quote]Except Xi in Greek is pronounced "Kai".

No, it's not. It's pronounced like "KSI" . You're thinking of CHI, not XI.

Israeli Doctor's omnicron covid that did not spread. They have tested scores of his contacts.

Coronavirus kills fat unhealthy people. And many old people. They don't deserve to die because they are fat and unhealthy. Or old and less robust.

But if you sort out the 5 million deaths (or if its 20 million in reality, if counted well), then you might find that coronavirus kills about the same as the worst flu viruses kill.

I certainly hope it isn’t three times as infectious as Delta, because that would certainly be an everyone out at the same time problem across all kinds of industries unless it is so mild that we can skip the 10 day quarantine and just have people stay home when they are actively ill.

I mean, you remove from the kill statistics the fat and unhealthy. THEN, how many does it kill? The flu kills people too. Healthy people even!

Before vaccines became available, the COVID-19 death rate was sitting at around 2%. Long COVID sufferers are probably three times that figure (at least).

Regular influenza has a mortality of around 0.2%, so one tenth the death rate of COVID.

Thanks to vaccination, COVID mortality has dropping fast because although people can still get infected they have much lower odds of dying.

Omnicron is the new graxy.

Most people don’t die from Covid regardless.

Too bad I know one who did, r341.

Yes that is sad, R342, and I am sorry for you (unless you hated the person, in which case I’m happy for you). But the fact remains the fatality rate for Covid dash 19 is less than 1%.

I was out running errands today and I saw more people double masking and even a face shield. It's time to wear those things again.

Where do you live, r344?

[quote] I was out running errands today and I saw more people double masking and even a face shield. It's time to wear those things again.

LOL. Yeah, or you could just get the booster and go on about your business like a normal person.

Masks provide at most 5-10% protection according to most analysis coming out lately. That’s cloth (statistically insignificant) and KN-95 or N-95. The shields do nothing.

GET THE BOOSTER.

yes, shields and mask are useless R346, that's why the doctors and nurses wear them!

2%. I just think 1 out of every 50 infected people is still too many. It's as if it's a dice game with numbers from 1 to 50 each day, and the random infected person who picked a certain number dies, gone forever. Is that acceptable? Has Covid Delta gotten to that point? Too many. The fatality rate is too high.

Maybe we will learn Covid Omicron has a far lower fatality rate where we won't worry as much.

What does wearing a mask have to do with being vaccinated and/or boosted? I'm both, and if I'm in an enclosed public space I'm in an N95, and have been since the beginning.

I work with severely Immunocompromised patients and I'm tested daily. I can't risk my patients' lives, which are already dangling by a thread, and I also refuse to be taken out of commission due to a few particles of inactive RNA parked in my nasopharynx, or, at worst, a completely inconsequential nasopharyngeal colonization that begins and ends right there.

Yes! What R349 said!

Wednesday 9000 new covid cases in Ohio...Thursday 9100 new cases...Holiday Travelers to Ohio better be prepared because it is insane here. Our Trumper Governor handed out cookies at the Christmas Tree Ceremony this week, as if everything is just fine....Hospitals are cancelling surgeries again because of the surge...It has been going up for weeks and this is BEFORE the Thanksgiving Surge...Columbus Mayor Ginther has ordered masked mandates in public but the Trumpers ignore the mandates and there is no enforcement at all..Will let you know what Fridays numbers are...

Biden needs to immediately STOP giving Red States Covid Money...They are misspending it. ----->Alabama Plans To Spend More Federal COVID Relief Funds On Prisons Than Hospitals. Will Treasury Stop Them?....LINK

And Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee just got a judge to put a stay on the enforcement of the federal contractor vaccination mandate for them. I am so glad to live in a State that doesn’t want its residents to die.

I’m pretty sure the death rate in the US now is about 1.2% and it has been around that rate since we got past the the awful first wave, but perhaps someone could look for a link.

I used to think it was just innumeracy that so many people thought that was somehow a low risk for a novel, highly infectious, infectious disease you could get more than once. And it is true, there’s a large number of people who can’t tell the difference between in a hundred, one in a thousand and one in a million because they never really understood fractions and 1 in the numerator and more than one in the denominator is all the same to them.

But now, I think in addition to that, a lot of how much you value your own life plays into it. I mean I’d never play Russian roulette for 20 million with one bullet in one of 10O chambers (if such a gun existed)because I love my wife, my dog, my family, my friends, my job, and of course some of you bitches on DataLounge too much. But there are some people who’d obviously play if the chance was one in three because “most people survive” those odds. And well obviously a lot of people have crap lives they don’t particularly care to live.

[quote] And well obviously a lot of people have crap lives they don’t particularly care to live.

I think you've really found the root of the, "If I get it, I get it" sentiment. I cannot understand that level of cavalierness, but yes -- it's because I give a shit about things.

Thanks ElderLez and Sylvia Fowler.

Since the death of my darling a bit over a year ago, I often feel that my reasons for living are greatly diminished. However, my reasons for dying are de minimis so I slog on. The one thing he would never want me to be is stupid.

My husband and I are getting our boosters today--can't wait! And it's because I DO care about my life and do not want to catch this shit.

[quote]Wednesday 9000 new covid cases in Ohio...Thursday 9100 new cases

Your neighboring state, Michigan, currently leads the nation in hospitalizations and deaths ... sounds like you might soon supplant them. Though the Thanksgiving surge might keep us in the lead, since virtually nobody here (at least on the west side of the state) bothers with any mitigation efforts.

r351 my parents (68 and 72) live in Ohio and I am pissed off to no end.

I can't seem to post this on the Covid Megathread 10, so I'll put it here. News of one of the new vaccines on the horizon.

I don’t want to keep pumping vaccines in my body .

Well, you could always die r361.

? ^^

Found out a MN participant at AnimeconNYC had Omicron (via email). Person had been vaccinated (Crunchyroll was VERY strict about CV proof before entry!). Person had mild symptoms for 2 days which subsided. I was tested again - negative. So glad my old-er ass got the booster a few weeks ago!

R361 Semen is another matter.

The CEOs of my three local hospital systems are holding a joint press conference outlining the strain they're currently experiencing and pretty much begging people to get vaccinated. (Their pleas will fall on mostly deaf ears.) Over the past month, one system alone has had to defer more than 1,100 surgeries and refuse 700 transfer requests from rural hospitals whose patients need a higher level of care than they can provide.

Subacute hospitals are full of recovering covid patients so acute care hospitals have no place to release patients who are not able to go home. That's everybody from covid and accident victims to stroke and heart attack survivors.

Over 90% of the people in the hospital with covid in each system are unvaccinated. The vaccinated who are in the hospital tend to be very elderly people that have multiple comorbidities.

Huge increase in the number of 20-44 year olds in covid units the past month.

They're concerned by what they're hearing about reinfection with omicron, but they stress that it's too early to know anything for certain.

What state are you in r366?

My 97 year old vaxxed and boosted mother tested positive in her nursing home this week. She is totally asymptomatic.

Michigan.

I've been been vaccinated, boostered and wear a mask in public. If I get it, it's beyond my control.

"New daily confirmed cases rose to 11,535 on Thursday from 8,561 on Wednesday and 4,373 the previous day, according to official statistics. The cases represent a 22.4 percent positivity rate of people tested for the virus, up from 16.5 percent on Wednesday, a massive jump from a 1 percent positivity rate in early November.

Although scientists are warning that it is still too early to say for sure that omicron is behind the surge in cases, the rapid rise means omicron might already be overtaking the delta variant, experts said."

[quote]The CEOs of my three local hospital systems are holding a joint press conference

A few more tidbits from the press conference:

• Testing positivity has been 20-25% over the past two weeks; one system administers 2,500 tests a day and would do more but supplies are limited

• Average ER waits are now 3-6 hours

• Every day sees at least one report of a doctor or nurse being hit, spit at and/or screamed at

• Caregivers are burnt out and staffing remains a big issue

R368 - hope your mom does okay. Glad to hear she's asymptomatic.

[quote]• Every day sees at least one report of a doctor or nurse being hit, spit at and/or screamed at

WTF???

Laurie Garrett: I've never seen an epidemic growth rate like this before, anywhere, any outbreak. Look at the black line.

Best wishes for your mother R368.

And glad to hear you are negative R364.

And wishing I’d gotten my booster earlier, Tuesday seems so far away at the moment looking at that crazy graph R375.

And yay!!! R360, finally

WEHT Novavax?

Omicron feels like the earliest days of the pandemic all over again. Fear, unknowing, anxiety, and compulsively reading the news about any and all new developments

As I dimly recalls medical people were saying that the booster starts boosting your immune system 48 hours after injection.

I could be wrong, but I'll check.

So based on the latest data from South Africa, those who were previously infected are twice as likely to be reinfected. Nothing yet about those who are vaccinated, but there is a probably greater risk for those who are vaccinated.

^I'm already skeptical of the data. The majority of the population is unvaxxed so these numbers are probably skewed. Nevertheless, my hope is that Omnicron is extremely mild and in the best case scenario will help accelerate herd immunity.

^Omicron

Unvaccinated man spends 3 mos. in hospital, loses his lungs.

Ya nevah know..

I have been unable to get an appointment booked for the booster. Are double vaxxed people the equivalent of unvaxxed now?

Allergic people have nearly 40% lower risk of getting COVID-19: study

People who suffer from allergic conditions have a lower risk for developing COVID-19, according to a new U.K. study.

The research from the Queen Mary University of London was published Thursday in the journal Thorax.

Analyzing data from more than 16,000 adults between May 1, 2020, and Feb. 5, 2021, the authors asked participants to provide information about their age, household circumstances, job, lifestyle, weight, height, longstanding medical conditions, medication use, vaccination status and diet and supplement intake upon enrollment in the study in an online questionnaire.

Monthly follow-up questionnaires captured incident COVID-19 and the researchers used logistic regression models to estimate the associations between potential risk factors and the odds of developing COVID-19.

15,227 people – with the majority women and nearly 95% who identified their ethnic origin as White – filled out at least one follow-up questionnaire and 14,348 people completed the final questionnaire. The average age of the participants was 59.

In total, 446 cases of coronavirus were recorded, or nearly 3% of participants. Thirty-two people were admitted to the hospital.

Those with atopic diseases like eczema and those with hay fever or rhinitis had a 23% lower risk of contracting the disease.

Including people who suffer from asthma, there was a 38% lower risk of infection – even after accounting for the use of steroid inhalers.

Taking immunosuppressants was also associated with 53% lower odds of infection, although the authors noted this statistic may reflect greater shielding from infection by these patients.

Contrary to past studies, the researchers found that older age, male sex and other underlying conditions were not linked to a higher risk of infection,

Alternatively, people of Asian and Asian British ethnicity, household overcrowding, socializing indoors with other households, holding a front-line occupation excluding health and social care and raised body mass index or obesity were independently associated with a heightened risk.

Adults who were Asian or Asian British had twice the risk of testing positive compared with White U.K. adults and the greater the number of people sharing a household and the higher the number of visits made to indoor public places, the higher the odds of getting COVID-19.

The researchers said the study shows that there is limited overlap between risk factors for developing COVID-19 and those for ICU admission and death, as reported in hospitalized cohorts.

They also note that the study is observational and cannot establish cause.

Other limitations include that there was no oversight of COVID-19 swab testing and the reliance on results of testing usually prompted by symptoms – potentially missing asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. –– ADVERTISEMENT ––

In addition, ethnic minorities were underrepresented in the study.

Over 50 infected with COVID after Christmas party in Norway in Omicron outbreak

At least 50 Christmas party-goers have been infected with Covid in Norway which may lead to be world’s biggest Omicron outbreak.

Staff from renewable energy company Scatec reportedly attended the event on November 26 in Oslo.

One person from the group has tested positive for the Omicron variant so far with more cases expected to follow, Oslo’s authorities said on Thursday.

A spokesperson said: “We are working actively with contact tracing to limit the spread and prevent bigger outbreaks.”

It is believed at least one of the guests had recently returned from the company’s Cape Town office.

If more of the group are confirmed to have Omicron it will be the single biggest known outbreak in the world.

Tine Ravlo, assistant chief infection control doctor in Frogner District, said a initial case samples indicated it was likely it was Omicron.

Analysis has ruled out the cases being the Delta variant.

The district’s responsible infection control doctor told Avisa Oslo the cases have clues they are Omicron.

Dr. Jorunn Thaulow said: “We have not received it definitively confirmed, but there are very strong indications that it is Omicron in this outbreak.”

The Nordic country detected its first four cases on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Norway posted a single-day record of 4,052 coronavirus cases on Monday, according to data from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Meanwhile, in Britain, Boris Johnson says parties should not be canceled because of Covid — and children can still have their school nativity plays.

In a stinging rebuke to one of the country’s top doctors, the PM batted away calls for families to scrap get-togethers in the coming weeks amid fears over the Omicron variant.

He said instead he would “throw everything” to get every adult a third jab by the end of January, deploying the Army to help the NHS in temporary vaccine hubs “popping up like Christmas trees”. Travel fears

Oslo’s new Omicron case comes as Brits face having to take pricey PCR swabs to travel to Europe under new EU plans to contain the Omicron variant.

Eurocrats can hit non-EU countries with extra travel curbs under an “emergency brake” system to keep variants out.

Like the UK, they’ve already banned flights from many nations in Southern Africa, where the Omicron strain originated.

Spain has all said unvaccinated Brits will be denied from entering the country in a bid to contain a new strain of coronavirus.

Until now, Britons could travel to Spain by showing a negative PCR test result taken up to 72 hours before arriving, but from 1 December they will also need proof of a Covid-19 vaccination.

Brussels published new guidance on Wednesday saying countries should introduce extra testing requirements to slow the arrival of the strain.

Care minister Gillian Keegan said the new travel rules are being kept under constant review and could be tightened further.

There are still dozens of questions about the new highly mutated strain, to which it will take several weeks to get answers.

Scientists are working around the clock to work out if it does indeed spread faster, dodge immunity or change the severity of the disease.

Unless I missed something, R386's study seems to most likely show that people with allergies are taking more precautions just like people who are immunocompromised and both groups are less likely to be infected because of that. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with the allergies themselves.

Agree with R388.

That studies conclusions are bullshit. I have an immune comprised sibling. Everyone who is immunocompromised is doing their best to isolate.

[quote]Ya nevah know..

What we do know is that he, as a double-lung recipient, has only a 50% chance of making it to 2026 and a 30% chance of seeing 2031.

I hope it was worth it.

More about the possible HIV link to omicron’s evolution: (DL won’t allow me to post a link to this srory)

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus - possibly one that causes the common cold - present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.

This genetic sequence does not appear in any earlier versions of the coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, but is ubiquitous in many other viruses including those that cause the common cold, and also in the human genome, researchers said.

By inserting this particular snippet into itself, Omicron might be making itself look "more human," which would help it evade attack by the human immune system, said Venky Soundararajan of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based data analytics firm nference, who led the study posted on Thursday on the website OSF Preprints.

This could mean the virus transmits more easily, while only causing mild or asymptomatic disease. Scientists do not yet know whether Omicron is more infectious than other variants, whether it causes more severe disease or whether it will overtake Delta as the most prevalent variant. It may take several weeks to get answers to these questions.

Cells in the lungs and in the gastrointestinal system can harbor SARS-CoV-2 and common-cold coronaviruses simultaneously, according to earlier studies. Such co-infection sets the scene for viral recombination, a process in which two different viruses in the same host cell interact while making copies of themselves, generating new copies that have some genetic material from both "parents."

This new mutation could have first occurred in a person infected with both pathogens when a version of SARS-CoV-2 picked up the genetic sequence from the other virus, Soundararajan and colleagues said in the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The same genetic sequence appears many times in one of the coronaviruses that causes colds in people - known as HCoV-229E - and in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, Soundararajan said.

South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, has the world's highest rate of HIV, which weakens the immune system and increases a person's vulnerability to infections with common-cold viruses and other pathogens. In that part of the world, there are many people in whom the recombination that added this ubiquitous set of genes to Omicron might have occurred, Soundararajan said.

"We probably missed many generations of recombinations" that occurred over time and that led to the emergence of Omicron, Soundararajan added.

It's going to turn into SuperAIDS

New Jersey confirms first Omicron case in woman who traveled to South Africa

New Jersey officials announced the state’s first confirmed case of the COVID-19 variant Omicron on Friday in a woman who had recently traveled to South Africa.

The patient, a fully-vaccinated Georgia resident, tested positive on Nov. 28 and has remained in isolation since, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.

She experienced “moderate symptoms” and is recovering after receiving treatment at a North Jersey emergency facility, officials said.

“The Omicron variant is among us and we need to take steps to stop its spread,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. “It is vital that residents remain as vigilant as possible as we await more information about the variant.

“Vaccinations and mask wearing have proven to be an effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and I urge everyone ages 18 and over to receive a booster,” he said.

At least five cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in New York City, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday. One case was confirmed in Brooklyn, two in Queens and one in Long Island’s Suffolk County. A fifth was pegged to “New York City” by the officials but without a more precise location.

Ohio Friday Update = 9584 cases....Out of Control. Ignoring the rising numbers, our Trumper Governor (probably reading the writing on the wall) signed a bill allowing small businesses to stay open in a "health emergency". Don't tell anyone but Health Emergency is slang for Pandemic Closures. Thank Goodness I will be able to shop at the local candle store who refuses to shut down while hospital beds in Ohio are filled with coughing idiots.

The symptoms will go from mild to severe quickly

[quote]Are double vaxxed people the equivalent of unvaxxed now?

Based on the information out there so far...your risk of infection is much higher (esp. in big public gatherings without masks), but your risk of serious illness/death is low (assuming your immune system is generally in good shape).

Unvaxxed people are just plain fucked.

R378 Agreed. I've been wondering if I ought to stock up on toilet paper and frozen foods again.

R395 = Exactly. March 2020 we were told Covid was only a severe cold.....That flipped real quick after weeks of being reported.....LINK from April 2020....

[quote]Are double vaxxed people the equivalent of unvaxxed now?

Did it ever occur to you morons that people who are vaxxed and have boosters might be more concerned about their health, especially if immunocompromised, and are more likely to get tested than antivaxxers? That skews the numbers.

I'm stocking up on masks.

I have enough wipes/spray and bleach. I don' t think they are in short supply...I see lots of them in the stores.

Get the booster shot

Mask up in indoor public spaces.

It ain't rocket science, folks.

I went to get my booster shot, and there were signs everywhere that they would not be giving shots of ANY kind until further notice. Small town Oregon Safeway, 12/3. There were 22 people in line, one tech, one pharmacist, which may be the reason, but I've still not been told why. My other option is three weeks out with appointments, and I haven't time to go to the city right now. Grrrr.

I just came from a party of 50 people—some masked, some not. Most not. I left after 30 minutes. I avoided everyone as much as possible. I felt it was tone deaf.

Thanks r401. Exactly. I posted this before. I had it beginning Jan 23, 2020, before it was a “thing”. HORRIBLE. Thought I was a goner….. MARY!…..Lasted 6 weeks of misery & terror. Hospital was clueless to what I had. Fatigue lasted for another 3+ months with no smell and no taste. One doctor ridiculed me for that. As soon as I could, vaxed and booster and never without a mask.

Make fun all you want antivaxers, but I NEVER want to go thru that again. Live your life but now we have help.

Vax and mask.

R368, I hope she stays that way and recovers fully. The is one of the promises of these vaccines.

The pharmacies are not enough to booster everyone. Time for Plan B.

Why is a covid infection an issue in USA? Didn't Biden buy tens of millions of doses of Regeneron and ship them to deplorable states, where they were administering them in city halls and public libraries.

Is it because deplorables won't go the liberry cause they don't know where it be and anyway it's run by dark pinko commie fags with AIDS?

My brother in law and his wife just tested positive for COVID and they had the booster a couple of weeks ago. He is one to wear his mask at all times in public, and she is a housewife.

If they can get it, anyone can.

They're outside of Cleveland.

[quote] March 2020 we were told Covid was only a severe cold

By who, Rush Limbaugh? By March 2020 we'd already seen devastating death tolls in China, Italy, and elsewhere.

As I have said before = I live in Columbus Ohio. Mask Mandate required in public because our numbers are out of control. ZERO Enforcement. Went to .Krogers today where even some employees think a mask is a chin guard. And probably 40 percent of people were not wearing masks. Even in the Pharmacy Line. One of the cashiers said to me the other day "I'm not fighting with customers anymore about wearing a mask". I am surrounded by complete idiots every time I shop--which is only once a week now. As I have said = BAN the antivaxxers from stores. Once they get hungry, they will wear a mask. I promise you they will. Rules without consequence are meaningless.

Are they gonna die, R408?

R393 So this “fully vaxxed” person in NJ experienced “moderate symptoms and is recovering after receiving treatment at a North Jersey emergency facility.”

This seems like an escalation from the “only mild symptoms” story we’ve had so far.

Swiss had a general population vote to allow the governments' COVID programs and safety restrictions. So the grand poobahs, cantonal and national, met Thursday and Friday to finalize their new covid program. It's weak sauce. Officially "recommended" that people work at home. Which means employer can do whatever it wishes. Not employee. Safety regulations at school barely changed. My university's big action was to send an email reminding everyone they must mask. My students have been half-assed about this all semester, our first back full time on campus. Not belligerently so, of course. They just don't care if they are among themselves unmasked. If you show a vaccine certification on your smart phone you can go to pubs, canteens, cafeterias. The discos and bars are open. It's clear the vaccine doesn't prevent infections - a symptomatic infections. I walk buy full eating and socializing venues and everyone is breathing their hot moist air in small rooms. Especially under 40, all the socializing and nightlife has been back with a roar.

Like the pharmacist above, I don't feel it is my role or place to be involved in the policing or enforcing of any of this. I have my FFP2s and get a booster next week.

They are young and mostly vaccinated I think maybe they are behaving correctly - living their lives. It's coming on 2 years. Thats a long time when you are 20. Nobody is super scared like 2 years ago at the beginning.

Nationwide there are large pockets of either regions of types of people who are vaccine resisting. They will pay the price, dumbasses, just like in Germany.

omg, did you guys see the report about that guy in Italy who wore a fake silicon arm to get a vaccine?! I was LOLing when I saw that. What a idiot!

R411 symptoms are mild, so that's a "good" sign. But man, if this thing can get through 3 rounds of vaccine, it's scary.

What makes you wonder, regarding SAs reports that isymptoms are “mild”, why would people bother seeking medical attention or testing? Again I’m referring to SA where vaccination is so low. If they eschew the vaccinations, why would they bother with tests or doctors if they had “mild” symptoms?

Also I agree with r278. Feels like the early days of the pandemic. Omicron has my attention. We will see how this plays out.

Also reminds me of the thread that I still have on DL watch list, titled, “there’s a really bad cold strain in China going around” from 2 years ago (November 2019)

^oops I replied to the wrong reply but it was about early days in he pandemic and the feeling of anxiety and the unknown.

Remember that in the beginning of Covid they classified mild as in basically no ICU. So you can still be sick. And you can bet these people are seriously ill if they are going to the doc. What kid do you know that goes to the doc for a sneeze?

Older people are not exposed to newer variants. Give it 2 weeks people like the experts said. It takes that long for the geezers to start getting the new variants when the trek out for their biweekly grocery trip.

But yeah, not buying the “mild” thing just yet either.

"New Jersey officials announced the state’s first confirmed case of the COVID-19 variant Omicron on Friday in a woman who had recently traveled to South Africa.

The patient, a fully-vaccinated Georgia resident, tested positive on Nov. 28 and has remained in isolation since, according to the New Jersey Department of Health."

Bitch gets around. And isn't that the problem: people are flying this shit all over the world?

Countries don't want to bail out airlines and tourist industries. They are too important.

Meanwhile the airlines can go fuck themselves in my opinion. And cruise companies should be outlawed or the price should SKYROCKET and the market shrink by 90%.

R416, I think they got tested because they were so fatigued.

Mild has always meant everything from mild cold-like to horrible flu-like symptoms without a need for hospitalization. Feeling like you’re dying from something 10x worse than the worst flu you’ve ever had is considered mild. If by chance they are hospitalized, it’s for dehydration…not supplemental oxygen.

Moderate involves some level of dyspnea; frequently accompanied by mild hypoxemia. Most people will recover at home but some require hospitalization. Others would be perfectly capable of recovering at home but have to be admitted because they believe that staying hydrated like a normal person will “wash all the salt out” of their body and undo the gains they’ve made on their carnivore diet (True Stories of Silicon Valley).

It’s the most ambiguous category because so much hinges on age, underlying conditions, severity of dyspnea, level of hypoxemia, etc. Regardless, anyone experiencing dyspnea at home needs to use a pulse oximeter and keep their physician updated.

Severe—we all know what severe means.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R423, how many more shots? March is a long way away .

Per a Harvard epidemiologist:

[quote]Hospitalizations in South Africa are tracking up in a way very similar to previous waves, but lagging behind what looks like a truly extraordinary increase in Omicron cases.

[quote]About all we can exclude are the extremes. We know that it’s not very mild because hospitalizations are ticking up in South Africa. We know that it’s not incredibly serious, because hospitalizations are ticking up but not incredibly fast. So, all we can exclude is the extremes, and there’s a lot of room between those extremes for the virus to spring a nasty surprise upon us.

If it’s as infectious as it seems to be so far in South Africa the wave of infections may very well be over by the time Moderna’s booster is available in March.

I think you should stock up a little Sylvia. I do think it makes sense to have a couple weeks of supplies on hand, not because I think you and your husband are at risk of serious disease, but because stores might not be open because the majority of their employees have to quarantine at the same time.

Loved him in B2K. Didn't really care for his solo work.

A group of people get infected in Wisconsin wedding . All fully vaccinated with some boosted too. Moderate symptoms.

150 cases in the UK now, all mild.

R429, original Covid and delta were mild too in the beginning.

[quote]About all we can exclude are the extremes. We know that it’s not very mild because hospitalizations are ticking up in South Africa. We know that it’s not incredibly serious, because hospitalizations are ticking up but not incredibly fast. So, all we can exclude is the extremes, and there’s a lot of room between those extremes for the virus to spring a nasty surprise upon us.

In other words, scientist uses lots of words to say nothing. And, honestly, I don't even think he's right about being able to exclude the extremes just yet since I'd wager that hospitalizations were already pretty high in South Africa, not leaving a lot of room for any increase. If your hospital is already at 100% capacity, you're going to have zero percent increase in hospitalizations even if people are dropping in the streets.

The Guardian: UK government officials and scientific advisers believe that the danger posed by the Omicron variant may not be clear until January, potentially allowing weeks of intense mixing while the variant spreads.

Minutes for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggest there is deep concern about the threat from the new variant, particularly its transmissibility. Though there is a wariness about overreacting, one government scientific adviser said Downing Street was “putting all its eggs in one basket” by focusing its efforts on the booster vaccine drive.

[quote]In other words, scientist uses lots of words to say nothing.

In other words, scientist does exactly what a scientist is supposed to do: Examine the data as it exists, posit a theory based on that data and remain open to the possibility that the next data can change the theory completely.

Well, I became a party pooper yesterday.

I work for a consulting group and we all work from our homes. As we all live in different parts of the country, we have a Face-to-Face meeting every January at some nice US location where we can also have fun. The event was totally cancelled for Jan 2021, but discussions for 2022 have started. The Boss distributed some date options for January and February, but also the option of waiting until 2nd Q 2022.

I voted to at least wait until 2nd Q 2022, because I think more time is needed. I don't have problems with hotels in general, but IMO resorts are too crowded for my comfort and most have relaxed their mask requirements for the common areas.

My family just had 3 more Covid diagnoses in the last month (we're up to 10 now). It's still out there, people!

OK, you can all sing the Party Pooper song now. ("Every party needs a pooper, that's why we invited you. Party Pooper!")

And this, before the Thanksgiving surge:

I've read that the incubation period for Delta is shorter than the original (Alpha?) variant: ~5 days vs up to 10 days.

Anybody see anything about the incubation period of Omicron?

Just as a reminder: the Omicron variant was identified on November 25, a mere 9 days ago.

R433, then why say anything at all at this point? There is no reason for speculation right now. They need to report known facts. And, this scientist did not. He reported his conjecture and his conjecture seems to be wrong.

Quelle surprise:

Patients who survive a severe case of COVID-19 are more than twice as likely to die during the following year than those who have mild symptoms and those who haven’t been infected.

The increased risk was greater for patients under 65. Only 20% of the deaths from severe COVID-19 resulted from typical coronavirus complications, such as respiratory failure.

That means serious coronavirus infections may significantly damage long-term health and lead to major life-threatening issues later.

[quote]The patient, a fully-vaccinated Georgia resident, tested positive on Nov. 28 and has remained in isolation since, according to the New Jersey Department of Health." Bitch gets around. And isn't that the problem: people are flying this shit all over the world?

It's very possible she was tested upon arrival at Newark.

^^

Per the NYTimes, local transmission is occurring in India

[quote]A group of people get infected in Wisconsin wedding . All fully vaccinated with some boosted too. Moderate symptoms.

No one but you is reporting moderate symptoms. This is from the article in your link:

[quote]The people were vaccinated and have "mildly symptomatic cases."

A lot of the reported hospitalizations in South Africa were not for Omicron *per se* — they were for other reasons, and testing for Covid is automatic when one is admitted there. So yes, it transmits easily, but the hospitalizations aren’t necessarily for Omicron.

There is a theory circulating today on *serious* Covid Twitter that Omicron may have intermingled with a common cold virus, and that is what is making it more transmissible yet mild.

One last note about hospitalizations—they’re shorter in duration than in any previous wave there. I think I read 3-5 days versus the average 8.

As of now, it looks like we have to worry more about Delta cases creeping up for the winter.

The MN guy who went to convention in NYC told authorities that 15 out of 35 friends tested positive for covid. They all went to convention together.

R447, conventions. Tons of unmasked assholes getting drunk. What could possibly have gone wrong? Same with those doctors at the convention where the Israeli doctors caught it. No masks in sight. Even the vaccinated have been acting more and more dumb recently. Vaccines are amazingly effective but they're not fucking magic.

"tested positive" does not mean they are sick with any symptoms. in fact they may never get symptoms or possibly only very minor illness. notice there have been no news stories about hospitalizations from omicron. yes it it early still, but with all the hyper scrutiny on this variant, don't you think we would hear immediately when there are hospitalizations?

As soon as Delta hit, there were hospitalisations and deaths. I remember the UK went from months of around 500 deaths a week to 500 deaths a day, within two weeks of Delta being recognised. Omicron seems mild in comparison.

it's mostly media hysteria

How likely is this variant to evade the vaccine?

It's a sure thing that many who have contracted covid who claim they have been triple vaxed are lying because they're too embarrassed to admit they weren't. Whether that is a small percentage or large is anybody's guess.

The eventual evolution that will end this will be highly communicable but less virulent. I'm hoping omicron is that evolution.

R452 Still to be determined.

r453 a triple-vaxxed doctor transmitted Omicron to another triple-vaxxed doctor in Israel. I doubt they lied about their vaccine status.

Do you know what the word 'percentage' means?

It's been detected in 16 states.

Speaking to the BBC, the director of the Africa Health Research Institute Prof Willem Hanekom said:

"We know three things that we didn’t know last week: the first thing is that the virus is spreading extraordinarily fast in South Africa, the increase in cases is much steeper than it’s been in the past three waves so it seems that Omicron is able to spread very easily and virtually all the cases that we see in South Africa right now are Omicron.

The second thing we have data on is re-infections ... after you’ve had Covid, you have about a 1% chance, or perhaps even less than a 1% chance, of getting re-infected and even getting disease again by this virus.

The third little bit of data we have already relates to clinical cases and how severe the disease is. The only data suggests the disease may occur more in younger people and mostly younger people who are unvaccinated and, overall so far, the disease has appeared to be milder. But, again, I want to say we have to be cautious – these are very early days."

Why do people link to the New York Times as if it's open to read for everyone?

It's absolutely possible that a triple vaxxed person gave omicron to another triple vaxxed person because of the easy transmissablity of omicron. However, remember thos triple vaxxed genius doctors were also sitting unmasked in conference rooms for hours yapping between each other and then, I'm sure, going out to eat with each other and, possibly, sharing rooms with each other. They acted stupidly. There was zero reason for an in-person medical conference held abroad. Zero.

[quote]Why do people link to the New York Times as if it's open to read for everyone?

I was under the impression their COVID coverage was not behind a paywall, although you may need to register with your email address.

Apologies if I was wrong.

[quote] There was zero reason for an in-person medical conference held abroad. Zero.

Narcissist academicians and medical researchers live for the chance to hear themselves talk in front of a captive audience. They would rather die than forego in person conferences. I know this because I help to plan academic conferences for a living, and I'm livid that my department went straight back to in-person after barely one year of online. Even though it's obvious that online conferences are just as effective, better-attended, and MUCH more accessible, inclusive, and all of those other things that academicians pretend to care about.

But god forbid we get between Assistant Professors of Philosophy and free bagels and a chance to suck up to their superiors in person.

As an academic, in-person conferences are better in the way everything is better in-person.

I attended 4-5 remote conferences since COVID hit and returned to my first in-person conference last month. No comparison. With remote conferences, you lose the spaces where the real intellectual exchange occurs: between panels, in the hallways, at the publishers' displays, around the coffee and pastry table. There is also the factor of the Zoom void: there's no way to gauge how your work is being received, if audience members are listening, taking notes, laughing at your well-intentioned but bad jokes, or lost behind their phone screens, yawning and bored.

I don't think the social factor can be overstated either. I'm in the humanities. I spend the vast majority of my non-teaching life alone, in my office, in archives, and in libraries, researching, reading, and writing. When it comes time to share that research, I want the exchange to be genuinely meaningful, and for me, that involves more than logging into Zoom.

I understand the necessity of Zoom conferences during COVID, but I'm not prepared for that model to become the "new normal." Technology is great, but let's not pretend we don't lose something when we only share our work remotely. I mean, why attend conferences at all? I can always wait for the article.

^^^ *so be it

Yes, but would have killed you to go two or three years without in-person conferences instead of rushing back before there was any real handle on the pandemic? No.

At minimum, all conferences should remain hybrid as "the new normal" due to the accessibility and inclusivity issues.

I would add to R463 that much the same is true of in-person classes. That said, I have enjoyed the possibility of attending zoom talks and conferences around the world, with more people from multiple time zones than could have attended in person—and then just clicking to another one elsewhere, or going into the kitchen for a snack. And of course I'm not ready to go back fully to normal until it's safe to do so. But yes, intellectual exchange takes place in person where serendipitous meetings and real communication are possible.

The metaverse will solve that R463.

The hybrid model is a logistical nightmare, r465.

My gut tells me this is going to be bad

[quote]everything is better in-person

Not for this hard-core, dyed-in-the-wool introvert.

[quote]There is also the factor of the Zoom void: there's no way to gauge how your work is being received, if audience members are listening, taking notes, laughing at your well-intentioned but bad jokes, or lost behind their phone screens, yawning and bored.

"Attention must be paid to me!"

No one mentioned the old mother giving Rose a handful of gold rings at Phil's funeral. The father agreed to visit at Christmas. Obviously, Phil was a troubling presence in that family. Phil coming in to dinner, hostile and grimy, was a big fuck you all. George had been left as caretaker in a sense. He calmly endured Phil, careful not to set him off. Seems that Phil was a very bright young man, George was proud of that fact. What was the source of Phil's animus? Was it mad grief over his hero/lover, and an attempt to live in his image? Was it a result of being dominated and shaped by him, rejecting all that BH wasn't, needing to hide who he was? Whatever, Phil seemed half mad at times, and his hatred for Rose (women), and his disdain for women (mother, servants) was vicious. Remember that early scene of him abusing a horse, calling it a whore, etc.

Peter was triumphant. He accomplished what no one else was able to. He handled Phil, put him down like a mad dog, using his intellect and psychological acumen to best a brute.

No, R471, it has nothing to do with egotism or attention-getting; it's about responsiveness to your audience, and more broadly the dialogue between people in the field. Why in the world would you think that a *conference speaker* concerned about their engagement with their audience is just being an attention-getter?

Intellectual exchange in person= getting flattery or sexual propositions for the hotel later.

R468 I know, because I'm the underpaid staffer at the University who has to set it up and make it work. Even still, it's preferential to in-person only and I've insisted that our department maintain Zoom and streaming on all events. Hybrid conferences have the potential to increase the diversity of the participants. Scholars from underfunded schools and/or poorer countries who can't shell out airfare to send their people to in-person events. Not to mention the disabled, for whom travel is difficult or impossible.

Love your post r472, but it might make a bit more sense on the "Power of the Dog" thread.

Unless you mean that Phil died of Covid-19 rather than Anthrax.

[quote] Same with those doctors at the convention where the Israeli doctors caught it. No masks in sight. Even the vaccinated have been acting more and more dumb recently. Vaccines are amazingly effective but they're not fucking magic.

What is with this pearl clutching? What difference does it make if a conference is held with no masks? Omicron is highly transmissible and there’s no stopping it. It would spread everywhere (as it has done) with or without this conference some of you are so angry about.

And for all the carping about vaccines not being magic, some of you sure seem to think masks ARE. What the hell is up with *that* magical thinking? Masks confer 5-10% protection; the third dose of the vaccine is far more effective than that. If Omicron is as transmissible as it appears to be, why would the mask be the silver bullet against it?

And what exactly is the great tragedy here anyway? Omicron definitely looks to be very mild, producing either no symptoms or very mild symptoms. We WANT it to become the dominant variant. It’s how this epidemic ends. Get that through your heads!

[quote] We know that it’s (Omicron) not very mild because hospitalizations are ticking up in South Africa.

According to this vid, a number of the hospitalizations are incidental. A person goes to the hospital for something else, then is routinely tested for Covid, and found to also have Omicron.

Dr. John Campbell explains.

[quote] And what exactly is the great tragedy here anyway? Omicron definitely looks to be very mild, producing either no symptoms or very mild symptoms.

Yeah, that's why hospitalizations are tripling in South Africa: people are being admitted that have no symptoms.

[quote] We WANT it to become the dominant variant.

This variant has a high reinfection rate, especially against natural infections of Covid. So you can contract Omicron again and again and again--each building on the damage from the previous infection. Why exactly do we want it to become the dominant wave?

[quote] It’s how this epidemic ends.

There will certainly be a lot of "ending."

R479, have you ever had a cold, and then gotten another cold? And then another? Maybe once, twice a year you get colds? Over and over, year after year since childhood?

Isn’t that how these viruses are? It’s a fact of life.

As for the hospitalization rate— see R478.

No one gets organ damage from a cold.

Does every person who gets Covid suffer organ damage?

I don’t know what world you zero-Covid people are living in, but I’m sorry to say you’re just going to have to accept Covid. It’s going to become endemic and milder; Omicron could be the variant that gets us a lot closer to that eventuality.

Do you think that if everyone in the world locks down, stays home, gets tripped vaccinated, and wears a mask 24 hours a day that Covid will just die out? No more organ-damaging coronavirus disease 2019? That’s not reality. It has to evolve and become endemic.

You need to grow up and accept this. It‘s like death and taxes.

And you don’t know that the endemic version of Covid, the kind that will more or less fade into the background, will FOREVER cause organ damage and post-acute symptoms in people.

Your perception of Covid is “worst case scenario” and you won’t settle for anything less than “best case scenario”. It’s a very child-like way of thinking about this.

Where is the poster getting the 5-10% claim? Where is the link for that?

[quote] The study linked surgical masks with an 11% drop in risk, compared with a 5% drop for cloth.

Sorry, 11%, not 10. Link below.

The posters who think we should just get over "fear" of covid and accept it, dispensing with precautions, are probably the same ones who were saying that at the beginning of the pandemic, before the delta surge , and all along. Fine; let them risk their health. The rest of us will stay cautious until we know more about omicron.

As an academic-adjacent who generally attended three-four meetings a year previously and has been having to do them remotely, I look forward to the day when conferences are truly safe to attend in person. At least in my field two day in person conferences have turned into four day events to account for time zone differences. So I don’t put my OOO on because I’ve got 2-3 hours of work before the sessions start and then I end up getting involved in some urgent crisis issue, that bleeds into my conference time since it is impossible to extricate myself. Both the conference and whatever else I’m doing get short shrift with the divided attention.

I was supposed to attend a conference in person this fall, but my co-presenters were federal employees and when the Delta surge started the government told them they couldn’t go. The presentation still could have worked hybrid with me in person and them remote, but the organizers refused to allow hybrid so I cancelled going entirely. I felt equal parts anger, disappointment and relief.

R479 is the Covid Doom Troll. Please ridicule them.

[QUOTE] No one gets organ damage from a cold

People die of colds every year, Klan Granny.

R486 A reply on that thread

If this some sort of SARS-CoV-2/common cold coronavirus hybrid monstrosity I could see a scenario where vaccines offer little to no protection from infection and close to complete protection from serious illness. Only time will tell, but it seems consistent with the limited anecdotes we have.

R491 - the UK has London which has always been a petri dish for viruses. 9m people living in multi family households in tower blocks. Second only to NYC in its potential for diseases transmisison. BIrmingham and Manchester are similar but much smaller.

[quote] I don’t know what world you zero-Covid people are living in, but I’m sorry to say you’re just going to have to accept Covid. It’s going to become endemic and milder;

You have absolutely no idea whether it's going to become milder, stronger, or stay the same. (We have viruses that have done all three.) None of the virology experts can predict this--and they have written this in articles--which is why they are waiting for more data. It's kind of hilarious that a DL anti-vax troll thinks he can foretell the future.

[quote] That’s not reality. It has to evolve and become endemic.

You don't seem to know what the word "endemic" means.

[quote] Your perception of Covid is “worst case scenario” and you won’t settle for anything less than “best case scenario”. It’s a very child-like way of thinking about this

Because when one thinks of childlike behavior, caution is the first word that springs to mind.

[quote]Masks confer 5-10% protection

You do not know what you are talking about. Read the actual article. That's the reduction in diagnosed cases who went so far as to get tested. The number of people who were protected from getting sick due to the fact that their exposure was lessened to the point that their bodies didn't receive a big enough dose of of the virus to cause an actual sypmtomatic infection is unknown. The masks work. What is it with people who think mask and vax are either/or propositions? Do both. If everyone did both, covid would have nowhere to go and would disappear.

[quote]You do not know what you are talking about. Read the actual article.

I would recommend reading the paper on which the article is based.

[quote]Our results should [italic]not[/italic] be taken to imply that mask-wearing can prevent only 10% of COVID- 19 cases, let alone 10% of COVID-19 mortality. Our intervention induced 29 more people out of every 100 to wear masks, with 42% of people wearing masks in total. The total impact with near-universal masking–perhaps achievable with alternative strategies or stricter enforcement–may be several times larger than our 10% estimate.

[quote]Additionally, the intervention reduced symptomatic seroprevalence more when surgical masks were used, and even more for the highest-risk individuals in our sample (23% for ages 50-60 and 35% for ages 60+). These numbers likely give a better sense of the impact of our intervention on severe morbidity and mortality, since most of the disease burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is borne by the elderly. Where achievable, universal mask adoption is likely to have still larger impacts.

As usual, a bunch of people posting opinion and editorial masquerading as "fact". Most of the people on this thread have no clue what they're talking about and are just parroting whatever "link" matches up with their personal thoughts. It's ok to be afraid and have concerns, but pretending to be an expert on this or any topic and claim everyone else is wrong when all you do is read and regurgitate internet "news" is a bit much.

thanks and sorry R 476

That comes from reading two threads at the same time.

We seem to be reading the same two threads r498!

South Africa has a lower full vaccination rate, as well as a serious (undiagnosed) HIV problem.

From the Washington Post

[quote] Omicron possibly more infectious because it shares genetic code with common cold coronavirus, study says

[quote] The omicron variant is likely to have picked up genetic material from another virus that causes the common cold in humans, according to a new preliminary study, prompting one of its authors to suggest omicron could have greater transmissibility but lower virulence than other variants of the coronavirus....

[quote] As a virus evolves to become more transmissible, it generally “loses” traits that are likely to cause severe symptoms, (Venky) Soundararajan (a biological engineer who co-wrote the study) said.

[quote] But he noted that much more data and analysis of omicron was needed before a definitive determination could be made, adding that unequal distribution of vaccines globally could lead to further mutations of the coronavirus.

[quote] omicron could have greater transmissibility but lower virulence than other variants

This right here. Good.

That’s exactly what I wrote upthread, R502, and I got vilified for it.

Also this:

[quote] It's kind of hilarious that a DL anti-vax troll thinks he can foretell the future.

…is fucking ridiculous. Where in my post did I make any anti-vax gestures? I got two Pfizer shots in April & May, and two weeks ago I got a Moderna booster. FUCK. YOU.

Big whoop, Omicron spreads faster than Delta.

Let me know when a variant it killing ten THOUSAND unvaccinated a DAY.

[quote] The number of people who were protected from getting sick due to the fact that their exposure was lessened to the point that their bodies didn't receive a big enough dose of of the virus to cause an actual sypmtomatic infection is unknown

Cool, so an unknown percentage of people may have caught asymptomatic cases of Covid, which as we all know by now, ARE still transmissible. Great! Back to square one: 5-11%.

[quote] What is it with people who think mask and vax are either/or propositions? Do both. If everyone did both, covid would have nowhere to go and would disappear.

Everyone should get vaccinated—three doses, not just two. Putting a mask on adds a tiny extra layer of protection, but it mostly keeps you from infecting others if you get a breakthrough infection, which shouldn’t happen anyway if you get the booster shot.

And there is no world in which everyone gets vaccinated and wears a mask all the time and then Covid has nowhere to go and dies. That is magical thinking not grounded in science. All it would do is prolong the pandemic.

Faster than Delta, with no protection from infection is a huge whoop with a 10 day mandatory quarantine. It’s just not the whoop we were expecting.

If everyone gets Omicron, does everyone need to quarantine?

#CovidParadoxes

First we had Corona and the beer people were affected; then Delta and the airline. Is there any corporate entity named Omicron?

Omorosa

It's unclear - and will be for perhaps 4-6 weeks - of how much (or little) vaccines work against Omnicron. But even 10% is better than zero. It also might be helpful to have a '0' blood type so good luck there! But vitamin D and masks work against all variants so don't neglect those.

[quote]Over 50 infected with COVID after Christmas party in Norway in Omicron outbreak

Updated numbers. Thirty additional people were reportedly infected after the party, when they entered the space the party had been in.

[quote] Thirty additional people were reportedly infected after the party, when they entered the space the party had been in.

Cool! Keep those in-person events coming!

*sigh*

If Delta has a six foot distancing, what is the distancing for Omicron?

It’s not sounding as if Omi is going to keep me working from home longer.

R508 Google it, you lazy whore.

a band has the same name and their website crashed. They are considering a name change. heard this on the news

The MN guy who got it at the NYC convention said he is double vaxxed and got the booster too. he's 30. After convention, he went to a bar with his friends.

His friend tested positive when they got home using a home antigen test, he then went to get a PCR test. He said he had a slight running nose, slight cough, very tired but thought that was from walking 15 miles a day while in NYC

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

This sounds frivolous and silly, but I want to see a particular movie in a real threater. It's coming out soon (WSS), really looking forward to seeing it properly and not on a small screen. I haven't been in a theater in years. I'm fully vaxxed with a booster...will wear a double mask. I just want to be able to feel comfortable enough to sit in a theater. If there are morning showings, I'll go at a less popular time. In the scheme of things...I know this isn't important.

R520, you should also wear a face shield. Or protective goggles. It's airborne, can get in via your eyes.

Why isn’t it called Omega?

Well?

R522 you asking seriously?

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet

The State of Maine recorded its worst day (today) with more persons in ICU and/or on ventilators since the beginning of the pandemic.

Yikes r524

For whoever was asking above ...

[quote]On Monday, Maine Health, the state’s largest hospital network, reported that 62 of the 72 people with COVID-19 in its intensive care units were unvaccinated, as were 20 of the 24 who were also on ventilators. Only 34 of the 139 COVID-positive people hospitalized in its system were fully vaccinated.

Thoughts and prayers, unvaxxed supermajority!

Is there any chance the people in R518 could have hooked up without the security cameras catching them?

[quote] The State of Maine recorded its worst day (today) with more persons in ICU and/or on ventilators since the beginning of the pandemic.

And is it Omicron? If not, or if we don’t know, then it isn’t relevant.

R526 And as I suspected at the start of the thread, in Star Trek: TOS, the planet Omicron Ceti III was the home of the "happy spores" plant that made Spock feel emotion and briefly fall in love with a local.

Maine is almost certainly delta. Over 99% of cases are still delta in the in the US.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]If Delta has a six foot distancing, what is the distancing for Omicron?

How do you feel about Cleveland?

R531, elder gay woman , delta is more deadly than Omnicon .

So far even wild type seems more deadly than Omicron R534.

Scientist estimates South African Omicron Rt between 3 and 3.5.

"If Omicron Rt continues at around 3 this indicates a much larger threat in terms of case counts than Delta. I'm hoping that prior immunity protects against severe outcomes, but I'm very concerned about the size of the epidemic wave in the US and across the world."

R536 what's the RO of Delta?

[quote]Henry Daniell at Penn State's School of Dental Medicine

He was the definitive Seton Cram.

Rt is distinct from R0 and it refers to the virus' actual transmission rate at a particular point in time. An Rt of less than 1.0 means the infection is not spreading. An Rt value above 1.0 means the virus is spreading fast.

Trevor Beford again:

"This estimate of Rt around 3 or 3.5 (for Omicron) will become more precise for South Africa in the coming days, but even Rt of 3 is very high. Initial Rt of Delta in South Africa and the US was about 1.5."

Should I cancel Christmas? Seriously, I’m not dragging 20 people here only to cancel last minute.

R540. I would....just to be safe.

Christmas is a stupid holiday anyway. It should be canceled for all time. Only children, fraus, and fruitcakes like it.

Am I dead yet? Asking for a friend.

The republicans ruined Christmas again.

How, R544?

Just think. Gum to survive on Earth.

Here's the journal article about the ACE2 gum. ElderLez, want to parse it for us? I want to know how long the effects last; hours after using the gum, or do you have to chomp on gum all day like Britney in order for it to be effective?

And none of it matters until it can be mass-produced and stocked at the checkout of every Rite Aid, Boots Chemist, Shoppers Drug Mart, etc.

What do you mean how r545?

Republicans were in charge when Covid first hit. There was ONE patient. They called it a hoax instead of isolating and contact tracing as per the usual protocol.

It was just a cold, remember? The democrats were perpetrating a hoax, remember? Instead of stopping it, republicans spread it all over on purpose. They assumed it would help them in an election.

We are living in the aftermath of a republic assault on humanity.

I've been very cautious since March of 2020. I rarely leave the house except to go to the store (and I've only done that since getting vaccinated) or to do volunteer work (masked, distanced) at the Senior Center. But I went to a holiday party last Saturday with about 20 people--no masks, no distancing--and I've been worried ever since. I probably won't take that risk again.

r549, I have come to the conclusion that I really do not like people. Data Lounge reinforces this every day.

Oddly enough r551, I have come to the conclusion that the people on the Datalounge are just about the only ones I DO like.

R547/Sylvia, I can’t figure out how long the swiffer chewing gum lasts either. And I would think the nose would be still be a problem in any event, even if we all went full Britney.

I do find it fascinating to discover that chewing regular gum provides some level of protection from lots of different viruses including the one that causes mononucleosis. It’s apparently a really good idea on multiple levels to chew gum before a date.

Diagnosed cases of Omicron are rising but are hospitalizations rising too? Or are the hospitalizations all Delta? And yes I don't do graphs.

[quote] swiffer chewing gum

LOL!

I'll agree to a truce with the "I must have in-person academic conferences" poster if conferences will hand out the anti-COVID gum to all participants. Instead of tote bags and pens. Hell, get the conference logo printed on the wrapper.

[quote]Diagnosed cases of Omicron are rising but are hospitalizations rising too?

Hospitalizations are definitely rising in conjunction with the increase in omicron transmission. Whether hospitalizations re rising because of omicron has not been definitively determined.

Scientists say they have identified a “stealth” version of Omicron which cannot be distinguished from other variants using the PCR tests that public health officials deploy to gain a quick picture of its spread around the world.

The stealth variant has many mutations in common with standard Omicron, but it lacks a particular genetic change that allows lab-based PCR tests to be used as a rough and ready means of flagging up probable cases.

The variant is still detected as coronavirus by all the usual tests, and can be identified as the Omicron variant through genomic testing, but likely cases are not flagged up by routine PCR tests that give quicker results.

Researchers say it is too early to know whether the new form of Omicron will spread in the same way as the standard Omicron variant, but that the “stealthy” version is genetically distinct and so may well behave differently.

I don't have time to read the article right now but that can only mean S-gene dropout, which has been an immediate means of identifying Omicron.

S-gene dropout is associated with increased transmissibility, so this could be a good thing.

[quote]I'll agree to a truce with the "I must have in-person academic conferences" poster

I've probably missed half of the thread, but I'm the poster who mentioned having to attend the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease in person last week. Are we feuding?

You're either talking about someone whose posts I didn't see, or I need to go back and read the entire thread. I hope it's the former because I'd hate to find out there was a missed opportunity for some DL drama to spice up my benign posting history.

R559 The person in question was in the Humanities, and we got into a debate about the flaws and merits of in-person, remote, and hybrid conferences. Sorry, no rumble in the parking lot today!

Damn it!

We'll meet again, Sylvia Fowler. We'll meet again.

Uh oh.

And just remember, SA has a young population with far less risk factors than the older pops in US and Europe.

Why are you "Uh oh" ing this? SA also has a very low vaccinated rate which is why they are getting hit hard right now. Nothing to see here.

R563, why is the UK also getting hit?

If it’s mild—why the hospital?

There was a news article (I can't remember where, but it wasn't some wacko conspiracy source) that reported that part of the reason that "case counts" in the hospital are rising is that anyone who is at the hospital for any reason gets tested for COVID, even if the reason they're there has nothing to do with COVID symptoms. So if there is a high rate of transmission of this variant with mild to no symptoms in some cases, the rate as a reported statistic climbs. Correlation does not equal causation. Someone can test positive and have a "case" but be at the hospital for an unrelated condition.

At this point who knows really. But that was reported as a partial explanation.

The hospitals are jammed because everybody waited to get their boosters. Now it’s a mad rush.

Alas, R564, there is no clear answer as to the level of protection offered by the current vaccines against Omicron.

Refrain from making pseudo-scientific proclamations indicating your stupidity.

This was meant for the imbecile R563.

Thread closed.

And yet I am still able to post.

Has ElderLez started a Part II?

There’s a study out today (Tweets are from a couple hours ago) showing Omicron has significant immune escape from two doses of Pfizer. But not total. And that’s just for preventing infection, nothing to do with preventing severe illness etc.

The booster is necessary, but it’s probably not as effective against Omicron as it was against alpha and Delta.

Sorry I don’t have a link right now (this thread is too glitchy for me to chance pasting one into the link box at this point anyway) but you can find info on Twitter.

Still no indications Omicron is worst than Delta in terms of severity of symptoms but I’m sure the tide will change for the worse any day, with any luck. Fingers crossed for bad news.

More than 20 million dead.

Oh well, say the anti-vaxxers, just a bad flu.

[quote]There’s a study out today (Tweets are from a couple hours ago) showing Omicron has significant immune escape from two doses of Pfizer. But not total. And that’s just for preventing infection, nothing to do with preventing severe illness etc.

Whoever starts the new thread, it's spelled

OMICRON

kthxbye.

From the article at R562:

"Some 36% of South Africans are fully vaccinated."

CNBC:

• Prof. Alex Sigal with the Africa Health Research Institute and a team of scientists tested blood samples of 12 people who’d previously been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

• They found a 41-fold in drop in the ability of their antibodies to neutralize the omicron variant compared to the original virus.

• The preprint study has not yet been peer reviewed and it tested 14 plasma samples from 12 vaccinated people, 6 of whom were previously infected.

At this point, I no longer care. We actually needed this population reduction and could use one on an even bigger scale.

And yes, I volunteer to die. This world is shit.

Why were we able to eradicate all the other epidemics and not have such third world response like we had to Covid?

Could it have something to do with Trump and Johnson as the leaders of the two largest democracies. That is the only difference between Covid and the other epidemics.

For when this thread is full.

[quote]And yes, I volunteer to die.

Pics please.

There's a new thread. Post there.

Thread pre-closed.