COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[emailking]

In conclusion, the sane approach would have been a targeted stay-at-home order only for the very Old and/or very Sick, while everybody else would be able to continue their normal life with only minor precautions (washing your hands and voluntary Mask wearing), that would have saved Millions of jobs, thousands of Small business's, Hundreds of thousands of excess deaths, and potentially a good chunk of the Covid-19 fatalities. The reason this wasn’t done was because the Lockdowns were never about saving people from the virus, but instead were a sneaky way for the Global Capitalist Elite (in the U$, EU, Russia, China, and all the Third World banana republics) to accelerate the 4th industrial Revolution to eliminate the Working Class.

You can't have a stay at home order for just the old and sick because it violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. At most you could strongly encourage them to stay home.

[emailking]

Ok, sorry.

[emailking]

I don't think you're going to get a lockdown in a Virginia that's stronger than the curfew.

[emailking]

So it's not a 14th Amendment violation, but I do think it would be incredibly unfair to force elderly and sick people (like cancer patients, or someone with a liver transplant) to stay home, and only them. So much so that I think any such order should cover everyone. I'm also a bit dubious of lockdowns in general from a legal perspective, but I think everyone should be voluntarily staying home as much as is feasible.

[emailking]

I have given up.

I will just wait for herd immunity through large number of cases and vaccinations. I now encourage everyone to go out and not wear a mask so the vaccine trails can be expedited.

The major vaccine trials are completed. Pfizer vaccine just got approved. Now it has to be mass manufactured be distributed, and you should wear a mask so you don't inadvertently infect others in the meantime who are waiting for the vaccine.

[emailking]

And the list is out of date now. 🥺

[emailking]

I can buy that maybe deaths will go down dramatically within weeks. But when will everything be open again and without masks required anywhere? That may take a while because I assume it will wait until a much larger fraction of the population is vaccinated.

[emailking]

I hope people dont let their guard down for the next couple of months as it's unlikely the average person will be able to get a vaccine until sometime from April to July

That it is the estimate which I provided earlier, but some on here are confident that the vaccine will be widely disseminated before that.

That's what I keep hearing on TV. Also I heard the at risk category is maybe 200 million people? I don't know but regardless that's why I'm skeptical that we're getting back to normal in March, even if deaths have dropped significantly and the most vulnerable have been vaccinated.

[emailking]

Are people who have had the virus supposed to get a vaccine at all? Like even when there's plenty to go around?

[emailking]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1338325735778476035

[emailking]

Fauci just said on MSNBC that he expects every adult who wants a vaccine will have it by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2021. But when asked about getting back to normal, he said that a vaccine is a complement not a substitute for COVID public health measures, and that it may be in the 2nd half of 2021 or longer before the level of infection is low enough that things can get back to what they were before.  🤷‍♂️

[emailking]

I don't think it's about the spotlight. He seemed genuine.

[emailking]

My understanding is that the first few months is for nursing home residents and medical workers. So we're not even getting the sick (or those with serious conditions) or elderly in general yet. They'll be up in the next few months after that.

[emailking]

I'm sure the expert you reference is an actual expert, but I don't know how to explain continued measures after everyone who wants the vaccine has had it. Fauci said the same thing.

[emailking]

Best strategy at this point is to vaccinate the elderly population and that young and healthy people should now not wear masks and throw covid parties and deliberately get infected. That would be the fastest way to achieve an end to this pandemic.

This ain't it, chief.

You at least agree that elderly and vulnerable should be vaccinated prior to essential workers right?

They should all be in the most high-priority group, since the essential workers will be the ones most exposed and the ones who have the potential to infect the most people.

Really, it seems like the smartest thing we can do now that the Moderna vaccine has been approved is potentially to switch it from two doses to one right now. If it's true that the vaccine's first dose has a 92% effectiveness rate, then it might be the quickest path to herd immunity by cutting the wait time in half. Do research into the effectiveness of a second dose six months later as a booster, but we can't wait for everyone to get their two doses if the difference is 3%.

Wouldn't it be better to use both? That way we can vaccinate more people more quickly, even if one of the vaccines isn't as good.

[emailking]

I will be talking all three if I get the chance.

Can't wait.

Is that safe?

[emailking]

I think it prolonged the spike. 2500-3500 deaths a day is pretty bad. Not sure anyone was saying it would be much worse than that.

[emailking]

Seems like a big if in that caption.

[emailking]

Her descendants should be judged on their own.

[emailking]

I think it was backlog. Worldometers says 3400.

[emailking]

I don't think we knew then where the virus was (and maybe still don't).

[emailking]

If you insist on Moderna because it's one shot it will take longer to get everyone vaccinated.

[emailking]

At the end of this interview, Fauci says vaccinations of the general public will probably begin in late March or April and will take several months. He thinks they will done by late summer and restrictions may be able to be eased in the Fall.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/12/27/fauci-coronavirus-herd-immunity-range-estimate-shift-intv-sotu-vpx.cnn

[emailking]

At the end of this interview, Fauci says vaccinations of the general public will probably begin in late March or April and will take several months. He thinks they will done by late summer and restrictions may be able to be eased in the Fall.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/12/27/fauci-coronavirus-herd-immunity-range-estimate-shift-intv-sotu-vpx.cnn

Fall??? Sorry Fauci but no.

You say this every time lol.

I thought you said no one's wearing masks there anyway.

But at least we have a timeline, and it's less time than what we've already gotten through.

[emailking]

I don't see why it's a story since it's going to happen maybe 10s of thousands of times, but the headline seems accurate?