COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[GP270watch]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1487247488780316672

Man lost his job, his life, widowed his wife and left 4 children fatherless, crazy.

 More police died of Covid-19 the past 2 years than anything else, this is the deadliest thing going for cops.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

OK, but how many of the current deaths are among fully vaccinated people?

And why is this stat not reported everywhere any time covid deaths are reported?

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1487247488780316672

Man lost his job, his life, widowed his wife and left 4 children fatherless, crazy.

 More police died of Covid-19 the past 2 years than anything else, this is the deadliest thing going for cops.

I can certainly sympathize with his family, given my own father's death back in November. But exactly how many law enforcement officers have died from the virus? I've never seen any figures.

[emailking]

OK, but how many of the current deaths are among fully vaccinated people?

And why is this stat not reported everywhere any time covid deaths are reported?

I don't think that's being collected everywhere.

[Hammy]

Worldometer says Florida is averaging only 29 per day, and is declining.

Please tell me that you are not this dumb.

Just a few minutes ago, it fell to 22.

You know the BlueAnon crowd will jump in and claim that it's somehow fake.

Florida's official policy has been science denial for years. One can simultaneously believe that most of the restrictions now are simply not practical while acknowledging Florida is not being honest with their data.

[GP270watch]

OK, but how many of the current deaths are among fully vaccinated people?

And why is this stat not reported everywhere any time covid deaths are reported?

COVID-19 Incidence and Death Rates Among Unvaccinated and Fully Vaccinated Adults with and Without Booster Doses During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Emergence — 25 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–December 25, 2021

[GP270watch]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1487247488780316672

Man lost his job, his life, widowed his wife and left 4 children fatherless, crazy.

 More police died of Covid-19 the past 2 years than anything else, this is the deadliest thing going for cops.

I can certainly sympathize with his family, given my own father's death back in November. But exactly how many law enforcement officers have died from the virus? I've never seen any figures.

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death among U.S. police officers in 2021, a report says.

A total of 458 officers died in the line of duty in the country last year, making it the deadliest year in more than 90 years and a 55 percent increase from 2020, according to preliminary data compiled by the organization. Of those, it found that 301 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers had died because of Covid-19.

 

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

OK, but how many of the current deaths are among fully vaccinated people?

And why is this stat not reported everywhere any time covid deaths are reported?

COVID-19 Incidence and Death Rates Among Unvaccinated and Fully Vaccinated Adults with and Without Booster Doses During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Emergence — 25 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–December 25, 2021

Thanks, this is very helpful information!

It is mostly pre-Omicron, but it reports that the weekly death rate for boosted people during the delta surge was one per million.  

The total number of deaths for boosted people under age 50 during the delta surge was five people.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Worldometer says Florida is averaging only 29 per day, and is declining.

Please tell me that you are not this dumb.

Just a few minutes ago, it fell to 22.

You know the BlueAnon crowd will jump in and claim that it's somehow fake.

There is clearly something wrong with Florida's data, whether it's intentional or not. Texas has 7x deaths per capita in the last week under mostly similar climate and leadership.

Could be simply on a different part of the curve.

[emailking]

Pfizer could submit for EUA for two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 5 as soon as today

Pfizer is expected to seek authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration as soon as today for its Covid-19 vaccine for children age 6 months up to 5 years, a person familiar with the plan says.

The company will ask the agency to grant emergency use authorization for a two-dose regimen of its product while continuing to test three doses in this younger age group, the person said.

Pfizer was encouraged to seek authorization for the two doses by federal regulators, who hope it can be granted by late February. Waiting on data for three doses could extend the wait until March.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is already authorized for use in people as young as 5, and if authorized, this shot would be the first Covid-19 vaccine available for the youngest children.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine-eua-request-younger-children/index.html

[BlueSwan]

Day 1 of no restrictions here in Denmark. Feels great. Case numbers are extremely high - more than 40k a day (10 times more than the peak last winter)- but basically nobody gets seriously sick from Omicron here. The total number of people in intensive care is now a paltry 28 persons and is now the lowest since october, which was pre-Omicron. Basically, we have had record high infections throughout january while at the very same time the number of infected in intensive care has fallen by 60%. This is because basically everybody who needed intensive care from COVID had the Delta variant and now that we basically only have Omicron nobody needs intensive care anymore. The remaining 28 are mostly NOT there because of their Omicron infection, but just happen to have it. This is even more pronounced when you look at deaths, where pretty much everyone currently registrered as dying from COVID is actually dying WITH COVID instead, unlike earlier in the pandemic.  

I have supported restrictions and mandates since the beginning, but people need to start to realize that the Omicron variant really isn't very dangerous and that we have ALL the medical tools to combat this disease now in vaccines and therapeutics (most notably Paxlovid from Pfizer). I have no idea why other countries aren't doing like Denmark and the UK at this point. I imagine it has to be right around the corner.

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that all restrictions were dropped by a united parliament. All parties/groups in parliament supported it, from the far left to the far right.

[GP270watch]

Day 1 of no restrictions here in Denmark. Feels great. Case numbers are extremely high - more than 40k a day (10 times more than the peak last winter)- but basically nobody gets seriously sick from Omicron here. The total number of people in intensive care is now a paltry 28 persons and is now the lowest since october, which was pre-Omicron. Basically, we have had record high infections throughout january while at the very same time the number of infected in intensive care has fallen by 60%. This is because basically everybody who needed intensive care from COVID had the Delta variant and now that we basically only have Omicron nobody needs intensive care anymore. The remaining 28 are mostly NOT there because of their Omicron infection, but just happen to have it. This is even more pronounced when you look at deaths, where pretty much everyone currently registrered as dying from COVID is actually dying WITH COVID instead, unlike earlier in the pandemic.  

I have supported restrictions and mandates since the beginning, but people need to start to realize that the Omicron variant really isn't very dangerous and that we have ALL the medical tools to combat this disease now in vaccines and therapeutics (most notably Paxlovid from Pfizer). I have no idea why other countries aren't doing like Denmark and the UK at this point. I imagine it has to be right around the corner.

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

 The Dominican Republic opened up travel to foreigners with very few restrictions but they organized a national campaign to vaccinate every hospitality worker that is expected to interact with tourist. So they prioritized vaccinating some 174,000 people. So far this has worked, tourism is rebounding to record levels and the death rate and cases is lower than United States and many of the European countries the travelers are coming from.

Why Is Everyone Going to the Dominican Republic?

[Calthrina950]

This is an interesting article about the criticism which has been directed at HHS Secretary Becerra. The primary criticisms of Becerra seem to be that he has not been visible enough in leading the Department's pandemic response efforts, that he has failed to coordinate matters between the various agencies and officials within the Department, and that he's blocked some policy moves that have been broadly supported by many administrative and public health officials.

Fauci, Walensky, and Murthy all are subordinates of Becerra, and are supposed to report to him. But instead, they have reported to Jeff Zients, a close adviser of Biden's and the Administration's pandemic coordinator. Zients has taken up many of the responsibilities which are traditionally exercised by Becerra. Becerra has made very few media appearances since taking office, far fewer than his predecessors Azar, Burwell, and Sebelius, and some within the Department believe that he hasn't provided clear enough direction on its policy priorities. And now, there are some within the Administration who want to fire Becerra. But given the situation with Breyer's seat, the closely divided Senate, and other political considerations, such move is not considered feasible.

I've said before that Biden's cabinet nominees have been thoroughly unimpressive, and someone other than Becerra should have been made HHS Secretary. He's always come across as arrogant and as close-minded to me.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

Democrats are not insisting on heavy restrictions.  Just mask mandates and vaccine mandates.  Mask mandates are a very cheap and easy way to limit spread of the virus.  Vaccine mandates are a very cheap and easy way to ensure that if you do get Omicron, it's just like the flu, instead of killing you.  These are both good things to continue to insist on for as long as Omicron case numbers are surging.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

Democrats are not insisting on heavy restrictions.  Just mask mandates and vaccine mandates.  Mask mandates are a very cheap and easy way to limit spread of the virus.  Vaccine mandates are a very cheap and easy way to ensure that if you do get Omicron, it's just like the flu, instead of killing you.  These are both good things to continue to insist on for as long as Omicron case numbers are surging.

Sounds like Democrats definitely "are gonna get killed" in midterms then.

[DINGO Joe]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1487247488780316672

Man lost his job, his life, widowed his wife and left 4 children fatherless, crazy.

 More police died of Covid-19 the past 2 years than anything else, this is the deadliest thing going for cops.

I can certainly sympathize with his family, given my own father's death back in November. But exactly how many law enforcement officers have died from the virus? I've never seen any figures.

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death among U.S. police officers in 2021, a report says.

A total of 458 officers died in the line of duty in the country last year, making it the deadliest year in more than 90 years and a 55 percent increase from 2020, according to preliminary data compiled by the organization. Of those, it found that 301 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers had died because of Covid-19.

 

Of course, Mr Lemay wasn't a police officer when he died of Covid

[Mr. Illini]

Day 1 of no restrictions here in Denmark. Feels great. Case numbers are extremely high - more than 40k a day (10 times more than the peak last winter)- but basically nobody gets seriously sick from Omicron here. The total number of people in intensive care is now a paltry 28 persons and is now the lowest since october, which was pre-Omicron. Basically, we have had record high infections throughout january while at the very same time the number of infected in intensive care has fallen by 60%. This is because basically everybody who needed intensive care from COVID had the Delta variant and now that we basically only have Omicron nobody needs intensive care anymore. The remaining 28 are mostly NOT there because of their Omicron infection, but just happen to have it. This is even more pronounced when you look at deaths, where pretty much everyone currently registrered as dying from COVID is actually dying WITH COVID instead, unlike earlier in the pandemic.  

I have supported restrictions and mandates since the beginning, but people need to start to realize that the Omicron variant really isn't very dangerous and that we have ALL the medical tools to combat this disease now in vaccines and therapeutics (most notably Paxlovid from Pfizer). I have no idea why other countries aren't doing like Denmark and the UK at this point. I imagine it has to be right around the corner.

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that all restrictions were dropped by a united parliament. All parties/groups in parliament supported it, from the far left to the far right.

Our situation is complicated by higher numbers of deaths we’re seeing. It’s not clear whether this is because of lower vaccination numbers, stronger presence of comorbidities, or other things, but it’s giving our leaders pause.

I suspect it is coming in the next few weeks, though. We’ve already seen public health leaders giving the signals.

[Hammy]

Our situation is complicated by higher numbers of deaths we’re seeing. It’s not clear whether this is because of lower vaccination numbers, stronger presence of comorbidities, or other things, but it’s giving our leaders pause.

There are still roughly 40 million people in the US that haven't received any of the vaccine (and many more who have received one dose) so the size of that population--even absent any other factors--is going to see high numbers of deaths given the rate of spread.

[Roll Roons]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.
https://twitter.com/alaynatreene/status/1488646102618361859

[GregTheGreat657]

Day 1 of no restrictions here in Denmark. Feels great. Case numbers are extremely high - more than 40k a day (10 times more than the peak last winter)- but basically nobody gets seriously sick from Omicron here. The total number of people in intensive care is now a paltry 28 persons and is now the lowest since october, which was pre-Omicron. Basically, we have had record high infections throughout january while at the very same time the number of infected in intensive care has fallen by 60%. This is because basically everybody who needed intensive care from COVID had the Delta variant and now that we basically only have Omicron nobody needs intensive care anymore. The remaining 28 are mostly NOT there because of their Omicron infection, but just happen to have it. This is even more pronounced when you look at deaths, where pretty much everyone currently registrered as dying from COVID is actually dying WITH COVID instead, unlike earlier in the pandemic.  

I have supported restrictions and mandates since the beginning, but people need to start to realize that the Omicron variant really isn't very dangerous and that we have ALL the medical tools to combat this disease now in vaccines and therapeutics (most notably Paxlovid from Pfizer). I have no idea why other countries aren't doing like Denmark and the UK at this point. I imagine it has to be right around the corner.

Also, from a political perspective, democrats are gonna get killed if they insist on heavy restrictions way after they cease to be necessary.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that all restrictions were dropped by a united parliament. All parties/groups in parliament supported it, from the far left to the far right.

Our situation is complicated by higher numbers of deaths we’re seeing. It’s not clear whether this is because of lower vaccination numbers, stronger presence of comorbidities, or other things, but it’s giving our leaders pause.

I suspect it is coming in the next few weeks, though. We’ve already seen public health leaders giving the signals.

NY seems to be doubling down on restrictions despite the fact that Omicron peaked here three weeks ago, and now we are basically at the same case levels as we had when this mask mandate was put into effect, supposedly just to stop the holiday surge

[Calthrina950]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.
https://twitter.com/alaynatreene/status/1488646102618361859

Pelosi is still behaving like it's March 2020. And this is just another example of why she's well past her welcome. But unfortunately, it seems like she's determined to break Rayburn's record for congressional leadership tenure.

[GregTheGreat657]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.
https://twitter.com/alaynatreene/status/1488646102618361859

Pelosi is still behaving like it's March 2020. And this is just another example of why she's well past her welcome. But unfortunately, it seems like she's determined to break Rayburn's record for congressional leadership tenure.

I agree with the general sentiment of this post, but I believe Pelosi was too busy telling people to go to Chinatown in the first half of the month, and blaming Trump in the second half

[It’s so Joever]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.
https://twitter.com/alaynatreene/status/1488646102618361859

Pelosi is still behaving like it's March 2020. And this is just another example of why she's well past her welcome. But unfortunately, it seems like she's determined to break Rayburn's record for congressional leadership tenure.

I agree with the general sentiment of this post, but I believe Pelosi was too busy telling people to go to Chinatown in the first half of the month, and blaming Trump in the second half

What does Chinatown have to do with Covid?

[emailking]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.

I don't think SOTU attendance will affect the midterms.

[Calthrina950]

Sweet Jesus. 2010 will look like a puddle.

I don't think SOTU attendance will affect the midterms.

No, but the protocols Pelosi seems to be implementing make no sense at this point. Almost all of those in attendance will be vaccinated, and almost all will be boosted. And we've had large games and other such events be held for some time now.