COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Fargobison]

Those numbers mean a ton of people with Covid are going around undetected. There are health care organizations in SD that are begging leadership to listen but they are tone deaf.

In ND mask mandates are starting to happen but a few mayors and city commissioners are being drug kicking and screaming to make it happen.  

[Fargobison]

Trump's closing message on Covid...What a disagrace the man is...

TRUMP: “You know, our doctors get more money if someone dies from COVID, you know that right?”

https://twitter.com/timjhogan/status/1322246965808291840

[Fargobison]

We are in for at least one very dark month and likely more than that. It is scary to think we as a country are going to be facing it as a completely rudderless ship. If Trump loses he won't care and he won't step aside and let people like Birx and Fauci take charge, he is way too arrogant to let that happen. He will likely continue to mock and ridicule them. If he wins it will be all about opening things up and he will push anyone that says different completely out of the picture.

[Fargobison]

We should be locking down in many areas again, sadly it seems like many governors are just going to let covid burn out which will result in many uneeded deaths.

Previously covid was in certain regions of the country, health care resources could flow into those areas especially things like travelling nurses and respiratory therapists but now the needs are so widespread I fear hospitals are going to begin to break.

[Fargobison]

It will be hilarious if the vaccine takes off right after Biden gets inaugurated.

It would be a lot like the Iran hostage crisis being resolved right after Reagan was sworn in.

Just saw that Fauci said that he expects most people that want to get vaccinated will be able to do so within the first four months of 2021, so I expect this to be the case.

[Fargobison]

A very sad thread about the state of virus in the US....

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1326199160719208449

[Fargobison]

What is going on in South Dakota....

https://twitter.com/JesseRodriguez/status/1327036402543042572

[Fargobison]

My governor finally broke down and is putting some restrictions in place now that the hospitals are under massive strain and have put surge protocols in place. Sadly our neighbors to the south will continue to do nothing which is sad...

https://twitter.com/jeremyjturley/status/1327461278181371906

[Fargobison]

58.7% positive rate among those tested for the first time in South Dakota today, 53 deaths. Noem continues her crusade of doing nothing to stop it.

[Fargobison]

Thousands are dying and the president doesn't care at all...

https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1327801029321256966

[Fargobison]

is this a scorched earth policy? Biden entering with 2k dead per day and uncontrolled spread in 48 states?

He did help to get an effective vaccine so not completely scorched Earth, hopefully operation warp speed ends up being the best accomplishment of his presidency.

That said, we should be locking down in some areas right now but that will never happen without another stimulus and him actively pushing for more restrictive measures. So Biden is going to take over in a dark place but we could have a quarter of the population vaccinated a month into his term.

[Fargobison]

How did Trump help to get a vaccine?

Well billions and billions of dollars have been flushed into various companies to develop a vaccine and billions more to distribute it. That did help.

[Fargobison]

What happens if there is a massive spike by now and December 1?

We are in a massive spike, nothing will continue to happen, Trump doesn't care.

[Fargobison]

I vote for Democrats because I support left wing policy.

But why why why why why is the left so pro lockdown?

Why are Democratic Governors and local officials willing to let millions have no income and potentially become homeless just to stop some old people from dying?

No stimulus = no lockdown. And to be frank our national debt is already high enough. The best decision of many bad decisions is to just keep the economy open and no new stimulus.

We might be getting to the point where lockdowns are necessary in some states. The latest stats look really bad.

I want to make it clear: I do not care how many people die from Covid-19 at this point.  With no federal stimulus money it is not worth leaving millions and millions homeless and incomeless just to keep some old people from dying. Let them die. I hate to say that but it is true. Do not destroy everyone's livelihoods permanently.

Of course, this discussion could be outdated in a few months. Vaccinations of even only the most vulnerable populations will be a major factor in allowing the economy to move again.

It'd only be for a few weeks so the hospitals don't get completely overloaded during the Winter. This wouldn't be permanent. Things will get much better in the Spring, but we could be headed for a very, very dark winter if we don't act fast.


And this is coming from someone who has largely advocated for re-opening the country for much of the year. The huge case surge during Winter is very, very concerning

again the pro lockdown nazis always side step my concerns about leaving millions of people without ZERO income even for a short period.

Pro lockdown nazi? I've been advocating for re-opening the country since May. But sometimes the facts change; we have a massive COVID surge during the most deadly time of the year in terms of illness. I just think certain areas in places like South Dakota might have to do a temporary lockdown just so there isn't mass death.

Obviously it should be paired with stimulus checks

Noem won't even put a mask mandate in place, she won't lift a finger. She is worse than Trump in not caring about Covid, so I doubt anything will change in SD. She would actively fight a lockdown unless her godking Trump issued it.

[Fargobison]

Some good news...immunity might be longer lasting than previously thought...

https://twitter.com/apoorva_nyc/status/1328751557719040001

[Fargobison]

Our governor issued a mask mandates and multiple public officials in western ND have said they won't enforce it, I can't even imagine what would happen with a lockdown. There would be a revolt even if the governor was on board.

[Fargobison]

Pfizer is getting close to asking for authorization....

https://twitter.com/rickberke/status/1328798655797743617

[Fargobison]

A shut down would be pretty pointless by the time Biden gets into office, since at that point a majority of the most at-risk and most exposed populations should have had the opportunity to been vaccinated.

Biden's main job is going to be getting people to take the vaccine. The double dose makes it tougher since it sounds like the it is going to come with some moderate symptoms that could make people feel like crap for a day or two.

[Fargobison]

You really just can't make make up the level of incompetence that is this adminstration.

[Fargobison]

Vaccinating the people in nursing homes alone will have a major effect. That combined with protecting health care workers will help with the hospital capacity crunch a ton.

I also wonder at what level do things start to drop on their own. Seems like the Dakotas are hitting some kind of natural slowdown where the virus is having a harder time spreading. It is still lingering but cases and hospitilzations have really fallen off in ND.

Of course both states have some advantages in their lack of density.

[Fargobison]

I do wonder if smaller doses would be effective in younger people but of course that would need to be studied more. I get my second dose tomorrow, first dose went ok outside of some chills and of course the sore arm. I don't agree with the one dose idea though, especially with the older population whose immune system is not as robust as a younger people. Two full doses are critical for that population.

It is amazing to see what has happened with Covid up here, we were in a meltdown just prior to Thanksgiving and now there are hardly more than 10 active covid patients in a hospital that had over 200 at our peak that I work at.

Some restrictions will be loosening here, mask mandate still in place though.

[Fargobison]

I do wonder if smaller doses would be effective in younger people but of course that would need to be studied more. I get my second dose tomorrow, first dose went ok outside of some chills and of course the sore arm. I don't agree with the one dose idea though, especially with the older population whose immune system is not as robust as a younger people. Two full doses are critical for that population.

It is amazing to see what has happened with Covid up here, we were in a meltdown just prior to Thanksgiving and now there are hardly more than 10 active covid patients in a hospital that had over 200 at our peak that I work at.

Some restrictions will be loosening here, mask mandate still in place though.

Glad it's gotten so much better. Wonder what happened, since it seems like there was improvement even before the vaccine got distributed.

It burned through the state so fast and with such ferocity I think we missed a ton of positives. The states lack of density plus perhaps 30-40% of people getting the virus and more people finally realizing that a mask might be a good idea may have really beat it down. I just hope we can get the vaccine out to the nursing and group homes fast enough to avoid another wave.  

[Fargobison]

The number of new cases is going down.

Great news! The farmers are getting the blizzards that their crops need in Michigan, driving conditions are getting hazardous, and people won't be out and about spreading COVID-19.

Deaths from COVID-19 are a lagging indicator, although they remain a tragedy. The Grim Reaper has taken more lives in America now than the population of Miami (42nd-largest city in the USA) from COVID-19 alone.

Wear the d@mn mask if you do go out!  

Maybe the vaccines are starting to help, though I think we are going to experience a very potent wave in a few weeks due to the variants (which are vaccine-resistant, can reinfect people, and have a much higher mortality rate).

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective. Even with a loss of effectiveness due to new strains, it should still at least be 80% effective. The idea that new variants are going to make the vaccines useless is fear mongering.

Some of the data I have read mentions that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are only 66-72% effective against the UK strain and only 49-57% effective against the South African and Brazilian strains. With how much COVID has spread worldwide over the past year, there are likely thousands of other variants as well, which could be a problem for the vaccines.

Pfizer is just as good against the UK strain as it is the orginal strain.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-pfizer-vaccine-effective-covid-u-k-strain-1.9507594

Even if you look at the SA strain, people that have been vaccinated my get Covid but are not dying and are not even being hospitlized. They are limiting severe disease very well.

The UK strain has been in the US for well over a month now....Where is the uncontrolled spread? In states like CO where it was first found, Covid is trending down which to me seems kind of odd of if it is as contagious as they say.

[Fargobison]

The number of new cases is going down.

Great news! The farmers are getting the blizzards that their crops need in Michigan, driving conditions are getting hazardous, and people won't be out and about spreading COVID-19.

Deaths from COVID-19 are a lagging indicator, although they remain a tragedy. The Grim Reaper has taken more lives in America now than the population of Miami (42nd-largest city in the USA) from COVID-19 alone.

Wear the d@mn mask if you do go out!  

Maybe the vaccines are starting to help, though I think we are going to experience a very potent wave in a few weeks due to the variants (which are vaccine-resistant, can reinfect people, and have a much higher mortality rate).

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective. Even with a loss of effectiveness due to new strains, it should still at least be 80% effective. The idea that new variants are going to make the vaccines useless is fear mongering.

Some of the data I have read mentions that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are only 66-72% effective against the UK strain and only 49-57% effective against the South African and Brazilian strains. With how much COVID has spread worldwide over the past year, there are likely thousands of other variants as well, which could be a problem for the vaccines.

Pfizer is just as good against the UK strain as it is the orginal strain.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-pfizer-vaccine-effective-covid-u-k-strain-1.9507594

Even if you look at the SA strain, people that have been vaccinated my get Covid but are not dying and are not even being hospitlized. They are limiting severe disease very well.

The UK strain has been in the US for well over a month now....Where is the uncontrolled spread? In states like CO where it was first found, Covid is trending down which to me seems kind of odd of it is as contagious as they say.

Thanks for the clarification! I am definitely a COVID doomer and fear the spread of the disease. It seems that media sources such as CNN, MSNBC, and online blogs are giving into hysteria by always mentioning the COVID strains.

Sadly the media loves to senastionalize things, especially with Covid. This is one of my favorite tweets as of late, show how effective the vaccines are when it comes to preventing severe disease.

https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1356079020878786561

[Fargobison]

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1418274325405241350

It is hard for some to make educated decisions when they have been lied to for months on end about this thing. So many outlets have given complete clowns like Alex Berenson and Charlie Kirk a megaphone.