COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[beaver2.0]

Obviously I'd prefer it be higher, but 64% is still a whole lot better than 0%. 

I'm also curious to know what the severity of illness with the vaccine is.  It seems that information would be just as useful as the transmission rate.

[beaver2.0]

I am curious to know at this point what the endgame is.  Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me like there are no populations left that are planning on getting the vaccine en masse but have not yet done so.  I’m sure the percentage of people vaccinated will continue to rise, but not quickly.  I imagine that, sans large-scale mandates, there is going to be a large population (30%) that remains unvaccinated.  Won’t the virus stay in this pool of people and continue to mutate?

I also wonder at the efficacy of a new mask mandate.  Given that many of the unvaccinated people the mandate ostensibly exists to protect are likely to go maskless, how effective will it be if most of the people wearing masks are already vaccinated?

This is not meant to start an argument, just some musings.

[beaver2.0]

Edited: Today at 06_59_23 PM by YE

Before YE edited a post, we have people (someone) here literally saying that "it's probably good for society anyway, that people who are unvaccinated, die" (paraphrasing).
Some of you here, really need to take a break.

If you have chosen time and time again to not get the vaccine, I can only assume you don't care about your own life. Why should we base our policies around protecting those who outright refuse to protect themselves?

I agree.  I certainly do not want to leave the unvaccinated out to dry but on the other hand, when people have a solution available and do not take it, is it reasonable for the rest of society to accommodate them?  I'd also add that this doesn't appear to be a short-term thing.  There's no reason to believe that there will not be a significant percentage of Americans that do not ever vaccinate.

One issue I see here is the fact that the virus will mutate among the unvaccinated and potentially jump to the vaccinated and kill.  And then there's also the fact that there really are some people (children, especially) that are unvaccinated at the moment through no fault of their own and potentially in danger.

[beaver2.0]

Edited: Today at 06_59_23 PM by YE

Before YE edited a post, we have people (someone) here literally saying that "it's probably good for society anyway, that people who are unvaccinated, die" (paraphrasing).
Some of you here, really need to take a break.

If you have chosen time and time again to not get the vaccine, I can only assume you don't care about your own life. Why should we base our policies around protecting those who outright refuse to protect themselves?

I agree.  I certainly do not want to leave the unvaccinated out to dry but on the other hand, when people have a solution available and do not take it, is it reasonable for the rest of society to accommodate them?  I'd also add that this doesn't appear to be a short-term thing.  There's no reason to believe that there will not be a significant percentage of Americans that do not ever vaccinate.

One issue I see here is the fact that the virus will mutate among the unvaccinated and potentially jump to the vaccinated and kill.  And then there's also the fact that there really are some people (children, especially) that are unvaccinated at the moment through no fault of their own and potentially in danger.

You do a good job of outlining a lot of the conflicting priorities here, both morally and practically. On one hand, I think we should generally have a vested interest in preserving human life, even the lives of those who may make poor decisions. But to what extent do the rest of us postpone normalcy for the sake of that cause, esepcially when the way forward for these individuals is so painfully obvious?

Even if we decide that unvaccinated people deserve every ounce of suffering they may incur from COVID and that the vaccinated shouldn't put up with even the slightest inconvenience to potentially save some of their lives, the vaccinated will continue to feel the consequences of a heightened prevalence of COVID. As you mentioned, the threat of mutation is a very pressing threat to the efficacy of our vaccines. Additionally, the general burden that COVID places on the healthcare system hurts everyone, not just those who end up in the ICU.

It’s a very difficult question to me, and it’s frustrating because we have the ability to vaccinate everyone but it’s not happening.

I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough to say what we should or shouldn’t do going forward, but from my perspective, it’s just very annoying that as a society we are being held back by a small group.

[beaver2.0]

Just curious…

Any vaccinated people starting wearing masks again when going out?  Any choosing not to mask up?

Yes but where it is required and it seems that it's required almost everywhere here.  I've been to the Costco food court and had lunch there a number of times and (obviously) not worn a mask.