COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[MATTROSE94]

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This is utterly ridiculous...

LA schools are still going to require masks and testing every few weeks for all students and teachers for this upcoming fall, based on an agreement with the teacher unions and school admins.

https://news.yahoo.com/l-teachers-union-pact-mandates-021918050.html

...even if they’re vaccinated? What is wrong with these teacher’s unions

You can still spread COVID if you are vaccinated. Also, the US will soon be dealing with the Delta variant, which is 5% more vaccine resistant than the Alpha variant and the original COVID wild type strain. I think mask mandates should be permanently in effect for that reason and also that if someone refuses to wear a mask, they should be denied medical care if they contract COVID and require hospitalization.

[MATTROSE94]

‍

This is utterly ridiculous...

LA schools are still going to require masks and testing every few weeks for all students and teachers for this upcoming fall, based on an agreement with the teacher unions and school admins.

https://news.yahoo.com/l-teachers-union-pact-mandates-021918050.html

...even if they’re vaccinated? What is wrong with these teacher’s unions

You can still spread COVID if you are vaccinated. Also, the US will soon be dealing with the Delta variant, which is 5% more vaccine resistant than the Alpha variant and the original COVID wild type strain. I think mask mandates should be permanently in effect for that reason and also that if someone refuses to wear a mask, they should be denied medical care if they contract COVID and require hospitalization.

This is anti vax propaganda.

Not really. The vaccine is meant to protect the person who gets the vaccine from COVID, whereas the mask protects others around them. Just to plat it safe, I think that fully vaccinated people should still be required to wear masks indoors, just like unvaccinated people. Outdoors, I would feel comfortable not wearing a mask.

[MATTROSE94]

Has anyone here actually managed to convince someone who has vaccine hesitancy to get vaccinated?

I got no luck with my relatives in Alabama. (My mother is from Alabama)

I told them that the vaccine was developed when Trump was president and Trump himself is already vaccinated.

That didn't move them an inch.

I convinced some random people on the internet to get the COVID vaccine.

[MATTROSE94]

Not really. The vaccine is meant to protect the person who gets the vaccine from COVID, whereas the mask protects others around them. Just to plat it safe, I think that fully vaccinated people should still be required to wear masks indoors, just like unvaccinated people. Outdoors, I would feel comfortable not wearing a mask.

The CDC says fully vaccinated people don't have to wear masks anymore except in certain settings. So that's good enough for me. I don't wear a mask in stores anymore (fully vaxed).

I guess we respectfully disagree here. I will always remain a radical masker and will continue to get my  advice on COVID from Dr. Fauci, Dr. Leana Wen, Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, and Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who are all strong mask proponents. I feel that masks are a low cost tool that helps vaccinated people protect unvaccinated people.

[MATTROSE94]

I have a Fauci bobble head.

I have the Fauci “We Trust Science” t-shirt as well.

[MATTROSE94]

I have a Fauci bobble head.

I have the Fauci “We Trust Science” t-shirt as well.

I am convinced you are a troll trying to make all people who advocate a strong approach to Covid look bad.

I am actually not. I am very paranoid and anxious about COVID and don’t want to get sick or infect others if I contract it (though the risk of me getting it is low because I am vaccinated). The reason why I am anxious about COVID is because I had a moderately severe case of it last April and almost required hospitalization. I also knew a lot of people who either died of COVID or had a severe illness because of it.

BTW, I remember you were much more vigilant regarding COVID a few months back and shared the same concerns I have about it.

[MATTROSE94]

I have a Fauci bobble head.

I have the Fauci “We Trust Science” t-shirt as well.

I am convinced you are a troll trying to make all people who advocate a strong approach to Covid look bad.

I am actually not. I am very paranoid and anxious about COVID and don’t want to get sick or infect others if I contract it (though the risk of me getting it is low because I am vaccinated). The reason why I am anxious about COVID is because I had a moderately severe case of it last April and almost required hospitalization. I also knew a lot of people who either died of COVID or had a severe illness because of it.

BTW, I remember you were much more vigilant regarding COVID a few months back and shared the same concerns I have about it.

How long do you plan on living like this? I'm not trying to criticize, and there's nothing wrong with continuing to wear a mask, I'm just curious.

Probably until the COVID variants slow down and when cases go down to under 1,000 per day in the US.

[MATTROSE94]

Looking at the numerical trends over the last week and the fantastically low numbers today, this might be the last week of my regular COVID stats posts.

Thanks for your posts! I would probably continue the updates for a bit longer however.

[MATTROSE94]

I saw this in a campaign ad, do Americans (in blue states) actually do this? I mean under 6 y/o children wearing masks in an outdoors playground? I am as pro mask as you can get, but this seems completely insane.

I’ve seen some people drive in their cars alone with masks in my county. I am a radical masker for the most part, but this does seem to be a bit excessive. COVID really doesn’t spread outdoors, so masking outdoors isn’t that necessary.

[MATTROSE94]

How about masking at home?

I don't know anyone who does this either.

I do. As I noted above, I'm being required to wear a mask at home.

That is weird. I only mask up if I am a guest in the home of someone who either hasn’t been vaccinated or if their vaccination status is unknown.

[MATTROSE94]

How about masking at home?

I don't know anyone who does this either.

I do. As I noted above, I'm being required to wear a mask at home.

That is weird. I only mask up if I am a guest in the home of someone who either hasn’t been vaccinated or if their vaccination status is unknown.

Like I've said before, my father isn't comfortable with the situation now, and thinks that the virus is going to have a resurgence. I'm fully vaccinated, but both he and my stepmother still think that I can transmit the virus to them if I catch it.

You father is probably correct in light of the variants, but if you are fully vaccinated there is an almost 100% chance you won’t die from COVID, though there is still a chance you can carry and transmit it to others.

[MATTROSE94]

Anyone else going to wear a cloth mask outside when it’s freezing outside?
I’m tired of my face being cold.

I probably will. Maybe a neck gator as opposed to an N95 mask would work better for me to stay warm.

[MATTROSE94]

I still carry a mask and put it on when using a public restroom.  Greatest discovery ever.

Great idea!

[MATTROSE94]

To his point, I'm not sure what else we can do. Anyone who's not a minor can get vaccinated, for free and pretty soon. The President and the media have been continuously urging people to get vaccinated for months. And most of the people who aren't vaccinated are pretty dug in.

I think that mask mandates could have been used as an incentive to encourage increased vaccinations. The CDC really errored by not pursuing such a policy.

[MATTROSE94]

What we could do is very very easy: implement a national vaccine mandate.

It is absurd that we put up with economic shutdowns for months and a mask mandate for over a year, but we are unwilling to mandate something that will literally just inconvenience people for a few hours but solve the problem completely.

I would be all for a nationwide vaccine mandate, but at least judging by its rulings on other cases regarding COVID restrictions, the Supreme Court would strike down a vaccine mandate in a 5-4 ruling.

[MATTROSE94]

Delta variant is more likely to put a young adult in the hospital, though the chances are still small. If you're vaccinated your chances of that are still very small. This is just what I'm hearing from the doctors on TV.

Uhh....
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1407033868914499585

This information about the Delta variant makes me start favoring the reimplementation of preventative lockdowns.

[MATTROSE94]

The Delta variant has to be taken seriously. It's not just the UK, in Israel which leads the world in vaccinations they are seeing clusters around schools developing among the unvaccinated and it is in turn infecting people who have been fully vaccinated. All countries should step up their vaccine efforts and continue tracking/monitoring and lockdowns in breakout areas.

I think the Biden administration should try to implement a mandatory one year lockdown on all non essential businesses and implement a permanent mask mandate. That will bring case numbers down to about 50 per day and prevent more serious variants from developing at least in the US.

[MATTROSE94]

The Delta variant has to be taken seriously. It's not just the UK, in Israel which leads the world in vaccinations they are seeing clusters around schools developing among the unvaccinated and it is in turn infecting people who have been fully vaccinated. All countries should step up their vaccine efforts and continue tracking/monitoring and lockdowns in breakout areas.

I think the Biden administration should try to implement a mandatory one year lockdown on all non essential businesses and implement a permanent mask mandate. That will bring case numbers down to about 50 per day and prevent more serious variants from developing at least in the US.

Respectfully: no part of this suggestion would work.

It will keep case numbers down and allow the vaccine manufacturers time to develop a better COVID vaccine that can neutralize any potential variants that develop.

[MATTROSE94]

My prediction is that there'll be another wave thanks to the deplorables refusing to get vaccinated. This one will be the worst one.

I agree. It is possible that we end up with 1 million COVID cases per day in a few weeks and that the variant mutates to become 100% impervious to vaccines, thus putting us at square one again.

[MATTROSE94]

My prediction is that there'll be another wave thanks to the deplorables refusing to get vaccinated. This one will be the worst one.

Not. My. Problem. Anymore.

I got both doses of Pfizer months ago, and if they issue new lockdowns and mask mandates, they're just going to have to cram it. What was the point of getting vaccinated if we can't go right back to normal life right away?

Lockdowns are required to become vaccinated infected who will be vulnerable to breakthrough infections that will begin in a few weeks.

[MATTROSE94]

My prediction is that there'll be another wave thanks to the deplorables refusing to get vaccinated. This one will be the worst one.

Not. My. Problem. Anymore.

I got both doses of Pfizer months ago, and if they issue new lockdowns and mask mandates, they're just going to have to cram it. What was the point of getting vaccinated if we can't go right back to normal life right away?

I'm also fully vaccinated with Pfizer, but if enough people continue to get the virus, we'll have a mutation that evades vaccines completely. Trumpers are going to let this happen just to own the libs.

I agree 100%. That is why I still triple mask and wear goggles in public even though I am fully vaccinated. The only solution is to reimplement strict lockdowns in the US that last for a year or two and implement a permanent mask mandate. Both the lockdowns and mask mandates should be enforced by a mandatory prison sentence for anyone who violates it.

[MATTROSE94]

Some of today's posts have GOT to be S***posting.

The MRNA vaccines are a miracle. They've already been able to patch them to turn them into vaccines to completely different diseases. If a variant starts breaking through, they'll do the same and put out a booster.

Look up Eric Feigl-Ding to know the truth about what's going on with the Delta Variant. It is terrifying even for those who are vaccinated,

[MATTROSE94]

I don't think MATTROSE94 is serious. But Eric Feigl-Ding is an absolute charlatan.

All of Eric Feigl-Ding‘s predictions about COVID were 100% correct, so it will be wise for all people to listen to him by continuing to wear high quality, multilayered masks  and by staying at home to stop the spread and flatten the curve.

[MATTROSE94]

I had a co-worker at my job today tell me they might start wearing a mask again because they are concerned about the Delta variant. People seem to be truly terrified over this.

Mask fearmongering has already cost Biden (and Americans) a bit, both economically - it's not a coincidence that CDC:s flip-flop on masks came after disastrous job numbers - and vaccination wise - people didn't have enough incentive to vaccinate themselves.

Let's hope, this time they will follow the science and use it as an incentive for people to vaccinate  themselves, not "force" vaccinated people to mask themselves/stay home out the work/school out of fear because of an idiotic fearmongering a la forumlurker.

lol. Masks saved perhaps 1-2 million lives in the US during the course of COVID.

[MATTROSE94]

Why does there seem to be a reoccurrence of red this week?

When you dip to a point with fewer daily cases than has been seen in over a year, a small increase is inevitable, and the percentages start to get wild. I wouldn’t worry too much about it until we start seeing it consistently for a few weeks.

The UK and Israel which have had fairly good vaccination programs are seeing a rise in Covid Cases. Deaths remain to be seen but it seems unlikely so far

America's vac strategy was mostly Pfizer + Moderna, whereas the UK relied heavily on AZ which needs both doses to be effective against Delta (whereas Pfizer can give you a lot of effectiveness with just one). The death rate will be interesting, yes - if caes are high but deaths are almost non-existant, does that make it any different to the normal flu?

It makes a difference for anti vaxxers. Even though they are largely MAGA and Stop the Steal supporters, we do have an obligation to protect them.