COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[RINO Tom]

I will say the double masking and requiring masks even outdoors in Peru has done nothing to slow the spread there.

Wearing a mask outdoors is hysterical behavior that has much more in common with a phobia than “being cautious.”

I stay far away from people who wear masks outdoors. They're obviously not quite right in the head.

I hope wearing a mask in the parking lot is OK with you guys. Because I do that.

It's VERY important that they wait until they're 2 feet in the door or an establishment before putting the mask on, otherwise they aren't virtue signalling to everybody that they aren't a lib.

In Scandinavia, wearing masks outside has more or less never been a thing (and would look utterly bizarre to most people), nor has wearing masks in schools ever been widespread. All restrictions have now been removed, and somehow society hasn't collapsed. It's really fascinating (and sad) observing the mass hysteria so widespread among American leftists.

Sad stuff. I really love Scandinavia and Finland, but I love science more.

You’re not following science still wanting COVID restrictions.  Seriously, see a therapist, because you’ve wrapped up way too much of yourself in ~taking COVID seriously~.  For vaccinated people who aren’t utterly irrational, it’s O-V-E-R.

[MATTROSE94]

I will say the double masking and requiring masks even outdoors in Peru has done nothing to slow the spread there.

The weirdest I’ve seen is a lot of higher risk people doubling or even tripling up ineffective masks like neck gators and the blue surgical masks. It puzzles me why they don’t just use an N95 if they are that worried.

The effective combination should be cloth mask on top, surgical mask underneath. The main issue with surgical masks is that they have large gaps on the sides and the bottom, so if you put the cloth mask on top of the surgical mask it seals up the gaps and the result is an effective double mask. I remember in late 2020 estimates had the double mask at 80-90% effectiveness at filtration.

N95 masks are still a lot more effective than doubling up cloth and surgical masks. If people are that worried, N95s make more sense to protect them better.

[T'Chenka]

You’re not following science still wanting COVID restrictions.  Seriously, see a therapist, because you’ve wrapped up way too much of yourself in ~taking COVID seriously~.  For vaccinated people who aren’t utterly irrational, it’s O-V-E-R.

It's PROBABLY over / ending. Not for sure. Scientists have not come out and said it's over. You shouldn't expect reasonable people to trust your words more than the words of the scientific community. I certainly won't.

[compucomp]

I will say the double masking and requiring masks even outdoors in Peru has done nothing to slow the spread there.

Wearing a mask outdoors is hysterical behavior that has much more in common with a phobia than “being cautious.”

I stay far away from people who wear masks outdoors. They're obviously not quite right in the head.

I hope wearing a mask in the parking lot is OK with you guys. Because I do that.

It's VERY important that they wait until they're 2 feet in the door or an establishment before putting the mask on, otherwise they aren't virtue signalling to everybody that they aren't a lib.

In Scandinavia, wearing masks outside has more or less never been a thing (and would look utterly bizarre to most people), nor has wearing masks in schools ever been widespread. All restrictions have now been removed, and somehow society hasn't collapsed. It's really fascinating (and sad) observing the mass hysteria so widespread among American leftists.

Sad stuff. I really love Scandinavia and Finland, but I love science more.

You’re not following science still wanting COVID restrictions.  Seriously, see a therapist, because you’ve wrapped up way too much of yourself in ~taking COVID seriously~.  For vaccinated people who aren’t utterly irrational, it’s O-V-E-R.

You seem quite confident in this. If you really think that people who continue to take COVID seriously are insane, then put your money where your mouth is. At this moment, the 7 day average of COVID hospitalizations as tracked by the CDC is 91,650. I make you a bet. If this number ever reaches 100,000 before Jan. 1, 2023, then you leave the forum for a year. If it doesn't, then I leave the forum for a year. Deal or no deal?

Fine Print: If any state or the CDC stops reporting COVID cases or hospitalizations, then the bet is cancelled. If the standard for COVID hospitalization, which is presently "Counts of new admissions and hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19", changes the bet is cancelled. The page says "based on reporting from all hospitals (N = 5266)", if this number drops below 5000, the bet is cancelled.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations

[Meclazine for Israel]

Woman crashes into anti-mandate protesters car.

Canberra Incident

https://youtu.be/IBDju70r0s0

It was part of a larger anti-vaxx movement protest in Canberra.

[T'Chenka]

Woman crashes into anti-mandate protesters car.

Canberra Incident

https://youtu.be/IBDju70r0s0

It was part of a larger anti-vaxx movement protest in Canberra.

Great, now they won't have to reach for BLM to do whataboutism. Just perfect.

[jamestroll]

People are tired of all these idiot scientists, teachers, health professionals etc on the pandemic. We need to move on with our lives.

[T'Chenka]

People are tired of all these idiot scientists, teachers, health professionals etc on the pandemic. We need to move on with our lives.

It's never happening. Just accept it. Going forward, states are more likely to let strippers remove their panties / banana hammocks then their masks.

[Pericles]

I genuinely hope masks stay as a fashion thing. Not because I like it, but ONLY because it will be a very slight bit of joy in an otherwise dark time (the early RP state will be the worst prolly) to see the conservatives getting upset.

Yes my parents may be gone, I may be in a cell, but at least the cons will be a bit triggered.

Study: Masks make people look more attractive. I wouldn't know if this is accurate, but I know for some people the area covered by the mask is less attractive than the rest of their face.

[It’s so Joever]

I will say the double masking and requiring masks even outdoors in Peru has done nothing to slow the spread there.

Wearing a mask outdoors is hysterical behavior that has much more in common with a phobia than “being cautious.”

I stay far away from people who wear masks outdoors. They're obviously not quite right in the head.

I hope wearing a mask in the parking lot is OK with you guys. Because I do that.

It's VERY important that they wait until they're 2 feet in the door or an establishment before putting the mask on, otherwise they aren't virtue signalling to everybody that they aren't a lib.

In Scandinavia, wearing masks outside has more or less never been a thing (and would look utterly bizarre to most people), nor has wearing masks in schools ever been widespread. All restrictions have now been removed, and somehow society hasn't collapsed. It's really fascinating (and sad) observing the mass hysteria so widespread among American leftists.

Sad stuff. I really love Scandinavia and Finland, but I love science more.

You’re not following science still wanting COVID restrictions.  Seriously, see a therapist, because you’ve wrapped up way too much of yourself in ~taking COVID seriously~.  For vaccinated people who aren’t utterly irrational, it’s O-V-E-R.

The only guy who needs to see a therapist is the Georgian who cries when he sees someone with a mask on.

[Donerail]

Yes my parents may be gone, I may be in a cell, but at least the cons will be a bit triggered.

we're throwing it around a lot over the last few posts but you should genuinely see a therapist, it's not healthy to be this detached from reality

[emailking]

I genuinely hope masks stay as a fashion thing. Not because I like it, but ONLY because it will be a very slight bit of joy in an otherwise dark time (the early RP state will be the worst prolly) to see the conservatives getting upset.

Yes my parents may be gone, I may be in a cell, but at least the cons will be a bit triggered.

Study: Masks make people look more attractive. I wouldn't know if this is accurate, but I know for some people the area covered by the mask is less attractive than the rest of their face.

I like how I don't have to shave for work lol.

[Oakvale]

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1492290872096043026

Was astonished to run across this today. A news organisation literally just posting a moralising, pro-restrictions Twitter thread without any pretence of balance. Enemies of the people indeed.

[Horus]

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1492290872096043026

Was astonished to run across this today. A news organisation literally just posting a moralising, pro-restrictions Twitter thread without any pretence of balance. Enemies of the people indeed.

One of my best friends literally has cancer, takes chemo every two weeks and has a multitude of other issues that weaken his immune system too. But he understands that masks were a temporary measure and doesn't throw a tantrum when he sees maskless people at the store like the hypochondriac white chick or neurotic COVID mom in that piece probably do.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I wouldn't know if this is accurate, but I know for some people the area covered by the mask is less attractive than the rest of their face.

I shouldn't be forced to wear a mask just because of other people's insecurities.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

One of my best friends literally has cancer, takes chemo every two weeks and has a multitude of other issues that weaken his immune system too. But he understands that masks were a temporary measure and doesn't throw a tantrum when he sees maskless people at the store like the hypochondriac white chick or neurotic COVID mom in that piece probably do.

I have heart and kidney disease, so I probably would have been at severe risk if I had caught one of the earlier variants. Yet I also wouldn't demand that people wear masks. People weren't wearing masks before, so why would I demand it now?

If masks worked so well, why do we still have so many cases? What's the point of wearing masks if they don't work?

If someone else wants to wear a mask, I guess it's their decision. But masks promote fear, and I don't want to live in a society full of faceless drones just bumbling around in terror.

[compucomp]

One of my best friends literally has cancer, takes chemo every two weeks and has a multitude of other issues that weaken his immune system too. But he understands that masks were a temporary measure and doesn't throw a tantrum when he sees maskless people at the store like the hypochondriac white chick or neurotic COVID mom in that piece probably do.

I have heart and kidney disease, so I probably would have been at severe risk if I had caught one of the earlier variants. Yet I also wouldn't demand that people wear masks. People weren't wearing masks before, so why would I demand it now?

If masks worked so well, why do we still have so many cases? What's the point of wearing masks if they don't work?

If someone else wants to wear a mask, I guess it's their decision. But masks promote fear, and I don't want to live in a society full of faceless drones just bumbling around in terror.

In the controlled environment of schools, masks do work. In the real world where mask mandates have exceptions for food/drink establishments and private gatherings, most spread happens there and it looks like the mask mandate is not effective.

I will say the double masking and requiring masks even outdoors in Peru has done nothing to slow the spread there.

Wearing a mask outdoors is hysterical behavior that has much more in common with a phobia than “being cautious.”

I stay far away from people who wear masks outdoors. They're obviously not quite right in the head.

I hope wearing a mask in the parking lot is OK with you guys. Because I do that.

It's VERY important that they wait until they're 2 feet in the door or an establishment before putting the mask on, otherwise they aren't virtue signalling to everybody that they aren't a lib.

In Scandinavia, wearing masks outside has more or less never been a thing (and would look utterly bizarre to most people), nor has wearing masks in schools ever been widespread. All restrictions have now been removed, and somehow society hasn't collapsed. It's really fascinating (and sad) observing the mass hysteria so widespread among American leftists.

Sad stuff. I really love Scandinavia and Finland, but I love science more.

You’re not following science still wanting COVID restrictions.  Seriously, see a therapist, because you’ve wrapped up way too much of yourself in ~taking COVID seriously~.  For vaccinated people who aren’t utterly irrational, it’s O-V-E-R.

You seem quite confident in this. If you really think that people who continue to take COVID seriously are insane, then put your money where your mouth is. At this moment, the 7 day average of COVID hospitalizations as tracked by the CDC is 91,650. I make you a bet. If this number ever reaches 100,000 before Jan. 1, 2023, then you leave the forum for a year. If it doesn't, then I leave the forum for a year. Deal or no deal?

Fine Print: If any state or the CDC stops reporting COVID cases or hospitalizations, then the bet is cancelled. If the standard for COVID hospitalization, which is presently "Counts of new admissions and hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19", changes the bet is cancelled. The page says "based on reporting from all hospitals (N = 5266)", if this number drops below 5000, the bet is cancelled.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations

This bet is open to anyone who wants to take it. If you all really believe that COVID is not a threat, that the pandemic is over, and we should return to 2019, then surely COVID won't be sending people to the hospital at this level again, right?

[Bandit3 the Worker]

In the controlled environment of schools, masks do work. In the real world where mask mandates have exceptions for food/drink establishments and private gatherings, most spread happens there and it looks like the mask mandate is not effective.

So it works in military dictatorships, not in liberal democracies.

[Tintrlvr]

This bet is open to anyone who wants to take it. If you all really believe that COVID is not a threat, that the pandemic is over, and we should return to 2019, then surely COVID won't be sending people to the hospital at this level again, right?

The huge problem with your scenario is that a very large portion of reported hospitalizations are not COVID sending people to the hospital but rather people showing up to the hospital with some other issue and testing positive for COVID, often asymptomatic or with only very mild symptoms.

Being "not a threat" means that, if you are vaccinated, you are at roughly flu or lower risk of death. That's it. Lots of idiotic unvaccinated people may still die, but we're not trying to protect them with public policy at this point. And, realistically, a small number of vaccinated people will also still die, but people die from infectious diseases all the time, and we accept a certain low level of death from infectious disease annually without taking socially massive efforts to prevent it.

[compucomp]

This bet is open to anyone who wants to take it. If you all really believe that COVID is not a threat, that the pandemic is over, and we should return to 2019, then surely COVID won't be sending people to the hospital at this level again, right?

The huge problem with your scenario is that a very large portion of reported hospitalizations are not COVID sending people to the hospital but rather people showing up to the hospital with some other issue and testing positive for COVID, often asymptomatic or with only very mild symptoms.

Being "not a threat" means that, if you are vaccinated, you are at roughly flu or lower risk of death. That's it. Lots of idiotic unvaccinated people may still die, but we're not trying to protect them with public policy at this point. And, realistically, a small number of vaccinated people will also still die, but people die from infectious diseases all the time, and we accept a certain low level of death from infectious disease annually without taking socially massive efforts to prevent it.

The first paragraph is wild speculation driven from a lack of information, and the pieces of information we do have contradict it. In one CDC report published last week, a California hospital found that 80 percent of its patients came into the facility for Covid-19 and 20 percent were admitted “primarily for non–COVID-19 conditions.” NY state did an accounting one day in January and found that about half of its COVID hospitalizations were caused by COVID and the rest were "with COVID". This is not the "very large number" you are looking for.

If hospitals are full of COVID patients, the quality of medical services degrades for everyone. Ambulances sit at hospitals for hours waiting for space and non-emergency care is delayed. Also this will drive up the medical costs for everyone in the medium and long term. This is still a threat that should be taken seriously, particularly since we all know that  later booster uptake will be far short of the uptake for initial vaccine.

[Tintrlvr]

This bet is open to anyone who wants to take it. If you all really believe that COVID is not a threat, that the pandemic is over, and we should return to 2019, then surely COVID won't be sending people to the hospital at this level again, right?

The huge problem with your scenario is that a very large portion of reported hospitalizations are not COVID sending people to the hospital but rather people showing up to the hospital with some other issue and testing positive for COVID, often asymptomatic or with only very mild symptoms.

Being "not a threat" means that, if you are vaccinated, you are at roughly flu or lower risk of death. That's it. Lots of idiotic unvaccinated people may still die, but we're not trying to protect them with public policy at this point. And, realistically, a small number of vaccinated people will also still die, but people die from infectious diseases all the time, and we accept a certain low level of death from infectious disease annually without taking socially massive efforts to prevent it.

The first paragraph is wild speculation driven from a lack of information, and the pieces of information we do have contradict it. In one CDC report published last week, a California hospital found that 80 percent of its patients came into the facility for Covid-19 and 20 percent were admitted “primarily for non–COVID-19 conditions.” NY state did an accounting one day in January and found that about half of its COVID hospitalizations were caused by COVID and the rest were "with COVID". This is not the "very large number" you are looking for.

If hospitals are full of COVID patients, the quality of medical services degrades for everyone. Ambulances sit at hospitals for hours waiting for space and non-emergency care is delayed. Also this will drive up the medical costs for everyone in the medium and long term. This is still a threat that should be taken seriously, particularly since we all know that  later booster uptake will be far short of the uptake for initial vaccine.

Half are "with COVID" is definitely a "very large" portion to me.

[Calthrina950]

There may be some hope yet, as Walmart is dropping its mask mandate for vaccinated employees. Amazon has also discarded the mask mandate for such employees. We may hopefully start to see other "big box" and national employers do the same. I fervently pray that once they are dropped, they don't come back.

[compucomp]

There may be some hope yet, as Walmart is dropping its mask mandate for vaccinated employees. Amazon has also discarded the mask mandate for such employees. We may hopefully start to see other "big box" and national employers do the same. I fervently pray that once they are dropped, they don't come back.

As I predicted, the mask mandate for retail employees was not tied to the CDC but instead to  the assessment of corporate weighing the threat level of COVID and the risk of lawsuits against the pressure to retain employees. So it would be natural for the mask mandates to come and go as the threat level of COVID goes up and down.

[Calthrina950]

There may be some hope yet, as Walmart is dropping its mask mandate for vaccinated employees. Amazon has also discarded the mask mandate for such employees. We may hopefully start to see other "big box" and national employers do the same. I fervently pray that once they are dropped, they don't come back.

As I predicted, the mask mandate for retail employees was not tied to the CDC but instead to  the assessment of corporate weighing the threat level of COVID and the risk of lawsuits against the pressure to retain employees. So it would be natural for the mask mandates to come and go as the threat level of COVID goes up and down.

As I've said before, I don't want for this to be the situation. It's not fair for the employees to be required to mask up when customers aren't required to do so and most of them don't, and it's not fair to force employees into a "revolving door" of restrictions. We must accept that this virus is endemic and we cannot spend the next seventy years revolving our lives around it.

[emailking]

Was astonished to run across this today. A news organisation literally just posting a moralising, pro-restrictions Twitter thread without any pretence of balance. Enemies of the people indeed.

There's nothing wrong with their story. You don't have to agree with the people they're writing about. There have been plenty of stories about the other side. That comparison is absurd.