COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[T'Chenka]

Isn't it funny that a lot of the statements Trump made in 2020.. make a lot of sense in the Omicron era

SLOW THE TESTING DOWN

ITS JUST LIKE THE FLU

ITS JUST THE SNIFFLES

IT WILL ONE DAY DISAPPEAR

haha

So, what's your explanation for all the dead bodies?

Based on my convos with him, he doesn't have rational counter-arguments. He just WILL NOT accept COVID measures any longer, period, under any context. Whatever the implications of that are, it's irrelevant to him. The ends justify the means.

So, he's just mentally incapable?  There is quite a bit of that here.

Ehh, I wouldn't go that far. He's just a libertarian, and he thinks freedom is more important than saving lives.

[DINGO Joe]

Isn't it funny that a lot of the statements Trump made in 2020.. make a lot of sense in the Omicron era

SLOW THE TESTING DOWN

ITS JUST LIKE THE FLU

ITS JUST THE SNIFFLES

IT WILL ONE DAY DISAPPEAR

haha

So, what's your explanation for all the dead bodies?

Based on my convos with him, he doesn't have rational counter-arguments. He just WILL NOT accept COVID measures any longer, period, under any context. Whatever the implications of that are, it's irrelevant to him. The ends justify the means.

So, he's just mentally incapable?  There is quite a bit of that here.

Ehh, I wouldn't go that far. He's just a libertarian, and he thinks freedom is more important than saving lives.

Well, then he should say that instead of things that are medically and factually untrue.

[Mr. Illini]

Lightfoot refuses to set target date for end to Chicago’s mask mandate despite Governor targeting Feb 28 for an end to the state’s

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/not-there-yet-lightfoot-refuses-to-specify-date-for-lifting-chicagos-mask-mandate/2759124/

Vaccination in Cook County is higher than the state as a whole. If anything, we should get to take our masks off before the downstaters. Lori Lightfoot is a f**king idiot for even suggesting that she might extend the city’s mandate beyond Feb 28.

[Calthrina950]

Lightfoot refuses to set target date for end to Chicago’s mask mandate despite Governor targeting Feb 28 for an end to the state’s

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/not-there-yet-lightfoot-refuses-to-specify-date-for-lifting-chicagos-mask-mandate/2759124/

Vaccination in Cook County is higher than the state as a whole. If anything, we should get to take our masks off before the downstaters. Lori Lightfoot is a f**king idiot for even suggesting that she might extend the city’s mandate beyond Feb 28.

As I've said before, Lightfoot has been a disappointment as Mayor of Chicago.

[Bootes Void]

Lightfoot refuses to set target date for end to Chicago’s mask mandate despite Governor targeting Feb 28 for an end to the state’s

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/not-there-yet-lightfoot-refuses-to-specify-date-for-lifting-chicagos-mask-mandate/2759124/

Vaccination in Cook County is higher than the state as a whole. If anything, we should get to take our masks off before the downstaters. Lori Lightfoot is a f**king idiot for even suggesting that she might extend the city’s mandate beyond Feb 28.

I think the whole thing is to avoid it making it political but eventually you are going to have to drop it

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/SKMorefield/status/1494101732867121157


Trump lost 2020, because media managed to convince [elder white] people that fashion helps against Covid. BIG LIE!   

“I think CDC leadership believes any mask is better than no mask. What I’m here to say — if you want to wear a mask, wear an N95, a KN95 or KF94 mostly from Korea. Those three masks are extraordinarily protective against acquiring COVID. A cloth mask, particularly a loose cloth mask or a bandana worn loosely around the face is fashion.

Look, it made sense when N95 masks were difficult to come by or expensive. That’s not the case now. The CDC should firmly say if you’re going to wear a mask, KN95, N95 or KF94.”

[Calthrina950]

My earlier prediction about Walmart spurring a repeal of company mask mandates for their employees certainly didn't pan out. It seems like my initial hunch-that they are tied to the CDC-was correct. They will not drop their mandates until the CDC issues revised recommendations. Walmart was an exception to the rule.

[emailking]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

[Calthrina950]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

[T'Chenka]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

Okay, I've been patient and polite(ish) long enough. Dude... who THE F__K said anything about permanant mandates? What the f__k are you talking about? Take off the tin foil hat, you're embarassing yourself. You're a smart guy, use the brain that God gave you.

[compucomp]

A new study indicates the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron may cause severe disease at the level of prior variants. It's already shown to be more contagious than Omicron (BA.1) and will eventually become the dominant variant. You guys thought the end-of-pandemic party was on, well, it might already be over! I thought we wouldn't see another surge until the end of the year but if this study holds, we may see another one within a few months!

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html

The BA.2 virus -- a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- isn't just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests.
New lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make it as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of Covid-19, including Delta.
And like Omicron, it appears to largely escape the immunity created by vaccines. A booster shot restores protection, making illness after infection about 74% less likely.

BA.2 is also resistant to some treatments, including sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody that's currently being used against Omicron.

[Calthrina950]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

Okay, I've been patient and polite(ish) long enough. Dude... who THE F__K said anything about permanant mandates? What the f__k are you talking about? Take off the tin foil hat, you're embarassing yourself. You're a smart guy, use the brain that God gave you.

I've been consistent about this for weeks now, and in some quarters, the reliance on mask mandates has further entrenched itself. This is also to say nothing of the rolling or seasonal mask mandates that could be on the horizon, as strongly implied by many public health officials. I'm not the one who should be viewed as a conspiracy theorist here. That title should be given to those who doubt the efficacy of the vaccine and who are afraid of returning to normalcy.

[emailking]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

[Calthrina950]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

[compucomp]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

If there is another surge in cases and hospitalizations or another variant, mask mandates would absolutely called for as a low cost, low effort, moderately effective mitigation. Your rhetoric sounds good now with the virus in retreat but not all of us are so short-sighted, especially with BA.2 right around the corner possibly to wreck your world in the near future.

[Horus]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

Okay, I've been patient and polite(ish) long enough. Dude... who THE F__K said anything about permanant mandates? What the f__k are you talking about? Take off the tin foil hat, you're embarassing yourself. You're a smart guy, use the brain that God gave you.

Several posters on this forum alone have advocated for exactly that.

If you're unable to see that a solid minority of society wants permanent masking, idk what to tell you. Sure, they're a minority, but they exist and are very loud. Stop gaslighting and admit it.

[Calthrina950]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

If there is another surge in cases and hospitalizations or another variant, mask mandates would absolutely called for as a low cost, low effort, moderately effective mitigation. Your rhetoric sounds good now with the virus in retreat but not all of us are so short-sighted, especially with BA.2 right around the corner possibly to wreck your world in the near future.

It's clear to me that you are a member of that class of society that actively wants for this pandemic to continue, and who doesn't want to return to pre-pandemic life. You actively want for there to be more cases and deaths, and for the restrictions to be sustained indefinitely. Again, we should not be spending the next seventy years living in pandemic mode.

[Horus]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

If there is another surge in cases and hospitalizations or another variant, mask mandates would absolutely called for as a low cost, low effort, moderately effective mitigation. Your rhetoric sounds good now with the virus in retreat but not all of us are so short-sighted, especially with BA.2 right around the corner possibly to wreck your world in the near future.

It's clear to me that you are a member of that class of society that actively wants for this pandemic to continue, and who doesn't want to return to pre-pandemic life. You actively want for there to be more cases and deaths, and for the restrictions to be sustained indefinitely. Again, we should not be spending the next seventy years living in pandemic mode.

He's a CCP lackey, his entire existence on this forum is to try to scare and demoralize Americans. Nothing else.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Effective immediately, New Mexico is lifting its mask mandate in public places and in schools.

[Frodo]

A new study indicates the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron may cause severe disease at the level of prior variants. It's already shown to be more contagious than Omicron (BA.1) and will eventually become the dominant variant. You guys thought the end-of-pandemic party was on, well, it might already be over! I thought we wouldn't see another surge until the end of the year but if this study holds, we may see another one within a few months!

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html

The BA.2 virus -- a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- isn't just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests.
New lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make it as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of Covid-19, including Delta.
And like Omicron, it appears to largely escape the immunity created by vaccines. A booster shot restores protection, making illness after infection about 74% less likely.

BA.2 is also resistant to some treatments, including sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody that's currently being used against Omicron.

You sound almost giddy with excitement, what with your use of exclamation marks...

From the same article you posted:

Similar to the original Omicron, BA.2 was capable of breaking through antibodies in the blood of people who’d been vaccinated against Covid-19. It was also resistant to the antibodies of people who’d been infected with Covid-19 early in the pandemic, including Alpha and Delta. And BA.2 was almost completely resistant to some monoclonal antibody treatments.

But there was a bright spot: Antibodies in the blood of people who’d recently had Omicron also seemed to have some protection against BA.2, especially if they’d also been vaccinated.

And that raises an important point, Fuller says. Even though BA.2 seems more contagious and pathogenic than Omicron, it may not wind up causing a more devastating wave of Covid-19 infections.

I hate to disappoint you, but with nearly three-quarters of all Americans having been exposed to the Omicron variant, we are now immune to it. Which also means that BA 2 will not have quite the same devastating impact that Delta and the original COVID had.

[compucomp]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

If there is another surge in cases and hospitalizations or another variant, mask mandates would absolutely called for as a low cost, low effort, moderately effective mitigation. Your rhetoric sounds good now with the virus in retreat but not all of us are so short-sighted, especially with BA.2 right around the corner possibly to wreck your world in the near future.

It's clear to me that you are a member of that class of society that actively wants for this pandemic to continue, and who doesn't want to return to pre-pandemic life. You actively want for there to be more cases and deaths, and for the restrictions to be sustained indefinitely. Again, we should not be spending the next seventy years living in pandemic mode.

What I want doesn't matter. It only matters what the virus does, and honestly at this point betting on the virus seems wise because it seems to win every time. If BA.2 is as strong as the older variants and is more contagious than BA.1/Omicron, then it has "total societal meltdown and dead people piling up in the streets" potential. We have to hope that it doesn't have substantial immune escape from BA.1 or the vaccine.

By the way, if you really believe that the pandemic is permanently in retreat, then you have the opportunity to kick me off this forum since I'm keeping my offer open. The fact that nobody has taken it up indicates that even though they post otherwise, they know I'm likely to be right.

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

[Calthrina950]

And that's their prerogative. Just like they can tell you to wear gloves, a hair net, a long sleeve shirt, or anything else that some might hate wearing all day.

We've argued enough about this already. I've said repeatedly that the Spanish Flu did not bring about permanent mask mandates. Why should there be?

If the CDC doesn't drop the general indoor mask recommendation for vaxxed next week, or if most businesses don't follow suit if they do drop it, I might be more sympathetic to this viewpoint. Right now, I just don't see permanent masking becoming a thing.

I wish I could share your optimism. Even after the CDC modifies their recommendations, there will be some segments of society, and some quarters of the century, that will cling to these mandates. And the CDC Director herself implied that "mitigating practices would return" if there is another surge in cases or a new variant of concern arises.

If there is another surge in cases and hospitalizations or another variant, mask mandates would absolutely called for as a low cost, low effort, moderately effective mitigation. Your rhetoric sounds good now with the virus in retreat but not all of us are so short-sighted, especially with BA.2 right around the corner possibly to wreck your world in the near future.

It's clear to me that you are a member of that class of society that actively wants for this pandemic to continue, and who doesn't want to return to pre-pandemic life. You actively want for there to be more cases and deaths, and for the restrictions to be sustained indefinitely. Again, we should not be spending the next seventy years living in pandemic mode.

He's a CCP lackey, his entire existence on this forum is to try to scare and demoralize Americans. Nothing else.

I've certainly come to the viewpoint that he belongs to Camp#1, of the camps identified by ExtremeRepublican. He is very much in favor of restrictions, and is particularly fond of mask mandates. But for some strange reason, he opposes vaccine mandates.

[Calthrina950]

Effective immediately, New Mexico is lifting its mask mandate in public places and in schools.

Excellent news. New Mexico has generally been one of the stricter states. That leaves us with only Hawaii and Washington who haven't yet acted.

[Horus]

Effective immediately, New Mexico is lifting its mask mandate in public places and in schools.

Excellent news. New Mexico has generally been one of the stricter states. That leaves us with only Hawaii and Washington who haven't yet acted.

Inslee will be announcing their end date at some point today. I stand by my prediction that Hawaii will never repeal their mandate.

[Calthrina950]

Effective immediately, New Mexico is lifting its mask mandate in public places and in schools.

Excellent news. New Mexico has generally been one of the stricter states. That leaves us with only Hawaii and Washington who haven't yet acted.

Inslee will be announcing their end date at some point today. I stand by my prediction that Hawaii will never repeal their mandate.

They never lifted their mandate, even during the respite we got last summer. If they don't, this would be precisely the sort of thing that I've been anxious about.