COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I noticed many liberals get covid worse than conservative i have a theory all their worrying makes them hypochondriac when they get covid

Perhaps conservatives are more likely to hide it to prove they're tough.

Well, Herman Cain was tweeting that COVID is no big deal from the grave.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/

Omicron as severe as other COVID variants -large U.S. study

Then why are there so few deaths now?

[Zohranism is OUR future]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/

Omicron as severe as other COVID variants -large U.S. study

Then why are there so few deaths now?

If you read the study you would get the explanation they gave is vaccinations. Of course I have serious doubts you even have the capacity to read it, so commend you on knowing your limits. It is extremely important to note this study is NOT yet peer reviewed which undermines the credibility, although the large sample size certainly bolsters it (not enough for me to accept it without more studies finding similar results when adjusting for vaccines) I will say that this study could also suggest a slightly higher vaccine efficacy rate if corrobated than what we thought initially. As usual the proper response to this is, don't overinterpret, wait for more information and still retain a degree of caution in your daily lives as fit. Of course this makes me a horrid covid doomer who wants to lock you all up forever .

[Pericles]

Hong Kong had a per capita death rate nearly four times the US peak during the Omicron wave. So it is clearly possible for Omicron to do tremendous damage to an unvaccinated population. It is a miracle that vaccines could be developed and rolled out so quickly, saving millions of lives.

[emailking]

There's an interesting article in SciAm this month and it says that Omicron was likely the fastest spreading virus in human history! It has specific mutations that mask the spike protein from antibodies, and it also developed an easier way of getting into cells. On the flip side, and apparently coincidentally, it has mutations that make it much worse at hiding from the immune system's alarm bells, which is why it's milder.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/

Omicron as severe as other COVID variants -large U.S. study

I'm not trying to dispute that study. But the sciam article says that Omicron is worse at evading the innate immune system, particularly in the lungs. Whereas Delta tries to hide, Omicron announces its presence.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1524690280666046464

[MATTROSE94]

I heard a rumor that New Jersey and New York are going to reinstate their mask mandates early next week due to rising cases.

[Zohranism is OUR future]

Hong Kong had a per capita death rate nearly four times the US peak during the Omicron wave. So it is clearly possible for Omicron to do tremendous damage to an unvaccinated population. It is a miracle that vaccines could be developed and rolled out so quickly, saving millions of lives.

Yes but…the spike was also greater in Hong Kong because there were basically no cases before (this no natural immunity) Not remotely comparable.

[Pericles]

Hong Kong had a per capita death rate nearly four times the US peak during the Omicron wave. So it is clearly possible for Omicron to do tremendous damage to an unvaccinated population. It is a miracle that vaccines could be developed and rolled out so quickly, saving millions of lives.

Yes but…the spike was also greater in Hong Kong because there were basically no cases before (this no natural immunity) Not remotely comparable.

The same happened in NZ and Australia and the death toll was nowhere close to the pre-vaccine ones.

[politicallefty]

Just remember: it was just the flu that has killed over a million Americans in two years (and counting). I'd ask people to look at those numbers and reflect, but many won't. Wearing a mask is apparently the most disruptive thing to happen and has been too much of an inconvenience for many. That doesn't take into account the most important factor for most: me, myself, and I. How dare anyone encroach upon that most important factor?!

[GregTheGreat657]

I heard a rumor that New Jersey and New York are going to reinstate their mask mandates early next week due to rising cases.

At this point, I'd just ignore the mask mandate if it were to happen

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/arnauldmiguet/status/1525337754497781760?s=20&t=sd8-pgI0...

[GregTheGreat657]

https://twitter.com/arnauldmiguet/status/1525337754497781760?s=20&t=sd8-pgI0...

The CCP has committed human rights violation after human rights violation in the name of controlling the virus

[Frodo]

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1525862633789865986

[Not Me, Us]

Tested positive along with both my parents for the first time last week. All 3 of us are fully vaxxed and boosted with Pfizer and my dad and I both have type one diabetes, though very well managed. Despite that, my dad and I both had very mild symptoms, mine worse than his, while my mom actually got hit pretty hard. Just goes to show how random Covid's symptoms are.

[Zohranism is OUR future]

Tested positive along with both my parents for the first time last week. All 3 of us are fully vaxxed and boosted with Pfizer and my dad and I both have type one diabetes, though very well managed. Despite that, my dad and I both had very mild symptoms, mine worse than his, while my mom actually got hit pretty hard. Just goes to show how random Covid's symptoms are.

Immune systems vary so much from person to person, heck our bodies even have their own unique ecosystem, so this variation is common with infections.

[emailking]

FDA authorizes Pfizer Covid-19 booster shots for children ages 5 to 11

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 at least five months after completion of the primary vaccine series.

Pfizer requested this EUA at the end of April, citing company data that showed that a third vaccine dose raised Omicron-fighting antibodies by 36 times in this age group.

"While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease," FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a news release Tuesday. "The FDA is authorizing the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/health/fda-covid-booster-kids-5-11/index.html

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2022/05/17/deborah-birx-kravis-center-warns-florida-summer-surge-covid/9797007002/

Let's see how the FL races shape up and DeSantis doesn't want kids to wear masks and Trump never wears one

[Trump Is A Maoist]

Florida residents will find a way to blame the deaths on something else or deny that they're happening, I predict. This will barely hurt DeSantis. Florida is beyond redemption.

[GregTheGreat657]

COVID is endemic, *fingers crossed* there isn't much to worry about rn

[Aurelius]

Cool. I'm done thinking, caring, or worrying about COVID. Vaccination reduces your chance of death by 30x, and I've been there done that.

[MATTROSE94]

COVID is endemic, *fingers crossed* there isn't much to worry about rn

Not according to Kathy Hochul, Phil Murphy, Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden, Eric Feigl-Ding, and Jonathan Reiner. /s

[Raccoon]

Just sweep it under the rug. Move on.

[หมูเด้ง]

Just sweep it under the rug. Move on.

Yeah. As bad as it is, it’s not a priority. It probably won’t be that bad but if it is, the consequences could be that Florida gets a reputation of being a dirty state. By the time we left Jacksonville, my wife refused to go anywhere on the beach. Not even to the 4 star restaurant on the main roundabout.

[Waldo]

Why is it only news when Florida has a high COVID rate? It wasn't too long ago when they had the lowest rate per Capita in the country and blue states were hitting record highs. Didn't see many posts about that. Most people here has no clue, I'd wager.

Fun fact: cases are already surging in Massachusetts. No news on that, but that's because most people have stopped caring. This hokey pokey dance of mandates and social distancing hurts businesses and is unsustainable.