COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Trump Is A Maoist]

The general consensus among real scientists is that we should have just followed the Great Barrington Declaration.

"Real scientists"...

[SnowLabrador]

So vaccines will probably start costing thousands of dollars in the US now that the federal government is going to stop paying for them. We truly are a failed state, and it's thanks to the GOP. I told you guys we would be back to 2020 soon enough.

[Hammy]

The general consensus among real scientists is that we should have just followed the Great Barrington Declaration.

The same people deny climate change.

[MiddleRoad]

In the past couple weeks, cases have been going back down again, and it's pretty steep too.

Also, the CDC said last week that 95% of Americans have immunity now. We're way past the herd immunity threshold, which was estimated to be 70% at the highest.

But you need a higher threshold when the virus goes from moderately contagious to the most contagious disease in history.

Even with measles, the herd immunity threshold is only 95%.

We can't keep moving the goalposts just to justify mask mandates. There's really no goalposts left. Vaccines are available down to the age of 6 months, so what other goalposts are there?

-Masks forever
-Lockdowns and mail in voting every election cycle
-Covid forever

[MiddleRoad]

It looks like we are slowly moving into Camp 5:

https://twitter.com/NYTHealth/status/1557921319047643136

They are way behind the times. it is the saddest part of modern day humanity how we all over reacted to an over hyped virus.

I didn’t. Still not vaxxed. And won’t unless I’m absolutely forced to be.

[emailking]

-Masks forever
-Lockdowns and mail in voting every election cycle
-Covid forever

I don't see a problem with the permanent mail in voting if in person is still an option, as it has been. But anyway the reason we don't have heard immunity is because the virus got a lot more contagious and the immunity we have isn't that great. You can call it moving the goalposts or whatever but it's just a fact.

[emailking]

Jill Biden tests positive for rebound case of Covid-19

First lady Dr. Jill Biden has tested positive for a rebound case of Covid-19, her deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue confirmed to CNN.

Biden, who is currently in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tested positive again for Covid-19 with an antigen test on Wednesday. She tested negative during a routine test on Tuesday.

Donohue says the first lady has not had a reemergence of symptoms. She added that a "small number of close contacts" with whom Biden had recent contact have been notified.

Biden first tested positive on August 15 while vacationing in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The first lady had "cold-like symptoms," according to Alexander, and was put on a cycle of the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which can trigger a rebound case of Covid-19 in some people several days after a negative test result.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/politics/jill-biden-rebound-covid-19/index.html

[ملكة كرينجيتوك]

https://www.slowboring.com/p/we-should-expect-more-and-worse-pandemics

We should expect more — and worse — pandemics to come
The fundamentals are bad

As a teenager, I was a big fan of Laurie Garrett’s 1994 book “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance.”

She argued that the world was making a big mistake treating the HIV/AIDS outbreak as a kind of one-off event. Throughout the 20th century, humanity enjoyed an enormous reduction in the risk of infectious diseases due to the triple punch of improved sanitation, antibiotics, and vaccines, but Garrett claimed that it was a mistake to assume the trend would inevitably continue. On the contrary, she thought it was likely to reverse for several reasons:

1. Antibiotics are miraculous, but resistant strains are emerging faster than we can invent new drugs.
2. Economic development is pushing more people into unfamiliar wildlife habitats where zoonotic crossover events can occur.
3. Just as the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural lifestyles increased disease zoonosis, so has the transition from traditional agricultural practices to factory farming.
4. The spread of motorized transportation and the growing affordability of air travel make it more likely that new pathogens will spread rapidly.
5. There are actually a bunch of weird viruses known to be deadly to humans that just haven’t spread much yet.

Her concerns have essentially all been born out over time, though relative to my worries 30 years ago, (5) has been less relevant — the scariest outbreaks have mostly come from entirely new viruses.

Antibiotic resistance remains an underrated problem. It has killed millions of people over the past 10 years, but the victims are primarily in poor countries and/or were already ill, so it doesn’t get enough attention, even as the situation steadily deteriorates.



We also have more people in contact with more animals traveling more quickly to more places. A big new Nature article looks at how deforestation is accelerating disease spread. Statisticians say we’ll likely experience another Covid-scale pandemic in our lifetimes.

[Aurelius]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

[Frodo]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

It is a free country, they can do as they please.  Though at this point, the only people who should still be wearing masks are those with legitimate medical issues like a compromised immune system, or if they are elderly.  Otherwise you are simply virtue-signaling, which is irritating to those of us who have moved beyond those masks.  I just came back from vacation in Seattle and the San Juan Islands without once putting on my mask in the airport or on the plane (or the train).  And we are clearly in the majority.  

[Zohranism is OUR future]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

I can’t tell if this is parody or not?

[Frodo]

Omicron-specific Covid booster shots are just weeks away. Here’s who will—and won’t—be eligible

Newly updated Covid booster shots designed to target omicron’s BA.5 subvariant should be available within the next three weeks. That begs an important question: Who’s going to be eligible to get them?

The short answer: anyone ages 12 and up who has completed a primary vaccination series, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson tells CNBC Make It. It’s unlikely to matter whether you’ve received any other booster doses or not before, the spokesperson says — but if you’re unvaccinated, you won’t be eligible for the updated formula until you complete a primary series with the existing Covid vaccines.

The longer answer is somewhat more complex, because it depends on which booster shots get approved and when.

[Aurelius]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

I can’t tell if this is parody or not?

I was Jimmieposting. There's a grain of truth to it, but I'm deliberately being over the top.

[Zohranism is OUR future]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

I can’t tell if this is parody or not?

I was Jimmieposting. There's a grain of truth to it, but I'm deliberately being over the top.

I figured, seemed a bit out of character. But the fact I was confused means it was at least somewhat accurate.

[Raccoon]

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

Yes!! I like your thinking.

Why restrict your breathing on something that will NOT work? There are reasons I do not attack n95 or kn95 masks. But really those should reserved for people with respiratory problems or work in the medical field.

The sight of a MASK fills me with anger. Come on people take off your MUZZLE and breath in the fresh air. It is good for you I promise!

I can’t tell if this is parody or not?

I was Jimmieposting. There's a grain of truth to it, but I'm deliberately being over the top.

I do tend to believe everything I type.. I make jokes sometimes but my intentions are pure and honest.

[Badger]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Condolences. Best of luck.
I highly suggest you be sure to get your vitamins...

[Raccoon]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Yall will be okay i hope you feel better.

Just don't be a hypochondriac. It's just a cold

[Raccoon]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Yall will be okay i hope you feel better.

Just don't be a hypochondriac. It's just a cold

Up yours. Your constant Screaming Meemie act about covid has gotten really effing tiresome over the last 2 years. Don't tell me how to feel or not to feel for my own goddamn illness. That is beyond presumptuous.

As it stands it feels like a really s***** cold, but I don't need any direction from some internet troll who can't articulate two coherent sentences Beyond "FYRE FAUCCI!!1!" or going on and on and on like some Coomer how much he likes Latino guys. If you insist on continuing on in that vein, at least have that courtesy and common sense to stay out of MY lane.

You have for a long time now needed a big glass of STFU juice. Drink up now.

Hey! I hope you feel better. I am suggesting trying not to think of this virus and get better as soon as possible.

This winter will be pretty bad, so just be happy you have the extra immunity.

I know you are very very old, so I am legit worried.. just please stay strong and recover quickly.

Edit: for the 500th time, I am NOT a troll!!!

[Badger]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Yall will be okay i hope you feel better.

Just don't be a hypochondriac. It's just a cold

Up yours. Your constant Screaming Meemie act about covid has gotten really effing tiresome over the last 2 years. Don't tell me how to feel or not to feel for my own goddamn illness. That is beyond presumptuous.

As it stands it feels like a really s***** cold, but I don't need any direction from some internet troll who can't articulate two coherent sentences Beyond "FYRE FAUCCI!!1!" or going on and on and on like some Coomer how much he likes Latino guys. If you insist on continuing on in that vein, at least have that courtesy and common sense to stay out of MY lane.

You have for a long time now needed a big glass of STFU juice. Drink up now.

Hey! I hope you feel better. I am suggesting trying not to think of this virus and get better as soon as possible.

This winter will be pretty bad, so just be happy you have the extra immunity.

I know you are very very old, so I am legit worried.. just please stay strong and recover quickly.

Edit: for the 500th time, I am NOT a troll!!!

Resolved via PMs. Sorry I snapped.

[Doomer]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Yall will be okay i hope you feel better.

Just don't be a hypochondriac. It's just a cold

This is just not true.

Certainly, there are a lot of people who have very minor cases no worse than a cold. But there are a lot of people who end up with severe cases, hospitalization, and lasting effects. And there are a lot of people who die because of this virus. It is correct that the virus is becoming easier to deal with, and we will eventually get to a point where it's a normal part of life going forward. We will adapt. But it's not just a cold, and while I don't advocate for continued lockdowns and being overly cautious to the point you're staying indoors forever, I do think it's very wise to be aware that we still aren't out of the woods just yet.

The reason people call you a troll is because you say things like this constantly. Stop spreading lies and maybe people won't think you a troll.

[Raccoon]

So, f***. After 2 and 1/2 years of ducking it, the wife tested positive for covid yesterday, and I did so today. Feeling pretty s***** overall.

Yall will be okay i hope you feel better.

Just don't be a hypochondriac. It's just a cold

This is just not true.

Certainly, there are a lot of people who have very minor cases no worse than a cold. But there are a lot of people who end up with severe cases, hospitalization, and lasting effects. And there are a lot of people who die because of this virus. It is correct that the virus is becoming easier to deal with, and we will eventually get to a point where it's a normal part of life going forward. We will adapt. But it's not just a cold, and while I don't advocate for continued lockdowns and being overly cautious to the point you're staying indoors forever, I do think it's very wise to be aware that we still aren't out of the woods just yet.

The reason people call you a troll is because you say things like this constantly. Stop spreading lies and maybe people won't think you a troll.

I may have been a TROLL years ago, but I am NOT  a troll TODAY! Yall just cannot handle people with distinct personalities.
 
But I changed my screen name temporarily to make you happy

I AM NOT A TROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Frodo]

Fall Vaccination Campaign Will Bring New Shots, Worse Access

With the virus killing far fewer people than it once did and many Americans reverting to their pre-pandemic ways, the country’s no-expenses-spared attitude to saving lives has evolved into a response that has put a greater onus on individuals to protect themselves. In keeping with that approach, many health officials believe the vaccine machinery is in place to meet what they expect, lamentably, to be tepid demand this fall.

But others are worried that the country is surrendering a decisive opportunity to stoke that demand and restore the more robust vaccination efforts that lifted last year’s initial rollout.

“We are watching the dismantling of the hyperlocal infrastructure that actually brought needles to arms in the most vulnerable communities in the country,” said Stephen Thomas, the director of the Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland. “To this day, vaccine uptake in the United States is embarrassing.”

The Biden administration said some 70,000 sites were prepared to vaccinate people this fall. While 60 percent of those are pharmacies, they also include doctor’s offices, community health centers and rural health clinics.

And while providers are supposed to vaccinate everyone for free, with or without insurance, the federal government ran out of money this spring to offer reimbursements for shots for uninsured people, making it more difficult for them to receive boosters.

Sonya Bernstein, a senior policy adviser for the White House Covid response team, said federal spending to support vaccination efforts was being held back by a stalemate in Congress over the administration’s request for billions of dollars in additional pandemic aid. Republicans have said that additional coronavirus spending could be covered with funding already approved by Congress, an assertion that some state health officials say is false.

[Frodo]

FDA expected to authorize Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech Omicron boosters
The move would set the stage for the Biden administration to begin offering the reformulated vaccine shortly after Labor Day.

[Raccoon]

in 2020:

they said: close all schools and mitigate businesses.

I said: keep all schools open, and close bars and high risk indoor events but not business closures in general.

prior to a vaccine

this is not europe.. we are not china..