COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I don't know what you're talking about. I went to CVS recently to get my flu shot, and I'd say most people weren't wearing masks.

That's because everyone stopped when they realized it didn't work.

Almost everyone, at any rate. You still have ~10% or so of the public where I live donning masks. I occasionally still see entire families where everyone, parents and children alike, are masked. In fact, I had to check out such a family at my job just yesterday. A half-dozen of my coworkers are still masking up, and one of them told me that she's "gotten used to" and seems intent on masking up permanently from now on. My stepmother still masks up whenever she goes out in public and has no intentions of stopping anytime soon. It's obvious that there will be a segment of the population masking up in perpetuity. It's their right, but it's unfortunate.

So unfortunate that people are choosing to protect themselves from the #3 cause of death in the United States, making the MAGAT death cult sad. (Whether or not masking makes sense depends on likelihood of exposure, to COVID (and other pathogens), which is still far too high in much of the US.)

[Calthrina950]

I don't know what you're talking about. I went to CVS recently to get my flu shot, and I'd say most people weren't wearing masks.

That's because everyone stopped when they realized it didn't work.

Almost everyone, at any rate. You still have ~10% or so of the public where I live donning masks. I occasionally still see entire families where everyone, parents and children alike, are masked. In fact, I had to check out such a family at my job just yesterday. A half-dozen of my coworkers are still masking up, and one of them told me that she's "gotten used to" and seems intent on masking up permanently from now on. My stepmother still masks up whenever she goes out in public and has no intentions of stopping anytime soon. It's obvious that there will be a segment of the population masking up in perpetuity. It's their right, but it's unfortunate.

So unfortunate that people are choosing to protect themselves from the #3 cause of death in the United States, making the MAGAT death cult sad. (Whether or not masking makes sense depends on likelihood of exposure, to COVID (and other pathogens), which is still far too high in much of the US.)

As I said, people have the right to mask up when and where they wish. But it's not something which I think should become permanent, and my hope is that it will disappear with the passage of time.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Masks have practically disappeared from my local Kroger.

Back during the pandemic, someone gave this Kroger a bad review on Google for not enforcing a mask mandate. But at Kroger stores in some rich suburbs nearby, people wore masks, and probably still do.

[MATTROSE94]

I don't know what you're talking about. I went to CVS recently to get my flu shot, and I'd say most people weren't wearing masks.

That's because everyone stopped when they realized it didn't work.

Almost everyone, at any rate. You still have ~10% or so of the public where I live donning masks. I occasionally still see entire families where everyone, parents and children alike, are masked. In fact, I had to check out such a family at my job just yesterday. A half-dozen of my coworkers are still masking up, and one of them told me that she's "gotten used to" and seems intent on masking up permanently from now on. My stepmother still masks up whenever she goes out in public and has no intentions of stopping anytime soon. It's obvious that there will be a segment of the population masking up in perpetuity. It's their right, but it's unfortunate.

I agree as well. I see about 10-25% of people still masking up where I live. Mostly Asians, African American women, older white people, and white women born after 1985 seem to be the main maskers.

[America Needs R'hllor]

This might be outside the scope of this forum, but our leaders need to start seriously talking about prosecution and punishment for those responsible for the atrocities that have been committed over the past couple years. What has been done to children especially is downright criminal.

I'd go so far as to support a constitutional amendment barring those who participated from public office and curtailing states' congressional representation in proportion to atrocities they committed. At very minimum, there need to be sanctions on some states.

Never again.

How about you keep rhetoric meant for genocides out of this.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Putting a piece of cloth over your face isn't that much of an inconvenience.

How much an an "inconvenience" this is is really subjective.

And I would think that based on your everyday interactions with other people, you would understand that the vast majority of people do not agree that wearing a mask "isn't that much of an inconvenience".

Most people would gladly (and perfectly rationally) give up years of their life expectance if the alternative were constantly wearing a mask indoors.  In this context, it's really not unreasonable for people to reject mask mandate in the face of a virus that has as low of a mortality rate as covid.

I had covid during the Omicron wave and felt horrible for two days.  But I would certainly rather experience getting covid every year for the rest of my life if the other option were wearing a mask.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

It’s not the inconvenience of wearing a mask one time. It’s the inconvenience of wearing a mask every time, forever. Many of the people who still wear masks can’t clearly communicate what it will need to take for them to stop. That’s scary, because the situation with the virus really has come such a long way. Most other people have realized that what’s going on with COVID now is what will be going on with COVID next year, which is what will be going on with COVID the year after that and the year after that.

At this point you’re either in it forever or you’re not. I’d rather not be, and I’d rather my logic stay consistent. If you’re going to change your mind and stop wearing masks in five months, it’s not because the science will have changed—it’s because you will have tired of it. And if that’s your thinking, why waste the next five months wearing a mask?

[Frodo]

There is plenty of blame to go around for these alarmingly low numbers:

Few Americans get new covid booster shot ahead of projected winter surge

[jamestroll]

There is plenty of blame to go around for these alarmingly low numbers:

Few Americans get new covid booster shot ahead of projected winter surge

Maybe if the left sold vaccines as a protection against severe illness instead of stopping infection.. maybe if the left didn't push covid measures once vaccines came into wide distribution... we would have better numbers.

It was always anti-science to sell vaccines for a corona virus as stopping any infection. It was always anti science to ignore developmental delays of children..

[cg41386]

Yes, it's all the left's fault.

Well the left handled covid EXTREMELY poorly.

No, they didn't, TROLL. See, I can randomly CAPITALIZE, too.

[jamestroll]

Yes, it's all the left's fault.

Well the left handled covid EXTREMELY poorly. If it weren't for the stimuluses, the left wing covid policies would have hurt the POOR the MOST. The people the left should try to advocate for in theory.  It was the GOP arguing for more TARGETTED relief if anything.

I got my flu shot last week and will get my booster next week. I am undecided if I will mask up this winter. Its a balancing act as I hate wearing masks.. I hate those MUZZLES.. but I do have sensitivity to respiratory illnesses  and was hospitalized for the flu before. But would a n95 mask really me that much more with an OMICRON booster?

[jamestroll]

I'm not saying we should lock down like China is doing, but we should AT LEAST have indoor mask mandates. Putting a piece of cloth over your face isn't that much of an inconvenience.

I spoke with a Portuguese only speaking just a few days ago.

You would be surprised how much facial expressions and body language go a long way into communicating.

[Frodo]

Here is a possible reason for the high hospitalization and death rates during the worst of the pandemic:

More than 40% of Americans lied about COVID-19 risk during pandemic, study shows

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 40% of Americans were untruthful about whether they had the virus or were ignoring safety precautions, a nationwide survey shows.

The December survey of 1,700 people found 721 respondents had either misrepresented their COVID-19 status or failed to follow public health recommendations.

Folks ignored quarantine rules, told someone they were about to see that they had been taking more precautions than they actually were, and didn't mention they might or did have COVID-19 when they entered a doctor's office. They were also untruthful about vaccination status, claiming they were vaccinated when they weren't or that they were unvaccinated when they had taken the jab, the survey revealed.

The most common reasons for the lack of transparency were that people wanted to feel normal or to exercise personal freedom.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Here is a possible reason for the high hospitalization and death rates during the worst of the pandemic:

More than 40% of Americans lied about COVID-19 risk during pandemic, study shows

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 40% of Americans were untruthful about whether they had the virus or were ignoring safety precautions, a nationwide survey shows.

The December survey of 1,700 people found 721 respondents had either misrepresented their COVID-19 status or failed to follow public health recommendations.

Folks ignored quarantine rules, told someone they were about to see that they had been taking more precautions than they actually were, and didn't mention they might or did have COVID-19 when they entered a doctor's office. They were also untruthful about vaccination status, claiming they were vaccinated when they weren't or that they were unvaccinated when they had taken the jab, the survey revealed.

The most common reasons for the lack of transparency were that people wanted to feel normal or to exercise personal freedom.

It depends on what you mean by "ignored quarantine rules".  Like, when the recommendation was to quarantine 14 days after an exposure, that technically wasn't impacted even if you tested negative after a certain amount of time.

An example is, in late October 2020, I sat next to someone at church who had covid (neither of us were wearing masks).  I found out a few hours later because he was (unknown to me) waiting on his test results.  I completely  quarantined and got a test on Day 5.  On Day 8, I received word that my test was negative.  I actually did stay home (except for picking up food) until Day 12.  At that point (with no symptoms at all and a negative test), I ultimately decided that I was far more certain that I didn't have covid that day than I would have been on any other normal day and went back to normal life.  Technically, I was like 2.5 days early, but now I actually think it's laughable I was so conservative to stay home at all after getting a negative test (with enough time for it to theoretically show a positive test).

[Inmate Trump]

Here is a possible reason for the high hospitalization and death rates during the worst of the pandemic:

More than 40% of Americans lied about COVID-19 risk during pandemic, study shows

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 40% of Americans were untruthful about whether they had the virus or were ignoring safety precautions, a nationwide survey shows.

The December survey of 1,700 people found 721 respondents had either misrepresented their COVID-19 status or failed to follow public health recommendations.

Folks ignored quarantine rules, told someone they were about to see that they had been taking more precautions than they actually were, and didn't mention they might or did have COVID-19 when they entered a doctor's office. They were also untruthful about vaccination status, claiming they were vaccinated when they weren't or that they were unvaccinated when they had taken the jab, the survey revealed.

The most common reasons for the lack of transparency were that people wanted to feel normal or to exercise personal freedom.

Americans are selfish, untrustworthy a$$holes. News at 11.

[jamestroll]

The first round of vaccines and COVID infections has also put “intense pressure” on the virus to adapt.

“The more people who have had infections and the more vaccines and boosters they’ve had, the more the virus has to evolve to bypass those routes of host defense,” he said.

https://fortune.com/well/2022/10/15/covid-omicron-split-multiple-variants-peaking-different-countries-same-time-scenarios-fall-winter-pandemic-epiidemic-endemic-xbb/

I am not anti vaccines and in fact got my booster. But my plan initially to let the virus run its course looks brilliant and correct with hindsight

[emailking]

I find that such a weird phrasing to say it's under pressure. The mutations are random and a virion either makes it or doesn't, not caring one way or the other.

[Frodo]

Good!

https://twitter.com/realTuckFrumper/status/1583195637725925376

[jamestroll]

Yes, it's all the left's fault.

Well the left handled covid EXTREMELY poorly. If it weren't for the stimuluses, the left wing covid policies would have hurt the POOR the MOST. The people the left should try to advocate for in theory.  It was the GOP arguing for more TARGETTED relief if anything.

I got my flu shot last week and will get my booster next week. I am undecided if I will mask up this winter. Its a balancing act as I hate wearing masks.. I hate those MUZZLES.. but I do have sensitivity to respiratory illnesses  and was hospitalized for the flu before. But would a n95 mask really me that much more with an OMICRON booster?

I got my booster and decided no need for me to wear any MASK.

I never wore a MASK  before covid despite being sensitive to colds.. so no need to wear one now.

[Frodo]

Starting next year, if you don't have private health insurance, or on Medicare or Medicaid, you'll be paying more for a COVID vaccine than you currently pay for the flu vaccine:

Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine will cost $110-$130 per dose

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Ugh just tested positive for a third time.  Was feeling sick since Wednesday but never had respiratory symptoms. 

[Torie]

Wearing a mask and not getting a booster shot makes no sense. I still do wear a mask in crowded indoor settings, but not otherwise and never outside. Yes, Dan and I have never had COVID. Knock on wood. But we are first in line for booster shots, and sometimes jump the line if need be. If I were young, i would be more relaxed about matters. But I still have a life to live for a bit more.  As in most things in life, one must try to balance the competing considerations.

[jamestroll]

Wearing a mask and not getting a booster shot makes no sense. I still do wear a mask in crowded indoor settings, but not otherwise and never outside. Yes, Dan and I have never had COVID. Knock on wood. But we are first in line for booster shots, and sometimes jump the line if need be. If I were young, i would be more relaxed about matters. But I still have a life to live for a bit more.  As in most things in life, one must try to balance the competing considerations.

I mean you are like ancient.

I consider myself kinda old, but you are like .. VERY OLD.

So I do not blame you for taking more precautions.

[Frodo]

For those laggards who have only gotten their double-dose primary COVID vaccinations, and nothing else since then:

FDA approves emergency use of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine booster

The FDA has authorized emergency use of a third dose of Novavax's Adjuvante vaccine as a COVID-19 booster shot for adults.

"The U.S. now has access to the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted, the first protein-based option, as a booster," Stanley C. Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, said in a statement. "According to CDC data, almost 50% of adults who received their primary series have yet to receive their first booster dose. Offering another vaccine choice may help increase COVID-19 booster vaccination rates for these adults."

Novavax said the vaccine was developed to protect against the original COVID-19 strain and will also induce an immune response against the Omicron BA.5 variant.

The FDA emergency use authorization was based on data from the Phase 3 Prevent-19 clinical trial as well as from the British-sponsored COV-BOOST trial.

A fact sheet for healthcare providers from the FDA cautioned that Novavax's primary series seems to carry some risk of heart inflammation, similar to that seen in primary COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, primarily in young men and adolescent boys.

[Torie]

What percentage does "some risk" entail?  Heart inflammation is bad. I have it in my right ventricle to some degree. I don't recommend it.