COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Calthrina950]

Is there an actual breakdown of variants for now positive tested patients? How dominant is the UK variant? It basically replaced the so called wildtype in Europe within just two months. At least vaccines aren't considerably less effective with this one and the South African one.

From what I've heard, it might actually be a good thing that the UK variant is taking hold. While it is more infectious and lethal than the original strain, it might actually be pushing out the more problematic and lethal Brazil and South Africa variants.

Looking at the areas of high infection rates, I'm still concerned over Brazil. I also think India could be a big problem. The more the virus is allowed to propagate the more likely it is that we're going to run into a variant that isn't covered by vaccines. This isn't rocket science. All vaccine efforts have focuses on the spike protein. I'm worried about that mutating into something that could evade all current vaccines.

But hey, we have a bunch of whiny 2 year olds that only care about themselves. Let's keep risking a serious viral mutation that could render all our vaccine efforts moot just because some people want to drink in a bar.

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

[politicallefty]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

[Calthrina950]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

[Horus]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

Run for your lives! It's the Online Left^®!!!   

[Horus]

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

Run for your lives! It's the Online Left^®!!!    

Do you ever make serious posts or do you just complain?

95% of the left isn't like this but there is a small, very vocal group who want permanent online schooling and permanent masks. You may be part of that group and may be triggered by my words, and I'm sorry for that. But most of society, including myself, will stop wearing masks two weeks after our second vaccine unless the business we are in mandates it.

If that bothers you or scares you, you can move to a country that is still locked down.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

95% of the left isn't like this but there is a small, very vocal group who want permanent online schooling and permanent masks.

People like that are not leftists. They are weirdos and trolls.

[Horus]

95% of the left isn't like this but there is a small, very vocal group who want permanent online schooling and permanent masks.

People like that are not leftists. They are weirdos and trolls.

I mean compared to the 40% of Republicans refusing the vaccine they're really not a big deal so long as they don't grow. But they are certainly not right wing and some are part of rose Twitter.

[Person Man]

95% of the left isn't like this but there is a small, very vocal group who want permanent online schooling and permanent masks.

People like that are not leftists. They are weirdos and trolls.

I mean compared to the 40% of Republicans refusing the vaccine they're really not a big deal so long as they don't grow. But they are certainly not right wing and some are part of rose Twitter.

When it comes to Republicans, you don’t know who is serious and who is a weirdo or a troll. Just look at this thread.

[支持核绿派 (Greens4Nuclear)]

95% of the left isn't like this but there is a small, very vocal group who want permanent online schooling and permanent masks.

"Permanent" masks is obviously the lesser of these two evils, although I doubt anyone would seriously propose a year-round mandate if it did become "permanent". I can see seasonal/wintertime mandates guidelines being a thing.

[Calthrina950]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

You're exactly right. Many people seem to be obsessed with allowing this pandemic to permanently change our lifestyles.

[Horus]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

You're exactly right. Many people seem to be obsessed with allowing this pandemic to permanently change our lifestyles.

I was as anal about masks and social distancing as anyone before the vaccines came out. Hell I went over a year without seeing any family at all (they all live far away). And I still mask up pretty much everywhere besides state parks. But it seems like a small number of folks (the extremely introverted and often misanthropic) preferred things the way they were last year.

[cg41386]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

You're exactly right. Many people seem to be obsessed with allowing this pandemic to permanently change our lifestyles.

I don't know who is like this, certainly nobody I know of. I don't follow many far-lefties, if that's who it is.

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 4/18 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE:What's the overall change in the total?

Brackets []: These represent the total change for the day, including backlogged reports, if any.

• These numbers are inflated relative to the actual reports for the day, so they are not used to calculate the comparative percentage shifts.

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4/11 (Last Sunday Holiday): <Sunday>

• Cases: 31,918,591 (+48,611 | ΔW Change: ↑27.50% | Σ Increase: ↑0.15%)
• Deaths: 575,829 (+293 | ΔW Change: ↑5.40% | Σ Increase: ↑0.04%)

4/12: <M>

• Cases: 31,990,143 (+56,522 [+71,552] | ΔW Change: ↑12.31% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 576,298 (+469 | ΔW Change: ↑11.67% | Σ Increase: ↑0.08%)

4/13: <T>

• Cases: 32,070,784 (+77,720 [+80,641] | ΔW Change: ↑24.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.25%)
• Deaths: 577,179 (+819 [+881] | ΔW Change: ↓9.60% | Σ Increase: ↑0.15%)

4/14: <W>

• Cases: 32,149,223 (+78,439 | ΔW Change: ↑2.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)
• Deaths: 578,092 (+913 | ΔW Change: ↑4.58% | Σ Increase: ↑0.16%)

4/15: <Þ>

• Cases: 32,224,139 (+74,916 | ΔW Change: ↓0.36% | Σ Increase: ↑0.23%)
• Deaths: 578,993 (+901 | ΔW Change: ↑3.33% | Σ Increase: ↑0.16%)

4/16: <F>

• Cases: 32,305,912 (+81,773 | ΔW Change: ↓4.21% | Σ Increase: ↑0.25%)
• Deaths: 579,942 (+887 [+949] | ΔW Change: ↓9.86% | Σ Increase: ↑0.16%)

4/17 (Yesterday): <S>

• Cases: 32,372,119 (+63,581 [+66,207] | ΔW Change: ↓5.40% | Σ Increase: ↑0.20%)
• Deaths: 580,756 (+738 [+814] | ΔW Change: ↓1.99% | Σ Increase: ↑0.14%)

4/18 (Today): <Sunday>

• Cases: 32,404,454 (+32,335 | ΔW Change: ↓33.48% | Σ Increase: ↑0.10%)
• Deaths: 581,061 (+305 | ΔW Change: ↑4.10% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)

[philly09]

Wordometer has it at 43,174 with 310 deaths. Where are you getting those numbers?

[DINGO Joe]

Wordometer has it at 43,174 with 310 deaths. Where are you getting those numbers?

Well, they're both right.  States are prone to make corrections up and down (mostly up, but errors are made both ways when trying to report in near time).

[Calthrina950]

Do you think the variants are going to prolong this pandemic past this summer? Will we still be under mask mandates, capacity restrictions, etc. this time next year?

I don't think it'll matter in a year. The virus could mutate into something like a highly infectious strain of the original SARS virus and many states would probably do nothing. It could start killing 10k/day and many states would call it a government conspiracy from the "Deep State". I have no confidence in the American people anymore. People are just plain stupid and want to bitch and whine about everything. The fact that so many are already trying to rescind mask mandates says everything. It is quite literally the least you can do as an individual.

The truth is that I'd like to see capacity restrictions lifted for those that have been fully vaccinated. That would mean letting those that have been fully vaccinated into restaurants and letting them sit down without masks. I don't see any reason to lift mask mandates where they're not in the way. In a restaurant full of vaccinated people? Fine, let's drop the masks. In a grocery store with many people coming and going? What is the harm of wearing a mask?

So you're saying the mask mandate should become permanent?

Unfortunately there is a subsection of the left that really does seem to want this.

You're exactly right. Many people seem to be obsessed with allowing this pandemic to permanently change our lifestyles.

I was as anal about masks and social distancing as anyone before the vaccines came out. Hell I went over a year without seeing any family at all (they all live far away). And I still mask up pretty much everywhere besides state parks. But it seems like a small number of folks (the extremely introverted and often misanthropic) preferred things the way they were last year.

It certainly is a minority who want to keep this going forward. I continue to support masks and social distancing while the vaccination process is underway, and until we've reached a "desirable" vaccination rate-which I think will be around 70% of the population. From what I've read, we're on track to reach that benchmark by around June; Dr. Fauci, from what I gathered from his appearance on This Week earlier today, seems to believe that we will be back to normal by the end of this summer. That is also what the Governor of my state, Polis, believes.

Moreover, I'll note that at my job (Home Depot), the numbers of maskless customers have increased over the past week. I'd say about 25-30% of people are now going about maskless. The "tough guy" types who've remained maskless throughout the pandemic are now being joined by couples and families who have probably been vaccinated, or at least, have gotten tired of wearing masks and reverted to their "pre-pandemic" ways. The mask mandate in Colorado is set to end on May 2, and with Polis handing over more control over pandemic restrictions to the counties, it's unlikely that it will be extended further. This is why I'm still sure that masks will be largely gone before this year is out, excepting the minority who will continue to wear them.

[Aliens]

The vaccines are very effective and will end the pandemic.  

[Dr. Arch]

Wordometer has it at 43,174 with 310 deaths. Where are you getting those numbers?

You're welcomed to add and/or subtract the numbers I provide daily to see how I get them.

While I use the raw numbers reported by Worldometer, I run the numbers myself.

The difference that you're seeing is likely a day-to-day allocation of numbers issue.

[emailking]

I have not heard anyone call for permanent masking. I keep seeing in this thread that people for calling for this, but I haven't otherwise heard of that. What even would be the reason for it?

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Half of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine dose

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

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/sarahmanavis/status/1382992684927844352?s=20

Such images bring back the intense feelings we had when they first began to appear last summer. Most people didn’t know then that outdoor gatherings wouldn’t lead to further outbreaks, while the government continued to tell us that eating in a restaurant or meeting indoors was perfectly safe if people were distanced (something we now know to be untrue). For a year, we were conditioned to believe aggressive sanitation and plenty of space was all that was necessary to avoid catching anything. And we were also encouraged – by the government, the media, or friends online – to see crowded beaches as the poster images of viral spread and pandemic irresponsibility.

So now, even with this understanding, our instincts trigger those old responses: panic, fear, and an overwhelming lack of control – responses that are largely not our fault. On the flipside, an image of a sparsely filled restaurant, with perspex barriers and waiters in face shields, might yield the opposite: calm, and a sense of safety. We were taught to demonise people drinking in the park, but to not think twice about friends sat around at a dinner party.

But now we know better. Instead of shaming strangers on the internet for safe outdoor gatherings, we should try to correct our reaction to these images – and accept that our gut instinct doesn’t always align with what’s safe. 

Seems related
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1383868486653407246

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1384174964610371584

This is a good milestone.  I wonder if we'll make it to 75% with all the vaccine skeptics out there.

[Not Me, Us]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1384174964610371584

This is a good milestone.  I wonder if we'll make it to 75% with all the vaccine skeptics out there.

I believe we will. 50+ has a high percentage of vaccination, but 18-29 is only 28.2% vaccinated, there's a lot of room to grow there yet. I think we'll end up hitting around 80-85%.

[Lief 🗽]

Starting to think that Nate Silver may not actually know what he’s talking about??
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1384198702567280651?s=21