COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 9/16-9/22/2021 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Well everyone, it finally happened. After over a year and a half of consistently reporting on COVID-19 descriptive statistics, enough work popped up that it completely eluded me to report on last week's numbers (I can't seem to find the stats for Wednesday 9/29 on the Worldometers website).

If someone knows of a way to access these numbers, I'd be happy to continue updating them. Otherwise, I feel fine letting this hiccup in continuity function as an indicator that, maybe, it is time to retire from this task.

It's been a long and slow haul, but I believe that the horizon is around the corner, if not right in front of us at this point. We might have a sense of normalcy by the end of this year or the start of the next.

Arch pls

Rescue numbers pls

[emailking]

I calculate Worldometers had 44,202,484 cases and 715,823 deaths last Wednesday evening (includes post day adjustments). Of course I would understand if you don't want to continue, but those are the numbers I think.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I think right now the U.S. is at 21 days in a row of declining cases. This hasn't happened since May.

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

[Roll Roons]

I think right now the U.S. is at 21 days in a row of declining cases. This hasn't happened since May.

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

If they are, they made it much harder than it needed to be.

[Pericles]

I think right now the U.S. is at 21 days in a row of declining cases. This hasn't happened since May.

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

Herd immunity will never happen in any state.

[Frodo]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

[Pericles]

I think right now the U.S. is at 21 days in a row of declining cases. This hasn't happened since May.

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

If they are, they made it much harder than it needed to be.

3,000 ish deaths out of every millionth person (roughly a million Americans dead rather than 700,0000) was supposed to be the best way through the pandemic though? They couldn't accept there was a safer path of saving lives until jabs were in arms, and then putting the jabs in their own arms.

[pbrower2a]

I think right now the U.S. is at 21 days in a row of declining cases. This hasn't happened since May.

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

If they are, they made it much harder than it needed to be.

3,000 ish deaths out of every millionth person (roughly a million Americans dead rather than 700,0000) was supposed to be the best way through the pandemic though? They couldn't accept there was a safer path of saving lives until jabs were in arms, and then putting the jabs in their own arms.

Of course that bungling happened when a President who thought that he knew more than the experts pushed chloroquinone and the injection of bleach, and created a climate in which cranks and quacks could wreak havoc upon preventive measures that were harder than inoculation, but before mass inoculation was possible.

More and more favors inoculations. The perverse examples of people dying because they refuse to get inoculated -- and worse, have declaimed masks and inoculations -- die of COVID-19. Social media sites now ban medical quackery involving COVID-19.

Winter is coming, and there will be mass gatherings such as sporting events.

[emailking]

Johnson & Johnson asks FDA to authorize Covid-19 vaccine booster shots

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize booster shots for its coronavirus vaccine, but has left it up to the FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to decide just who should get their boosters and when.

"We're describing the data to them," Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of global research and development for J&J's vaccine arm, Janssen, told CNN.

"The process is not that we asked for a very specific interval -- we're providing them data and we're going to be presenting to the committee. They'll take all that into consideration when they ultimately decide on an appropriate interval."

The FDA's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet October 14 and 15 to consider requests from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to add booster doses for their Covid-19 vaccines.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/05/health/johnson-covid-vaccine-boosters-eua-request/

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Why don't they just test everyone and let everyone relax?

Someone said they don't use the swabs that go way up your nose anymore. Instead they just use a swab that's no worse than pulling a booger out of your nose. That's the kind of test I took back in January. Since the tests are so easy now, why don't we just have everyone use them?

[jamestroll]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

Yes, I will do all I can to sneak in a booster shot.

[emailking]

Why don't they just test everyone and let everyone relax?

Someone said they don't use the swabs that go way up your nose anymore. Instead they just use a swab that's no worse than pulling a booger out of your nose. That's the kind of test I took back in January. Since the tests are so easy now, why don't we just have everyone use them?

As opposed to what? Mandates? I'm against those without a testing option. I don't think anywhere is requiring boosters yet but I'm glad they'll be available. Not sure if I will qualify for Moderna booster but I'll get it if I do.

[pbrower2a]

I got tested yesterday because I was at a rest area where free tests were offered, and I needed to take a safety break from driving. While I awaited the results I took a little map.

Negative. No trace, so far as I can tell.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

Talladega Superspeedway Superspreader NASCAR event has a lot going for it.

https://m.nascar.com/gallery/at-track-photos-talladega-playoff-weekend-2021/#photo-39

Not one mask did I see in any of those photos, although there were not a lot of crowd photos.

[pbrower2a]

Also, it does look like Alabama may be the first state to have full herd immunity.

Talladega Superspeedway Superspreader NASCAR event has a lot going for it.

https://m.nascar.com/gallery/at-track-photos-talladega-playoff-weekend-2021/#photo-39

Not one mask did I see in any of those photos, although there were not a lot of crowd photos.

It would have been a good place for mass inoculations. This said, we just saw a potential supers-preader event.

[Inmate Trump]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

This is discouraging.

The vaccines are a lifesaver, but they need to last longer to be practical.  Most people aren't going to get a covid shot twice a year.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

This is discouraging.

The vaccines are a lifesaver, but they need to last longer to be practical.  Most people aren't going to get a covid shot twice a year.

Pfizer under-dosed everyone to avoid bad headlines about side effects. We still need reports on how Moderna's higher dose is holding up.

[Gass3268]

Hopefully this comes to Cook County and other blue areas.

https://twitter.com/tackettdc/status/1445817791018270727?s=20

[Hammy]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

This is discouraging.

The vaccines are a lifesaver, but they need to last longer to be practical.  Most people aren't going to get a covid shot twice a year.

Most people willing to get the shot for a return to normal would get booster doses. The people who will refuse are the ones refusing to get vaccinated in the first place.

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

This is discouraging.

The vaccines are a lifesaver, but they need to last longer to be practical.  Most people aren't going to get a covid shot twice a year.

Most people willing to get the shot for a return to normal would get booster doses. The people who will refuse are the ones refusing to get vaccinated in the first place.

Seriously, people are acting like having to get a booster shot is literally 1984. It's maybe 30 minutes out of your day, once or twice a year. You'll live.

[emailking]

I don't think a decline in efficacy after 6 months means you need 2 shots a year. But yeah it could just be paired with the flu vaccine which a lot of people get yearly. The vaccines can be tweaked over time too. And if Moderna is better that could become the vaccine of choice except for people who don't want the side effects or are at a higher risk of an adverse reaction. Plus it doesn't need cold storage infrastructure.

[Dan the Roman]

So while politically unpopular to say this, the fact is this is a learning process.

The MRNA vaccines are miracles in that the technology allowed for the development of largely effective vaccines in a shorter period of time than anyone thought possible.  At the end of the day they are a new technology, and we were in a rush. There is little to no evidence that this rush resulted in serious trade offs in terms of safety, but it is understandable that some choices were made in the dark.

Among those is Pfizer going for a lower dose than Moderna.

The proper approach should have been grateful for how good these vaccines were given the context of their development. That would have involved recognizing that both the vaccines themselves, and their deployment could and would be improved. For instance, we now have a large amount of data that extending the gap between first and second doses as the UK did resulted in much better protection than the shorter 3-4 week gaps.

The problem is that everyone is demanding perfection in different ways from a product which is 95%  perfect. Anti-vaxxers say that 5% proves it is bad. Pro-Vaxxers insist that 5% means it does not work and they demand to be shot full of more of it rather than waiting for more research into how to get it from 95% to 99%. If they waited an extra three months we could find out from those current studies on mixing Pfizer shots with Moderna Boosters etc and see if we could get a much more effective and longer lasting approach. But no. Everyone is in a hurry

[ProudModerate2]

Video: Lindsey Graham gets booed by his own supporters.

Click here to watch ... https://us.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/10/06/lindsey-graham-booed-vaccine-mandate-orig-vf.cnn/video/playlists/top-news-videos/

We are almost two years into this global Pandemic, and Republicans/Conservatives are still acting like morons.
In the video, they boo when Graham recommends they get vaccinated, and they call him a liar for saying most of the South Carolina's people in ICU, are those who are unvaccinated.

[Not Me, Us]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1445220954813128705

This is discouraging.

The vaccines are a lifesaver, but they need to last longer to be practical.  Most people aren't going to get a covid shot twice a year.

Most people willing to get the shot for a return to normal would get booster doses. The people who will refuse are the ones refusing to get vaccinated in the first place.

Seriously, people are acting like having to get a booster shot is literally 1984. It's maybe 30 minutes out of your day, once or twice a year. You'll live.

This. Getting my first two doses was a huge hassle for me, but there are numerous places in walking distance where I can get my booster really easily. If people were willing to go out of their way to get the shot the first time, I have a hard time believing that they won’t very minorly incovenience themselves to get a booster.

[Calthrina950]

So while politically unpopular to say this, the fact is this is a learning process.

The MRNA vaccines are miracles in that the technology allowed for the development of largely effective vaccines in a shorter period of time than anyone thought possible.  At the end of the day they are a new technology, and we were in a rush. There is little to no evidence that this rush resulted in serious trade offs in terms of safety, but it is understandable that some choices were made in the dark.

Among those is Pfizer going for a lower dose than Moderna.

The proper approach should have been grateful for how good these vaccines were given the context of their development. That would have involved recognizing that both the vaccines themselves, and their deployment could and would be improved. For instance, we now have a large amount of data that extending the gap between first and second doses as the UK did resulted in much better protection than the shorter 3-4 week gaps.

The problem is that everyone is demanding perfection in different ways from a product which is 95%  perfect. Anti-vaxxers say that 5% proves it is bad. Pro-Vaxxers insist that 5% means it does not work and they demand to be shot full of more of it rather than waiting for more research into how to get it from 95% to 99%. If they waited an extra three months we could find out from those current studies on mixing Pfizer shots with Moderna Boosters etc and see if we could get a much more effective and longer lasting approach. But no. Everyone is in a hurry

My father is still unvaccinated, and he continues to believe-as he has for months-that the vaccines are ineffective, and that he's not going to get vaccinated unless if they come out with one that is 100% effective. That is obviously never going to happen. I've given up trying to argue with him about it.