COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[OSR stands with Israel]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-covid-omicron-variant-speech/


Hopefully he rules out lockdowns

[Hollywood]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-covid-omicron-variant-speech/


Hopefully he rules out lockdowns

How would he even enforce a nationwide lockdown in all the states?  It's not even practical or feasible given the economic situation. 

Sure it might feel great to brag about lower gas prices, but economists agree that stopping the economic engine again would plunge the country into an economic depression the could last a decade. 

We've already seen the damage of last years shutdown, and the effects of it were expected to reverberate all the way to 2024.  Another shutdown would just devastate the entire world.  I don't even want the political advantage the would result from such a disastrous policy, because the consequences for people in my neighborhood and working class communities would be painful and deadly.  I already see the daily crime at my pharmacies and convenience stores.  The Broken Window Theory proven correct over and over again.  A Biden shutdown would escalate things to the "broken families theory". 

[Hammy]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-covid-omicron-variant-speech/


Hopefully he rules out lockdowns

How would he even enforce a nationwide lockdown in all the states?  It's not even practical or feasible given the economic situation. 

Not only that, the courts would (rightfully) overturn it in an instant.

[It’s so Joever]

Tbf OSR is probably one of those people who thinks a business having capacity limits is a lockdown (not saying I want capacity limits, but that he doesn’t know what a lockdown even is)

I almost am tempted to want another true lockdown (stay at home order) for a day just to get the “nO mOrE lOcKdOwN” crowd to realize how silly they are.

[compucomp]

Tbf OSR is probably one of those people who thinks a business having capacity limits is a lockdown (not saying I want capacity limits, but that he doesn’t know what a lockdown even is)

I almost am tempted to want another true lockdown (stay at home order) for a day just to get the “nO mOrE lOcKdOwN” crowd to realize how silly they are.

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home, closure of nonessential businesses left open many exceptions for "life sustaining" or "essential" businesses, and private gathering restrictions were loosely enforced at best.

[Aurelius]

I've made it 4 days into my state's new mask mandate without putting a mask on. No one gives a . In this quite blue area, compliance ranges from 0% at work to ~75% at grocery stores. No one is mask shaming those who refuse to comply.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

[compucomp]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

[compucomp]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

[Hollywood]

Tbf OSR is probably one of those people who thinks a business having capacity limits is a lockdown (not saying I want capacity limits, but that he doesn’t know what a lockdown even is)

I almost am tempted to want another true lockdown (stay at home order) for a day just to get the “nO mOrE lOcKdOwN” crowd to realize how silly they are.

The fact that you are "tempted to want another true lockdown" out of pettiness just demonstrates a need for education and self-reflection.  If the ever increasing criminal activities, suicides, ODs, and economic struggles of your fellow Americans isn't enough to dissuade such notions, then perhaps the the rising starvation, civil conflict, insurrection, extreme poverty, as well as current and potential wars throughout the globe should give you pause.  

You have powerful world leaders who need to distract their people from the terrible medical and economic situation in their countries, and they are absolutely willing to engage in conflicts with other nations to demonstrate their strength and capability as leaders.  I can draw you a line from the economic shutdown to the political situations in Russia and China that triggered and accelerated the current standoff in Ukraine and Taiwan.  

What the hell is it going to take for people to understand that shutting down the economy and schools is the perfect recipe for social turmoil and war?   You put a bunch of young men on the street, and it  will result in violent crime and national despair.  Eventually, someone will point those men towards war and tyranny.  

[DINGO Joe]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

I was curious about Bandit's claim, since he didn't provide a link and it turns out that they were charging people who were committing crimes or overdoses during the curfew hours, so no, they weren't actively charging people for violating curfews

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-od-victims-charged-violating-stay-home-order/3003064001/

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Just based on chats I've had with folks at UPENN's resident center for COVID research (and other infectious diseases, blah blah), the response to Omicron should lie somewhere in the middle -- there's no need to hit the panic button, but it should still serve as a reminder that COVID isn't "over".  Don't fear-monger, but be responsible.  

Thanks for the insight, it's appreciate in a thread like this. Anything else that the people at the COVID research center said about the variant that's useful to know?

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not. 

[Hammy]

I've made it 4 days into my state's new mask mandate without putting a mask on. No one gives a . In this quite blue area, compliance ranges from 0% at work to ~75% at grocery stores. No one is mask shaming those who refuse to comply.

That brings up a point I was talking to someone about, I wonder if you'd see higher compliance if you ended all the mandates and had public officials making the occasional polite request in speeches, or having some sort of appeal to manners. Telling people they have to (especially when not enforced in the first place) is going to lead to people refusing out of spite, especially with something as continuous as wearing a mask for extended periods of time.

[Hollywood]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

I was curious about Bandit's claim, since he didn't provide a link and it turns out that they were charging people who were committing crimes or overdoses during the curfew hours, so no, they weren't actively charging people for violating curfews

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-od-victims-charged-violating-stay-home-order/3003064001/

That was real early in the pandemic, and they were trying to make examples all over the place.  Cuomo with the Hassidic Jews was a very vivid example that is burned in the minds of people in my community.  Most of the people in Ohio were also committing other crimes during the violation.  Some were homeless.  

Overall, there were plenty of people routinely committing violations.  Illegal Immigrants were still out working every single day.  Everyone had nicely caught lawns in April.  The start of the outbreak in Florida was actually traced back to migrant communities like Immokalee, but the news was pretty stern  in warning everyone not to draw conclusions.  And we didn't.  My lawn looked great, and food was delivered right to my door.  The rules in my neighborhood were most enforced against non-threatening, middle class or higher white/hispanic/asian people that could pay the fine.  They didn't want to go after the lower class black and hispanic areas cause activist groups complained about racism and poverty.    

[Hammy]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

I was curious about Bandit's claim, since he didn't provide a link and it turns out that they were charging people who were committing crimes or overdoses during the curfew hours, so no, they weren't actively charging people for violating curfews

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-od-victims-charged-violating-stay-home-order/3003064001/

That was real early in the pandemic, and they were trying to make examples all over the place.  Cuomo with the Hassidic Jews was a very vivid example that is burned in the minds of people in my community.  Most of the people in Ohio were also committing other crimes during the violation.  Some were homeless.  

Overall, there were plenty of people routinely committing violations.  Illegal Immigrants were still out working every single day.  Everyone had nicely caught lawns in April.  The start of the outbreak in Florida was actually traced back to migrant communities like Immokalee, but the news was pretty stern  in warning everyone not to draw conclusions.  And we didn't.  My lawn looked great, and food was delivered right to my door.  The rules in my neighborhood were most enforced against non-threatening, middle class or higher white/hispanic/asian people that could pay the fine.  They didn't want to go after the lower class black and hispanic areas cause activist groups complained about racism and poverty.    

De Blasio too. I remember his angry, lecturing speech that seemed to shoulder the blame for covid's spread almost entirely on the city's Jewish population.

[Hollywood]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

I was curious about Bandit's claim, since he didn't provide a link and it turns out that they were charging people who were committing crimes or overdoses during the curfew hours, so no, they weren't actively charging people for violating curfews

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-od-victims-charged-violating-stay-home-order/3003064001/

That was real early in the pandemic, and they were trying to make examples all over the place.  Cuomo with the Hassidic Jews was a very vivid example that is burned in the minds of people in my community.  Most of the people in Ohio were also committing other crimes during the violation.  Some were homeless.  

Overall, there were plenty of people routinely committing violations.  Illegal Immigrants were still out working every single day.  Everyone had nicely caught lawns in April.  The start of the outbreak in Florida was actually traced back to migrant communities like Immokalee, but the news was pretty stern  in warning everyone not to draw conclusions.  And we didn't.  My lawn looked great, and food was delivered right to my door.  The rules in my neighborhood were most enforced against non-threatening, middle class or higher white/hispanic/asian people that could pay the fine.  They didn't want to go after the lower class black and hispanic areas cause activist groups complained about racism and poverty.    

De Blasio too. I remember his angry, lecturing speech that seemed to shoulder the blame for covid's spread almost entirely on the city's Jewish population.

Democrats like to doubt that it had any effect on the Jewish Community in the United States, because they think people who don't practice any part of the religion, but have some Jewish ancestry, should be counted as the 'Jewish Vote'.  No.  You can be Jon Stewart, but you can't count some Bobby Fisher from New York.  At this point, a decent majority is Republican. 

Cuomo, and the Democrat Party, is despised in every synagogue around my neighborhood, including the reformist one.  Thousands of Jews moved down from NJ and NY over the last two years, and they were all became Trumpists.  No one says they're a Democrat anymore.  There's a little group of liberal Jews that is given a room upstairs in the Young Israel of Hollywood, FL, but I think their separation from the other few thousand members is a pretty symbolic of attitudes in the Jewish Community.  A few years ago, Dershowitz went to a bunch of synagogues around the area, and they treated him like Nazi cause he didn't speak up against leftist anti-semitism and mass killings of Jews that went relatively unreported. 

Honestly, the same feelings are felt by Hispanics and Asians around the area, who feel like the left is more like the communist and socialist governments that they or their parents escaped.  And like the Jewish community, they've gotten wise to Democrats blaming white supremacists and Nazis, because they all know it's BLM, Antifa, and the Black Islamist/Supremacist groups that are doing it.  What the left demonstrated in New York and around the country is that Jews, Asians and Hispanics can all be relegated to second class deplorables when they challenge the Democrat policies and militia groups.  All their problems are the result of white supremacy and Nazism, and they become just like one of those hate groups when they adopt the other sides talking points.  Don't think for a second this hasn't registered, because I guarantee you it's what closed the gap in Broward County in 2020. 

[compucomp]

The stay at home orders in the US, honestly, fell far short of what the term "lockdown" should entail. There was no enforcement at all to actually keep people home

What about all those people who went to jail in Ohio?

Citation needed

Back around March or April 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a list of people arrested in Hamilton County for being more than a few miles from home.

OK, I stand corrected. I'm not aware of such enforcement happening anywhere else in the country, not in NY or NJ nor PA where I was staying. As far as I could see it was on the honor system. I'm surprised to see this happen in OH and not a blue state but Mike DeWine  nowadays is not a typical Republican.

I was curious about Bandit's claim, since he didn't provide a link and it turns out that they were charging people who were committing crimes or overdoses during the curfew hours, so no, they weren't actively charging people for violating curfews

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-od-victims-charged-violating-stay-home-order/3003064001/

Yes, I found the same article, and it's not exactly police patrolling the streets questioning everyone about where they're going, but still it is the first example I have ever heard of someone being charged with violating shelter-in-place orders. This definitely counts as enforcement so I stand corrected.

Also I am aware of the Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn getting in trouble for holding huge gatherings in violation of the gathering restrictions, as well as some large indoor private parties held by "knuckleheads" (Phil Murphy's term) being broken up in NJ. That's what I meant by loosely enforced gathering restrictions; some high profile enforcement but not strict at all.

In any case this doesn't change the point of my post that the American "lockdown" was full of loopholes, exceptions, and loose enforcement, and really doesn't do the term justice. China, Australia, and NZ, what they do, now that's a lockdown.

[It’s so Joever]

Just based on chats I've had with folks at UPENN's resident center for COVID research (and other infectious diseases, blah blah), the response to Omicron should lie somewhere in the middle -- there's no need to hit the panic button, but it should still serve as a reminder that COVID isn't "over".  Don't fear-monger, but be responsible.  

Thanks for the insight, it's appreciate in a thread like this. Anything else that the people at the COVID research center said about the variant that's useful to know?

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not. 

Ehhh….debatable.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Just based on chats I've had with folks at UPENN's resident center for COVID research (and other infectious diseases, blah blah), the response to Omicron should lie somewhere in the middle -- there's no need to hit the panic button, but it should still serve as a reminder that COVID isn't "over".  Don't fear-monger, but be responsible.  

Thanks for the insight, it's appreciate in a thread like this. Anything else that the people at the COVID research center said about the variant that's useful to know?

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not. 

Ehhh….debatable.

Yeah, I consider "unvaccinated" and "smart" to be mutually exclusive.

[politicallefty]

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not.

I've been reading a lot of conflicting reports. Some are saying that South Africa is faring better than expected. However, others studies are saying there's no evidence Omicron is any less severe than previous variants. I think what we do know for sure is that Omicron is far more infectious than previous variants. It seems to me that even if we're fortunate in having a less virulent variant (which  is too early to say one way or the other), the biggest problems are the substantial increase in infectiousness and serious decrease in effectiveness of the vaccine prior to being boosted. For example, if the new variant were somehow 25% less severe than the previous, it wouldn't do us much good if the new variant was even just twice as infectious. Those are random numbers, but the fact we know is that infectiousness is significantly higher. I'd say the primary worry, apart from everything else we've been worrying about, is that the hospitals will be completely overrun. That's been the scariest thing in my view since the start of the pandemic. Early on, the thought of not nearly enough ventilators left me with dread. A completely overrun healthcare system affects everyone.

I got my booster just before Thanksgiving, almost seven months after my second dose (I've stuck with Pfizer all the way). What I've been reading is that, for those of us with the mRNA vaccines, effectiveness of the vaccine after the second dose goes down rapidly. It seems to me like the CDC is either behind or inept. If the second dose loses most of its effectiveness after 4-5 months, we're in big trouble if the waiting period is 6 months for boosting after the second dose. On the other hand, boosters haven't been available for that long overall. We have no idea how long boosted immunity lasts against Omicron. So far, they're holding up well and that is very good news, but we don't know what it looks like six months from now.

[Hammy]

I've been reading a lot of conflicting reports. Some are saying that South Africa is faring better than expected. However, others studies are saying there's no evidence Omicron is any less severe than previous variants.

The reports so far have had fairly small sample sizes, and found "no evidence"--the lack of evidence is not confirmation. Remember, early studies of the original strain also found "no evidence" that the virus was airborne, or that it spread without symptoms, or that masks were required--all of which evidence became abundant as time went on.

Actual data coming out of South Africa conflicts with this and does in fact show a dramatic decline in severe cases and deaths. Logic dictates that it is in fact less severe, the question is simply to what extent.

[Hollywood]

Just based on chats I've had with folks at UPENN's resident center for COVID research (and other infectious diseases, blah blah), the response to Omicron should lie somewhere in the middle -- there's no need to hit the panic button, but it should still serve as a reminder that COVID isn't "over".  Don't fear-monger, but be responsible.  

Thanks for the insight, it's appreciate in a thread like this. Anything else that the people at the COVID research center said about the variant that's useful to know?

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not. 

Ehhh….debatable.

Yeah, I consider "unvaccinated" and "smart" to be mutually exclusive.

If we're talking about the general public, I'd agree with you.  No reason children should be dying of influenza cause they were Zinc, Iron, and Vitamin D deficient, as those are crucial nutrients for a natural or induced fever response that fights the infections, repairs the liver, and drains the toxins through filtration of hydrated patient.  You can't imagine how many people I've loaded into the ambulance that expressed a reluctance to eat or drink during the work day (no nutrients).  And then there's the poor mom who gives their child too much aspirin to cool the fever, and the kid develops Reyes disease or compromised metabolic liver function.   There's those guys that went to the bar on a cold night right before the influenza infection unleashed the full brunt of the cytokine storm, and so limited in the ability to produce mucous and clear the virus.  What is so hard to understand about drinking, and inhaling steam, from hot tea, and drinking zinc, iron, and liquid protein-filled Chicken Soup with a Vitamin D?  It clears the upper and lower respiratory tract, prevents cell damage, provides antiviral resistance, and prevents pneumonia-favored environments within the lungs (alveoli).  Obviously, these people need the vaccine cause they're too stupid to treat themselves, and may wind up in the hospital in their confusion.  

If your a 18-55 that understands the medical science, then you know not go for an influenza shot, in addition to three Covid-19 jabs, each year, because you can diagnose a virus and treat very early in the infection.  You get the hepatitis shot if you work in the medical field cause that will cause long-term damage or mortality.   It literally takes a wrecking ball to your febrile immune response, so you can't resist or stop the viral replication.  That's like if you clipped a bat's wings so they couldn't induce a fever to fight off Covid-19.  They'd die cause the fever is the only thing keeping them alive, because they don't have the ability to produce antibodies within a few days or week.  That's what makes them great reservoirs for viruses.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4786079/

Lastly, I actually worked as discovery attorney for the drug companies that were creating this MRNA injection to localize the therapeutic effects to only target the tumors (I can talk about it cause it's public info).  They wanted to get away from the shotgun approach to hard organ cancer treatment that would often killed off newly formed blood vessels that supplied the tumor with nutrients needed for growth (Rmab).  The problem was that the drugs also killed off blood vessels used to supplement the original arteries that were blocked off due to atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque), so it was usually a race to see whether the drugs destroyed the tumor before the cumulative effect of treatment caused heart failure in the patient.  MRNA had a different problem wherein the body would overproduce red blood cells that would stick together to form clots, and many patients would die before the dozens of jabs were administered over a long period.  The studies we got from the labs are not what you read online.  They had extensive patient data and rationales for patients ending treatment.  Lists of thousands of people who had issues, and why they were no selected for the study.  

The monoclonal antibodies are not without risk, but you may only need once every several years to combat Covid-19.  MRNA has compounding side-effects that could worsen when your infected with Covid-19, so I would not F around with persistent MRNA injections unless I was a real old dude.  Like over 80.  

[jamestroll]

Its getting to the point that Wexton could probably lose under current lines and perhaps face a close race in redistricted lines.

Considering the layer of never trump voters in Nova, the region held up remarkably well for Terry McAuliffe in this climate.  But if covid fear mongering continues to happen, Republicans could out right win seats here next year.

Notice.. no leader from Alexandria to Loudoun ever implemented stricter covid measures. There is a reason for that. Drive around Nova.. you see mom and pop shops and independent businesses everywhere.

Well covid hysteria probably dooms Wexton this cycle but the GOP would have a hard time retaining it in 2024 if the current lines hold up.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Just based on chats I've had with folks at UPENN's resident center for COVID research (and other infectious diseases, blah blah), the response to Omicron should lie somewhere in the middle -- there's no need to hit the panic button, but it should still serve as a reminder that COVID isn't "over".  Don't fear-monger, but be responsible.  

Thanks for the insight, it's appreciate in a thread like this. Anything else that the people at the COVID research center said about the variant that's useful to know?

Quite a bit of medical jargon that I'm too lazy to repeat here, but it all boiled down to "this is a serious matter, but there's a fine line between justifiable concern and sensational panic."

I have a friend of mine fighting off a breakthrough case right now.  She went to a party where she was exposed to a girl who (a) was experiencing symptoms and (b) knew that she could potentially be positive, but this girl attended the party anyway because she was "tired of talking about COVID".  

Now most folks aren't this brazen or inconsiderate, but just be smart and be responsible -- vaccinated or not. 

Ehhh….debatable.

Yeah, I consider "unvaccinated" and "smart" to be mutually exclusive.

Do you think that ~70% of African population are not smart? Yes, the access to vaccines plays a role, but the " vaccine hesitancy" is important (imo, most important), too.

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1466020479702077446
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/world/africa/coranavirus-vaccine-hesitancy-africa.html
The Next Challenge to Vaccinating Africa: Overcoming Skepticism
Vaccines are finally available in many African countries, but an underfunded public health system has slowed their delivery, and some people there, as well as in South Asia, are wary of taking them.

And now, there are growing signs in parts of Africa, as well as South Asia, that skepticism or outright hostility toward the Covid vaccines may run deeper than expected, even as the new and possibly more dangerous Omicron variant is spreading. In Africa, at least three countries have now reported Omicron cases: South Africa, Botswana and, on Wednesday, Nigeria.

Deep distrust of governments and medical authorities, especially among rural and marginalized communities, may already be stalling out vaccination drives. The legacy of Western exploitation and medical abuses during and after colonialism is weighing heavily, too.

Misinformation circulating on social media often fills the vacuum, some of it floating in from the United States and Europe, where vaccine refusal has also been an issue.

“There’s no doubt that vaccine hesitancy is a factor in the rollout of vaccines,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the Africa director of the World Health Organization. News or rumors of potential side effects, she said, “gets picked out and talked about, and some people become afraid.”

Just days before the Omicron variant was first detected, health officials in South Africa turned away shipments of doses from Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson, worried that their stockpile of 16 million shots might spoil amid insufficient demand.