COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[GeorgiaModerate]

WA had one new COVID case with community transmission. 7 in hotel quarantine from interstate.

Population statistics for vaccination.

1st jab : 93.5%
2nd jab : 85.7%
Booster : 12.2%

WA had like 16 thousand news cases.  Are politicians trying to blame interstate travelers again.  Yeah.  Stop doing that S$$$. 

WA - Western Australia not Washington State.

16,000 is next level.

Well, now we know Ted Cruz's username here!

[Hollywood]

I got a negative test.

Last Saturday it started with a little throat tickle that lasted until Wednesday when I started having a slight cough.  Thursday was lots of congestion, less cough, no more sore throat.  Friday added a headache and even more congestion.

But negative test, so I guess it's a sinus infection?

Word on the street is that people in homes with family members infected with Covid-19 are also seeing the same symptoms despite not testing positive.  This keeps happening, but I have no explanation for it. Now that I think of it, the tests might not be able to pick up omicron, because another version of it might be too distinctive for a PCR Test to identify it.  I think it's pretty settled argument that Covid-19 is evolving rapidly, and maybe taking characteristics of other viruses (Rhinovirus, HIV).        

I had Covid three weeks ago.  As soon as my throat started to bother me and the aches came along, I had my sister in-law buy a whole pot of chicken soup that I drank it and inhaled the steam throughout the day while sitting in a hot bath.  Then I rinsed off with a hot shower and slept.  Rinse and Repeat.  Barely lasted two days.  It never got worse than moderate throat soreness. I'm almost glad that I got Omicron, because at least now I've built immunity.  

I have no idea what Covid-19 looks like next winter, because I have zero confidence in the work being done by the NIH, CDC, and WHO.  Even the medical journals need to be watched carefully due to their censorship of research that is accepted in countries like Japan, South Africa, India and South Korea, but counters American and European infectious disease agencies.  The medical official in South Africa told the world not to panic over Omicron cause it wasn't that dangerous, and the Western World banned flights.  I don't get it.  

I also don't understand why someone like Fauci is still F-ing breathing after he secretly resumed Coronavirus gain-of-function (Frankenstein) research after the Obama Administration left, and lied in Congress about his role in what I can only describe as a crime against humanity.  That guy needs to F-ing go already.  What kind of POS still wants Fauci dictating medical policy?  I don't even know a Democrat that trusts Anthony Fauci.  Just from a political POV, it's a very bad look for the Democrats to put all their faith in a man everyone knows can't be trusted.  

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Also, my spreadsheet document tries to compute the death rate by computing the deaths divided by known cases. Right now it's only 0.26%, the lowest of the entire pandemic. Just 3 weeks ago it was 0.93%, and in June it was over 2%.

What’s the case-death lag period you account for in your spreadsheet?

The lag is only 3 days. I could adjust it to make it longer.

The reason it's only 3 days is that some fatal cases are reported to state agencies at the same time as the death.

[Calthrina950]

I got a negative test.

Last Saturday it started with a little throat tickle that lasted until Wednesday when I started having a slight cough.  Thursday was lots of congestion, less cough, no more sore throat.  Friday added a headache and even more congestion.

But negative test, so I guess it's a sinus infection?

Word on the street is that people in homes with family members infected with Covid-19 are also seeing the same symptoms despite not testing positive.  This keeps happening, but I have no explanation for it. Now that I think of it, the tests might not be able to pick up omicron, because another version of it might be too distinctive for a PCR Test to identify it.  I think it's pretty settled argument that Covid-19 is evolving rapidly, and maybe taking characteristics of other viruses (Rhinovirus, HIV).        

I had Covid three weeks ago.  As soon as my throat started to bother me and the aches came along, I had my sister in-law buy a whole pot of chicken soup that I drank it and inhaled the steam throughout the day while sitting in a hot bath.  Then I rinsed off with a hot shower and slept.  Rinse and Repeat.  Barely lasted two days.  It never got worse than moderate throat soreness. I'm almost glad that I got Omicron, because at least now I've built immunity.  

I have no idea what Covid-19 looks like next winter, because I have zero confidence in the work being done by the NIH, CDC, and WHO.  Even the medical journals need to be watched carefully due to their censorship of research that is accepted in countries like Japan, South Africa, India and South Korea, but counters American and European infectious disease agencies.  The medical official in South Africa told the world not to panic over Omicron cause it wasn't that dangerous, and the Western World banned flights.  I don't get it.  

I also don't understand why someone like Fauci is still F-ing breathing after he secretly resumed Coronavirus gain-of-function (Frankenstein) research after the Obama Administration left, and lied in Congress about his role in what I can only describe as a crime against humanity.  That guy needs to F-ing go already.  What kind of POS still wants Fauci dictating medical policy?  I don't even know a Democrat that trusts Anthony Fauci.  Just from a political POV, it's a very bad look for the Democrats to put all their faith in a man everyone knows can't be trusted.  

The recent Gallup poll showed that a majority of Americans (52%) still approve of Dr. Fauci. Nevertheless, as this figure indicates, approval of him is polarized along partisan lines at this point, and closely matches Biden's performance against Trump in 2020. 85% of Democrats continue to approve of Fauci, along with 52% of independents, while 81% of Republicans disapprove.  So, I don't think it's true that "everyone" distrusts him. Moreover, the media continues to rely upon Fauci as an authoritative source of information and expertise. I certainly don't think Fauci is right about everything, and I'd wish the media would challenge him more. But that's not going to happen.

[compucomp]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/restaurants-seek-federal-aid-as-omicron-surge-threatens-another-hard-winter-11641637802?mod=hp_lead_pos3

Customer orders at full-service restaurants were nearly 18% lower in the year that ended in November compared with the same period before the pandemic, while orders at fast-food restaurants were down less than 2% over that period, according to NPD.

The Omicron variant’s spread could prolong some restaurants’ difficulties, operators said. For the week that ended Dec. 1, U.S. restaurant seatings were 7% lower than 2019 levels, according to data from reservation service OpenTable Inc. By the end of the month, they were down 32% by the same metrics, according to the company.

Despite what this forum seems to think, a solid proportion of this country is still considering the virus as a threat and is adjusting their behavior, particularly in response to Omicron. There is no mandate or government action causing this drop in restaurant sales, it's all grassroots action by people concerned about COVID.

For the nth time, for all you people screaming about "lockdowns" because your favorite restaurant closed its dining room, this is happening because a substantial proportion of the population in your area disagree with you and have stopped dining indoors. Not because the government made them close.

Restaurants should adapt to the new normal, de-emphasize their dining rooms and emphasize their takeout and delivery options. It would probably help if there were some regulation on Doordash/Seamless/Ubereats as they are probably acting like a cartel right now with their fees.

[Andrew Cuomo is a No Go]

Restaurants should adapt to the new normal, de-emphasize their dining rooms and emphasize their takeout and delivery options. It would probably help if there were some regulation on Doordash/Seamless/Ubereats as they are probably acting like a cartel right now with their fees.

For most restaurants, “adapting to the new normal” will involve just shutting down. Most restaurants have narrow profit margins in the first place. You can’t just ““de-emphasize the dining room”” when doing so would mean the restaurant is no longer profitable.

[Sir Mohamed]

Restaurants should adapt to the new normal, de-emphasize their dining rooms and emphasize their takeout and delivery options. It would probably help if there were some regulation on Doordash/Seamless/Ubereats as they are probably acting like a cartel right now with their fees.

For most restaurants, “adapting to the new normal” will involve just shutting down. Most restaurants have narrow profit margins in the first place. You can’t just ““de-emphasize the dining room”” when doing so would mean the restaurant is no longer profitable.

Yup, I would instead prefer smart solutions like offering free tests for indoor space, especially for unvaccinated if you don't want to restrict their access already. Other than that, ventilation concepts or just opening windows more frequently can help.

[Wrong about 2024 Ghost]

https://twitter.com/neuroecology/status/1479432438896017409

[emailking]

Yeah it's not as deadly as Delta it seems. Yes let's see where we are a week from now, in case holiday is still affecting it.

No kidding, that's been known for some time now. You'd think a supreme court justice would know basic facts like that.

All I meant that the data here is bearing out that it's less deadly, but the problem is that it's causing more deaths anyway compared to a month ago (unless it's holiday backlog and goes away in a week).

[Zohranism is OUR future]

I was talking with one of my online gaming friends. I think he is in Orlando and he is a Junior.

He says that there were practically ne teachers at school on Friday and he basically was allowed to do whatever. He was excited about it and telling it to me like it was a good thing, but yeah some schools are facing issues.

On the other hand, my little brother is at school in suburban Denver, his school is still operating well and while there are a higher number of absences than usual, it’s not some crisis there. Clearly the picture may be very different School by school.

Us “alarmists” said this would be a problem and I wonder what the posters who were spamming “NO MORE LOCKDOWNS” would do to fix these issues which seem to be growing.
The best I have heard is to just end all isolation quarantines, meaning even if you were exposed you wouldn’t need to isolate at all test or no test. While obviously this would end all quarantine absences short term, it definitely would increase cases to levels unprecedented, and while omicron does appear milder, the sheer volume still will likely kill a few more hundred thousand over the next few months if this were the policy action taken. I am not some Nebraskassippi swindler, so I will just say the blatant, this would be a mass murder. It may be out best option at this point, but let’s not beat around the bush. A lotta people will die because of this action. The people who argued for this course of action are personally responsible for each death. However, it may come at the benefit of keeping our economy afloat and preventing further degradation of the education of the next generation of Americans. If you advocate for shutting down schools, you are personally responsible for the destruction of the future of millions of lower income Americans and millions of students.

I have yet to hear of any other potential ways to fix this issue. If we stick with the status quo completely, I’m guessing several schools will simply shut down or basically be so empty that it would be worse than virtual education. I expect the DullTaco, DullCooper, Manic Montanan, and Sadverroes to throw hissy b**ch fits about their own “solutions” having unforeseen consequences, and they likely will blame the “alarmists” who simply are bringing reason and nuance to the discourse at this point.

Here are the options I have seen:
End all isolation measures completely=Hundreds of thousands of new deaths=Schools stay reopen and kids get a proper education/lower income families aren’t f**ked (unless the breadwinner of the family died, but nobody needs to know about that )

Status quo=Decent number of people die=Some schools do eventually shutdown=Very uneven developments with some places being barely impacted and others getting both many deaths and worse education outcomes/screwed over working class families

Hospital number based policy action=Some people die (but not as many)=Some schools do shut down=Deaths are reduced compared to status quo but education outcomes are worse and more working class families are f**ked

Case number based policy action=Few people die=Many schools shut down and education outcomes are screwed this year and onwards for at least a decade=Millions of lower income students robbed of a proper education (so the GOP should like this one) and working class families screwed


Now let’s see one of the four horsemen of the Covid virus come in to tell me that “nooo, reopening everything is a magic solution that will save everyone and get me laid!”

[riceowl]

btw I had a very questionable at home test right after I took a PCR (that later resulted negative) and then took another at home the day after that was quite positive. Make of it what you will! I'm assuming positive.

[Doomer]

btw I had a very questionable at home test right after I took a PCR (that later resulted negative) and then took another at home the day after that was quite positive. Make of it what you will! I'm assuming positive.

I’ve taken two home tests and a PCR, all negative.

The headache is pretty unbearable tbh and the other symptoms point to omicron.  Even my doctor said it probably was omicron before he tested me.

But the 3 tests showing negative say otherwise.  I guess it’s just a cold.

[Hollywood]

I got a negative test.

Last Saturday it started with a little throat tickle that lasted until Wednesday when I started having a slight cough.  Thursday was lots of congestion, less cough, no more sore throat.  Friday added a headache and even more congestion.

But negative test, so I guess it's a sinus infection?

Word on the street is that people in homes with family members infected with Covid-19 are also seeing the same symptoms despite not testing positive.  This keeps happening, but I have no explanation for it. Now that I think of it, the tests might not be able to pick up omicron, because another version of it might be too distinctive for a PCR Test to identify it.  I think it's pretty settled argument that Covid-19 is evolving rapidly, and maybe taking characteristics of other viruses (Rhinovirus, HIV).        

I had Covid three weeks ago.  As soon as my throat started to bother me and the aches came along, I had my sister in-law buy a whole pot of chicken soup that I drank it and inhaled the steam throughout the day while sitting in a hot bath.  Then I rinsed off with a hot shower and slept.  Rinse and Repeat.  Barely lasted two days.  It never got worse than moderate throat soreness. I'm almost glad that I got Omicron, because at least now I've built immunity.  

I have no idea what Covid-19 looks like next winter, because I have zero confidence in the work being done by the NIH, CDC, and WHO.  Even the medical journals need to be watched carefully due to their censorship of research that is accepted in countries like Japan, South Africa, India and South Korea, but counters American and European infectious disease agencies.  The medical official in South Africa told the world not to panic over Omicron cause it wasn't that dangerous, and the Western World banned flights.  I don't get it.  

I also don't understand why someone like Fauci is still F-ing breathing after he secretly resumed Coronavirus gain-of-function (Frankenstein) research after the Obama Administration left, and lied in Congress about his role in what I can only describe as a crime against humanity.  That guy needs to F-ing go already.  What kind of POS still wants Fauci dictating medical policy?  I don't even know a Democrat that trusts Anthony Fauci.  Just from a political POV, it's a very bad look for the Democrats to put all their faith in a man everyone knows can't be trusted.  

The recent Gallup poll showed that a majority of Americans (52%) still approve of Dr. Fauci. Nevertheless, as this figure indicates, approval of him is polarized along partisan lines at this point, and closely matches Biden's performance against Trump in 2020. 85% of Democrats continue to approve of Fauci, along with 52% of independents, while 81% of Republicans disapprove.  So, I don't think it's true that "everyone" distrusts him. Moreover, the media continues to rely upon Fauci as an authoritative source of information and expertise. I certainly don't think Fauci is right about everything, and I'd wish the media would challenge him more. But that's not going to happen.

I'll give praise to one Democrat - Obama - cause his administration tried to shut Fauci down.  They tried to stop his dangerous research before it could kill anyone.  Other virologists saw the risk, and they tried their best to end gain-of-function research.  I feel like the Obama Administration had people with some humanity as opposed to just appointing amoral or immoral establishment politicians.  I give Obama credit for at least being both a politicians and a human being.  But I hate Fauci will all my moral fiber cause I think that guy might be evil.  

I'm not saying Fauci is wrong about everything, but his illegal and immoral behaviors are extremely shocking to anyone that's followed the scientific research, FOIA E-Mails, Administrative Actions, and Congressional Testimony.  His coverup of the Wuhan Lab Leak was absolutely disgusting when you take into account the January 2020 e-mails from concerned associates that thought the virus was engineered.  Fauci's suggestion that the virus could not be spread from human-to-human was inexcusable in light of all the video evidence and testimony from Doctors in China.  He said "Covid was not a major threat" while I was out buying all the toilet paper lol.  He said Covid-19 is "Not a Major Threat".  He told Americans that masks were unnecessary days before Covid-19 became a major pandemic.  Against well-established scientific research, he said Covid-19 could not spread from the vaccinated, and the vaccinated would become a "Dead End".  During his reversal of that statement, he mislead the public by suggesting that a new study out of India was the basis of his decision even though it was earlier research evaluating data out of the UK and Israel that demonstrated the ridiculous nature of his statements.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/fauci-email-bolsters-the-lab-leak-theory-11622830092

I still remember when Fauci was praising Murderer Cuomo while killing all those people in nursing homes, and then other states started legalizing negligent homicide at nursing homes around the country.  Almost 200,000 people died cause Fauci, Cuomo and leftist media played politics instead of reporting on the issue and discussing the scientific data that would have easily saved tens of thousands  during the first few months.  Fauci will eventually be another irritant and embarrassment for the Democrats, and then they'll have to trump up sexual assault charges against him too. lol.      https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/07/fauci-cuomo-did-great-job-killing-6400-nursing-daniel-greenfield/

Fauci also disagreed with the China and European travel ban, and then flip-flopped.  He said travel bans would be "ineffective".  He advocated for a full and longer economic shutdown cause he had no idea how to manage the situation, provide any type of guidelines so people could get back to work.   https://gizmodo.com/white-house-advisor-dr-fauci-flip-flops-on-whether-tra-1842308441  

Then the man has F-ing panics over every little unknown bump int he road.  He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  The Ds blasted me when I suggested an initial travel ban to give us time to evaluate the situation.  That's how it's done.  I was for travel bans when Obama was facing the whole Ebola scare, but Fauci is like a mentally ill neurotic.        

Honestly, I will find no common ground on Fauci.  The man is F-ing Joke, and he was a Lemming for CCP.  I thought he would be gone after Trump, but Democrats are just too far off the ledge mentally, and they have no desire to amputate the rot.   If he actually did a good job, I'd have a different opinion, but every one of his instincts is either wrong, immoral or surreptitious.  Based on his actions and lies in front of Congress about publicly available research, I have no doubt that he his connected to the experiments that led to the origination of Covid-19, and then tried to cover his tracks like Cuomo. I think it's all a matter of whether or not he is investigated.  

Like I don't know the laws for Crimes Against Humanity, but if I'm correct, he would be a perfect candidate for such a proceeding.  If you make a Frankenstein virus that kills millions of people, or aid and abet, you should be tried for crimes against humanity.  Cause this is going to happen again if we don't set an example.  These guys are working on bioweapons (according to one of the Fauci E-Mails), so the margin of error is nil.  Even a violation of a tiny security protocol should be grounds for termination and investigation.  

[emailking]

He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

Well that's not true. He said it was safe to gather with family if everyone was vaccinated. And he supported the decrease in the quarantine time so that society could keep functioning.

[Hammy]

btw I had a very questionable at home test right after I took a PCR (that later resulted negative) and then took another at home the day after that was quite positive. Make of it what you will! I'm assuming positive.

I’ve taken two home tests and a PCR, all negative.

The headache is pretty unbearable tbh and the other symptoms point to omicron.  Even my doctor said it probably was omicron before he tested me.

But the 3 tests showing negative say otherwise.  I guess it’s just a cold.

Could also be allergies if you're negative, given how much warmer the weather in Georgia has been during most of December and the start of this month.

[Hollywood]

btw I had a very questionable at home test right after I took a PCR (that later resulted negative) and then took another at home the day after that was quite positive. Make of it what you will! I'm assuming positive.

I’ve taken two home tests and a PCR, all negative.

The headache is pretty unbearable tbh and the other symptoms point to omicron.  Even my doctor said it probably was omicron before he tested me.

But the 3 tests showing negative say otherwise.  I guess it’s just a cold.

Yo... I think 3 tests is a little excessive.  Stop wasting time and money.  I just read up on it in a virology forum.  Apparently, many tests are not picking up Omicron, because it has too many distinct characteristics.  I don't know the science behind it, but it seems like the rapid tests are useless, and even the laboratory testing methods need improvement.  

In fact, the inaccuracy of Home Tests is actually breaking news, and the idiot in charge (Fauci) will likely backtrack again when it becomes evident that the Nose Swab and Antigen Tests aren't picking up Covid-19.  https://news.yahoo.com/fauci-warns-home-tests-may-004019614.html

Check out the references to the study I'm posting.  I am told there are a lot of news studies that were initially censored.  One of them actually talks about how medical professionals in Africa were concerned that the tests were picking up on Covid-19.  Many countries are no longer requiring tests for people that have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.  
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2015897#article_citing_articles

"RT-PCR continues to remain as the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 identification due to its high sensitivity and specificity. However, challenges remain and there are still a sufficient number of cases with highly suggestive clinical and radiological signs of COVID-19 pneumonia, as well as epidemiological exposure, who persistently present negative RT-PCRs. Delay in microbiological confirmation of disease in a hospital environment can negatively impact diagnosis, isolation of patients and therapy, as well as access to available clinical trials."

Effectively managing an emerging infectious disease requires logistically feasible, fast, and accurate community-level monitoring to inform real-time decisions about community mitigation actions [2, 6]. A primary hurdle to achieving accurate community-level monitoring is the tradeoff between speed and accuracy inherent in disease tests; rapid tests (e.g., antigen tests developed by Abbott [7]) are more error prone and therefore have a lower sensitivity for disease detection [8,9,10].
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10609-y

Again... This is just another scientific story that some Republicans have been discussing along with the studies that were indicating a lot of false positives.  I don't know.  

If I were a pharmaceutical company like Roche, I'd want you to take 10 tests just to be sure you don't have it.  I don't think you need to worry about Omicron.  I trust the medical official in South Africa, because he actually provided accurate information telling the world community that Omicron was not dangerous. 

[Doomer]

Aight

[Hollywood]

He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

Well that's not true. He said it was safe to gather with family if everyone was vaccinated. And he supported the decrease in the quarantine time so that society could keep functioning.

Oh did he changed his mind again?  I understand.  He can only push people too far before they start showing up to his home with Fauci effigies.  Three days before Christmas, he said the vaccinated should not go to large parties with 30, 40, or 50 people.  Essentially, poor people should have Thanksgiving Dinner with each other.  He also said the unvaccinated should come to Thanksgiving Dinner.  Get your five year old vaccinated or they can't go see their unvaccinated cousins. I'm so glad my sister no longer values this A-Hole's opinion.  
https://www.westernjournal.com/fauci-calls-holiday-party-shutdown-three-days-christmas-stay-away/

"All the new chaos got the CDC last week to roll back its 10-day isolation requirement to just five days, but Fauci is now questioning that decision and suggesting a negative test result as another condition for ending isolation."  And as I wrote above, the tests are accurate.  There's even inconsistencies with laboratory results.  There's literally hundreds of studies referenced in my citation that are examining the issue.  https://nypost.com/2022/01/03/fauci-gets-it-right-on-measuring-covid-then-undermines-new-cdc-quarantine-advice/

Why?  I wouldn't even avoid Omicron.  There's no point.  It's super contagious so you're going to get it no matter how hard you try not to get it, and it's not that deadly for the unvaccinated people that aren't already in terminally vulnerable situations.  

[emailking]

He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

Well that's not true. He said it was safe to gather with family if everyone was vaccinated. And he supported the decrease in the quarantine time so that society could keep functioning.

Oh did he changed his mind again?  I understand.

No he didn't change his mind. You just had the facts wrong.

[Mr. Illini]

He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

Well that's not true. He said it was safe to gather with family if everyone was vaccinated. And he supported the decrease in the quarantine time so that society could keep functioning.

Oh did he changed his mind again?  I understand.  He can only push people too far before they start showing up to his home with Fauci effigies.  Three days before Christmas, he said the vaccinated should not go to large parties with 30, 40, or 50 people.  Essentially, poor people should have Thanksgiving Dinner with each other.  He also said the unvaccinated should come to Thanksgiving Dinner.  Get your five year old vaccinated or they can't go see their unvaccinated cousins. I'm so glad my sister no longer values this A-Hole's opinion.  
https://www.westernjournal.com/fauci-calls-holiday-party-shutdown-three-days-christmas-stay-away/

The only thing you got correct here is that he recommended (not required) folks not go to gatherings of 30+ people. You call that "shutting down the economy?"

Everything else you've claimed is factually incorrect. He actually endorsed holiday travel for vaxxed/boosted people.

[You are responsible]

He wanted to shut down the entire economy again over Omicron, and told people not to travel on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

Well that's not true. He said it was safe to gather with family if everyone was vaccinated. And he supported the decrease in the quarantine time so that society could keep functioning.

Oh did he changed his mind again?  I understand.  He can only push people too far before they start showing up to his home with Fauci effigies.  Three days before Christmas, he said the vaccinated should not go to large parties with 30, 40, or 50 people.  Essentially, poor people should have Thanksgiving Dinner with each other.  He also said the unvaccinated should come to Thanksgiving Dinner.  Get your five year old vaccinated or they can't go see their unvaccinated cousins. I'm so glad my sister no longer values this A-Hole's opinion.  
https://www.westernjournal.com/fauci-calls-holiday-party-shutdown-three-days-christmas-stay-away/

The only thing you got correct here is that he recommended (not required) folks not go to gatherings of 30+ people. You call that "shutting down the economy?"

Everything else you've claimed is factually incorrect. He actually endorsed holiday travel for vaxxed/boosted people.

Well, at the very least Hollywood has got an enemy to hate. I guess that must count for something.

[Hammy]

I trust the medical official in South Africa, because he actually provided accurate information telling the world community that Omicron was not dangerous. 

"Less dangerous" does not mean "not dangerous". It's still 2-3 times deadlier than the flu at this stage. It's a positive sign as it will likely continue evolving quickly to the point we can live with, and is significantly less of a risk than prior variants, but to claim that South Africa called it "not dangerous" is an outright lie.

[Andrew Cuomo is a No Go]

Can we stop posting the equivalent of chain email screeds in this thread? It’s bad enough already without them.

[Horus]

This woman's son tested positive for COVID...

...so she decided to put him in the trunk of her car.

And she is, of course, a teacher.

https://m.worldstarhiphop.com/web/video.php?v=wshhv3mDO4TV6VpQE1v0

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

This woman's son tested positive for COVID...

...so she decided to put him in the trunk of her car.

And she is, of course, a teacher.

https://m.worldstarhiphop.com/web/video.php?v=wshhv3mDO4TV6VpQE1v0

Reminds me of this thing much earlier in the pandemic, where a woman talked about how her five-year-old daughter was exposed at school and had to be quarantined in her room for two weeks. She talked about how she could hear the girl crying and begging to be let out, and it was so hard on her. She posted on Twitter seeking sympathy. She did not get it.