COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/CDCDirector/status/1481315911843856387

Thank you Dr. Rochelle, very cool!

Of course, it makes even less sense than ever to force young, healthy people to get vaccinated.  That won't be the takeaway by the CDC though.  A lot of $$$ on the line for big pharma.

 California has some of the highest vaccination rates among large states already, you do realize that this data of less severe infection is a reality of this.

 84% of all eligible Californians have at least 1 shot and 67% have a full dose.

California's relatively high vaccination rate should mean then, that places like Sonoma County should not be issuing voluntary stay-at-home orders, nor was it necessary for the state to have reimposed its mask mandate.

 read her very next tweet that I posted above.

I'm aware that Walensky and the CDC are doubling down on their masking and social distancing recommendations, although evidence is already surfacing that the Omicron variant may be approaching its peak in the United States and that coronavirus is transitioning into becoming an endemic disease. And within the Biden Administration itself, there is increasing awareness that we must begin preparing Americans to live with the virus. That doesn't mean that restrictions should be normalized or made permanent.

[compucomp]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

[soundchaser]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

Spite is no way to live your life. Ever consider that some folks are more upset at your gleeful joy at the continuation of the pandemic than anything else?

[Hammy]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

Literally nobody will be "triggered" by people being sent masks they can simply choose not to wear if they don't want, other than perhaps you being triggered over scenarios that exist only in your mind.

[Aurelius]

https://twitter.com/CDCDirector/status/1481315911843856387
Thank you Dr. Rochelle, very cool!

Of course, it makes even less sense than ever to force young, healthy people to get vaccinated.  That won't be the takeaway by the CDC though.  A lot of $$$ on the line for big pharma.

91% less deadly can also be expressed as 11.1x less deadly. Awhile back, based on South Africa data, I crudely estimated Omicron is 16.8x less deadly IRC. Looks like while that was a bit overoptimistic, it was on the right order of magnitude.

[compucomp]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

Literally nobody will be "triggered" by people being sent masks they can simply choose not to wear if they don't want, other than perhaps you being triggered over scenarios that exist only in your mind.

Oh, I'm sure you are wrong about this. How many times have we heard here that masks are a symbol of the pandemic and that even seeing people voluntarily wear them changes the atmosphere of any setting and affects mental health etc? Why do so many complain here about seeing people wear masks outdoors? Clearly the anti-mask posters here are by now offended by the very sight of masks. How better to trigger them than to literally send them some of the hated masks right to their mailboxes?

[Migrant Crime]

https://twitter.com/CDCDirector/status/1481315911843856387

Thank you Dr. Rochelle, very cool!

Of course, it makes even less sense than ever to force young, healthy people to get vaccinated.  That won't be the takeaway by the CDC though.  A lot of $$$ on the line for big pharma.

 California has some of the highest vaccination rates among large states already, you do realize that this data of less severe infection is a reality of this.

 84% of all eligible Californians have at least 1 shot and 67% have a full dose.

Very next tweet

https://twitter.com/CDCDirector/status/1481315913773338626

They did control for vaccination though.  I read the actual report

"Reductions in disease severity associated with Omicron variant infections were evident among both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, and among those with or without documented prior SARS-CoV-2 infection."

The rate of symptomatic hospitalization for an unvaccinated person dropped by about 50%.  Obviously, Dr. Rochelle isn't going to highlight that!

Pg 18 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v1.full.pdf

[Hammy]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

Literally nobody will be "triggered" by people being sent masks they can simply choose not to wear if they don't want, other than perhaps you being triggered over scenarios that exist only in your mind.

Oh, I'm sure you are wrong about this. How many times have we heard here that masks are a symbol of the pandemic and that even seeing people voluntarily wear them changes the atmosphere of any setting and affects mental health etc? Why do so many complain here about seeing people wear masks outdoors? Clearly the anti-mask posters here are by now offended by the very sight of masks. How better to trigger them than to literally send them some of the hated masks right to their mailboxes?

Complaining about being required =/= complaining about having on hand. Again, you are upsetting yourself over notions you have decided to create entirely on your own.

[Can't Bear]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

So basically WH indirectly admit that normie masks doesn't work (and never did). N95 gives at least some defense.




Though, this wave is likely over in couple of weeks, so 90% of people will be "vaccinated" anyway.

[compucomp]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

Literally nobody will be "triggered" by people being sent masks they can simply choose not to wear if they don't want, other than perhaps you being triggered over scenarios that exist only in your mind.

Oh, I'm sure you are wrong about this. How many times have we heard here that masks are a symbol of the pandemic and that even seeing people voluntarily wear them changes the atmosphere of any setting and affects mental health etc? Why do so many complain here about seeing people wear masks outdoors? Clearly the anti-mask posters here are by now offended by the very sight of masks. How better to trigger them than to literally send them some of the hated masks right to their mailboxes?

Complaining about being required =/= complaining about having on hand. Again, you are upsetting yourself over notions you have decided to create entirely on your own.

Go back through this thread and you'll find many posts complaining about people voluntarily wearing masks. Posts saying "Ugh why in my deep blue area do people wear masks outdoors?" Posts saying how masks are a symbol of the pandemic. Maybe anti-mask sentiment on this forum started out as anti-mandate but by now it is firmly anti-mask, to the point that they'd probably join in those mask-burning protests. They're going to have a rude awakening when they see those masks in the mail.

[Can't Bear]

Ugh why in my deep blue area do people wear masks outdoors?

Mask outdoor? 

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

All the people here screeching about why masks are no big deal because "it's just a piece of cloth, who cares?" are way missing the point and using a pretty absurd argument. We could say the same thing about hijabs, they're also just a piece of cloth and most women who wear them don't think it's a big deal. But I'm sure no one here approves of countries that require women to wear a hijab, and if anyone proposed that women be required to wear a hijab in a majority Muslim area of any US city (yes zero chance of that occurring but hypotheticals don't need to be realistic) everyone would call it absurd and be opposed.

"But that's completely different! That's a religious thing as opposed to a public health one and masks provide these public health benefits that hijabs clearly don't, etc. etc."

Then the arguments should be based around how these public benefits from masks are important and defending mask mandates on the objective grounds of how they provide these, not just "LOL, it's just a piece of cloth, why do you care?"

[GeneralMacArthur]

All the people here screeching about why masks are no big deal because "it's just a piece of cloth, who cares?" are way missing the point and using a pretty absurd argument. We could say the same thing about hijabs, they're also just a piece of cloth and most women who wear them don't think it's a big deal. But I'm sure no one here approves of countries that require women to wear a hijab, and if anyone proposed that women be required to wear a hijab in a majority Muslim area of any US city (yes zero chance of that occurring but hypotheticals don't need to be realistic) everyone would call it absurd and be opposed.

"But that's completely different! That's a religious thing as opposed to a public health one and masks provide these public health benefits that hijabs clearly don't, etc. etc."

Then the arguments should be based around how these public benefits from masks are important and defending mask mandates on the objective grounds of how they provide these, not just "LOL, it's just a piece of cloth, why do you care?"

I can't believe it's two years into the pandemic and people are still arguing about whether masks help prevent the spread or not.  This is why I've started to simply lose interest in politics and current events lately, because it's just the same arguments over and over and over again and they never go anywhere.  Nobody is ever capable of changing their mind on anything or being convinced by anything, and even if they temporarily are, they revert back within a matter of hours.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

All the people here screeching about why masks are no big deal because "it's just a piece of cloth, who cares?" are way missing the point and using a pretty absurd argument. We could say the same thing about hijabs, they're also just a piece of cloth and most women who wear them don't think it's a big deal. But I'm sure no one here approves of countries that require women to wear a hijab, and if anyone proposed that women be required to wear a hijab in a majority Muslim area of any US city (yes zero chance of that occurring but hypotheticals don't need to be realistic) everyone would call it absurd and be opposed.

"But that's completely different! That's a religious thing as opposed to a public health one and masks provide these public health benefits that hijabs clearly don't, etc. etc."

Then the arguments should be based around how these public benefits from masks are important and defending mask mandates on the objective grounds of how they provide these, not just "LOL, it's just a piece of cloth, why do you care?"

I can't believe it's two years into the pandemic and people are still arguing about whether masks help prevent the spread or not.  This is why I've started to simply lose interest in politics and current events lately, because it's just the same arguments over and over and over again and they never go anywhere.  Nobody is ever capable of changing their mind on anything or being convinced by anything, and even if they temporarily are, they revert back within a matter of hours.

I'm not disputing that masks help prevent the spread, just saying the arguments in this thread in their favor are really stupid.

Also even the opponents of mask mandates don't really disagree with that and didn't oppose them a year ago, they're mostly just of the mindset that they're vaccinated and thus it's unnecessary.

[Hammy]

This is long, long overdue, and the fact that it will trigger the sh**t out of this forum is a pretty sweet bonus.

The White House says it is considering offering ‘high-quality’ masks to Americans.

The White House on Wednesday said that it was considering a program to offer “high-quality” masks to Americans as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads through the nation.

“We’re in the process right now of strongly considering options,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing on the pandemic. He offered no details about what type of masks might be distributed, how many or when.

The White House has not yet settled on what the program will look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. One option would be making the masks available at community sites, one person familiar with the planning said.

Literally nobody will be "triggered" by people being sent masks they can simply choose not to wear if they don't want, other than perhaps you being triggered over scenarios that exist only in your mind.

Oh, I'm sure you are wrong about this. How many times have we heard here that masks are a symbol of the pandemic and that even seeing people voluntarily wear them changes the atmosphere of any setting and affects mental health etc? Why do so many complain here about seeing people wear masks outdoors? Clearly the anti-mask posters here are by now offended by the very sight of masks. How better to trigger them than to literally send them some of the hated masks right to their mailboxes?

Complaining about being required =/= complaining about having on hand. Again, you are upsetting yourself over notions you have decided to create entirely on your own.

Go back through this thread and you'll find many posts complaining about people voluntarily wearing masks. Posts saying "Ugh why in my deep blue area do people wear masks outdoors?" Posts saying how masks are a symbol of the pandemic. Maybe anti-mask sentiment on this forum started out as anti-mandate but by now it is firmly anti-mask, to the point that they'd probably join in those mask-burning protests. They're going to have a rude awakening when they see those masks in the mail.

Whatever delusion helps you sleep I guess.

[soundchaser]

I will say that I’m of the mindset that cloth masks *don’t* do much against Omicron, and that expecting every American to wear an N95 in an indoor setting is untenable. There’s a lot of theater involved here.

That said, fine, sure, send every American a better mask than most have. It’s not going to solve the problem in the way mandatory COVID sick leave would, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Donerail]

Maybe anti-mask sentiment on this forum started out as anti-mandate but by now it is firmly anti-mask, to the point that they'd probably join in those mask-burning protests. They're going to have a rude awakening when they see those masks in the mail.

Why would I complain about being sent more kindling?

[Calthrina950]

I will say that I’m of the mindset that cloth masks *don’t* do much against Omicron, and that expecting every American to wear an N95 in an indoor setting is untenable. There’s a lot of theater involved here.

That said, fine, sure, send every American a better mask than most have. It’s not going to solve the problem in the way mandatory COVID sick leave would, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't understand the recent push for N95 and KN95 masks. They are uncomfortable to wear, and I'm not sure if the benefits which they may confer outweigh the disadvantages inherent to them.

[GregTheGreat657]

The abandonment of contact tracing over the past week is the most telling local development in Vermont. The news that schools will no longer bother with it has received plenty of jeering, but it's just forced the better-informed to explain that there is no longer any benefit to that expense. It seems like a real turning point.

I wish New York did this...

[GregTheGreat657]

The abandonment of contact tracing over the past week is the most telling local development in Vermont. The news that schools will no longer bother with it has received plenty of jeering, but it's just forced the better-informed to explain that there is no longer any benefit to that expense. It seems like a real turning point.

I wish New York did this...

I wouldn't be too optimistic about the Hundred Year Winter ending any time soon in Narnia.

I know my state can be pretty f***ing stupid about this pandemic, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't want them to do it

[HillGoose]

how can people even believe this will ever end anymore

that anything will ever get better

it won't, everything is ed, always has been and always will be

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

For the record this is what I support instead of mask mandates: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/12/minneapolis-st-paul-to-require-restaurant-goers-to-show-proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-test

This is awesome and should've come before reinstating the mask mandate last week (that is widely ignored anyway.)

[Horus]

how can people even believe this will ever end anymore

that anything will ever get better

it won't, everything is ed, always has been and always will be

Things are already much better. Deaths are way down, omicron is mild. The problem now is getting the 30-35% of brainwashed hypochondriacs out of eternal COVID mode.

[Migrant Crime]

For the record this is what I support instead of mask mandates: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/12/minneapolis-st-paul-to-require-restaurant-goers-to-show-proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-test

This is awesome and should've come before reinstating the mask mandate last week (that is widely ignored anyway.)

How awesome!  Now you've got to show a vaccine card everywhere you go AND cover your fully vaccinated face.  That's two interventions that will do absolutely nothing for anyones health.  Were you not just bragging to me less than two weeks ago about how your beautiful blue state metro had no restrictions and life was totally normal?

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

For the record this is what I support instead of mask mandates: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/12/minneapolis-st-paul-to-require-restaurant-goers-to-show-proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-test

This is awesome and should've come before reinstating the mask mandate last week (that is widely ignored anyway.)

How awesome!  Now you've got to show a vaccine card everywhere you go AND cover your fully vaccinated face.  That's two interventions that will do absolutely nothing for anyones health.  Were you not just bragging to me less than two weeks ago about how your beautiful blue state metro had no restrictions and life was totally normal?

I support vaccine mandates because they don't harm me and anti-vaxxers are f[inks]ing trash who deserve no sympathy. So anti-vaxxers are inconvenienced? Why the f[inks] should I care?