COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Person Man]

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan speaks to Trump supporters at a rally in Alabama about their decision to not get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Click here to watch ... https://us.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/08/24/donie-osullivan-trump-supporters-ac360-biz-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/coronavirus/

I don't know if a want to laugh or cry or scream-out in anger.
Listening to these people, you would think they just arrived from Mars or something.
One of them, even says he has stocked-up on hydroxychloroquine ... wasn't that like last year's BS miracle?

Now it's what? Livestock dewormer? This isn't how adults act.

[DINGO Joe]

Reported deaths per 1 million pop using the 2020 Census instead of 2019 estimates (which Worldometer and CDC are still using)

1--New Jersey      2882
2--Mississippi       2755
3--New York         2705
4--Arizona            2606
5--Louisiana         2601
6--Massachusetts  2588
7--Rhode Island    2515
8--Alabama          2389
9--South Dakota   2321
10--Connecticut    2310 
11--Arkansas        2241

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

F[inks]ing YIKES.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1430546392288841732?s=19

New York really just had an exorcism.

[compucomp]

F[inks]ing YIKES.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1430546392288841732?s=19
New York really just had an exorcism.

This is not especially relevant to this thread, but it's really, really unfortunate that Democratic infighting resulting from ambitious NY Dems wanting to take down Cuomo has handed the pro-COVID forces a propaganda victory. Who knows what similar investigations in Florida or Texas might reveal about their pandemic handling, but there, the Republicans stand united insisting the pandemic is a Democratic hoax and other such nonsense, and would stonewall and shut down any attempt at investigation.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

F[inks]ing YIKES.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1430546392288841732?s=19
New York really just had an exorcism.

This is not especially relevant to this thread, but it's really, really unfortunate that Democratic infighting resulting from ambitious NY Dems wanting to take down Cuomo has handed the pro-COVID forces a propaganda victory. Who knows what similar investigations in Florida or Texas might reveal about their pandemic handling, but there, the Republicans stand united insisting the pandemic is a Democratic hoax and other such nonsense, and would stonewall and shut down any attempt at investigation.

See, a fairly typical (D) response that proves my point.

Who knows what similar investigations in Florida or Texas might reveal about their pandemic handling

I've seen this batsh**t crazy conspiracy during the whole pandemic. "Republicans're just better at covering up the deaths!!!!!!!1111oneoneone". It's get debunked every time, but  memory span of conspiracy theorists is quite short.

Science knows. You have excessive mortality data. It's not a perfect, but it is one of the best methods to reveal hidden covid deaths. Unless you think that DeSantis and Abbot conspired to fake this data, too...


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/31/actually-data-dont-suggest-anything-unusual-about-floridas-excess-death-toll/
Actually, the data don’t suggest anything unusual about Florida’s excess death toll

For months, critics of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have suggested that his administration is underreporting the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in his state. The high-profile firing of (and subsequent investigation into) Florida’s top data manager contributed to such questions. Shortly before the 2020 election — in which DeSantis’s political ally, President Donald Trump, was being judged in part on his pandemic response — the state’s reported death numbers suddenly dropped.

DeSantis’s habit of leaning into criticism from his political opponents has heightened scrutiny of how the pandemic is unfolding in his state. But, overall, the numbers from Florida aren’t much different from other places, muddying efforts to cast DeSantis as incompetent or nefarious.

Given all of that, it’s not surprising that a report from Yahoo News alleging that the number of deaths reported in the state was undercounted was embraced by the governor’s critics. Former governor (and former Republican) Charlie Crist, who’s exploring a run for his old job, declared on Twitter that DeSantis “was likely hiding thousands of positive COVID cases,” linking to the article.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Bodies stacked to the ceiling as COVID-19 surge creates backlog at Florida funeral homes, crematories

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/SweeneyABC/status/1430534784074256388

I expect to see a lot more of this.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

[Horus]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

Lolla was 90% vaccinated and people were packed like sardines. So long as a crowd is full of fully vaccinated individuals they should be able to get as close to one another as they like.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

Lolla was 90% vaccinated and people were packed like sardines. So long as a crowd is full of fully vaccinated individuals they should be able to get as close to one another as they like.

The key difference is that Lollapalooza was requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative test, but UGA isn't requiring *anything* for football games.

[Horus]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

Lolla was 90% vaccinated and people were packed like sardines. So long as a crowd is full of fully vaccinated individuals they should be able to get as close to one another as they like.

The key difference is that Lollapalooza was requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative test, but UGA isn't requiring *anything* for football games.

Of course, but I already said just in my last post that besides the lack of a vaccine mandate, UGA has the correct policy. Masks for vaccinated individuals are bad enough, but making us social distance is quite frankly intolerable.

[pppolitics]

South Dakota Covid cases quintuple after Sturgis motorcycle rally

Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold.

South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths, up from 644 cases in the 14 days preceding it. That makes it the state with the largest percent increase in Covid cases in the past two weeks.

The state's rate of Covid-19 infections per capita in the past two weeks is in the bottom half of the country, but it's the sharp and sudden increase in case counts that sets it apart.

Meade County, home to Sturgis, has counted 330 new cases in the last two weeks, up from the 20 reported in the two weeks before the rally, according to Johns Hopkins University's case count. The 1,550 percent increase comes after the motorcycle rally, which usually draws around half a million people, possibly had its biggest year ever, according to County Sheriff Ron Merwin.

[...]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-dakota-covid-cases-quintuple-after-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-n1277567

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

Lolla was 90% vaccinated and people were packed like sardines. So long as a crowd is full of fully vaccinated individuals they should be able to get as close to one another as they like.

I remember the days when libertarians at least pretended to care about potential harm to others. The vaccines we have for COVID are quite capable of keeping someone out of the hospital, but not as much when it comes to keep them from getting infected and spreading COVID to other people.

[Horus]

Louisiana State University to require fans at football games to show proof of vaccination or recent negative test:

LSU will require anyone attending Tiger Stadium who is 12 years of age or older to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours, the school announced on Tuesday.
...
Those younger than 12 will not have to show proof of a negative PCR test. However, masks will be required for children between 5 and 11 years old and encouraged for those younger than 5.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32077089/proof-vaccination-negative-covid-19-pcr-test-required-enter-tiger-stadium

And here's the counterpoint, which it greatly pains me to post:

https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1430238454617722883

There should definitely be proof of vaccination but other than that this is the correct policy for outdoor events.

The primary reason to even consider different standards for indoor and outdoor events is that people are spread out at most outdoor events. That's definitely not the case for the stands at a sporting event.

Lolla was 90% vaccinated and people were packed like sardines. So long as a crowd is full of fully vaccinated individuals they should be able to get as close to one another as they like.

I remember the days when libertarians at least pretended to care about potential harm to others. The vaccines we have for COVID are quite capable of keeping someone out of the hospital, but not as much when it comes to keep them from getting infected and spreading COVID to other people.

I'm not even close to being a libertarian though so not sure where that came from? Not too many libertarians support universal healthcare and trust busting.

And as transmissible as Delta is we've probably all had COVID by now and most of us just didn't know since we're fully vaccinated. I'm glad people are enjoying outdoor events again. Besides, we were told at the beginning of the pandemic that the point of all of these policies was to lower the hospitalization rate. Now they're to prevent us from getting sick at all?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Once we have vaccines approved for all ages we can be a bit more blasé about the effects upon the unvaccinated. Until then, it's definitely too early to talk about "Mission Accomplished" .

[Joe Republic]

https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/1429898140040286211?s=21

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I haven't been checking into this thread lately, so I apologize if boosters have already been discussed but:
https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1430634206980448267
As I said in another thread, I'm just gonna spend those two or three days loaded on whiskey.

77% of vaccinated people say they intend to get boosters, and distribution could start as early as a few weeks from now.

[emailking]

https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/1429898140040286211?s=21

Couldn't work for Pfizer because of the cold storage issue.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Reported deaths per 1 million pop using the 2020 Census instead of 2019 estimates (which Worldometer and CDC are still using)

1--New Jersey      2882
2--Mississippi       2755
3--New York         2705
4--Arizona            2606
5--Louisiana         2601
6--Massachusetts  2588
7--Rhode Island    2515
8--Alabama          2389
9--South Dakota   2321
10--Connecticut    2310 
11--Arkansas        2241

It still sucks that my state is in first, but Mississippi overtaking New York really is kind of vindicating when it comes to having a comeback for the infamous "Republican Governors can do whatever they want because New York and New Jersey."

[GP270watch]

Comparing Florida and NY for Covid deaths is dumb. Different geography, climate, transportation methods, population density, etc.

[Person Man]

Reported deaths per 1 million pop using the 2020 Census instead of 2019 estimates (which Worldometer and CDC are still using)

1--New Jersey      2882
2--Mississippi       2755
3--New York         2705
4--Arizona            2606
5--Louisiana         2601
6--Massachusetts  2588
7--Rhode Island    2515
8--Alabama          2389
9--South Dakota   2321
10--Connecticut    2310 
11--Arkansas        2241

It still sucks that my state is in first, but Mississippi overtaking New York really is kind of vindicating when it comes to having a comeback for the infamous "Republican Governors can do whatever they want because New York and New Jersey."

So we are at about an infection rate of 12% and a fatality rate of 2%? The numbers add up.

If things were only slightly worse in the R0, fatality rate, or our sh**t response to this, our nation would have been crippled for a decade at least.

[_.]

A piece of good news

Presumably due to higher vaccination rates among American seniors, we can see that they have (relatively) been hit less hard by this wave than they have previous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Image Link

While every age group below the age of 60 is doing worse during the Delta wave in terms of hospitalizations than they were in the Winter wave, seniors are doing better.

This is good because it means deaths are likely to be lower.

[Hammy]

A piece of good news

Presumably due to higher vaccination rates among American seniors, we can see that they have (relatively) been hit less hard by this wave than they have previous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Image Link

While every age group below the age of 60 is doing worse during the Delta wave in terms of hospitalizations than they were in the Winter wave, seniors are doing better.

This is good because it means deaths are likely to be lower.

It's horrifying to think what these graphs would look like had Delta happened last summer or during the winter.

[_.]

maybe people should try losing a bit of weight, eating better in general, getting more sun, eating garlic or other stuff to boost their immune system to try preventing getting covid instead of stuff that's iffy at best like getting the clot shot or wearing leather dog masks(cloth masks and n95s aren't enough, guys. its the cdc who makes the recommendations not me) or standing six feet apart

What does this even mean

[emailking]

maybe people should try losing a bit of weight, eating better in general, getting more sun, eating garlic or other stuff to boost their immune system to try preventing getting covid instead of stuff that's iffy at best like getting the [color=#ffffff]clot shot[/color] or wearing leather dog masks(cloth masks and n95s aren't enough, guys. its the cdc who makes the recommendations not me) or standing six feet apart

What does this even mean

look into the health risks of getting the covid-19 shot, especially the j&j one

I thought you said you were vaccinated.