COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[DINGO Joe]

A bizarre data point out of South Africa

Whites in the country have a higher death rate than blacks, despite the wealth and income and healthcare access gap being extreme.

Wonder what explains this?

Are whites in SA an older cohort?

Yes.  From Wikipedia:

In South Africa, the Black African population is spread out, with 34.0% under the age of 15, 21.6% from 15 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 11.8% from 45 to 64 and 4.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of an Black African is 21 years.
...
In South Africa, the White population is spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 15, 15.1% from 15 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of a White is 35 years.

I would also expect that the lower level of healthcare access would lead to an underreporting of black deaths from covid.

In the US, the pandemic has gotten increasingly whiter as it's gone along.  I wouldn't quite call it a Klandemic at this point but it's getting there.

[Matty]

There was never a reason to “distrust” South African data that for weeks has been showing a milder wave.

People think SA is some third world failed state, when it’s really this:

Does this scene look any different than america to you?

https://youtu.be/MTH19S-P3sA

[Roll Roons]

There was never a reason to “distrust” South African data that for weeks has been showing a milder wave.

People think SA is some third world failed state, when it’s really this:

Does this scene look any different than america to you?

https://youtu.be/MTH19S-P3sA

It's just doomers and forever restrictions types getting off on the prospect of another scary new variant without stopping to consider that it really might be milder.

I trust South Africa a lot more than I trust China.

[Oakvale]

There was never a reason to “distrust” South African data that for weeks has been showing a milder wave.

Did you know that if you ask a public health goon if "racism is a public health crisis" and then ask them if South African data can be trusted their brain will explode like a robot trying to process a logical paradox?

[Aurelius]

I can't help wonder what all these doomer epidemiologists were doing before March 2020.

[pbrower2a]

Less severe? Quantitative evidence, please.

[Aurelius]

Less severe? Quantitative evidence, please.

https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1473065319769862145?s=20

Very good news.

[Inmate Trump]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

[Horus]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

[Frodo]

This article is from last week, but it seems no one has posted it here yet:

Fewer Americans Support Mask, Vaccine Mandates Ahead of Holiday Gatherings, Poll Finds

American support for face masks and vaccine mandates has declined in the weeks leading up to the holidays, when many plan to travel home and gather indoor with loved ones despite the ongoing pandemic.

A new poll released by Monmouth University on Wednesday found that support for statewide mask orders and social distancing guidelines has decreased to 55 percent this month, compared with September's 63 percent during the spread of the Delta variant.

The poll also saw a decline in support for vaccine mandates in offices and other public spaces where people congregate, falling from 53 percent in September to a minority of Americans now. Only 46 percent of those polled between December 2 and December 6 said they still back the requiring of proof of vaccination status.

As fears over the Delta variant have fallen and growing concern over the Omicron variant takes over, the survey also found that Americans on both sides of the aisle are quickly becoming fatigued by new variants and fluctuating health guidelines.

Six in ten Americans say they feel worn out by pandemic-related changes they've had to make to their daily lives, with 64 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of Democrats saying they feel at least a little worn out by the coronavirus.

[President Johnson]

Less severe? Quantitative evidence, please.

There's not enough data for a serious answer as of now. I heard from studies that confirm this, though others say these are flawed or just not representative.

[Roll Roons]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

[Horus]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

I'm convinced there is a segment of society (not Trump virus necessarily) who preferred living in COVID mode. They actually enjoyed the isolation and staying at home, they want the "new normal" to continue forever. These are the types of people who are fine with eternal masking but won't get vaccinated or don't think the vaccines are effective. They are incredibly misanthropic, and a bigger threat than the Trumpers who won't vax or mask. At least the latter group is out of COVID mode

[Calthrina950]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

The problem is that the media, public health officials, and politicians are not treating Omicron as if it were a mild variant. They are acting as if it is a grave new threat that demands caution on the part of the populace.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1473678437978148867

Gee, I wonder what else it could be...

[FrancoAgo]

other from a italian professor on british studies

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[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

There was never a reason to “distrust” South African data that for weeks has been showing a milder wave.

There is. Very bad testing. In west "true" cases estimated being underreported by 2-5 times. In South Africa by ~20 times.

Immune people usually get mild, if any symptoms, and 90% are "naturally" immune in SA because of Delta wave.

[Inmate Trump]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

I'm convinced there is a segment of society (not Trump virus necessarily) who preferred living in COVID mode. They actually enjoyed the isolation and staying at home, they want the "new normal" to continue forever. These are the types of people who are fine with eternal masking but won't get vaccinated or don't think the vaccines are effective. They are incredibly misanthropic, and a bigger threat than the Trumpers who won't vax or mask. At least the latter group is out of COVID mode

I know you stated you weren't speaking of me necessarily, but I just want to point out that I have absolutely abhorred daily life over the last 2 years.  I want no more part of a covid-world.  I have slowly started to put away the mask (in certain situations) and I don't do social distancing anymore.  Having said that, I am still a nervous wreck about covid (and concerned about omicron) and I intend to wait and see how things go with the supposed upcoming wave.

EDIT: I meant to add also....I don't think it's unreasonable to approach new variants with an abundance of caution.  If covid has taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.  That's the approach I'm going with until things ultimately settle down (which I'm aware may be a while).  I'm not pushing that on others...they can feel free to do whatever they want.  But that's how I need to act in order to keep my own sanity over germs and sh**t.

[compucomp]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

I'm convinced there is a segment of society (not Trump virus necessarily) who preferred living in COVID mode. They actually enjoyed the isolation and staying at home, they want the "new normal" to continue forever. These are the types of people who are fine with eternal masking but won't get vaccinated or don't think the vaccines are effective. They are incredibly misanthropic, and a bigger threat than the Trumpers who won't vax or mask. At least the latter group is out of COVID mode

Only on this forum could someone make a serious post declarnig that responsible people, who want to keep themselves and people they care about safe from COVID-19, and whose greatest sin is minimizing their time in public, are a "bigger threat" than a bunch of numbskulls who willfully spread a deadly disease around and who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the government. What, are you a restaurant owner salty about the people who cancelled their holiday party reservations?

[Horus]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

I'm convinced there is a segment of society (not Trump virus necessarily) who preferred living in COVID mode. They actually enjoyed the isolation and staying at home, they want the "new normal" to continue forever. These are the types of people who are fine with eternal masking but won't get vaccinated or don't think the vaccines are effective. They are incredibly misanthropic, and a bigger threat than the Trumpers who won't vax or mask. At least the latter group is out of COVID mode

Only on this forum could someone make a serious post declarnig that responsible people, who want to keep themselves and people they care about safe from COVID-19, and whose greatest sin is minimizing their time in public, are a "bigger threat" than a bunch of numbskulls who willfully spread a deadly disease around and who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the government. What, are you a restaurant owner salty about the people who cancelled their holiday party reservations?

Just go hook yourself up to the metaverse already. Leave the 99% of us who still value sharing pheremones and seeing faces alone.

[compucomp]

The above graphic is promising but I’d also urge caution until a few more weeks have passed so we can see a clear indication of fewer deaths.


Deaths lag.

Deaths lag by about two weeks. It has been four.

Cases are also rapidly declining in South Africa. We would have known if hospitals were overwhelmed and people were dying in the streets like India in April.

It's like people are deliberately avoiding good news.

I'm convinced there is a segment of society (not Trump virus necessarily) who preferred living in COVID mode. They actually enjoyed the isolation and staying at home, they want the "new normal" to continue forever. These are the types of people who are fine with eternal masking but won't get vaccinated or don't think the vaccines are effective. They are incredibly misanthropic, and a bigger threat than the Trumpers who won't vax or mask. At least the latter group is out of COVID mode

Only on this forum could someone make a serious post declarnig that responsible people, who want to keep themselves and people they care about safe from COVID-19, and whose greatest sin is minimizing their time in public, are a "bigger threat" than a bunch of numbskulls who willfully spread a deadly disease around and who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the government. What, are you a restaurant owner salty about the people who cancelled their holiday party reservations?

Just go hook yourself up to the metaverse already. Leave the 99% of us who still value sharing pheremones and seeing faces alone.

I understand you don't care that you're playing Russian roulette repeatedly for the rest of your life, given that you're going to catch COVID-19 approximately once every 6-12 months if you don't bother to protect yourself. But the virus is ridiculously contagious and vaccines don't provide anything close to sterilizing immunity. Your rights end when they infringe on mine, and I have the right to safe public spaces just the same as you. You don't get to spread noxious fumes in public indoor spaces just because you couldn't be bothered to put on a 5c mask that doesn't interfere with anything you want to do.

[emailking]

Supreme Court schedules January 7 oral arguments in challenges to Biden vaccine mandates

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it is scheduling oral arguments for January 7 in the cases challenging the Biden administration's Covid-19 vaccine requirements for large employers and certain health care workers.

The arguments were scheduled after Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh were asked to intervene in lower court disputes over the mandates. Kavanaugh had been asked by challengers to the employer mandate to reverse an appeals court ruling that said the administration could enforce its vaccine-or-testing rules for large companies.

Kavanaugh and Alito had separately been asked by the Justice Department to reverse appeals court orders against the health care worker requirement, which applies to health care staff at providers that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The appeals court orders have left the mandate frozen in about half the country.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/22/politics/biden-vaccine-mandate-oral-arguments-supreme-court/index.html

[jamestroll]

Please get vaccinated! I really do think I would be in the hospital about to die if I didn't get the vaccine.

[emailking]

Please get vaccinated! I really do think I would be in the hospital about to die if I didn't get the vaccine.

Jimmie, I'm glad you're OK, but wow and you had Omicron too.

[Inmate Trump]

Please get vaccinated! I really do think I would be in the hospital about to die if I didn't get the vaccine.

What are you symptoms?

Which vaccine did you get?

Which booster did you get and how long has it been?