COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[cg41386]

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.  

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

IT'S NOT DEADLY OR DANGEROUS IF YOU'RE VACCINATED. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL ALREADY!

No need to get angry. Unfortunately for too many who choose to be unvaccinated, it can be deadly/dangerous. I guess that's their problem, but oh well.

[Meclazine for Israel]

If someone wants to never leave their house again, that's their prerogative.

If someone wants to triple mask, avoid all social gatherings, and avoid eating indoors, that's their prerogative.

If someone wants to avoid travel, that's their prerogative.

So you've met my girlfriends' patents then?

[Lief 🗽]

Jimmy Dore

Yikes!

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Jimmy Dore is probably the best reporter out there right now.

[Inmate Trump]

It may have been discussed, but if so I missed it.

Is there any reason to worry about the supposed combination of Delta and Omicron? It’s apparently not a logging mistake but rather a genuine new evolution.

[Green Line]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

I heard about this. Most observers seem to believe that the Court is leaning against the OSHA vaccine mandate, but it's likely to be a closely divided decision. As of right now, I'm thinking that it might be 5-4, with Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett voting to strike down the mandate, and Roberts, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan voting to uphold it, although Roberts could plausibly go the other way.

Interestingly enough, Sotomayor is the only Justice who wears a mask on the bench during oral arguments. Of course, she has diabetes and is in more perilous health than her colleagues, so that makes sense.

I would keep an eye on Amy Coney Barrett. She has made pro-containment decisions before as a circuit judge in 2020, upholding JB Pritzker's emergency orders and rejecting a challenge to the vaccine mandate of Indiana University.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/08/sotomayors-false-claim-that-over-100000-children-are-serious-condition-with-covid/

“We will not address remarks made by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, which some readers also thought were wrong. The official court transcript suggested he had made an inflated statement about the annual flu: “Flu kills — I believe — hundreds of thousands of people every year.” The flu kills between 12,000 and 52,000 people in the United States a year, but the audio of the argument shows Gorsuch actually said that “flu kills, I believe, hundreds, thousands of people every year.” So the transcript is incorrect.”

Oops.  You posted a lie.

[Horus]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

Could you have your nervous breakdown somewhere else? Thanks

[Roll Roons]

https://movieweb.com/spider-man-no-way-home-8th-biggest-movie-ever/

Spider-Man continuing to rake in money at the box office. Almost like people don't want to live in fear forever.

[MATTROSE94]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior. But it's not enough for this forum, as they are actually the authoritarian ones. They want a coerced return to the normal of 2019, regardless of what COVID is doing and the threat it poses. They want to deny us the freedom to take COVID seriously and change our behavior to protect ourselves. In their world, masks and hand sanitizer would be controlled substances, COVID would be a censored word, all testing would stop, and WFH and takeout/delivery services would be banned.

Hawaii, California, Illinois, Oregon, New Mexico, DC, and Washington still have social distancing requirements and other strong COVID NPIs in place.

[Mr. Illini]

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.

You’re telling on yourself if you call this a “new normal” rather than “emergency measures.” No one wants this “new normal,” as evidenced by the extremely joyous and vibrant summer that occurred in the US in 2021.

People will leave their homes again.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

[DaleCooper]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

[Calthrina950]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

It's ironic that you mention Ocasio-Cortez, because she tested positive for coronavirus today. She was recently seen vacationing with her boyfriend in Florida, maskless and among large crowds of people.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

AOC's actions aside, it's because we (the United States) refuse to either pay the price to deal definitively with COVID, or provide a sufficient social safety net that everyone people can pass on jobs like "wait staff during a pandemic". As for why people eating food need to take their masks off, I trust that you're able to figure that one out for yourself.

[emailking]

Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

That was outside right? Did her waiter actually have to wear a mask? I just saw the pic of her and her bf.

[Holmes]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

It's just a face mask. You're really not making the point you think you're making here. Wearing a mask isn't a burden or taking a toll on the working class or anyone really, and I can't believe 2 years later we're still having this conversation. The pandemic will never end.

[cg41386]

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

I'd rather not take that very small chance

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

It's a freaking piece of cloth, and you're not wearing it *everywhere*. Good lord.

[It’s so Joever]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

Okay then, mandate masks for everyone instead of just employees if that makes you happy. Oh wait it doesn’t because you are just making up a b**ls**t point to justify your irrational anger.

You know what also hurts the lowest paid people?! Getting sick from Covid and having to take days off work because working class hero DullCooper just had to go into the local Walmart without his mask (gotta show off your absolutely stunning face!) on his run to buy another tub of pork rinds.

F**k off with your fake populism, you are less of a working class hero than the billionaire from New York.

[Aurelius]

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

I'd rather not take that very small chance

You have the right to make that choice of risk assessment. You do not have the right to force it on the rest of us.

[It’s so Joever]

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

I'd rather not take that very small chance

Exactly! This forum has seriously lost its mind on the subject of COVID. They claim to be "pro-freedom", but they've already won that battle in the US; there are no government policies causing any business shutdown or restricting any behavior.

There's mask mandates all over the place now.

For the thousandth time, mask mandates don't prevent anyone from doing anything. Exceptions are always carved out for food/drink serving establishments.

I am so whiny and entitled I can't tolerate minor inconveniences to contain a deadly pandemic.

Fixed it for you.

Wearing mask for two years is not a minor inconvenience.  That's a huge life change for someone that wears a mask for 8 hours a day.

I'm listening to the Democrat arguing with Justice Alito, because she won't answer any questions.  Alito asks him to repeat the question and she says something completely different.  Then he gets her to admit that the vaccines have side effects, because she can't lie in court.   

It is a minor inconvenience. There are so many other things that are inconveniences, this isn't one of them. And, god willing. it won't be necessary sooner than later.

Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience.  If you are vaccinated, so is getting covid.   And I’d much rather experience a minor inconvenience for a week than for two years.

It's a freaking piece of cloth, and you're not wearing it *everywhere*. Good lord.

It’s okay, these looting anarchists aren’t used to living in a society. See, this is why we need better education, schools that teach children basic community values. This is why we need Pre-K for all!

[Donerail]

It's worth paying careful attention to what's happening in this thread. The lockdowners are arguing that there are NO costs associated with wearing a mask, that it "isn't a burden," that masks aren't "preventing you from doing anything." At most, they concede it's a "minor inconvenience," a cost that we all must bear to control the pandemic.

What they're doing here is laying the groundwork for permanent cyclical mask mandates. Several members of Biden's transition team have said as much in JAMA, arguing that we need to "retire previous public health categorizations . . . and focus on a new category: the aggregate risk of all respiratory virus infections," with masking and distancing enforced by OSHA rules. The chair of UCSF Medicine has mentioned a resurgent threat in December 2022, and other epidemiologists have suggested canceling college classes in January 2023.

The logic is, after all, identical: The flu stretches the healthcare system "to the breaking point" just about every year, with ~30,000 deaths in an average flu season. If "masks aren't a burden," why shouldn't the state mandate them to mitigate those costs? If they're no big deal, why are they temporary? The argument that masks are costless is an argument for continued public health mission creep, asserting ever-greater control over our lives and over society.

[It’s so Joever]

It's worth paying careful attention to what's happening in this thread. The lockdowners are arguing that there are NO costs associated with wearing a mask, that it "isn't a burden," that masks aren't "preventing you from doing anything." At most, they concede it's a "minor inconvenience," a cost that we all must bear to control the pandemic.

What they're doing here is laying the groundwork for permanent cyclical mask mandates. Several members of Biden's transition team have said as much in JAMA, arguing that we need to "retire previous public health categorizations . . . and focus on a new category: the aggregate risk of all respiratory virus infections," with masking and distancing enforced by OSHA rules. The chair of UCSF Medicine has mentioned a resurgent threat in December 2022, and other epidemiologists have suggested canceling college classes in January 2023.

The logic is, after all, identical: The flu stretches the healthcare system "to the breaking point" just about every year, with ~30,000 deaths in an average flu season. If "masks aren't a burden," why shouldn't the state mandate them to mitigate those costs? If they're no big deal, why are they temporary? The argument that masks are costless is an argument for continued public health mission creep, asserting ever-greater control over our lives and over society.

Yeah no…Covid killed 200,000 in the past few months alone and the extent to which hospitals are overstrecthed is far worse than flu seasons.

[Donerail]

What they're doing here is laying the groundwork for permanent cyclical mask mandates. Several members of Biden's transition team have said as much in JAMA, arguing that we need to "retire previous public health categorizations . . . and focus on a new category: the aggregate risk of all respiratory virus infections," with masking and distancing enforced by OSHA rules. The chair of UCSF Medicine has mentioned a resurgent threat in December 2022, and other epidemiologists have suggested canceling college classes in January 2023.

Yeah no…Covid killed 200,000 in the past few months alone and the extent to which hospitals are overstrecthed is far worse than flu seasons.

I'm just telling you what the public health people are saying, man. What you choose to conclude from that information is obviously up to you, but the signs are pointing in the same direction — unless, I suppose, enough of us vote for some real awful candidates with Rs next to their names between now and next winter.

[TheReckoning]

How long has this thread had Star War references as it’s titles?

[DaleCooper]

The last few pages are seemingly an exercise in collective sociopathy and lack of any coherent idea part from rubbishing anyone who says that restrictions are still necessary, even if the evidence backs them up.

So I see we've reached the point where the zero COVID crowd just calls anyone who understands transmissibility and basic science a sociopath.

Waah! I don't want to wear a tiny bit of cloth on my face! Waah!

What offends me most about the mask requirements is that it disproportionately impacts people that are out trying to do their jobs, which are disproportionately the lowest-paid people in the country. Why should a waiter have to wear a mask while AOC gets to take hers off at the table? It's totally arbitrary, unless leftists just can't bear to let their servants breathe the same air as them.

It's ironic that you mention Ocasio-Cortez, because she tested positive for coronavirus today. She was recently seen vacationing with her boyfriend in Florida, maskless and among large crowds of people.

This is the first I'm hearing of this. I wish her the best and hope that she does not have any symptoms. I didn't single her out knowing that she had contracted the virus.