COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Silent Hunter]

Very sorry for your loss, badger.

[Silent Hunter]

I've seen those posts on social media all day how, supposedly, only 9,000 people have died from the virus in the US.

I have too. It's only counting cases with Covid-19 as the sole cause of death; in most cases there were co-morbidities.

[Silent Hunter]

From my personal experience in the UK, there is pretty strong compliance where it is mandatory, such as on public transport and inside shops.

[Silent Hunter]

The idea is to discourage these sort of close contact social gatherings, which we know help spread this virus.

[Silent Hunter]

Well here’s a weird theory that may explain the lower death rates in the past few months:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/face-masks-could-giving-people-covid-19-immunity-researchers/?fbclid=IwAR0z2sVoVRbaFS6uc62aeNHoGGmT9A1c_VpHZ_iBVc588UZ5ve_xYEgKGX0

I’ve felt for a while now that the inital advice of health experts NOT to wear masks may have been the biggest mistake of the entire course of the pandemic.  It would certainly be #1 if this theory turns out to be true.  If all of the lockdowns had simply been replaced with mask requirements, we could have save hundreds of thousands of lives as well as most of the economic damage.

That makes a sort of sense; even FFP2 masks will still let 5% of viral droplets through.

[Silent Hunter]

We now have a massive stockpile of non-medical masks and I dread to think what will happen to all of them once this is over.

[Silent Hunter]

"One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic".

[Silent Hunter]

Being transported to Walter Reed out of abundance of caution

He hasn't tweeted for 16 hours.

[Silent Hunter]

How many Americans died in the 1958 and 1968/69 pandemic?

[Silent Hunter]

The evidence from the UK is that the primary outbreaks are in care homes, workplaces and schools.

[Silent Hunter]

It's best not to worry about it, but you should still take reasonable precautions to stop the spread.

[Silent Hunter]

We're not having our hospitals full up yet.

[Silent Hunter]

Our preparation was based on avian flu and in retrospect was lacking, with no plans for any lockdown.

[Silent Hunter]

"Save Grandma" is a useless strategy among a demographic who can say "She's already dead".

[Silent Hunter]

Biden won't become President until 20 January.

[Silent Hunter]

I'm starting to worry that any vaccine will only provide temporary immunity, and that we'll be stuck wearing these bloody masks and taking all these precautions for the rest of our lives. 130,000 cases in a day, and that is after strict mask mandates and social distancing measures in 36 of the 50 states (including all the major population centers: New York, California, Texas, Illinois).  I do not notice a difference in rates between states which have mandated masks and moved schools online and states that haven't. There is evidence which suggests this will become endemic; it won't just go away.

I hope not. Mask-wearing shouldn't be allowed to become a permanent practice, and I hope that it doesn't become one. That would be a soul-crushing existence. But yes, I've started to become doubtful of the efficacy of mask mandates myself, given the extent to which this virus has exploded out of control. I still think that it has been a necessary measure, but it's not the end-all to this situation.

Masks don't stop the virus getting through entirely, but they can significantly reduce the amount getting through and so will make any infection weaker.

[Silent Hunter]

I definitely don't want them permanent either... but I must admit wearing a mask is handy on a cold day.

[Silent Hunter]

I definitely don't want them permanent either... but I must admit wearing a mask is handy on a cold day.

Yes, they are basically light weight scarves and they do wonders keeping your face warm. 😂

Regardless, I think letting the mask mandates expire after this wave would be good.  I hate to say it, but it appears my concerns from the spring have some merit.  These weren't the temporary measures they sold us on.  Now I've read about people suggesting mask wearing is good for the prevention of flu.  Yes, but at what cost?

What is the cost of mask wearing apart from being a little annoying?

Can be a real problem for those who rely on lip reading to understand other people. It's a bit dehumanising too.

[Silent Hunter]

They did used to call typhus "gaol fever", so in a way this is sadly not surprising.

[Silent Hunter]

How did Trump help to get a vaccine?