COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Horus]

It's pretty similar to March though in that there's widespread community transmission. Schooling is important, but there's no way it'll be safe with the situation being as it is currently. And the way to get case numbers down quickly enough to start reopening some stuff and not to have an agonising drawn-out economic & health disaster is to go for a hard lockdown.

America had a hard lockdown for 2 months. It didn't work.

That was not a hard lockdown. That was 50 states doing 50 different things.

[Horus]

You think that was a hard lockdown?

It was hard on me, since it gave me a pulmonary embolism.

So because it was personally hard on you we shouldn't do it? It's not all about you.

[Horus]

The anti-vaccers comprise more than a third of our total population, and most of them are Republicans:

Poll: 35% of Americans, most Republicans would reject COVID-19 vaccine

More than one-third of U.S. adults and a majority of Republicans would not receive a free, government-approved COVID-19 vaccine if one was presently available, a Gallup survey showed Friday.

According to the poll, 35% of U.S. adults said they would not get the vaccine, compared to 65% who said they would. The share was the exact same 65/35 split among both men and women.

The age group that expressed the most skepticism about a vaccine were those between 50 and 64 years old (59%) -- and the group that was most accepting of a vaccine were between 18 and 29 (76%).

By race, the survey found that two-thirds of White Americans (67%) and 59% of non-Whites would take the vaccine, despite the virus more heavily affecting the Black and Latino communities.

At least younger adults are far more pro vax, I really had been scared we were regressing on this issue. Most of the anti vaxxers I know of are under 40.

[Horus]

Frankly, I think it’s selfish that entire counties have locked down for 0.4% of the population - without any consideration for the other 99.7%. How the fuk does that make any sense to anyone?

Because we're a society with a social contract where we agree to a modicum of concern for the most vulnerable even at mild inconvenience to us?

Social contract my ass.

The Republican motto right here.

[Horus]

http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NPR_PBS-NewsHour_Marist-Poll_USA-NOS-and-TABLES_202008121039.pdf#page=3

35% of Americans would opt against vaccination if one became available, including 45% of GenXers, 42% of non whites and 44% of white women who have not graduated college.

[Horus]

I am tired of people pulling the, "but my 96 year old grandmother" card.

I am tired of being told I should work from home when I am not able to work from home and a majority of jobs can not be worked from home. And many jobs that can be worked remotely still need in person on site work.

I am tired of being labeled a sociopath just because I oppose draconian lockdowns. I do support rotational regional lockdowns !

It's hard for me to find sympathy when you're supporting someone as toxic as Jill schupp so adamantly.

[Horus]

I am tired of people pulling the, "but my 96 year old grandmother" card.

I am tired of being told I should work from home when I am not able to work from home and a majority of jobs can not be worked from home. And many jobs that can be worked remotely still need in person on site work.

I am tired of being labeled a sociopath just because I oppose draconian lockdowns. I do support rotational regional lockdowns !

It's hard for to find sympathy when you're supporting someone as toxic as Jill schupp so adamantly.

Jill schupp of all people is someone you will focus on?

Yes. There are enough Republicans in Congress who hate women. We don't also need a Democrat who hates men.

[Horus]

This virus is literally making me become CRRRAAAAAAZZZZZZZYYYYYYYYY

Maybe Jill Schupp can help.

[Horus]

Again, the fact we don’t have a mask mandate everywhere in the US which is strictly enforced is outrageous. There is no economic harm from a mask mandate, and it greatly will reduce our transmission.

How would you enforce it?

Fine people who don't follow the requirements.

While I support a mandate in spirit I'm not trying to give cops another reason to harass people, especially minorities. If I had faith law enforcement would treat all maskless citizens equally? Sure. But that won't happen.

[Horus]

(snip)

The reluctance some people have toward trusting this administration with guaranteeing the safety of a vaccine can be traced directly to Trump's pushing of hydroxychloroquine despite the fact that there was no evidence that it helps, as well as the whole fiasco of suggesting treating people with disinfectants - or "injecting bleach" as it became known in the popular shorthand. You can't unring the bell of crossing into such blatant medical quackery, and this is why he never should have been on television pretending to give out medical advice. If he had just shut his stupid mouth and let the medical experts lead, there wouldn't be major fears about the vaccine.

1) It is still a conspiracy to think that Trump would somehow get CDS & Big Pharma to approve a vaccine they otherwise wouldn't. I hope you agree?
2) Democrats could easily dispel this conspiracy theories or "fears" as you put it. They didn't. It was more like they riding the conspiracy/fears wave.
2) As you see, Blacks are waaaay more likely to restrain from taking a vaccine despite being most vulnerable demographics. They also happen to trust Dem Party more than others. See the pattern here? Among Asians 70% would take vs 29 among Blacks! Asians ar not "fearful".

It will be hilarious if the vaccine takes off right after Biden gets inaugurated.

It would be a lot like the Iran hostage crisis being resolved right after Reagan was sworn in.

Very hilarious, indeed. Besides the fact that the sooner people get vaccinated, the more will be saved. But Orange Bad would get mad!

Ever heard of the Tuskegee experiment?

[Horus]

The reality is that a vast majority of people would be better off getting the virus than being forced to shut down the economy, or uphend their daily lives in other ways.  So it might be fair to call people who oppose further restrictions selfish, but it is not necessarily fair to call them stupid.  

And we should have been crafting a national response that acknowledges this reality from the outset, rather than just trying to gin up uniform fear of the virus that anyone who has seen the basic statistics behind is knows is misleading.

We'll see how well your sacred economy will hold up once the healthcare system collapses and the mortality rate skyrockets.

Ignorance at its finest.

Both of you make very good points. This is real quagmire.

[Horus]

I had the virus. I got through it. We can not live in fear.

So because YOU had it and got through it you think everyone else will?

I'm in the middle on all of this and genuinely see both sides. But this is just an extremely selfish view. You do realize millions of people have not fully recovered and still have nasty, often severe side effects, right? They may never fully recover.

It's not all about you.

[Horus]

\
I've never heard of any of these people, and also the first one is a 9/11 truther.

You've never heard of them, yet somehow you know they're a 9/11 truther.

He' also an anti vaxxer which is much more bothersome. Are you an anti vaxxer Bandit?

[Horus]

I had a great work out in the gym in the middle of the night last night! And this evening I will order take out from subway. But only to spite the pro-lockdown people!

Ordering take out from subway to own the libs.

[Horus]

I had a great work out in the gym in the middle of the night last night! And this evening I will order take out from subway. But only to spite the pro-lockdown people!

Ordering take out from subway to own the libs.

Not to mention, in what remotely logical &/or rational way does ordering take-out even serve to "spite the pro-lockdown people?" Ordering take-out has literally been the recommended method of consuming restaurant food since the start of the pandemic.

I managed to wear a mask the entire time I was working out and refuse to ever eat in a restaurant since the pandemic. I haven't ate in a dining room at a restaurant since February lol

Slow clap

[Horus]

Why are women so much less likely to say they will get it than men?

I'd strongly wager the majority of anti vaxxers are women. There's a lot of overlap with new age religion, crystals, that kind of thing. Mommy groups are filled to the brim with this garbage.

[Horus]

I don’t really see why life can’t return to close-to-normal once the majority of the vulnerable population has been vaccinated by February.  I mean, wearing masks im confined spaces is fine, but certainly nothing should be closed.  The virus is not enough of a threat to young and healthy people alone to merit that sort of disruption to our daily lives.

Agreed. While the next few weeks are gonna be bad, we should be in the clear by mid-March at the latest, almost exactly a year from when we first locked down.

[Horus]

https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1348871117407203328

Ugh. I hope she is fine. One of the best reps.

She is under 60 and appears to be in reasonably good health, she will probably be alright. I'm much more worried about Watson Coleman who is 75 and another one of our best reps.

MTG and the other maskless Republicans are foul, dirty people.

[Horus]

This virus comes in waves here, as it gets worse people tighten up and then it gets better but that makes people complacent and the cycle continues.

This is true but we do have a vaccine now. I think the worst may finally be behind us.

[Horus]

Nate makes a good point here.  The goal is not to eradicate COVID completely, which is probably impossible, but to control it to a level that the world can handle with a minimal amount of disruption, much like we do with the flu.

Yet the United States seems to have adopted a "zero covid" approach. Most states haven't lifted restrictions since the vaccine began being issued.

I don’t agree with a “zero covid” approach, but it’s still way too early in the vaccintion process to start lifting restrictions.  This should be done once the majority of the vulnerable population has been fully vaccinated, which is probably 6-8 weeks away.

Agreed. Next few months will be bumpy but I have trips planned for June and July and I really think we'll be okay by that point. And I'm not an optimistic person.

[Horus]

Has anyone found a good link explaining why cases are down so much basically everywhere across the US?  As of today, we will down more than 50% from our national peak less than a month ago.  Some states like South Dakota are down nearly 90%.  But this hasn't been in the news nearly as much as when cases were rising.

It's good news that can't be sensationalized so CNN won't report it. It's also good news for the new administration so FOX won't report it.

[Horus]

Sorry for the double post:

The right is screaming about Biden being "beholden" to the teachers union. The left is pissed Biden is sending teachers back into "dangerous" environments.

I do not envy the tight rope Biden has to walk on this issue. Hopefully all schools are opened by September.

It's been almost a year. Numbers are way down. The vaccines are doing marvelously. Kids need to be back in school. I could've accepted the safety argument in September but not now, it's time to go back.

[Horus]

Sorry for the double post:

The right is screaming about Biden being "beholden" to the teachers union. The left is pissed Biden is sending teachers back into "dangerous" environments.

I do not envy the tight rope Biden has to walk on this issue. Hopefully all schools are opened by September.

It's been almost a year. Numbers are way down. The vaccines are doing marvelously. Kids need to be back in school. I could've accepted the safety argument in September but not now, it's time to go back.

I understand that argument, but I still feel that it's too early. We're making incredible progress, and I'm wary of doing anything that might jeopardize that. I say keep things remote for the rest of this school year, and then reopen fully at the beginning of next year, when the vats majority of US adults will have been vaccinated, and cases will probably be extremely low.

You do realize a ton of school districts are already open, right? There wasn't a huge spike in cases where schools were reopened. I would be beyond pissed if I were a parent and I was paying my taxes for horsecrap virtual schooling. Get my children in school. The social costs to virtual schooling is very high. We're hurting kids just to stop a little bit of spread? I think instead, we should be investing in our future.

I worry a lot about the social development of kids in say NYC who will likely be going a full year and a half with no in person schooling. Young people need social interaction. I can only imagine how much worse my barely average social skills would be if I'd spent say half of my second grade year and my entire third grade year in front of a laptop.

[Horus]

Something to consider with the schools reopening, especially with more contagious forms of COVID springing up, is the children taking it home to their parents, or in some cases grandparents, and possibly ending up homeless, along with the problems with HVAC spreading it from room to room.

Schools have been open in communities across the country for months. There is no epidemic of children being made into orphans because they brought covid home to their parents, and the most rigorous examinations of their role in spreading the virus have turned up little indication that schools have increased risk.

Read what Emily Oster and other actual experts have been writing about reopening schools instead of subjecting the forum to your ridiculous fear-mongering. People have enough fear in their lives without you layering on speculation in the most ridiculous, melodramatic fashion possible.

There's a difference in stating this is a possibility with schools reopening, as I did, and your claim that I said there's an epidemic of it going around.

The pandemic deniers here are getting desperate to twist people's words rather than face reality.

Who is denying the pandemic? Obviously safety is important but, now that we have a vaccine out and numbers are plummeting, it's even more important that we don't leave an entire generation socially inept and academically stunted. I have been very cautious about this stuff and consistently called out several posters who were trying to open up and return to normal way too soon, but the numbers really are improving, the vaccine is out, and schools are by and large safe.

[Horus]

Numbers look great, vaccines are doing well, and we have adults running the country again. It's now time to open up the rest of the schools.