Mega-Thread: Coronavirus Pandemic

[Deathknightish]

One thing I thought of when I flew and visited my father in Spain, what's the point of disease tracking st this point?

I had to write down which seat I was in, whichflight I came with etc.

The disease is borderline endemic. It won't go away, so what's the point of tracking at this point? I fail to understand.

This was before okicron was even a thing, so st the time it was just the old strains that had been flying around for ages.

[Rasulis]

According to SFDPH, there are currently 30 unconfirmed Omicron positive test results in San Francisco. Unconfirmed as in awaiting the sequencing test results. SFDPH only tests about 30% of the positive test results. Therefore, that 30 is definitely an undercount. Especially considering those asymptomatic and with mild cases probably never got tested.

Positive test results have quadrupled since 12/12. Is it due to Omicron? Not sure yet. We do know that the unvaccinated few are driving the increase (see curves for 7-day average case rate among unvaccinated and vaccinated residents below).

Preliminary data on Omicron is pretty interesting. The infectious phase among the fully vaccinated occurs around 3 days after exposure. Taking a test before day 3 is unlikely to pick up results. Both the infectious phase and window for detection for the fully vaccinated is very narrow. The virus’s most infectious stage is during days 3 to 5, which is the time one needs to isolate and prevent spread. Because the window is so early and short for the fully vaccinated, using quarantine to prevent spread may be difficult. In most cases, by the time the variant was detected on a fully vaccinated person, the infectious phase had already ended.

[Forogil]

Some tentative positive news from S. Africa - cases are already somewhat declining (but with high positivity rate, so more of a plateau) https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other...ous/ar-AARZIUp
and hospitalizations haven't been that high (and in S. Africa it seems that there is 0 delay between cases and hospitalization).

Not saying that Omicron will be good, but just that the new record in NYC likely reported in a bit might not spell total disaster.

[GreenJesus]

Omicron could redefine ‘fully vaccinated’ to include a booster dose

Health officials in the United States and around the world have signaled in recent days that the definition of being fully vaccinated could be expanded to include booster shots, as the omicron coronavirus variant’s spread alters the world’s path to recovery.

President Biden has for weeks urged all eligible Americans to get booster shots, as experts have warned that the new variant can evade the antibodies provided by the original doses of the vaccine. Getting boosted, early studies have shown, can raise the level of antibodies high enough to make it harder for the virus to take hold.

Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was open to changing the definition of fully vaccinated to include booster shots. The matter was “on the table,” he said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” though he said he was not sure “exactly when that will happen.”

“There’s no doubt – if you want to be optimally protected, you should get your booster,” Fauci said.

I have my 2 jabs. Down the road does this mean that unless you get your bi-weekly booster shot, then you can't leave your house or else the FBI will track you with an ankle monitor? "Sorry sir, your vaccine card has expired yesterday. You are not allowed to buy food."

[Edge-]

I have my 2 jabs. Down the road does this mean that unless you get your bi-weekly booster shot, then you can't leave your house or else the FBI will track you with an ankle monitor? "Sorry sir, your vaccine card has expired yesterday. You are not allowed to buy food."

The persecution fetish some of y'all have is wild.

[GreenJesus]

The persecution fetish some of y'all have is wild.

Places in Europe have already started doing this though. It's not some conspiracy theory.

[Edge-]

Places in Europe have already started doing this though. It's not some conspiracy theory.

Because America has been following the European model since...never? If we need a booster, we need a booster. If we need something like an annual flu shot, we need something like an annual flu shot. None of this is rocket surgery, and it's also not remotely asking much, or really anything, of people beyond, "Get your fuckin vaccine, which continues to be a miracle of modern science".

[GreenJesus]

Because America has been following the European model since...never? If we need a booster, we need a booster. If we need something like an annual flu shot, we need something like an annual flu shot. None of this is rocket surgery, and it's also not remotely asking much, or really anything, of people beyond, "Get your fuckin vaccine, which continues to be a miracle of modern science".

Well.. it's not just a shot. It also causes extreme soreness, headaches, and general sickness. I'd rather take that shot as few times as possible. Thanks.

[Edge-]

Well.. it's not just a shot. It also causes extreme soreness, headaches, and general sickness. I'd rather take that shot as few times as possible. Thanks.

For like, a day, yeah. The alternative being "you get a bad case of covid". I mean, are we truly this soft nowadays? A dead arm and feeling like crap for a day is too high a price for protection against a deadly virus that can have long term health complications?

[GreenJesus]

For like, a day, yeah. The alternative being "you get a bad case of covid". I mean, are we truly this soft nowadays? A dead arm and feeling like crap for a day is too high a price for protection against a deadly virus that can have long term health complications?

I'm 26. Everyone I know who's gotten it around my age just had a mild cold or didn't even know they had it/thought they just had some allergies. I'll take my chances with my 2 vaccines. I've managed to dodge multiple outbreaks at my office. My daily vitamin C gummies are just too powerful. :P

[Edge-]

I'm 26. Everyone I know who's gotten it around my age just had a mild cold or didn't even know they had it/thought they just had some allergies. I'll take my chances with my 2 vaccines. I've managed to dodge multiple outbreaks at my office. My daily vitamin C gummies are just too powerful. :P

Cool, so roll the dice then because you are afraid of feeling crummy for a day. If you wanna risk a "mild" infection that has longterm health complications because feeling crummy for a day was too high a price to pay, that's your choice.

I mean, I've never had a bad accident or really any kind of car accident before so I guess based on the fact that I've never needed my seatbelt before, that I'll never need it in the future. It's uncomfortable sometimes, so why wear it if I've avoided getting hurled through my windshield so far?

[GreenJesus]

Cool, so roll the dice then because you are afraid of feeling crummy for a day. If you wanna risk a "mild" infection that has longterm health complications because feeling crummy for a day was too high a price to pay, that's your choice.

I mean, I've never had a bad accident or really any kind of car accident before so I guess based on the fact that I've never needed my seatbelt before, that I'll never need it in the future. It's uncomfortable sometimes, so why wear it if I've avoided getting hurled through my windshield so far?

I roll the dice every time I eat ice cream I might get diabetes. I roll the dice every time I get in my car to drive on the freeway in southern california traffic too. I roll the dice when I sit with bad posture in my chair at work. I roll the dice when I write posts on mmochamp while I'm at work too.

The vaccine doesn't prevent you from spreading it. All it does is make you more resistant to it if you happen to get it. So it's a much more personal decision than some people have you believe.

[Edge-]

I roll the dice every time I eat ice cream I might get diabetes. I roll the dice every time I get in my car to drive on the freeway in southern california traffic too. I roll the dice when I sit with bad posture in my chair at work. I roll the dice when I write posts on mmochamp while I'm at work too.

In which I guess you don't understand risk assessments or how some risks impacting others might alter the overall calculation.

[GreenJesus]

In which I guess you don't understand risk assessments or how some risks impacting others might alter the overall calculation.

The study shows that people who become infected with the Delta variant are less likely to pass the virus to their close contacts if they have already had a COVID-19 vaccine than if they haven’t1. But that protective effect is relatively small, and dwindles alarmingly at three months after the receipt of the second shot.

The findings add to scientists’ understanding of the vaccination’s effect on curbing Delta’s spread, but are “both more and less encouraging”, says Marm Kilpatrick, an infectious-disease researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Previous studies have found that people infected with Delta have roughly the same levels of viral genetic materials in their noses regardless of whether they’d previously been vaccinated, suggesting that vaccinated and unvaccinated people might be equally infectious2. But studies also suggest that vaccinated people are less likely to spread the virus if they subsequently catch Delta: their levels of nasal virus drop faster than do those of unvaccinated infected people, and their nasal swabs contain smaller amounts of infectious virus3,4.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02689-y

The vaccines barely if at all stop transmission of the virus. So it is mostly a personal risk assessment.

[rayvio]

It's a bizarre take, but in the UK we literally have put operations on hold to deal with covid. GP's don't do much but jab people, no face to face appointments its all online. We are prioritising jabbing young healthy adults over treating elderly people in need of care.

it's rarely the GPs doing the jabs, usually nurses. some GPs are helping out in addition to their existing workload
they are doing appointments online or by phone when possible but are seeing patients in person when necessary
some non-emergency appointments are delayed
I went into A&E with kidney stones last year, despite being overworked and clearly very stressed the NHS staff treated me well
a friend of mine had foot surgery a week ago, another had x-rays. they are still working hard, despite being underpaid, underfunded and overworked. very few of them have had any annual leave, very few haven't been working overtime and some of them have actually come out of retirement temporarily to help out
frankly it's a wonder the NHS is able to cope at all but the problems are nothing to do with vaccination, in fact without vaccines they'd have been completely overwhelmed and we probably would have lost most of the health workers to the virus by now

[Lenonis]

It won't go away, so what's the point of tracking at this point? I fail to understand.

I would like to point you to the entire field of epidemiology.

https://www.cdc.gov/careerpaths/k12t...demiology.html

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I have my 2 jabs. Down the road does this mean that unless you get your bi-weekly booster shot, then you can't leave your house or else the FBI will track you with an ankle monitor? "Sorry sir, your vaccine card has expired yesterday. You are not allowed to buy food."

Maybe next time leave your fanfic in drafts.

[Edge-]

The study shows that people who become infected with the Delta variant are less likely to pass the virus to their close contacts if they have already had a COVID-19 vaccine than if they haven’t1. But that protective effect is relatively small, and dwindles alarmingly at three months after the receipt of the second shot.

The findings add to scientists’ understanding of the vaccination’s effect on curbing Delta’s spread, but are “both more and less encouraging”, says Marm Kilpatrick, an infectious-disease researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Previous studies have found that people infected with Delta have roughly the same levels of viral genetic materials in their noses regardless of whether they’d previously been vaccinated, suggesting that vaccinated and unvaccinated people might be equally infectious2. But studies also suggest that vaccinated people are less likely to spread the virus if they subsequently catch Delta: their levels of nasal virus drop faster than do those of unvaccinated infected people, and their nasal swabs contain smaller amounts of infectious virus3,4.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02689-y

The vaccines barely if at all stop transmission of the virus. So it is mostly a personal risk assessment.

Non-peer reviewed study that doesn't account for boosters. Offers some temporary protection from transmission, but let's see how the data is looking once we're getting peer reviewed studies on boosted folks.

Seems like a good reason to go get boosters and see what the data says, in the hopes that the booster affords more, and longer protection both against the strains of the virus and against transmission.

[Lenonis]

Places in Europe have already started doing this though. It's not some conspiracy theory.

No they haven't. Please link where they have ankle bracelets and bi-weekly boosters.

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Everyone I know

How are we almost two years into this and people still think this is a valid metric?

[Edge-]

No they haven't. Please link where they have ankle bracelets and bi-weekly boosters.

AUTHORITARIAN AUSTRAILIA AND THEIR DEATH CAMPS!

According to the internet, apparently. The desire to be oppressed victims of tyrannical governments during a pandemic is weird.

[Lenonis]

The vaccine doesn't prevent you from spreading it.

Yes it does.

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The desire to be oppressed victims of tyrannical governments during a pandemic is weird.

It's just more anti-vax BS that is wearing a nice dress and some makeup.

That's all @GreenJesus is doing -- just putting polish on anti-vax sentiment and pretending it's a valid viewpoint. If there were any justice those people would have the consequences they keep imagining.