Coronavirus Megathread 11: Somewhere Past the Pandemic

Link to old thread

Grazie, EL!

Thanks ElderLez, and you chose a wonderful title.

Megadeath!

Anyone else back in home office? I hate it.

As I said in the other thread, there's a huge increase in infected, hospitalizations and even deaths. The government recommends home office, use of facemasks, social distancing etc. Here we go again. At least we don't have a full lockdown this time. I guess that's something...

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Many Omicron cases in South Africa have no symptoms, hospital CEO says

From CNN’s Maggie Fox

Most people who test positive for coronavirus in the wave of infections led by the Omicron variant in South Africa have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, the CEO of a large private hospital system told CNN on Tuesday.

“Thus far – and it is very early days – our data over the last 30 days indicates that we are seeing a very mild to moderate form of Covid-19. Many of the cases are asymptomatic,” Richard Friedland, CEO of the private hospital network Netcare in South Africa, told CNN.

Friedland said findings released by Discovery Health, a large health insurance company in South Africa that found less vaccine effectiveness against infection but more mild cases, matched his hospital network’s experience.

“Many of those findings corroborate what we have seen across our network of 49 hospitals, and 10,000 hospital beds, and more than 60 primary care centers across South Africa,” Friedland said. “There is a small cohort of more elderly patients with comorbidities that are being hospitalized, but we don't yet have evidence that this variant is causing the severe disease which really results in hospitalization and potential death.”

He said many fewer patients require oxygen, in contrast to the early waves of the pandemic. Most cases being seen in South Africa are caused by the Omicron variant, Friedland said.

“We know it's highly transmissible. It's 4.2 times more transmissible than Delta,” he said. “We know it's a robust virus, taking over from Delta in terms of being most predominant virus. We know it's causing mild or moderate disease, but the question is, is it the virus itself that is not that virulent or deadly, that isn't causing the severe disease – or is it because of high levels of underlying immunity in South Africa?”

It's possible that people already have some immunity to the virus, either through vaccination, previous infection or both, and that’s protecting them, Friedland said. Multiple studies have shown that people who are naturally infected and then vaccinated have very strong immunity.

“So, about 73% of the cases we've admitted are unvaccinated, but many of them are young children and adolescents who ordinary wouldn't have been vaccinated by this stage. At the moment, it's toward mainly unvaccinated people – certainly in the deaths that we've seen,” he said.

R8 Good news. I've also read that a third booster dose of Pfizer works well against Omicron. There's also been chatter that the Omicron mutant is not as severe as Delta, that most people only get mild symptons. Hope that's true.

6000 new cases. 1500 confirmed Omicron cases. This is bad. The hospitals are full. Mostly of unvaccinated people and elderly vaxxed (2 doses) people with underlying conditions. Very few hospitalizations of people who have had 3 doses.

Link to graphs are at the top of the page. First graph shows new cases (increasing trend), then percentage vaxxed, hospitalizations, percentage positive tests and lastly number of deaths.

Lets try again...

Question: if omicron is Much more transmissible (percent of infections doubling every three days) than Delta; and is now 2 to 3 percent of US infections, it will be five percent of US cases by this weekend; ten percent by Monday, and will be the majority of all US cases by the week after Christmas.

A less virulent but MUCH more transmissible disease could become ubiquitous. If so, as a larger percent of the boosted, vaccinated and recovered populations gets exposed they will fare better than with Delta but the overall larger pool of exposed elderly and otherwise vulnerable (immunosuppressed, COPD, and what DL calls “fit fat”) will become brain fogged or die.

The worst effects will be focused on more traditionally vulnerable groups?

[quote]“Thus far – and it is very early days – our data over the last 30 days indicates that we are seeing a very mild to moderate form of Covid-19. Many of the cases are asymptomatic,” Richard Friedland, CEO of the private hospital network Netcare in South Africa, told CNN.

Isn't it possible that the reason for this isn't that Omicron is less virulent but that so many people in South Africa were infected during the recent Delta wave that these are reinfections and the presence of their as yet undepleted Delta antibodies is making it falsely seem like it's less virulent? If that is the case, other places that weren't recently as overrun with Delta will have a worse outbreak and South Africa itself will see the outbreak worsen as all of those who were infected with Delta in the last few months lose their antibody protection. It's literally possible that South Africa's huge Delta outbreak is protecting them a little from the worst effect of Omicron but that will not last.

We'll see soon enough as the rest of the world gets hit.

[quote]Isn't it possible that the reason for this isn't that Omicron is less virulent but that so many people in South Africa were infected during the recent Delta wave that these are reinfections and the presence of their as yet undepleted Delta antibodies is making it falsely seem like it's less virulent?

Yes:

"High levels of previous exposure to three previous waves of coronavirus infection in South Africa may explain the relatively low levels of hospitalisation and severe disease in the current outbreak of the Omicron variant, rather than the variant itself being less virulent.

The suggestion was made by the vaccine expert Shabir Madhi of the University of the Witwatersrand, who has led vaccine trials in the country. He warned that South Africa’s experience of Omicron might not be a reliable indicator for how the Omicron outbreak unfolds in other countries."

Thanks OP, you reminded me of this ditty by Lon Milo Duquette.

"Virtually every case of the Omicron variant to date has been found in fully vaccinated students, a portion of whom had also received a booster shot," said Cornell's Vice President for University Relations Joel Malina in a statement.

"Just the flu."

Yikes.

R18 But it's only mild Parkinson's!

I'm not gonna worry until it leads to mild pancreatic cancer.

German police raid homes of anti-vaxxers who plotted to kill state leader

German police carried out raids Wednesday against anti-vaxxers in response to an alleged plot to kill the eastern state of Saxony’s governor.

The anti-vaccination activists were accused of using messaging platform Telegram to discuss killing Michael Kretschmer, who leads a state where COVID-19 infection rates are among the highest in Germany and vaccination rates are the lowest, police said.

Members of the “Dresden Offlinevernetzung” — or Dresden offline network — had suggested that they might be in possession of firearms and crossbows, Reuters reported, citing Saxony police.

Five properties in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, and one in the nearby town of Heidenau were searched in an investigation that was triggered by a report last week on ZDF TV.

The group’s 103 members shared a rejection of jabs and the current coronavirus policy, according to the report, which featured audio messages in which they urged opposing policy measures, including “with armed force if necessary.”

Six members of the Telegram group are under investigation — five men and one woman, all German citizens, ages 32 to 64, police spokesman Tom Bernhardt said.

Police recovered “crossbows, parts of weapons, and weapons,” he said. “Whether these are capable of firing or are so-called live weapons at all, we will see in the course of the investigation.”

Kretschmer said threats against officials, scientists and journalists “are unacceptable, will not be tolerated and will be pursued with all our strength.”

New Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliament Wednesday that “we won’t put up with a tiny minority of uninhibited extremists trying to impose its will on the whole of our society.”

Protests against new restrictions on the unvaccinated and plans to make inoculations mandatory for some groups in Germany have recently become more violent, with increased attacks on doctors, politicians and journalists.

On March 16, vaccinations will become mandatory for people working in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities amid a strong fourth wave of the virus.

The national government has strengthened restrictions on unvaccinated people, banning them from public venues, restaurants and non-essential commerce.

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Here was a good article today addressing the question of whether Covid booster shots will keep being needed.

Interesting that the CDC predicts a bigger increase in the death rate than the case rate, given the supposed “mild” nature of omicron.

Wait, what? I thought Omicron was a nothingburger.

R26, Omicron was a bit of a nothingburger in South Africa because nearly the entire fucking population there had already caught Delta at some point in the last few months. Sadly, in the US now, the states that did the best with protecting their populations from Delta may be the hardest hit by Omicron, especially if their vaccination rate is lingering in the 50-70% range.

Christmas is going to kill tens of thousands of Americans because people are fucking toddler level immature when it comes to doing what they are supposed to do. Yes, taking off your fucking mask for a couple hours around your entire family during Christmas might kill grandma but, hey, they're family so the magic wishes might protect you. Fucking morons who are traveling for the holidays should be locked up for criminal endangerment.

In NYC now I feel that sense of extreme paranoia seeping in again. Avoidance of people. Boosted here and just hoping it stops anything serious. But if it’s as infectious as they say despite vaccination, I don’t know how you avoid it in NYC. Just too many environments around people. Masks only help a little. And I’m not planning a return to hibernation again. Just going out here is taking a risk.

there are a lot of tourists in NYC streets and they are maskless!

I'm double masking again.

I was at JFK on Saturday morning flying home to LA after two months in NYC on a job, and I was super annoyed at how many people in the airport had their masks down under their noses, around their chins or just plain off. Some of them were eating and drinking, but FFS, you can't do without for a few hours?? And of course, the airport was chock full, as was my flight. I was in 1st and by myself in the row, so I just kept my mask on through the whole flight and rolled over and went to sleep. But this is why we can't get rid of this thing. People cannot follow the rules.

Omicron is mild and acts more like a cold. Very good news.

How are you hanging in there Norwegian?

R33 We had 6000 new cases yesterday. We only have a population of 5 million. Must be a new record. We have a record number of hospitalizations too. Hospitals are full. I'm doing ok though. I'm back in home office. Back to using a facemask. Not really a lockdown this time, as stores have not closed. Just a continuation of old measures, like facemasks, social distancing, home office etc.

R23 Interesting that the CDC is making these claims without offering any guidance beyond, "Let's get everyone boosted!" The communication from these people is really in the shitter. Bring back the mask mandates -- yes, they will be shot down at the state and local levels, but at least they'd be able to show that they tried.

And indoor dining should never have re-opened. There, I said it.

Jesus, what a perfect storm - people's vaccinations waning but can't quite get the booster yet , the holidays and a new variant not completely understood yet. And all everyone is saying is how Christmas is looking so different than last year with gatherings galore.

Hopefully the US will go to three months for the booster like the UK did soon.

R37, is there efficacy shown at three months, though? There is a strengthened response in waiting. I know we have to balance that improved immune system response against what is currently happening in the world but what if three months isn't long enough to provide the required boost to work against Omicron? I haven't seen any studies.

[quote]And all everyone is saying is how Christmas is looking so different than last year with gatherings galore.

I'm so sick of seeing local news broadcasts acting joyous at all the returns to gatherings and huge travel numbers. I can't figure out if they are nefarious or just fucking dumb.

Substantial waning in three months, especially with Pfizer.

[quote] I can't figure out if they are nefarious or just fucking dumb.

Not mutually exclusive.

Just to note, R39's graph and data is for second doses, not boosters.

[quote] I'm so sick of seeing local news broadcasts acting joyous at all the returns to gatherings and huge travel numbers.

Yes, it's right up there with local weather bubbleheads chirping that we should, "Get out there and enjoy this unseasonably warm weather, whoo-hoo!" as far as making me ragey.

"Will the new and rapidly spreading variant overwhelm the U.S. health-care system? The question is moot because the system is already overwhelmed, in a way that is affecting all patients, COVID or otherwise. “The level of care that we’ve come to expect in our hospitals no longer exists,” says virologist John Lowe."

De Blasio ramps up city COVID testing amid ‘very substantial’ increase in cases

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday ramped up access to free COVID-19 testing and said the city will make masks and home test kits available to the public as well amid what he called a “very substantial” increase in virus cases in recent days.

During a press conference in Prospect Park, the mayor rolled out a six-part plan that includes increasing the number of testing sites in the Big Apple and distributing KN95 masks to New Yorkers.

“We have seen very substantial increases COVID cases in the last few days,” he said Thursday afternoon. “It is clear that the Omicron variant is here in New York City in full force.”

De Blasio also noted, however, that city hospitals are “doing a remarkable job handling cases” and that the Big Apple is not experiencing “the worst outcomes” on hospital capacity. On Monday, city data showed a hospitalization rate of 1.30 per 100,000 people, up from 1.01 a week prior.

“We are not seeing a major change in the hospitalizations,” said the mayor.

To keep the virus at bay, City Hall plans to “immediately” distribute 1 million free KN95 masks, 500,000 rapid at-home coronavirus tests, begin a paid media campaign to encourage New Yorkers to receive booster shots and start “doubling down” on inspections to ensure businesses follow de Blasio’s COVID-19 policies like Gov. Kathy Hochul’s vax-or-mask requirement and the “Key to NYC” program for indoor venues.

“We’ll have inspectors going out full force starting tomorrow to make sure there’s a high level of compliance with each of those mandates,” he said.

Dr. Ted Long, head of the city’s COVID-19 Test & Trace Corps, said the public hospital system testing sites will now be open seven days a week as will his agency’s sites. If testing lines become excessively long, those waiting to be tested will be given at-home tests, he promised.

“We want to remove all barriers so every New Yorker who’s made that sacrifice to come out to that site does not leave empty handed,” Long said.

Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s top doctor, called it an “alarming” COVID-19 transmission trend, noting the seven-day positivity average for new virus cases has tripled over the last month.

“The data that we monitor so closely is showing an alarming trend. Omicron is here in New York City and it is spreading quickly,” he said. “I do expect cases will continue to increase in the coming days.”

About 13 percent of COVID-19 cases are of the Omicron variant, according to Chokshi.

Chokshi’s updated Nov. 29 guidance, most of which was detailed in a previously issued commissioner’s order, includes wearing masks, particularly the heavier-filtering KN95 ones while indoors, frequent testing and promotes outdoor holiday gatherings when feasible.

“What we need to do is not rocket science,” he said.

The news comes after Dr. Jay Varma, City Hall’s top health advisor, early Thursday raised concern about the uptick in cases, as the positivity rate in the five boroughs jumped from 3.9 percent to 7.8 percent in three days.

“Um, we’ve never seen this before in #NYC,” he tweeted. “Test positivity doubling in three days.”To keep the virus at bay, City Hall plans to “immediately” distribute 1 million free KN95 masks, 500,000 rapid at-home coronavirus tests, begin a paid media campaign to encourage New Yorkers to receive booster shots and start “doubling down” on inspections to ensure businesses follow de Blasio’s COVID-19 policies like Gov. Kathy Hochul’s vax-or-mask requirement and the “Key to NYC” program for indoor venues.

sorry, I fucked up copying and pasting

How much is DeBlasio's wife going to grift off this one?

Better late than never.

yes, they need to start handing those test kits out in more places...

I had my Moderna 3rd dose ("booster") last night and feel so lousy today. Hopefully it's a 1-day thing like the first 2 doses. I'm feverish with chills, achy all over, headache, no energy, and my arm is so sore I can barely lift it. I had similar after the other doses but it feels a little worse this time. But I think it was the right thing to do.

My third Moderna knocked my out for about 24 hours r49.

The second, on the other hand, wiped me to the ground for about a week.

This thread is not making me feel very good about the upcoming holidays, even though my family is fully vaccinated, and some (not all) are boosted.

It sucks. Sooo over the Covid thing.

A path to a universal coronavirus vaccine?

New study finds that unique antibody-like proteins found in a shark’s immune system could possibly prevent the virus that causes Covid-19, its variants, and related coronaviruses from infecting human cells.

The proteins, known as VNARs, are one-tenth the size of human antibodies.

Yeah, good luck with that.

It's a phenomenon first identified in India earlier this year: Patients who have or are recovering from COVID-19 who then contract a sometimes deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis -- also known as "black fungus."

Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said isolated cases of the disease are hitting COVID patients in the United States.

Researchers identified 10 lab-confirmed cases of black fungus illness in patients treated at six Arkansas hospitals between July 12 and Sept. 28, 2021. Nine of the 10 patients lived in the state, all were white, seven were men and the average patient age was 57.

All had tested positive for COVID within the prior two months, and eight of the 10 patients also had diabetes -- another noted risk factor for contracting mucormycosis. None had been vaccinated. Six of the 1o patients died from the fungus during hospitalization or within one week of discharge.

R53 We need that now, not "down the road"! Yay sharks!

So...we're going to need a bigger boat?

Only 1 in 6 Americans are boosted at present.

If the urgent push for boosters is driven by the marked decline in Pfizer’s second dose effectiveness after five months, does that mean boosted individuals will need a [italic]second [/italic] booster shot six months after the first?

That seems low R58. All the elderly who got vaccinated first back in March/April are eligible since it's more than six months out.

They're eligible, R58, but they're not getting the shot. Todays's NY Times:

[quote] The Netherlands will impose a strict new lockdown starting Sunday at 5 a.m. local time to curb the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in a televised news conference Saturday, according to CNN affiliate RTL News. Indoor gatherings will be limited to a maximum of two guests until Jan. 14, except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when that will be extended to four guests, according to RTL News.

The Netherlands going back into lockdown. Question: How are they going to enforce this limit of only 2 indoor guests allowed? Will it be neighbor ratting on neighbor, calling the cops to bust parties? Seems China-like.

Seems Texas-like.

No live audience for SNL tonight.

“Screening for asymptomatic infection is required, especially for countries and regions that have successfully controlled SARS-CoV-2. Asymptomatic infections should be under management similar to that for confirmed infections, including isolating and contact tracing.”

Getting a booster has its merits.

So if all these "silent" cases have been running rampant without us even knowing about it until some sudden "study", why all the fear?

I watched CNN tonight and remember now why I shut it off in Jan. So much hysteria and hyperbole. It's not even news anymore, it's 99% OP-ED. The headlines about COVID were out of control ridiculous.

Elizabeth Warren tests positive.

Cory Booker too.

r55, wasn't that linked to a faulty sanitizer?

right there with you, r68. I stopped watching a while ago. It's amazing how when you don't watch the news, you don't live in constant fear. My life has improved since I stopped watching. All the fear mongering is out of control.

In fact, I just looked at my local news, r73 and their lead story is how much testing has risen. Of COURSE it's going up. People are traveling so they need to get tested. But the way they reported, they made it sound like people were rushing to get tests because they are sick. They aren't. Yes, the positive cases are up but it's also because more people are getting tested right now. Delta is still the dominate strain in the US, but you wouldn't know that by watching the stupid news.

No panic needed.

[quote]I stopped watching a while ago. It's amazing how when you don't watch the news, you don't live in constant fear. My life has improved since I stopped watching. All the fear mongering is out of control.

And yet you read this thread.

Still waiting until it's been 20 weeks and I can get my third dose.

Unvaccinated people face 20 times greater risk of dying from Covid-19 than those who have been boosted, according to US data

From CNN Health’s Deidre McPhillips

Unvaccinated people face a 10 times greater risk of testing positive and 20 times greater risk of dying from Covid-19 than fully vaccinated people who have also received a booster, according to data published recently by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC data -- which assesses data through October -- suggests the gap in risk between unvaccinated people and those with a booster is even larger than it is between unvaccinated people and those who are fully vaccinated with their initial series.

Unvaccinated people face a five times greater risk of testing positive for Covid-19 and 14 times greater risk of dying from Covid-19 than fully vaccinated people do, according to the CDC data.

Israel to add US, Canada, Germany to “red” no-fly list, as Prime Minister tells country “the wave is coming”

From CNN's Elliott Gokine in Tel Aviv

Israel is adding 10 more countries, including the US and Canada, to its “red” no-fly list, as it braces for a fifth wave of coronavirus infections.

Subject to ministerial approval, the US, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey will be added to the “red” list at midnight on Tuesday.

The list already includes several African countries, the UK, Denmark, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Norway, Finland and Sweden.

“Time is running out,” warned Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in remarks at the beginning of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. "“The wave is coming. Every family should be prepared, every person should make sure they’re vaccinated with three shots, and that their children are vaccinated.” "

On Saturday night, it was announced that Bennett was canceling Sunday evening’s annual reception with journalists, diplomats and others, “due to growing concerns over a potential new Covid wave in Israel”.

Meanwhile, the country is ramping up its vaccination campaign for children, with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz telling Kan Radio they would be “storming” the education system this week, increasing the number of vaccination centers in schools 10-fold, to 500.

He added there were some indications the booster shot’s efficacy has waned, and that a fourth vaccination dose might be required, especially for the elderly.

In a bid to stem the spread of the rapidly-spreading omicron variant, Israel has banned most foreigners from entering the country.

Israelis are for the most part banned from visiting countries on its “red” list; travelers returning from these countries need to self-isolate for seven days, first in quarantine hotels, and then -- on receipt of a negative PCR test -- at home, providing they sign a contract agreeing to have their movements tracked.

Despite these measures, Israel’s Covid numbers have been creeping higher, with an additional 875 cases recorded on Friday -- the highest number in at least a month -- before dropping to 372 on Saturday, due to lower weekend testing rates (in late summer, infections peaked at more than 10,000 a day).

Serious cases rose by one, to 81. Less than three months ago, at the height of the fourth wave, they exceeded 750.

The number of people contracting the omicron variant also continues to grow.

According to the Health Ministry, 175 people have now been identified as contracting the omicron variant, up from 89 a few days ago. Of these, 122 were fully vaccinated. There was also a “high suspicion” of omicron in 380 additional cases.

The R number -- the number of people infected by each Covid sufferer -- remains just above 1, a threshold it crossed more than a month ago.

“If what is happening in Europe happens here,” Dr. Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute of Science told Israel Channel 12, “we will see a doubling of infections every two or three days.”

Breaking News!!! Let all your Republican family know the true cure for COVID. Post on Facebook where people get their medical info. Tell them "you've done your own research", this statement seems to be a coded phrase which puts them in a semi-hypnotic state. Say it 3 times for maximum effect.

Ohio National Guard will staff a free Covid-19 testing site in Cleveland

From CNN's Raja Razek

A free drive-thru Covid-19 testing site will open on Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.

"The site, which is located at the W.O. Walker Building will be staffed by the Ohio National Guard and Ohio Department of Health," read a joint news release. Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals will support the community Covid-19 testing site.

The site will open Tuesday and initially operate through Sunday of this week, but will be closed on Dec. 25, according to the release.

"The testing is free, open to everyone and individuals do not need a doctor’s order to obtain a test. The site will offer PCR tests, and individuals will receive their results in approximately 2-3 days," the release said.

Additionally, the Ohio Department of Health is offering free rapid at-home antigen testing kits at many sites across Ohio, according to the release, including local health departments, public libraries, and community health centers.

Due to a surge in Covid-19 infections and an increased demand in healthcare services, particularly in emergency departments, Greater Cleveland’s hospital systems said it will limit coronavirus testing in emergency departments to patients who are going to be admitted to the hospital, according to the release.

On Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that he had mobilized the state's National Guard to "help meet critical needs at hospitals and testing locations," according to a news release from his office.

The governor mobilized 1,050 members of the Ohio National Guard to "help relieve the hospital staffing strain caused by the rising number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients," according to the release.

"Of the total mobilized guard members, approximately 150 are highly-trained medical professionals and will deploy to help meet critical needs at hospitals and testing locations," the release said. "The remaining 900 guard members will help with patient transport, housekeeping, and food services."

R79, Israel is such a drama queen.

Concerning R83...

They need to ban unvaccinated people from the hospital for all medical treatment, not just covid related illness. Time to let them live with the consequences of their actions and beliefs. We're at war with Covid and we need to start treating the voluntarily unvaxxed as the enemies they are.

Omicron is anywhere from 50-80% less severe than prior variants, according to data out today from South Africa.

Spain records its highest daily number of new Covid-19 cases since start of pandemic

From CNN’s Al Goodman and Livvy Dohetry

Spain registered its highest daily number of new Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 49,823 cases recorded in the past day, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday.

The previous highest figure for Spain was recorded on Jan. 21, 2021, when the country saw a daily increase of 44,357 new coronavirus cases.

The daily ministry data does not break down cases by variants, but it released a separate report on Tuesday on all variants, saying "at the present time, the data drawn from sequencing of specific PCR indicates that there's a rapid substitution of the Delta variant by the Omicron."

The health ministry also reported Tuesday that 15.77% of all hospital ICU beds are now occupied with coronavirus patients. At the start of the month, a ministry report said the figure was just over 8%.

Trump got the booster - and got booed for it.

Harry Entin was just on CNN discussing a new poll saying that the unvaxxed say NOTHING will convince them to get the shot. He called that “a shonde.” I had to Google the word. It’s Yiddish.

[quote] In Yiddish, shande means a disgrace, a shame, a terrible embarrassment, a scandal. .

Lol

88% reduction in hospitalization and death in a pill. Thank goodness there was a protease inhibitor combination that worked after all. Supplies will be limited for the next few months, but between vaccination and this and better ventilation on places like planes, truly the end of this nightmare is in sight.

[quote] better ventilation on places like planes

It boggles my mind that two years into this, no one is taking ventilation/filtration in buildings seriously. I have a dental appointment coming up, and I would feel SO much better if there was a little HEPA air purifier running in every exam room.

Asshole CEOs and office managers who insist on having bodies back in buildings need to suck it up and accept that upgrading the HVAC is the cost of doing business.

Are you all retired?

No R91, are you?

Lies!

Well that’s certainly a non-Omicron specific post R91?s

Mmmm, not really.

Fauci calls CDC's decision to shorten Covid-19 isolation guidelines "very prudent"

From CNN’s Jen Christensen

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the changes the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made to its isolation guidelines for Covid-19 are a good idea.

“I think that was a very prudent and good choice on the part of the CDC, which we spent a considerable amount of time discussing, namely getting people back in half the time than they would have been out, so that they can do it back to the workplace, doing things that are important to keep society running smoothly,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Jim Acosta.

The CDC shortened the recommended times that people should isolate when they’ve tested positive for Covid-19 from 10 days to five days if they don’t have symptoms – and if they wear a mask around others for at least five more days.

The CDC also shortened the recommended time for people to quarantine if they are exposed to the virus to a similar five days if they are vaccinated and often to no time if they are boosted.

"With the sheer volume of new cases that we are having and that we expect to continue with Omicron, one of the things that we want to be careful of is that we don't have so many people out," Fauci told CNN's Jim Acosta.

"We want to get people back to the jobs, particularly the essential jobs, to keep society running smoothly," Fauci added.

One way to help slow the spread of Covid-19 is more testing, but tests are still hard to come by in the US, Fauci said, although the situation will get better soon.

“We don't have enough tests at this particular point in time to get everybody uniformly, have the availability of testing – that will change considerably as we get into January,” Fauci said.

The Biden administration has promised it will make 500 million tests available in the first couple of weeks of January with 200 to 500 million tests per month in the succeeding months.

“It would be great if we had it right now, but unfortunately, we don’t,” Fauci said.

What the country does have right now is vaccines, Fauci said as he encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, including children.

“I appeal to parents, that if your child is five and over, get that child vaccinated not only for their own safety, because you see there's a lot more infections in children, some of which result in hospitalizations. And that's one of the things you don't want to happen,” Fauci said. “You don't want them to be spreading infections among themselves, and among others, So it's really important to get those children vaccinated.”

Fauci has said vaccine mandates are a good idea, including for people who fly domestically, but don’t expect that mandate to happen any time soon.

“But we never take anything off the table. We always keep things open for consideration,” Fauci said.

Fauci said public health leaders will be watching the Covid-19 numbers closely. The number he will be particularly focused on is hospitalizations. When there are so many infections, he explained, some can be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic.

“What really counts is making sure people don't get sick,” Fauci said. “So, what we were saying as we go on further and we may be get more cases but less hospitalizations, it's important to focus on how well we're doing about keeping people well, if they're in the hospital taking good care of them, but trying to keep them out of the hospital by whatever means possible.”

Anybody familiar with the at-home tests? I looked on CVS's website and there are 5 of them! Is one better than the other?

FlowFlex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 2 Test Kits

Ellume Covid-19 Home Test

Pixel by Labcorp COVID-19 PCR Test Home Collection Kit

BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test

Are there any at home rapid tests in the US that use a throat swab or throat and nasal swab instead of just the nasal swab?

Only nasal, R98. I won't get into the anal swabs, which aren't for everyone, but China has been doing the deep nasopharyngeal swab plus throat all along. There's none of that "just the tip" stuff. They really get in there and just when you think you've survived, they're suddenly going down your throat. We clearly need some changes here with Omicron, but the top priority seems to be coddling adult babies with a little nostril tickle lest they stomp their feet and refuse to be tested at all.

R97,

Flowflex is made by Acon Biotech, a Chinese company. They're sold individually and you have to do a second in 36 hours, so be sure to buy at least two. You swirl the swab into a small vial of reagent, flip the dropper lid back on and squeeze it into a plastic cartridge like a tiny pregnancy test.

QuickView is made by Quidel and is an established name in rapid immunoassays. If you've ever had influenza, conjunctivitis, or strep rapid tests at your doctor's office, chances are you've had a QuickView at some point. They come two per package and it's a test strip that you dip.

Ellume requires downloading their app and using a reader which connects to your phone via Bluetooth. They recalled a few lots of tests not long go for false positives. This is one that they say doesn't require a follow-up test, but with Omicron? Ehhhh. (That's not medical advice. It's just my personal opinion as a know-nothing Datalounger.) I posted in another thread about a friend who had a week of ping-ponging tests of all sorts before finally producing a positive PCR.

Pixel is a mail-in PCR. You collect your sample and send it off. They come in COVID only or COVID plus flu.

Binax is similar in use to FlowFlex but it's made in Maine by Abbott. They're sold two to a package.

[quote] I won't get into the anal swabs

This is the Datalounge. We get into anal swabs.

While i'm on my TL;DR soapbox, let me just make a little plea and then I'll shut up.

If you have an elderly parent who's talking about doing home test on their own and their manual dexterity and/or eyesight isn't the best, please think twice. The tests have small parts, tiny vial openings, and in some cases a perforated hole in the cardboard needs to be punched out perfectly or the the vial won't stay upright.

We had one man whose daughter dropped two tests off for him. He told her he did both and they were negative. What actually happened was he knocked over the first reagent vial and couldn't use that test. The second one, I don't remember exactly, but that one was also couldn't be used.

Whatever the case, he was too embarrassed to tell her that he had ruined both tests so he lied and said they were negative. He was also afraid of exposure at a testing site so he kept insisting that it was just allergies and he was fine. By the time she got off her ass and forced him to be seen, he was in very bad shape. He managed to bounce back with BiPAP, but it could have gone either way.

"In these 2 weeks, hospitalizations have already increased >3-fold (and it's still quite early to assess Omicron's impact on severe disease here)"

Biden Follows Trump Blueprint Of Letting States Figure Out COVID Themselves

India approves the Novovax and the Dr. Hotez vaccines!

Encouraging pre-print (not peer reviewed, but reputable authors) showing Omicron infection protects against Delta infection.

cnbc People are far less likely to be admitted to hospital with the omicron Covid variant than the previous delta strain, according to a U.K. government study published Thursday.⁠ ⁠ The U.K. Health Security Agency said individuals with omicron are estimated to be between 31% and 45% less likely to attend emergency departments compared to those with delta, and 50-70% less likely to require admission to hospital. However, the analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain," the UKHSA said.⁠ ⁠ It's still the early days, but the preliminary findings offer hope that the human and economic toll of the heavily mutated strain, which has spread like wildfire, may not be as severe as initially feared.⁠ ⁠

This has turned into one big clusterfuck. Things being released to the public seem to change as the wind blows.

I just heard on the news the kids in Hoboken over the age of two will now have to be masked up in public until positivity rates are lowered. NYC schools still opening next week. Local and state governments need to get their shit together as does the federal government.

Until then, get vaxxed, get boosted, wear your mask, wash your hands and FFS, stay out of Times Square on NYE.

[quote] the analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain."

But we released it anyway.

[quote] Things being released to the public seem to change as the wind blows.

Then God help everyone in The Hamptons.

Science, like sausage, doesn't always look pretty in the making. They should stop releasing every damn preliminary study to the public and wait until there are actual, verified conclusions.

R110 is me.

Covid outbreak in the chess world championships in Poland. Huge scandal. Several players have tested positive. Nakamura literally coughed when he played against Magnus Carlsen. It's weird that masks are not mandatory while playing. They sit very close and are literally touching the same chess pieces.

More US states are at or near all-time peak Covid-19 hospitalization levels

From CNN's Matthew Hilk

Maryland and the District of Columbia are the latest to see all-time high hospitalization levels from Covid-19 — at a time when about 10 states are experiencing some of the highest hospitalization numbers of the pandemic.

According to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Maryland currently has 2,197 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, up 32% from just a week ago, topping the record previously set in January.

Washington, DC, has 514 Covid-19 cases in the hospital, more than double the number a week ago, and a far higher number than during any previous pandemic peak.

Ohio hospitalizations, 5,609, are nearly tied with the state's all-time record of 5,759 in December 2020.

Four other states — Connecticut, Indiana, Missouri and Delaware — are all seeing hospital numbers at least 80% as high as their all-time records last winter, according to a CNN analysis of HHS data.

And four states — Michigan, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire — hit their all-time pandemic peak hospitalization numbers this month, according to a CNN review of the data, though all four have seen hospitalizations decline in the last few days.

JetBlue is canceling 1,280 flights through Jan. 13 as Omicron cases surge

This is a scandal. They were supposed to be tested every day but a player just said that was not the case. The queue was often so long that it wasn't possible.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote] Nakamura literally coughed when he played against Magnus Carlsen.

It is an astonishing existential reality how quiet a room gets when someone coughs these days.

[quote]Anti-vax mother-of-three who posted that she was 'not afraid of COVID' and refused to 'prioritize fear over life' dies of the virus at age 29

Fake news. I was assured right here on DL that only old people die of COVID.

When somebody coughs in a store, I walk out immediately. When someone coughs in the subway, I also get off at the next station and go to another subway car.

When I see those mobile testing sites or City MD, I cross the street.

Michigan not going with shortened quarantine guidelines.

[quote]The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services said it won't adopt new, shorter federal COVID-19 isolation/quarantine guidelines until it reviews "the supporting evidence ... while awaiting additional information, ... specifically for special populations and in high-risk settings." Rather, Michigan health leaders say they will continue to recommend previous, longer quarantine and isolation guidelines, including those for K-12 schools and congregate care settings.

R113 But it's so mild though...back to work you pussies!

Dr. Fauci on track for annual retirement payout up to $350K: report

If Dr. Anthony Fauci ever decides to call it quits, the White House chief medical adviser will walk away with a golden parachute worth up to $350,000 per year — the largest federal retirement package ever, according to a report by Forbes.

The eye-popping amount reportedly does not include annual cost-of-living increases to Fauci’s pension and benefits.

Fauci, who turned 81 on Christmas Eve, has worked for the government for 55 years and was paid $434,312 in 2020, making him the highest-compensated federal employee.

That amount represented a 4 percent bump on Fauci’s 2019 salary of $417,608, according to federalpay.org.

Fauci, who has headed up the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, got a huge salary boost — deemed a “permanent pay adjustment” — during the George W. Bush administration for his biodefense work.

He went from making a $200,000 salary in 2004 to $335,000 in 2007, a 68 percent increase.

Federal employees who worked as long as Fauci can earn “80 percent of [their] high-3 average salary, plus credit for [their] sick leave” when they retire, Forbes said, citing the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Fauci’s 2021 salary has yet to be published, and Forbes said it had filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in November for the pay information.

Forbes used the last three available years of Fauci’s salary — he also made $399,625 in 2018 — to calculate his potential retirement benefits.

China resorts to public shaming to combat Covid. Wouldn't work here, of course -- Americans have no shame.

The chess championships can be a superspreader event. Great job Poland🤦‍♂️

Fucking embarrassing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted a fucking chess tournament could lead to a superspreader event.

[quote]The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services said it won't adopt new, shorter federal COVID-19 isolation/quarantine guidelines until it reviews "the supporting evidence .

Kind of a moot point since Michigan residents pay not attention to either the CDC or their own Health Department.

And so what, r122? I hate the NY Post.

Not sure why Michigan, Ohio, Indiana etc have such high COVID rates-- all of those fuckers are here in Sarasota for the winter! Bringing their COVID with them and utilizing resources, especially testing. Of course, the morons in Florida are also to blame. What a shitty Christmas season!

[quote]The omicron variant of COVID is fast spreading through Houston. Spiking metrics this week were catching the attention of city leaders as they push to increase daily testing capacity by thousands of tests and urge residents to take precautions, especially when gathering to celebrate the new year.

[quote]Two data points stood out: The city’s 14-day average positivity rate, which reflects how many people are testing positive for the virus, reached 17.3 percent this past Sunday. That was well above the 7.8 percent calculated the Sunday before and 4.8 percent the Sunday prior to that.

[quote] Concerning [R83]...

They need to ban unvaccinated people from the hospital for all medical treatment, not just covid related illness. Time to [bold]let them live with the consequences of their actions[/bold] and beliefs. We're at war with Covid and we need to start treating the voluntarily unvaxxed as the enemies they are.

Yes. And then we can re-direct all funding of HIV cure research to St. Jude's Hospital and focus on curing children who, through no fault of their own, are terminally ill instead of grown-ass individuals who contracted HIV due to their reckless and irresponsible lifestyles/behaviors. Let them live with the consequences of their actions.

yawn...

knit one...pearl two...repeat

[quote]Yes. And then we can re-direct all funding of HIV cure research to St. Jude's Hospital and focus on curing children who, through no fault of their own, are terminally ill instead of grown-ass individuals who contracted HIV due to their reckless and irresponsible lifestyles/behaviors. Let them live with the consequences of their actions.

Fine with me. Unless they were raped or transfused with infected blood, anyone who has gotten infected with HIV in the last 25 years, at least, did it voluntarily. It's another plague that could have been ended if people stopped being irresponsible, selfish assholes. Men who refused to wear condoms are just as bad as the antivax morons now.

bi hubby much, r134? or asexual prude?

Irresponsible, selfish person says what, R135? You can't counter anything I said. End of story.

someone is damaged.

You can't counter anything I said. End of story.

Sorry, I can't type it any slower for you, R137.

ok...

The Guardian:

1 in 25 people in England had Covid last week.

1 in 40 had it in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Infections were highest in ages two to school year 6 (usually Delta) and ages 25-34 (more likely to be Omicron).

Greece follows US in cutting Covid self-isolation to five days

From Amy Cassidy in Glasgow and Chris Liakos in Athens

Greece has followed the US in halving its Covid-19 self-isolation period from 10 days to five, apparently making it the first European country to do so.

The change was announced despite a record surge in cases.

The country's health experts committee announced the move in a statement published online Wednesday, ahead of a record 35,580 new cases reported on Thursday, according to data from Greece’s national public health organization.

The revised guidelines replicate the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations announced Monday to end self-isolation after five days, provided patients have no symptoms.

The person must then wear a "high-protection" N95, KN95 or FFP2 mask for a further five days, according to the Greek statement.

Those who are fully vaccinated, including a booster shot, are not required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a Covid-positive person, while the unvaccinated must follow the revised isolation rules.

Elsewhere in Europe, Portugal, England and Wales have shortened their isolation period from 10 days to seven.

Well, r134, at least you're consistent with your sociopathy. I'll give you that.

Lots of my friends in NYC have now been infected, most likely with omicron. They all say symptoms are worse than “just a cold.” But they are all making it through fine

Same as R143, but a range of symptoms and severity from sniffles, to bad cold-like, to mild flu-like, to bad flu-lije; no loss of taste or smell, no trouble trouble breathing; no extremities turning blue.

[bold]What is Florona; first case of double infection of COVID, influenza detected in Israel [details][/bold]

The entire world is already in the midst of a deadly pandemic induced by COVID-19 virus. As if things weren't bad enough, now Israel has detected the first case of "Florona" disease, which is a double infection of COVID-19 and influenza virus.

A local Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported the development and said that the case of double infection was detected in a woman who was admitted to the Rabin Medical Centre to give birth this week. This has put the health officials on the edge. The Ministry of Health is closely studying the case.

more at link

All I'm hearing in my head right now is My Florona.

Wasn't "My Corona" the subtitle of like Coronavirus Freakout thread #3 or so?

Betty White dies and now Florona? Jesus Christ, how much more are we supposed to take?

During spring 2020 I read Daniel Defoe's "Joirnal of the Plague Year," about the bubonic plague epidemic in England during the 1660s. I just started rereading it and the thing that strikes me now is that Defoe doesn't mention anybody pretending that the plague wasn't actually happening.

[quote] Israel has detected the first case of "Florona" disease, which is a double infection of COVID-19 and influenza virus.

Oh COME on! Medical community is just trolling at this point. 😭

Why would they call it a horrible thing like Florona when the much better and much more self-explanatory Flurona was available?

^^^Right? Sounds like something you'd call getting COVID during your monthly visit from Aunt Flo.

I know someone with bronchitis and Corona…

^^^Bronchorona.

That's common. Older variants replicated more efficiently in the lungs, but Omicron does better in the bronchi. That's good for obvious reasons but also bad because there's more virus up higher in the respiratory tract, meaning higher viral load being exhaled.

Restaurant Owner Who Ignored Shutdown Dead of COVID

Is there a thread dedicated to all the Covid/vax deniers that have died of Covid? I'm trying to make a point to a friend who is refusing to get vaccinated.

r157 show him sorryantivaxxer.com

[quote]I'm trying to make a point to a friend who is refusing to get vaccinated.

Did it ever occur that maybe, just maybe, they sincerely don't give a shit? I personally hope I get it and die because I've had it up to here with people. Unfortunately....I'm healthy af and already had it so I'm naturally immune. Fingers crossed, though. -_-

[quote] Unfortunately....I'm healthy af and already had it so I'm naturally immune.

Umm....

R159 triggered.

Corfluva!!🤣

[quote] Unfortunately....I'm healthy af

The Datalounge condoles you on your lack of fortune.

R157, the Herman Cain Awards on Reddit will provide hours of enjoyment.

"At current rates, the U.S. will surpass previous Covid hospitalization records next week. "

The good news in regards to the above is that New York is likely to hit “peak” infections this week and then start dropping quickly and there’s less of a lag time between infection with Omicron and symptomatic disease so there’s less of a lag time with hospitalizations as well.

"At the beginning of this pandemic... we all were taught, you have a significant exposure if you're within six feet of somebody and you're in contact with them for more than 15 minutes. All these rules are out the window," Reiner said. "This is a hyper-contagious virus."

Now, even a quick, transient encounter can lead to an infection, Reiner added, including if someone's mask is loose, or a person quickly pulls their mask down, or an individual enters an elevator in which someone else has just coughed.

"This is how you can contract this virus," Reiner said.

R167 Loose masks! God, I'd be HAPPY to see loose masks at this point.

Judge Delivers Humiliating Blow To Anti Mask School Parents

Immunity wanes against Omicron variant with both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, study finds

From CNN's Katherine Dillinger

Immunity wanes against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus with both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines – but not as much as it wanes after a natural infection, researchers reported Friday.

And they say their findings show the need for vaccines that specifically protect against Omicron.

Dr. Emilia Sordillo at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and colleagues tested the blood of people who had been vaccinated, or vaccinated and boosted with Moderna’s or Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccines, as well as the blood of people who had recovered from Covid-19.

Although the tests were done in lab dishes, the researchers said the experiment replicates real life conditions because they used live virus. They looked for what are known as neutralizing antibodies: immune system structures that can stick to the virus and stop it from infecting cells. “Across all 85 samples, the reduction in neutralization for Omicron was greater than 14.5 fold,” compared with the Beta variant and the original strain, they wrote. “In comparison, there was only a four-fold reduction against Beta in the same sample.

“In fact, 16.5% of samples lost all neutralizing activity against Omicron.” That included nearly three-quarters of blood samples from people who had recovered from infections.

“Our findings support recent reports describing significantly reduced protection from reinfection and almost non-existent vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease after two BNT162b2 (Pfizer) vaccinations,” they wrote. But people who got Pfizer boosters had protection “in the range of 75%,” they wrote.

They found no evidence that the Moderna vaccine provides stronger protection than Pfizer’s. The blood of people who got two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine produced antibody neutralization levels that were 23-fold lower against Omicron than against the original strain of the virus, and antibody levels from people who got Moderna’s vaccine were 42 times lower. For people who got booster doses, neutralization activity was 7.5 times lower for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 16.7 times lower for Moderna’s.

In general, antibody protection correlates with real-life protection, but it doesn’t measure the long-term protection from severe disease and death provided by a slower-growing and longer-lasting type of protection: immune cells called T cells.

“We should remember that the relationship between measurable neutralizing antibodies and clinical course of infection is not a simple one. In general, antibodies are required to prevent initial infection; but cellular immunity – which may be maintained – is required to prevent serious illness,” Dr. Peter English, an expert in communicable disease control in the UK, said in a statement.

“Importantly, the study supports the view that a third dose of vaccine considerably improves the antibody response against Omicron infection,” added English, who was not involved in the study.

Dr. Julian Tang of the University of Leicester, who also was not involved in the study, also said T-cell responses are important for long-term protection against severe disease.

“The bottom line is that boosting existing immunity (whether vaccine or naturally acquired) does help to protect against infection/reinfection to some degree – as well as boosting existing T-cell responses – all of which will help to protect us against Omicron. So getting these booster doses is important – especially if you are in one of the more vulnerable groups,” Tang said.

I don't know why people are focused so much on antibody responses when memory T-cell immunity is superior, by far. Your T-cell immunity can literally keep you from getting severely ill once infected. People need to calm down.

Yes, r160. I'm not in a high risk category nor do I have any serious comorbidities that could lead to severe illness. And I already had it. That's "1 dose" to every amino acid that builds proteins for the virus. These are the high risk attributes:

65+ (I'm under 40) Male (I'm female) Obesity (I'm 5'7" and weigh 115...119 after an extra cheesy pizza, if I'm lucky) Vitamin D deficient (I've been supplementing vitamin D for years now due to being a POC who had low levels; they are now normal) An HbA1C in the pre-diabetic or diabetic range (Mine is less that 5.7%; normal)

-----

One issue that I've seen is women of reproductive age (my demographic) reporting disruption to their menstrual cycles after being vaccinated. The issue was so frequently reported that the NIH has decided to conduct a study on the vaccine's impact on the female menstrual cycle. I do have fibroids which already causes that to be hellish. I have no children and the one time I was pregnant 15 years ago, I miscarried. I've already had the virus. There is no need for me, personally, to take the risk of being vaccinated.

We all have different risk profiles; some of which will conclude that vaccination is needed some of which will conclude that it's not. And that's fine. When you couple the fact that so many people have been infected and vaccinated at this point, not only should we be well past the herd immunity stage but technically, the virus should be mutating to be [italic]less[/italic] severe.

With regards to the menstrual cycle issues post-vaccination, as a childless convalescent female of reproductive age, I'd prefer for them to figure that shit out first before I decide to inject it into my body.

Yeahhhh...FTS:

Flights over 3 hours make me get my period early, what type of woman hasn’t gotten her period early on occasion? Of all the bizarre anti-vaccine pseudo-health concerns, the vaccination causes an early period freak-outs are so bizarre precisely because they are right up there with the vaccine made my arm hurt for clinical significance except they rely on peoples’ complete ignorance of the female experience and the ick factor about discussing menstruation.

R172 my wife had terrible fibroids so I condole you. They are miserable and she was quite relieved once she finally had a hysterectomy:

[quote] Flights over 3 hours make me get my period early, what type of woman hasn’t gotten her period early on occasion?

Read the room.

Quick question r174, do also make a point to minimize the virus overall because a significant amount of people only experience mild illness like you're doing with this report regarding the menstrual cycle interruption post-vaccination (which is still being studied, mind you)? I'm just curious, because any real scientist will acknowledge that, for a new medication, such a development as this, is worth further investigation and the demographic that it can affect the most being concerned is quite understandable. Keep in mind that this started occurring as soon as the vaccine was being administered to females of reproductive age.

My OB-GYN has not recommended a hysterectomy due to my not having children and still being too young. I'm not certain if I want children yet, and frankly, that's mostly due to the fact that I don't want to bring an innocent life into this current shitshow we're in.

^^ *do you

And also, women aren't just reporting "an early period." The reports are varied and range from early period to prolonged bleeding (i.e. weeks to months) even amongst post-menopausal women. If this was a negligible issue, the NIH wouldn't invest funds into research institutions to investigate it. The fact that you were quick to call this "antivax" is weird. This is science, and it's not always pretty. Sometimes science can help people. Sometimes it can fuck people up. There is nuance. A real scientist with any modicum of integrity and passion for the field has no problems acknowledging both.

It's a damn shame what's happened to this field. It really is.

[quote]In general, antibodies are required to prevent initial infection; but cellular immunity – which may be maintained – is required to prevent serious illness,” Dr. Peter English, an expert in communicable disease control in the UK, said in a statement.

"-which may be maintained- ..."?? Is there a reason all the studies aren't measuring this instead of just antibodies? The vaccines have been around long enough and there are enough vaccinated and infected people now to do huge longitudinal studies on longterm immunity levels of protection. Why aren't they being done? No over the counter tests to sell, I guess.

And, Elderlez, I'm surprised you are dismissing the menstrual issues. While it's a bullshit excuse for anti-vaxxers in the face of a pandemic, it is definitely worthy of study. When a vaccine affects the endocrine system in women, there's more going on there that should be known. Especially when it's not happening in males that we know of. The long history of ignoring the effects of medications on women is something that needs to be fixed and this does need to be looked into, especially if the vaccine will be folded into the annual flu shots in all ages of women for the foreseeable future.

[quote]I have multiple neighbors serving in leadership positions in different military branches—both non-commissioned & commissioned officers— & they all use words like "godsend" to describe the mandate as the only ppl fighting it are those they've been trying to get rid of already

A friend of mine has had horrible bleeding and cramps ever since her second booster shot and she has no fibroids. She's only period-free for around ten days a month now. It's definitely not just "an early period."

[quote]No over the counter tests to sell, I guess.

r179 There is one, actually (for US residents only). Feel free to purchase it if you're curious about your own T-cell immunity to COVID.

^^ It's not OTC but is an available option for personal purchase.

[quote]They found no evidence that the Moderna vaccine provides stronger protection than Pfizer’s.

Harvard disagrees.

This is probably why, though...

During a global pandemic not getting vaccinated is incredibly arrogant, ignorant and selfish. But as long as you're ok...

R182 Thanks for the reference. $159!!! I will think about how badly I need to know my antibody level at a given time. I've been curious because it makes sense to know your antibody levels on top of everything else we monitor. If they're high, one can have some peace of mind I guess.

Early, late, long and irregular periods are common occurrences for most women and generally are considered annoyances rather than clinically significant unless there is something else going on like fibroids or PCOS. I am not opposed to research, I am just amazed that something that that is a common, generally benign occurrence for most women and not worth spending money on studying becomes a freak-out reason for not getting vaccinated. Where’s my flight study?, I am not going into details, but after my flight to SFO, everything on that list of terrible things above happened, because flights and menstruation.

The persistence of B and T cell memory is the subject of several surveillance studies.

A friend of mine has had horrible bleeding and cramps ever since her second booster shot and she has no fibroids. She's only period-free for around ten days a month now. It's definitely not just "an early period."

Correlation does not imply causation.

The only periods we should be concerned with on here are the ones missing at the end of sentences.

[quote] Is there a reason all the studies aren't measuring this instead of just antibodies?

I had my booster and this is my period now. I blame Obama.

That graphic at R191 is understandable only by PhDs and MDs. Someone tried to explain it...

[quote]The booster tends to increase preferentially the memory cells generated against the first variant from Wuhan or against common seasonal coronaviruses, that work against all variants including Omicron, but not in a neutralizing manner.

Uh, okay. Those last five words there don't seem particularly heartening. I guess, from reading the rest of the responses, that it's showing B and T cell activity against Omicron is at least somewhat effective. My point, however, remains. They continue to focus almost all the reporting on waning antibodies. It's either because the media is too stupid to explain anything else or they believe the public is too stupid to understand anything else. Either way, they need to start talking and educating people about B and T cell immunity.

On another note, I think they should start calling the unvaxxed 'naive'. It basically means unvaxxed in this scenario but it works as a good insult, too. It can be the new deplorable. As in, "Those fucking naive deplorables should be institutionalized."

[quote]I guess, from reading the rest of the responses, that it's showing B and T cell activity against Omicron is at least somewhat effective

Here's another study. I don't understand the charts but I'm heartened by Topol's summation:

So we all have antibodies, T cells and B cells to fight off viruses. Does anyone know, like in ten words or less, what the difference is between T and B cells?

More than ten words, but here goes...

Helper T cells mobilize the immune response.

Killer T cells do what their name implies.

B cells produce antibodies.

R196 Thanks! Easier to remember. I'll sound so smart when conversing.

And, if I'm correct, B and T cell level immunity is prompted at a much higher degree after a booster shot versus just the original two-shot vaccination. I think we should actually think of the original shots as one big, spaced-out dose because the period between them was not really long enough to consider them a true booster. It's that booster shot at 6+ months (and maybe another at a year or two...or a specialized variant booster) that is really going to offer more long-term protection in the form of B and T cell level immunity.

ElderLez, you're missing the point, here. No one is denying that period irregularity is a common occurrence amongst many women. However, most women also know their bodies and "their normal." So, it stands to reason that any woman who raised an alarm about this to begin with post-vaccination had a valid reason to. Once again, post-menopausal women (that's women who no longer get periods) were also reporting vaginal bleeding after vaccination. That's not something to just be brushed off as "normal."

This is still a new pharmaceutical. It is still in the safety monitoring phase. Phase III clinical trials are still ongoing. Any and all issues, especially those that may impact women's reproductive health, need to be taken seriously. And it absolutely is understandable if a female prefers to forgo getting the vaccine until the scientific community has a solid explanation for this.

Like I said, I have fibroids. I already had the virus. I'm not getting this vaccine until they figure that shit out, and I and other people in my situation, or similar, aren't about to be guilt-tripped and gaslit into potentially harming our own bodies and/or quality of life just so some strangers on the internet can "feel better." Real talk, at the end of the day, none of you people give a shit what happens to me or what I have to go through. Hell, you don't give a shit what I'm going through, [bold]now.[/bold] Which is fine. You don't know me and aren't obligated to. I'm just trying to figure out why I'm supposed to be willing to sacrifice my own health, comfort, and safety for the whole damn world. I'm not Jesus.

Getting vaccinated protects the vaccinated person, they can still spread it if infected, however. Enough already. -_-

^^ And for the record, this concept of vaccination doesn't apply to the vaccines we're used to (i.e MMR, smallpox, polio, etc). Those vaccines actually significantly reduced, if all but eliminated the likelihood of transmission, which is why we were able to knock those pathogens out of the population. If this vaccine worked the same way, you'd have an argument for the "communal health" point. Unfortunately, this vaccine does not have that kind of efficacy. It's akin to the flu shot. Thus, someone who has already had the virus, may not necessarily need to get the vaccine (unless they're in a high risk category; then the prudent thing to do would be to get at least one dose).

I'm not high risk. I have natural immunity. I, personally, stand to risk more from vaccination than the virus. I've been instructed by my doctor that it's not necessary. Leave me alone.

Should we start a pre-post for SorryAntiVaxxer for R200? Someone start saving her posts, quick.

Um. Feel free, but...once again, I've already had the virus, have natural immunity, and am not in a high risk category. I don't need to get vaccinated. If you can't understand the significance of natural immunity and the power of the adaptive immune system strictly for this virus, then you are in a cult. Try listening to doctors who understand the science and nuance here. Like these individuals:

they are kooks as much as the ani freaks. you still spread it too. are you idiots too?

had it twice. immunity waned right when delta came, a year and a half? 3 days of a low fever and sniffles.

i'm trusting my body and nothing approved under trump.

[quote]i'm trusting my body

So [italic]you[/italic] can trust your body, but no one else can. Duly noted.

Let’s all be nice to Canda er R159.

I know this thread is mostly gay men, so feel free to skip the link if it doesn’t apply to you, but this is a reminder to anyone who didn’t know, for whom it might be important to know, that menstrual issues can arise as part of long COVID.

and you can still spread it, dumbfuck r204.

Ok. Cool. I haven't shown any signs of long COVID at all, nor have I experienced anything outside of my own "unpleasant normal" with my cycle since getting COVID in 2020, so, there's that.

Again. I am listening to my body and my doctor about what's best for me. Other people can, and should, do the same. I have infection-acquired (read: natural) immunity which can be equally, if not more, protective as vaccine-acquired immunity. This fact seems to bother you, for some reason.

Hmmm...I put r159 on ignore and then looked at her posts. She's straight and one of the biggest anti vaxxers on here and her first excuse for not getting the vax was that she had really bad asthma so she was trying really hard to not catch the virus. Now she supposedly had the virus and is still anti vax because it might cause her period to be irregular.

Ignoring the straights is a good thing. She also made comments about gay men taking it up the ass, etc. Ignore the troll. Best thing you can do with antivaxxers is just wait.

And I put r208 on ignore only to discover that she's a bitter lesbian who likes to dictate what people should and shouldn't be worried about with regards to this virus and the vaccines. She also actually agrees with me that the news has been fearmongering since Delta and that higher testing will lead to higher case numbers which is ridiculous considering that the only real concern should be hospitalizations and deaths which are lower for the vaccinated thus, the worry is manufactured. So, thanks for agreeing with me on that.

And I'm asexual. And yes, I have asthma. And already had the virus. You're at a higher risk of adverse side-effects if you've already had it, especially if you're younger and more likely to have a robust immune response; which I am.

Yes, I've talked about anal sex on here with gay men...on a site...filled with primarily gay men. Anything else, heifer?

these old 'tards up on here all day are the "get off my lawn!" bored ass fucks.

see the lucy movie thread(s). i ignored them.

Henny Pennies all of you!

And if the sky does fall, WTF are you going to do about it?

So are you really CO or just someone pretending to be CO?

Sorry to hear that your husband is gay, but since you are asexual it sounds more embarrassing than anything substantively upsetting.

Oh and sweetie everyone here since January 2020 knows I’m an opinionated gal on the virus. You haven’t discovered much.

[quote]And I'm asexual.

So, you're a loon. You'll be trans by tomorrow night.

See how y'all have decided to go full ad hominem now, as opposed to challenging anything I've said with actual science and have a nuanced, adult, conversation about the virus, vaccines, and boosters? One has even resorted to post history stalking a la Reddit drone. Not only is that a sign that you likely have nothing substantial to add to the conversation, but it's also indicative of legitimately being in a cult.

That, or your paycheck is contingent upon how many bodies take the drug in question. But that's just me being colorful.

R213, you can go look up the bullshit about how your "natural immunity" obtained from the original variety of Covid that infected you over a year ago is not protecting you at all from Omicron yourself. You can keep listening to the single doctor that is telling you what you want to hear because you are probably a shrieking harpie otherwise or you can listen to, literally, every single other doctor and all the public health agencies around the world. We all know you won't believe any proof given to you because Dr. Facebook told you otherwise. You are a troll and a loon who doesn't know what she's talking about and we all know it. The saddest part is that we all know that you know it, too.

Fingers crossed for you to get your wish, R159.

[quote]"natural immunity" obtained from the original variety of Covid that infected you over a year ago is [bold]not protecting you at all[/bold] from Omicron yourself.

What is your definition of "protection," here? Because if it's limited solely to "infection" then, that also applies to the vaccines. But if "protection" in this context is referring to hospitalization and death, then you are incorrect; and that applies to be infection-acquired and vaccine-acquired immunity.

The vaccines were not only built on the wild-type virus, but they were also built on just one portion; the S-protein. Now, the vaccines edited the spike protein's genetic code to stay in its pre-fusion state, however, it still doesn't stop people from being infected. It protects you from severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

And the "waning protection" from the vaccines and natural infection that they're talking about is also misleading considering that your immune system is not just comprised of how many circulating antibodies are in your bloodstream. The adaptive immune system is what we should be focusing on to measure immunity.

^^ applies to both*

Like I said, R216, you're just spewing bullshit. Considering how long ago your infection happened, you are going to get Omicron and you are going to give it to other people. You were stupid and irresponsible to get infected once already. All because you're an ignorant, self-absorbed asshole.

kooks all around...

told ya'!

Here's the Israel study that caused so much controversy. Why? Because once antivax groups got a hold of it, it was immediately demonized as "pseudoscience." We can NOT keep doing this (politicizing science and medicine). There has to be impartiality and reason when it comes to healthcare. Keep in mind, this is a [italic]coronavirus[/italic], it is not going anywhere. The most we can hope (and aim) for is to turn this into another version of the common cold that can be managed at home. The more people who are vaccinated or infected, the closer we get to herd immunity.

r218 Are you being intentionally obtuse or are you suffering from actual psychosis? If it's the latter, I'll leave you be, and offer my deepest condolences. But I don't know how many different times and ways I can say this to you: YOU CAN STILL SPREAD THE VIRUS TO OTHERS IF INFECTED. BEING VACCINATED PROTECTS YOU FROM SEVERE ILLNESS, HOSPITALIZATION, AND DEATH.

Also, Omicron was first discovered in 4 fully vaccinated people in Botswana. Omicron has been spreading globally mainly by fully vaccinated people as they are the main group permitted to travel internationally. But most cases are mild. There have been very few deaths, and those that did occur, happen in those who have had comorbidities and/or are of advanced age. Why are you so determined to believe that infection-acquired immunity is inferior? Do you not know how vaccines work? Spoiler alert: They do the same thing as the actual infection. Your own immune system is just doing what it does. Seriously, are under hypnosis or...wtf is going on here??

Disclaimer: Pre-print

geez dude. the vaccinated spread it too. that is not new.

and i have a life not on dl.

R220, the more you write, the more you prove you are a Republican piece of crap. Just keep spewing the right wing talking points.

Calling it "natural immunity"? Check.

Saying it might cause reproductive issues? Check.

Pretending that it's the vaccinated causing the spread? Check.

Why don't you go to a covid ward and start breathing deeply so you can get your natural immunity boosted like those of us smart enough to get the vaccine booster have done so we lessen the chance of getting sick ourselves and, yes, giving it to other people, you ignorant sociopath.

And r218 before you, or anyone else, gets on my ass about posting a "dirty preprint" to support my argument, I'll have you know that the LA Times article you posted not only did the exact same thing, but from the same site. Have a fantastic day.

[quote]Calling it "natural immunity"? Check.

That's literally the scientific term for it and has been for decades, but ok.

[quote]Saying it might cause reproductive issues? Check.

I never made the claim about reproductive issues. There have verified been reports of menstrual cycle issues and a study is being conducted by the NIH to investigate and [bold]make sure[/bold] there are no adverse effects to female reproductive health, but ok.

[quote]Pretending that it's the vaccinated causing the spread? Check.

It's been verified that the vaccinated can and have also been spreading the virus, but ok.

For the record, I've never made the claim that natural immunity 100% stops reinfection or transmission. It lessens the likelihood of such and lowers risk for severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Just like the vaccine. That...many of you are now shitting on for some reason. Seems, to me, you just don't like to here facts that challenge your own narrative. Personally, I try not to have a "narrative" to begin with regarding matters of science and medicine, especially when dealing with novel pathogens and therapeutics due to the volatility...

But ok.

^^ Hear*

ya'll have no idea what's in those shots except pharmaceutical blood money.

[quote]Ben Garrison just openly talking about assassinating Fauci now

Interesting R227

I just found this person's page from that thread and it, too, is...interesting. Maybe we just stay off of Twitter, yeah?

There’s a problem with your link R229.

The 'virus' is very sensitive to criticism. As soon as someone attacks it appears in their nasal jism.

This better, ElderLez?

The bio: AnCom🚩🏴, gender abolitionist🚻🚫, bipoc✊🏾/lgbtqia+🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️/sw🔗 ally, kinkster👅, trekkie🖖, gamer🎮, stoner🌲🔥💦💨, shitposter

Yes, it shows up now. Those of us without Twitter passwords can’t see the link unless the preview shows on the screen. You know how us old people don’t know how to use the computers like you young’uns.

Is that someone you know R232? I don’t see what that post has to do with SARS-CoV-2?

Meh. They made a cringey comment on the thread posted in r227. Clicked on their page, and it made me second guess taking Twitter opinions that seriously.

Also, that hanging Fauci image might tie in to the "Hillary takeover" illustration in the bigger photo and referencing Epstein's "not a suicide" to add to the "Clinton bodycount meme." But, either way, it's tasteless. Not sure you can argue free speech for that one. :-/

Also, it is kinda weird how COVID came on the scene not long after Epstein's "little accident." And right before that, the inventor of PCR, Kary Mullis, died from pneumonia from an unknown respiratory illness. A month before that, there was an outbreak of a mysterious respiratory illness in a senior living facility.

I'm one of those who believes it's very possible, if not highly likely, that the virus has been circulating through the world population since early 2019. Which, of course, would mean that the amount of variants already out there are endless. So, the focus should be preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Not infection. Which getting vaccinated or infected already does for most healthy people.

I don't like how they're still trying to drudge up fear in people who have been fully vaccinated or recovered from infection. It's a very odd, unhelpful messaging approach. It almost seems malicious. And it can't be good for cortisol production of people taking it as gospel.

ElderLez, why are you engaging with that fucking lunatic? I blocked her bullshit long ago and I suggest everyone else do the same so we can get on with news.

That asexual fraucunt needs to take her bullshit back to Reddit where she belongs.

She is a straight, black lady. SHE WILL NOT BE IGNORED!!

I think the cancer has rotted your brain r237 (yeah I know who you are). Nowhere have I ever stated that all people shouldn't get vaccinated. So...no, I'm not "antivaxx;" a term that has, at this point, become a dog whistle for shutting down conversation that you don't want to have about this topic in general. In other words, it's a cop out. You have nothing to counter the presented arguments and so you resort to the "aNTi-vAxX" bullshit. Never mind the fact that I've repeatedly acknowledged that the vaccines work to prevent severe illness and death, you goddamn moron. I've made nothing but nuanced conversations and stated [italic]my own[/italic] reasons, backed by science, for not getting it, myself.

You just don't want to accept, due to brainwashing or some form of panic-induced psychosis I suspect, that there is actually a subset of the human population that legitimately doesn't need to get this vaccine. Which is odd, considering there are far more needy communities who do qualify, yet you want to browbeat and waste a dose on a low-risk, naturally immune, generally healthy person who works from home. Make it make sense.

Hey r239, wasn't this you in the American's Have Had Enough of Covid and Omicron thread:

[quote]I have to agree with you, [R107]. They ALWAYS knew that the vaccine didn't mean you couldn't catch it, it just meant that if you did it would be mild. This was the initial goal of the vaccine so why isn't there more emphasis on this? And the vast majority of people who do catch Covid survive it. I personally know someone who died pre vaccine. Back then, I was all about the social distancing and staying home and n95 masks. I left mail outside for a few days before bringing it in. Now that we have this tool to combat the tiny chance that if you catch it, you might die and it's actually proving to be EXACTLY what they said and highly effective they want us to panic that we might still catch Covid? If someone chooses to not protect themselves NOW and they die, that's on no one else but themselves. I am not responsible for my neighbor anymore when it comes to Covid.

[quote]Makes no sense.

We're literally saying the same thing. But go off.

You're also r73, r74, and r75 in this thread telling people not to panic because...newsflash, the vaccines work as intended; you are less likely to get severely ill or die. Infection-induced immunity also works the same way. So, we are on the same page. What exactly is your damage, ma'am?

And what, exactly, does me being Black have to do with anything, r239? No, really. Please share with the class.

r239, covid won't ignore her once again.

Just FYI, "I won't get boosted because of my period and also asthma and my husband is gay and I'm asexual" lady is also R159 who sincerely hopes she will catch Covid and die.

So there's that.

Welp, this thread was a bust.

[quote] Leave me alone.

Well, you did bring it up r159.

And for someone who wants to be left alone, you sure do talk a lot.

Tf. r245 I've literally been signing my posts as 159 since I made the post at r159. Visually impaired, much?

r247 That was a general statement directed at policy makers and anyone else falling victim to the mass psychosis currently plaguing humanity and impeding level-headed discussion around this topic.

Now, go yell at r239 for refusing to get boosted to protect her neighbors like the socially engineered basketcases that you are. -_-

A nice portion of you are byproducts of this. First it was the willfully unvaccinated/unimmune who received your ridicule and vitriol, now it's the willfully unboosted who you perceive as a threat. Give it time, people refusing boosters are going to be a whole new level of "social pariah" with flimsy "science" to support the logic. I can literally sit up here and say that some people should get vaccinated while others may be able to afford to forgo it, and still be branded "antivaxx." That is not reason. That is the behavior/mentality of indoctrinated people in a cult.

[quote] [R245] I've literally been signing my posts as 159 since I made the post at [R159].

Yeah, and at r200 you asked to be left alone.

So shut up already and I guarantee you will be left alone.

Or...maybe I just do and say what the hell I want and you stop worrying about it.

Deep. You're deep.

I'm glad R159 proved to be the lunatic I knew she was all along.

Sorry I missed most of the Milo posts, and this is a gossip site so confirmation that her husband is gay, and she’s asexual and looking for tips on anal sex (thanks for the poster who mentioned that, did it sound like it was for the threesome?) well I was a bit grifter-struck. My apologies.

Now of course I could be completely off in thinking it is who she certainly sounds like, but I figure anyone willing to have a Twitter feud with Cardi B, isn’t above trolling DataLounge.

[quote]Getting vaccinated protects the vaccinated person, they can still spread it if infected, however.

New Danish study finds that "booster-vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated."

But DL is not letting me link to the Reuters or US News & World Report articles. Search for "Omicron evades immunity better than Delta, Danish study finds" if you're interested.

UK nurse reportedly recovers from COVID-19 coma after receiving Viagra

Her husband should also get a prescription if he has to put his dick in THAT.

[quote]UK nurse reportedly recovers from COVID-19 coma after receiving Viagra

And now her vagina has a boner.

'I couldn't walk. I couldn't talk for 4 months': Covid-19 survivor

If the deaths aren't from covid, then it is pretty obvious what they are from.

[quote]I'm glad [R159] proved to be the lunatic I knew she was all along.

Whereas you, r253, proved to be a lunatic far more expediently. Like you at r134 responding to my retort regarding your suggestion to refuse [italic]all[/italic] healthcare services to the unvaccinated:

[quote]Fine with me. Unless they were raped or transfused with infected blood, anyone who has gotten infected with HIV in the last 25 years, at least, did it voluntarily. It's another plague that could have been ended if people stopped being irresponsible, selfish assholes. Men who refused to wear condoms are just as bad as the antivax morons now.

Again, at least you are consistent with your lunacy. Fun fact: historical atrocities such as The Crusades, Salem Witch Trials, Transatlantic Slave Trade, and the Holocaust were able to receive support from citizens by tyrannical leaders due to persistent propagandist campaigns by these leaders that dehumanized and demonized the targeted group amongst the people. Human beings can, ironically, become the most dangerous and vicious creatures when they sincerely believe they hold moral superiority over others and are "doing the right thing." Just something to think about.

Once again, I am not antivaxx. You lot have tossed that word around so much that you no longer even know what it means or who it's actually describing. Are you aware there are developed countries that [bold]still[/bold] has yet to receive the first dose of vaccines? Why are we focusing our energy on getting people vaccinated who are already immune either by infection or vaccination? Moreover, why are we not acknowledging that individuals who have had breakthrough infections have already been "naturally boosted" and, thus, we can move on to other groups whose risk profiles suggest their need for the vaccines is much higher? Why are we so focused on circulating antibodies and not T-cell immunity which is what draws a far more accurate picture to one's immune response to a pathogen? Why were they destroying unused doses instead of sending them to underserved countries? Lot's of questions, and the most you people can do is play "is this a Candace Owens sock account" like children whenever the subject of risk/benefit analysis, immunity, and vaccination is discussed outside of your mental bubble. It's pitiful. Here's a long list of links to studies showing that infection-acquired immunity is, indeed, as effective as vaccine-acquired immunity, as has been the case in immunology for over half a century.

Enjoy sifting through all of these studies on natural immunity. Can't even believe this actually needs to be debated.

R262 is a loon. A wordy one.

This article is really interesting, but it's a bit lame to compare the speed of the spread of a virus before air travel to today.

[quote]The so-called Russian flu of 1889, which may have been caused by another coronavirus, required three months to traverse the planet. That is similar to the time taken by the original variant of SARS-CoV-2, detected in December 2019 in Wuhan and already omnipresent by March 2020. “The omicron variant has beaten that record of expansion,” Erkoreka said.

r263 said at r84:

[quote]They need to ban unvaccinated people from the hospital for all medical treatment, not just covid related illness...

No. It is you, who is the loon. Anyone that wishes direct harm on an entire group of people for something like this is not stable. If this were Minority Report, you would be jailed for homicidal thoughts.

Maybe get off of the internet and turn off the news for a while. Take a sabbatical. Do some mindfulness training or something.

[quote]and she’s asexual and looking for tips on anal sex (thanks for the poster who mentioned that, did it sound like it was for the threesome?)

No, ElderLez...it was a discussion about HPV and risk of anal cancer when one neglects to use condoms with multiple partners during anal sex.

And you're not slick trying to derail this conversation with the exhausting "sock puppet" proclamations. You've made your stance on this vaccine very clear, multiple times in multiple threads and you refuse to discuss nuance and individuality with regards to medicine. In another thread, you even stated that it wasn't true that someone who had already had chickenpox can forgo the Varicella vaccine; despite the fact that it literally says this on the CDC website. You're all the way gone on this. And it's a real shame considering your background.

[quote]No. It is you, who is the loon. Anyone that wishes direct harm on an entire group of people for something like this is not stable. If this were Minority Report, you would be jailed for homicidal thoughts.

No I wouldn't because the fucking unvaxxed pieces of shit would have already been hauled away. I'd rather the harm be done to the people choosing to self-inflict it on themselves than what is going on now where the innocent, responsible people who need medical attention are being made to pay the price for the irresponsible pricks who can't bother to get vaxxed. This is a zero sum game because there is a set number of beds available. The psychopath would be the person who is choosing the unvaxxed pieces of shit over the innocent people in this scenario. That means you, loon.

[quote]The craziest part about this crazy statistic is that it’s actually *consistent* with the reported statewide [Texas] positivity rate — which hit 33.9%(!!) today.

hey r267 hate to break it to you... but YOU are the one that's fallen for the largest and deadliest psyop in human history and injected yourself repeatedly with this toxic shit. You are the nut job that wishes death on innocent, healthy people.

Good luck with your never-ending spike protein clot shots. Hope that nano/tech works out for you. Call me and others loons all day long. I really don't care. You'll be long gone before we are, lab rat lemming. LOL

poor zombie sheep

[quote] Good luck with your never-ending spike protein clot shots. Hope that nano/tech works out for you. Call me and others loons all day long. I really don't care. You'll be long gone before we are, lab rat lemming. LOL

Just because you didn't get the "experimental" vaccine, don't think you're not part of the experiment, too, because your are. You're the part of the experiment where we find out what happens to unvaccinated people when they met Covid for the first time, with no previous immunity from the vaccine. Will they be more susceptible to long Covid, damaged lungs, damaged heart, long-term fatigue, and disability from the infection, especially if they are older with co-morbidities? Vaccinated people may get an injection of that fearsome spike protein, but do you know who else gets a potent shot of it as well? Covid-19 Infected people have it coursing around in their bodies, too, perhaps hanging out even after the infection has cleared. What will happen to them down the road?

We're all lab rats in this experiment. We're just in different cages.

R269, you and the other loon should date.

[quote][R269], you and the other loon should date.

Pics pl.....

No, even I won't go that far.

I don’t think anyone is disagreeing that having had COVID-19 is the equivalent of having one shot of vaccine, but with much, much, much, much, much worse side effects. But I think we can all agree that a single shot of vaccine months or years ago has limited protective value in the case of this specific disease.

I get so confused when the anti-vaccine messaging is half “it’s all poison sheeple!” And half “why are you hoarding the miracle vaccine that you’ve already had plenty of and not giving your doses to the developing world?”

It's occurred to me just now that the people who refuse to vaccinate actually think they are opting out of the pandemic. Same with those who refuse to mask up in public.

"La la la, I can't hear Covid, therefore it doesn't exist, la la la..."

Yeah. Doesn't work that way. You're stuck with it. We all are.

Absolutely R274. It’s pure magical thinking and an inability to understand that tomorrow might not be exactly like today in the absence of proactive measures.

These people also tend to consider themselves somehow risk free even though they have underlying issues like asthma. Or they focus on the risk from being overweight while ignoring the fact that being overly thin also increases risk.

r269 in the **Fauci: Vaccine Mandate for Domestic Flights “Seriously Should Be Considered”** thread:

[quote]If you’re a fascist like Fauci or a fascist supporter, this makes perfect sense! Everyone on a cruise ship must prove they’ve taken their mRNA jab. And when you fly, travelers will catch COVID, as has been occurring on the vaxxed cruise and military ships.

[quote]This isn’t about preventing the spread of COVID! This is all about totalitarian CONTROL and economic devastation.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

r269 Have you seen this?

r270 To be fair, there's literally merch out there for people refusing the vaccine that states "I'm in the control group." So, to some degree, a lot of people are not only aware, but fully acknowledge that a mass experiment is going on with the population at this time.

[quote]Or they focus on the risk from being overweight

Right. Because there's been a nationwide health crisis of Americans being overwhelmingly too skinny for the past few decades. Or maybe...it's because IL-6, you know that immunity mediator that's found heavily in adipocytes, goes apeshit in the body when infected with this virus, and having a lot of adipose tissue (read: fat) tends to increase the likelihood of inflammation? I'm just throwing spaghetti at the wall, here...

Expert.

It's also been reported by the CDC, on multiple occasions, that those who are overweight and obese are over-represented in COVID hospitalization data. A recent victim of the Men and Black "memory pen," and apparent staff writer for CNN, reported this a few days ago.

*Men in Black

Oh being obese is an extraordinary risk when it comes to bad COVID outcomes, no one is denying that. And so many Americans are obese. However if you want to survive COVID, it isn’t a case of the thinner the better. The people with the best outcomes by weight are in the high normal to low overweight BMI range like 24 or 25. At 5’7” and 117 pounds you sound like you have a low normal BMI, maybe something like 20?

[quote]if you want to survive COVID, it isn’t a case of the thinner the better.

It is if you're fat. Just keeping it real. And I have already survived it. That data is also age and sex adjusted; and I'm out of range for both.

ElderLez, I am, personally, fine. I've always been small and have been roughly the same size since high school. It is genetic. You're not my GP or OB, lol. I can assure you that if they felt it were necessary to be concerned, they would advise accordingly. No idea why you're so determined to compile "fine-tuned" data that may or may not apply to me. Perhaps you want me to turn into a one of the many neurotic DLers around here terrified that death is hiding around the corner 24/7? Sorry to disappoint, but I officially lost any traces of that fear when my father suddenly croaked in October. :)

Have a good day.

R276, reading that made me feel crazy. I suspect that's the point.

Since the variant is becoming more contagious and less deadly, we are headed toward endemic, yes? There isn't a chance a deadlier variant will come at this point, right?

This is the most sensible article I've read in a long while. They need to hire him at the CDC.

Thanks, Sylvia. I agree that it's probably the most sensible take I've seen, too.

A friend recently had to fly to London for a funeral from NY. He flew business class and just came back last week. He's fine and didn't get covid. He told me that the airports were not packed and security lines were not long. He even had 2 drinks at the airport coz he went extra early just in case it busy.

I went to my local bank branch yesterday and was informed there were no tellers working. Same thing when I went back today. So I went to a different branch and there was only one teller and a huge line. He had no coins and couldnt make change for 20 dollar bills (he had no 5s, 10s or 1s). Are people hoarding currency? And COVID is raging. I heard the “Walmart Greeter” at the front of the bank branch say her husband recently died of COVID. Half our local school is shut down due to COVID cases

stores all over are closing early or have shortened hours due to covid. Macy's is closing at 8pm mon-thurs.

Florida Will Beat Covid By Testing Less | Drivers Still Stranded In Snow On I-95

New York City hospitals are around 80% full, official says

From CNN's Laura Ly

New York City’s hospital beds, both including Covid-19 and all non-Covid-19 patients, are currently around 80% full and that rate has been fairly stable over the past month, City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said Wednesday.

Chokshi said while he does expect hospitalizations to increase in the coming days, the city’s Covid-19 hospitalization rate remains less than half of what it was during its peak in spring 2020. Additionally, even as Covid-19-related hospitalizations are increasing, non-Covid-19 admissions are generally not increasing and are, in some cases, declining, making for a stable citywide hospital bed capacity rate, Chokshi said.

Chokshi also noted that while there has been a steep increase in Covid-19 cases, the city has seen a “leveling off” in recent days. It’s too early to know if the pattern is significant or simply due to holiday testing schedules, Chokshi said.

However, the city’s health commissioner noted that despite the availability of beds, New York City’s hospitals remain “under some degree of strain” due to staffing shortages, stating it was “vital to surge resources” into the city’s healthcare system.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams answered that call on Wednesday by announcing millions of dollars of new funding to the city’s hospitals and public health system. He also pledged to expand staffing in the city’s health department.

CDC vaccine advisory committee votes to recommend expanding boosters for ages 12-17

From CNN's Katherine Dillinger

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 Wednesday in favor of expanding the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster recommendation to include people ages 12 to 17.

“A single Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for persons aged 12-17 years at least five months after primary series under the FDA’s emergency use authorization," the new recommendation said.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky must sign off on the recommendation for it to take effect.

The advisers made the recommendation after hearing research on rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in young people who have gotten Covid-19 vaccines and noting that many parents are concerned about long-term side effects of vaccines.

They also considered that vaccine uptake among 12- to 17-year-olds has slowed recently and weighed the record numbers of Covid-19 cases in children amid a surge of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

On Monday: The FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15.

The CDC signed off Tuesday on shortening the booster interval from six months to five months for people who got the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. It has also been recommended that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5- to 11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose 28 days after their second shot; only the Pfizer/BioNTech shot is authorized for that age group.

When did New York start with requiring vaccination proof to get into indoor spaces? I bet that has helped them a lot. Fucking Chicago/Cook County literally started that two days ago. And, all the assholes have to do now is travel to one of the other suburban counties. Of course, there are the shitholes run by Repug mayors who are defying the order. I wish they'd all drop fucking dead instantaneously.

R295, LA County has been doing that for a while now. Went out to dinner the other night with a friend. They checked our vaccine cards and we sat outside. I'm so grateful that they are checking now. This won't happen in other places but at least here they are making an effort because it's suddenly like everyone in the world just said, "Fuck it. Let's get Covid!"

And yes, I know I can still catch it even with my vaccine and booster but to know that everyone around me has theirs too helps to put my mind at ease a little bit. The vaccinated are not spreading it as much as the unvaxed.

R275 R283 Sure Jan.

41 years old? That must have been a typo.

More than 8000 new cases here in Norway. New record. We only have a population of 5 million, so this is a lot.

R295 Like the mayor of shithole Orland Park?

[quote]And yes, I know I can still catch it even with my vaccine and booster but [bold]to know that everyone around me has theirs too helps to put my mind at ease a little bit. [/bold]

Why, r296?

[quote]The vaccinated are not spreading it as much as the unvaxed.

That claim is actually based on mathematical probability modeling as opposed to any real-world, observed data. We don't have any real-world data that verifies the accuracy of that specific model. In other words, we don't yet know who is spreading the virus more or less because that data isn't being collected.

They presented a model based upon how the vaccines performed in clinical trials; during a time when most of the world was locked down to begin with. The CDC then stopped tracking breakthrough infections that didn't result in hospitalization in May of 2021. Many employers, excluding healthcare professions, also relaxed testing requirements for their fully-vaccinated staff. Fully-vaccinated people were also allowed to go maskless and travel per the CDC guidelines that they retracted shortly after.

What was proven in clinical trials is that fully-vaccinated people are less likely to show symptoms if infected and if they do, they're more likely to be mild. Being that asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people are less likely to get tested, we literally have no way of determining the rate at which vaccinated or unvaccinated people are spreading it.

Also, considering that unvaccinated people are subject to more restrictions in many places such as testing requirements, that means, by default, more unvaccinated people are getting tested than fully-vaccinated people. A higher testing frequency for a specific group will, obviously, lead to the higher likelihood of "hitting a target" and by extension, increasing the numbers of that said target within that specific group. There are too many moving parts to, I think, make such a bold claim like that when it's not based on any empirical, real-world data at this time. So, all of this needs to be taken into consideration if you're that concerned about who you're interacting with in person.

Ok, r159. I'm finally blocked you. You are a lunatic.

Exactly like him, R300. And Tinley Park's piece of shit followed suit. Of course, the further into the boonies you get, the worse it gets. The entire far western and southern parts of the state are basically out of ICU beds and, in comparison to Chicago/Cook County, those parts are practically empty.

[quote]That claim is actually based on mathematical probability modeling as opposed to any real-world, observed data. We don't have any real-world data that verifies the accuracy of that specific model.

Reuters: Investigating nearly 12,000 Danish households in mid-December, scientists found booster-vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated.

The study has not yet been peer reviewed.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

About the issue of irregular periods, birth control pills regulate periods, and some girls and women use them for that purpose, even if they don’t need to use them as birth control pills. Any number of medical conditions can cause periods to become irregular.

It may be that a couple of months of birth control pills might be enough to re-regulate periods and solve the problem. Of course this issue should be studied, but the idea that every women with an irregular period is incurable and there is no help available is false.

[quote]the idea that every women with an irregular period is incurable and there is no help available is false.

I don't recall making the claim that an irregular period is incurable. And not all women can take birth control or even should. Certain conditions and medications are contraindications for birth control; major depressive disorder, for example. Birth control can exacerbate those symptoms.

The bottomline is that whenever a new medication seems to be affecting women's reproductive health in some way, it should be studied (which it is) and hesitance from women to take the medication without full knowledge of all risks shouldn't be, demonized, ridiculed or silenced. The more people push back on the hesitant, the further this group gets pushed away from the idea of getting the vaccine at all. It's the classic Streisand Effect.

CDC to hold independent Covid-19 briefing Friday

From CNN's Katherine Dillinger and Michael Nedelman

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a briefing Friday to give updates on the Covid-19 pandemic.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET.

It's been a few months since the agency had held a briefing like this: The CDC usually participates in joint briefings with officials from the White House or the National Institutes of Health, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Its last independent Covid-19 briefing was July 27, 2021.

The agency has faced renewed criticism this month over confusion surrounding its guidelines on testing and isolation for people who test positive for Covid-19.

[quote]Reuters: Investigating nearly 12,000 Danish households in mid-December, scientists found [bold]booster-vaccinated[/bold] people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated.

We were talking about vaccinated vs unvaccinated. Not boosted.

[quote]A much larger study of 146,243 adult contacts—about two thirds within households—of 108,498 adult index cases in the U.K. was posted as a preprint. Those newly vaccinated by Pfizer or AstraZeneca started out half and three-quarters as likely as unvaccinated index cases to transmit COVID, respectively.

[quote]That sounds reassuring until you consider that the transmission rate of an unvaccinated person in this study was 46 percent: a coin flip. The transmission rate to contacts of freshly vaccinated people was about one in four, the same rate found by the authors of the Lancet study. Yet by three and a half months post vaccination, recipients of the Astra Zeneca vaccine were already as likely to transmit Delta to a contact as an unvaccinated person and a recipient of the Pfizer vaccine was about 80 percent as likely, and moving in the direction of becoming as likely with more time.

I think the takeaway here should be that worrying about this virus if you're vaccinated and/or already had it at all is silly considering that the most important issue is are you protected from severe illness, hospitalization, and death. The virus is endemic. Again, the most that will happen to those who have some level of immunity if infected are mild, cold-like, symptoms. Yes, colds are unpleasant, but it's highly unlikely to kill you. So, if you're already immune via vaccination and/or prior infection, I think people need to move on and stop worrying themselves over this because the news needs their "fear porn clicks/views."

Fuck. Formatting.

US Case numbers are staggering.

^ That is because we are a supremely. stupid country.

More like cuntry.

^ You got that right

So Elderlez, the most concerned about the virus is getting on a plane to Florida.

Lollerskates

This is promising. Emergency Use granted in India. Will be interesting if it'll ever be filed in the US or EU.

Yes! That’s so exciting R317 and I believe India is also the first country to approve the Novovax vaccine. Economically the mRNA vaccines were unsustainable in terms of keeping the world vaccinated, but the subunit protein vaccines could.

You might find this discussion interesting r304:

I hope I am wrong. I fear I am right.

[quote] Reuters: Investigating nearly 12,000 Danish households in mid-December, scientists found booster-vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated.

The study has not yet been peer reviewed.

"scientists found..." = "scientists" funded by whom?

Vaccinedeaths.com? Really? Who's sponsoring that website, RFK Jr or Joseph Mercola, or Christiane Northrop? Junk.

Stupid fucks like R20 are why they need to teach the skill of determining legitimate from illegitimate sources of information from the time people are toddlers until they are in college. How can you be so fucking ignorant that you think a site literally called 'vaccinedeaths.com' is a legitimate source for information on vaccines? Idiot. I wish stupid people would all die. No, every life isn't fucking precious. Morons are not precious. At this point, they have blood on their hands.

[quote]I wish stupid people would all die. No, every life isn't fucking precious. Morons are not precious. At this point, they have blood on their hands.

Don't be so hard on yourself.

And r323 This is like the 7th or 8th time you've wished death upon a specific group of people in this thread alone.

Do we need to alert the authorities? Because this is literally how a radical, and subsequent terrorist, is made on the internet.

You're given off jihad vibes, man.

Some Rhode Island Hospitals are calling infected health care workers. (Thread is getting glitchy or I’d post the link which is on the Omicron thread)

Yeah, ElderLez, I was pretty geeked seeing that article, but this part bothers me.

[quote]... An unpublished study conducted in India involving 3,000 volunteers found the vaccine to be 90% effective in preventing disease cause by the original COVID-19 virus strain and 80% against the delta variant. It's still being tested against omicron.

Great data, but while I'm not familiar with India's regulators, I doubt FDA and EMA would go for 'unpublished' studies. I do like that it's well-established technology though.

Los Angeles to host Super Bowl despite growing number of Covid-19 cases

(CNN)The Super Bowl is expected to go ahead in Los Angeles next month despite the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the county. "I feel really confident that this event will happen here in LA," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in a media briefing Thursday. "There's no indication that it won't." Super Bowl LVI is scheduled to be played on February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Los Angeles County reported a record 37,215 new cases on Thursday, according to a news release from the county's health department.

The NFL had to postpone three games in December because of the surge of Covid-19 cases among players. The league updated its Covid protocol December 28 saying it is "cutting the standard isolation period after a positive test for asymptomatic individuals from 10 days to five days regardless of vaccination status."

Ferrer said the health department is working closely with NFL and SoFi Stadium to ensure fans and community will be safe. "We'll work closely to enhance safety if we're still in the middle of a horrific surge," Ferrer added. "My hope is that by the time we get to February, we're on the downside of seeing this massive amount of community transmission."

The insistence on phase 3 studies and transparent data in the US is a beautiful thing, it really is R327.

FYI on the following article. It's not strictly COVID related, but I think some posters will be interested in the comments regarding Ecohealth Alliance. (And of course we've established that I am a huge Francis Collins fan so I'm always happy to thrown in an interview with him.

Also just an FYI that two of the vaccine mandates (OSHA large employer which is really vaccine or testing and Medicare/Medicaid recipient entity employees) are being heard by the Supreme Court today. I am not sure when the contractor executive order will be heard.

[quote]Also just an FYI that two of the vaccine mandates (OSHA large employer which is really vaccine or testing and Medicare/Medicaid recipient entity employees) are being heard by the Supreme Court today.

CNN: An ensemble forecast from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Wednesday predicts that more than 84,000 people could die of Covid-19 over the next four weeks, and cautions "current forecasts may not fully account for the emergence and rapid spread of the Omicron variant or changes in reporting during the holidays."

The forecast could mean an average of 3,526 Covid-19 deaths per day, up from a current average of 1,251 each day.

If you really want to go down the "What's Happening in Hospitals today" rabbit hole, read this Nursing subreddit thread. It's making me re-think my February plans. We are fucked! Luckily NYC Metro is probably cresting soon, everywhere else is just starting up.

One of my local hospitals just set up a tent in its parking lot to serve as an ER waiting room because the actual ER waiting room is now being used for patient care (as are conference rooms and other alternative sites).

The temperature tonight will fall to 9 degrees.

And, R335, any antivaxxers who seek treatment there should be stripped naked and thrown out of the tent to fend for themselves in the wild like the diseased animals they are. Or, perhaps two lines, one for the vaxxed that leads into the hospital and one for the unvaxxed that leads to a euthanasia facility. They made their choice.

That's some scurry shit R332

America should follow suit -- tell anti-vaxxers they can't have weed and booze, and they'll line right up for their shot.

My hospital outside Chicago ran out of beds today. Gonna be an interesting few weeks.

Suburban Cook, Will, or Kankakee, R339? Unless you mean far out of Chicago and have hit the rube-filled hinterlands. God I hate some parts of this state.

Holy shit! That is Klandance.

Glad I am not the only one to see it R341.

Biden administration signs first contract for free rapid test distribution

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

The Biden administration has signed its first contract with a test manufacturer as part of President Biden's efforts to distribute half a billion free rapid tests throughout the country, a White House official confirms to CNN.

The Department of Defense awarded a $51 million contract to Goldbelt Security, LLC, “for delivery of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits.” With this contract, the administration is purchasing existing tests that the company has, according to a White House official.

The administration plans to sign other contracts for manufacturing.

Officials have offered few details since Biden announced the endeavor to send free test kits amid a nationwide shortage and surge in new cases. But they expect to launch a website this month where people can sign up for the tests online and then ship them out.

The first contract has been signed and more are expected in the coming weeks, officials said.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R344, I thought they were predicting next week as the possible peak.

I think today is supposed to be the peak in New York, but so many of the tests are getting results back so slowly there may be a 4-5 delay between the actual and apparent peaks. We’ll see.

I doubt we are peaking yet...

We can't speak of a peak for the US when omicron isn't evenly distributed across the county. I'll be thrilled if NY ever achieves Peak Omicron.

One reason why the spread of omicron is even more dramatic in the US than elsewhere. Americans are too special to isolate when they have symptoms or test positive.

A lot of people seem to be resigning themselves to catching the Omicron variant, with some even appearing to welcome it as a low-risk way to "naturally" vaccinate the population. As Daffy would say, "Not this little black duck!" The jury is still out on whether Omicron is as "mild" as the pundits earnestly wish for; the much-trumpeted data from South Africa shouldn't be taken at face value, as Dr. Daniel Griffin explains in the latest Clinical Update on the This Week in Virology webcast. The way Omicron has played out among South Africa's younger, COVID-ravaged population doesn't necessarily tell us how it is going to affect the rest of us.

Omicron is very new and, for one thing, there still hasn't been sufficient time to observe whether the risk of so-called "long COVID" is less or greater than with previous variants. Omicron is just one more variant of SARS-CoV-2 and all previous variants have left countless people with debilitating health issues post-infection (even after "mild" infections). For that reason alone we should be extremely cautious.

I don't want to catch ANY variant of this virus EVER if I can help it.

I really recommend that you watch this episode of TWiV. It will answer most questions about what is happening right now with the pandemic.

We are all going to get omicron r351

My life does not permit me to isolate at home 24/7 365

I’m resigned to whatever fate has in store for me

[quote] I don't want to catch ANY variant of this virus EVER if I can help it.

Amen.

Meanwhile, if anyone should know for sure how many people are dying, it's the insurance industry.

"“We’re seeing right now the highest death rates we’ve ever seen in the history of this business,” said Scott Davison, the CEO of OneAmerica, a $100 billion life insurance and retirement company headquartered in Indianapolis.

“The data is consistent across every player in the business.”

Davison said death rates among working age people – those 18 to 64-years-old – are up 40 percent in the third and fourth quarter of 2021 over pre-pandemic levels.

“Just to give you an idea of how bad that is, a three sigma or 200-year catastrophe would be a 10 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels,” Davison said. “So, 40 percent is just unheard of.”

He said the data shows COVID deaths are greatly understated among working age Americans. "

[quote]My life does not permit me to isolate at home 24/7 365

That's how long they're asking you to isolate, r352?

Yes r354

It will never end

Brain fog will be blessing

"Everyone's going to get smallpox, just get it over with!"

Death will be a blessing

[quote]We are all going to get omicron [R351]

Odd that no health expert agrees with you. But I guess you read that on Facebook, so it must be true!

I know that desperately trying to feel in control is necessary to your mental well being r358

It’s beyond our control

But do what you must to still the panicked screaming in your mind

So, R359, you're not going to counter that poster by providing sources to actual medical experts stating that what you've said is true? You're just going to bloviate even more? Someone has voices in their head but it's not that poster, dear.

All reality is personal dear

We are all going to die

Nothing will stop it

In my completely unscientific, absolutely speculative opinion, to successfully avoid Omicron you just need to wait to go out until 80% of the population gets it. We aren’t all going to get it, but it’s so infectious I don’t think it’s avoidable until the earth is scorched around you, so to speak.

Over 90, 000 cases in New York! New record

ElderLez has spoken

All of you hysterics are doomed, along with the rest of humanity

Party on while you still can

What is even being argued here? It’s on its way to endemicity, meaning there’s going to be a low baseline of circulation along with periodic outbreaks.

Over the long term, the chances of outrunning it will be the same as the chances of outrunning the other four coronaviruses which circulate in humans. Some people get an upper-respiratory thing every winter; others manage to avoid it for a few years at a stretch.

You should be doing everything in your power to avoid it right now in its acute phase because you simply don’t know how your body will react. Getting infected during a pandemic—especially when hospitals have been pushed to the breaking point and therapeutics are so limited—is not the thing to do.

[quote]Brain fog will be blessing

Well, you would know.

UK records more than 150,000 Covid-19 deaths since pandemic began

From CNN’s Arnaud Siad

More than 150,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

A further 313 deaths were reported in the government's daily figures on Saturday, taking the total to 150,057.

According to figures from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the UK is the seventh country to pass 150,000 deaths, after the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru.

40 New York hospitals required to stop nonessential surgeries due to low bed capacity

Forty hospitals across New York State are required to stop nonessential, non-urgent elective surgeries for at least two weeks because of low patient bed capacity, the state’s health department said in a statement Saturday.

In late November, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order outlining a plan to address the Covid-19 winter surge. Part of that order requires that statewide hospital capacity is able to meet regional needs “while maintaining the long-term resiliency of the State’s healthcare infrastructure,” the statement said.

“Criteria used to determine 'high risk regions' includes low current regional bed capacity with 90% or more beds occupied based on the previous 7-day average; or 85-90% occupancy rate based on the previous 7-day average AND a new COVID-19 hospital admission rate for the region (previous 7-day average per 100,000 population) greater than 4%,” according to the health department.

Most of the 40 hospitals are located in northern and central New York. Because of increasing Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Mohawk, Finger Lakes and Central regions, “all hospitals in those regions are being included on the Impacted List,” the state said.

“We will use every available tool to help ensure that hospitals can manage the COVID-19 winter surge," acting State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in the statement. "I want to remind New Yorkers that getting vaccinated and boosted remain the best way to protect against serious illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. Vaccination also protects our hospital system. We cannot return to the early months of the pandemic when hospitals were overwhelmed."

Shit @R368 Are we going to shut down again?

Actually Elder Lez’s R362 is cause for optimism.

Even in the US, roughy 60+% of the population is vaccinated and likely has T cells (if not antibodies) attacking the virus. To reach 80+%, roughly half the remaining 40% currently unvaxxed need to get infected (or die).

Now that’s a lot of people, but at the rate omicron is spreading, we may get there by late summer.

This thread from a pathologist is a thing of beauty.

I remember New York ICU doctors theorizing that COVID was really a vascular disease that just happens to enter via the respiratory system back in March 2020. Why this never received more attention or recognition is boggling. It shows the current "Everyone will get it, let 'er rip" thinking for the gaslighting it is.

If five years from now, everyone who's had COVID starts dropping from strokes and aneurysms, don't fucking say that I didn't warn you.

Kick everyone with Covid out of the hospital beds. Easy solution.

[quote]I remember New York ICU doctors theorizing that COVID was really a vascular disease that just happens to enter via the respiratory system back in March 2020.

Along those lines, a South African researcher has theorized that microclots are responsible for long covid.

"Since early 2020, we and other researchers have pointed out that acute Covid-19 is not only a lung disease, but actually significantly affects the vascular (blood flow) and coagulation (blood clotting) systems.

A recent study in my lab revealed that there is significant microclot formation in the blood of both acute Covid-19 and long Covid patients.

The presence of persistent microclots and hyperactivated platelets (also involved in clotting) perpetuates coagulation and vascular pathology, resulting in cells not getting enough oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions (known as cellular hypoxia). Widespread hypoxia may be central to the numerous reported debilitating symptoms."

Just found out that my nephew and his girlfriend have just tested positive, after having recovered from Covid 2 months ago. I wonder if the first was Delta and this one is Omincron? Or they didn't really recover from the first bout? Anyway, they just feel like they have a cold this time.

BTW, I'm the one who posted earlier (not sure if on this thread or other) about a big family outbreak this past week. Well, it's now up to 11 people, all from different households who did not interact over New Year's.

Is your nephew hot?

This is trending on Twitter.

Shit! The link works but there's no link preview. The link is to CNBC.

[quote]If five years from now, everyone who's had COVID starts dropping from strokes and aneurysms, don't fucking say that I didn't warn you.

Sylvia, can we assume that "everyone" also includes people who have tested positive but are asymptomatic?

A number of my friends had COVID in the first few months of 2020, and almost all have recovered fine, though a couple have long COVID symptoms. Lately, though, I have been hearing from people who test positive but are asymptomatic. I suppose we won't know the impact until/if they start having complications down the road.

And thank you for posting Dr. Melinek's thread - it is an eye-opener.

I think, logically, being asymptomatic now would lead to less of a worry about 'down the road'. If your body isn't reacting symptomatically in one way, why would it suddenly act symptomatically in another later on. Yes, it does happen but in no way would the prevalence or strength of that reaction resemble that of someone who ranged from symptomatic to hospitalized.

[quote]I think, logically, being asymptomatic now would lead to less of a worry about 'down the road'.

Less of a worry, perhaps. But not no worry.

"Many people who experience long-term symptoms from the coronavirus did not feel sick at all when they were initially infected, according to a new study that adds compelling information to the increasingly important issue of the lasting health impact of Covid-19."

[quote] Sylvia, can we assume that "everyone" also includes people who have tested positive but are asymptomatic?

I have no idea, I wish I did.

Meanwhile, my cousin (who works as a casino bartender), her husband (who owns his own butcher shop), and their innocent 7 month old baby are all now "sick." Quelle surprise! It will mostly likely spread to my uncle, who acts as their free babysitter. I've told my mother that if she sees ANY of them to run the other way.

One of the guys (fully vaxxed) that was going to work for me on Wednesday tested positive on Friday. I asked him how he thinks he got it, and he told me he attended his grandson's outdoor soccer game sans mask. Kids are flesh bags of infection.

SyliviaFowler = doomsayer maximas

I used to enjoy his posts but he’s gone off the rails

I’m this close to blocking him before I suffer a stroke or an embolism….at least my brain death would silence his hysterical natter

[quote] my brain death

Pics please.

[quote] Sylivia(six)Fowler= doomsayer maximas. I used to enjoy his posts but he’s gone off the rails I’m this close to blocking him before I suffer a stroke or an embolism….at least my brain death would silence his hysterical natter

Find this gaslighting fascinating. In the USA - a reportedly “First World” country, handling of the pandemic has been abysmal. The country had a democide president in the pandemic’s early stages and now the virus information presented to the populace is unclear, inconsistent and as you’ve demonstrated with your “natter”, R383, minimalized.

Come see the patients pouring into my office with Long Covid before you denigrate someone with your ignorant tripe. Oh, and speak to some colleagues: my cardiologist colleague says he is seeing ONE in three patients now with Covid pathology. It’s serious stuff and your attempts to trivialize it are deplorable.

[quote] my brain death. Pics please - TIA

I see what you did there!

Unending FEAR ^

R386 is La La Laing with fingers in the ears and head in the ground.

Sure thing, kiddo, but denial is not a river in Egypt.

“It’s nothing! Just a cold! Nothing to fear!”

Until it happens to you and then it isn’t.

Personally am tired of caring for dolts in denial: they become surprisingly ill and then believe their world is crashing around them. It wasn’t until THEY became ill that they took Covid seriously.

Prior to that time, they were JUST LIKE YOU, R386.

My idiot niece had her first child in late 2019, and when COVID hit in early 2020, she was sooo bummed out that she couldn't show off her beautiful baby to her girlfriends. So she decided to invite just six friends over to the house, and everyone was supposed to be very careful, wear a mask, sit at a distance from one another, etc.

The upshot, of course, was that both mother and infant developed COVID. They recovered from the bout but I still worry about what developmental issues the little one might encounter as she grows.

There is just no accounting for stupid.

It does not matter what precautions we take r387…Omicron is inescapable. Even a slight gap in your mask will will allow the virus to infect you. We are all going to die, either on a ventilator or of the various maladies that SylviaFowler takes great delight in enumerating. Make you peace with mortality and enjoy the extremely limited time you have left on this earth.

[quote] So she decided to invite just six friends over to the house, and everyone was supposed to be very careful, wear a mask, sit at a distance from one another, etc.

r388 proves my point.

Mother and child infected with Covid DESPITE all the precautions.

There is no escape. Facing your mortality is the ultimate freedom.

Thanks R373! In the immortal style of Linda Richmond; SARS-CoV-2 is neither only acute, nor primarily respiratory, discuss amongst yourselves.

[quote] It does not matter what precautions we take [R387]…Omicron is inescapable.

Untrue. Further misinformation. Please cease the trolling.

[quote] R388 proves my point.

R388 stated that the niece’s desire to show off an infant outweighed any wise choices. As R388 wrote, the action was not thought out, nor intelligent, much like your ill-conceived precepts, R386....et al.

And speaking of doomsday: you berate SylviaFowler for her information because you find it unpalatable; yet you seem to be all about death and dying.

Hypocrisy, much?

To return to an earlier controversy I used to not have an opinion on, I am going to put my anecdotal experience flag foolishly in the sand and say the viral load of exposure matters.

Except for the always sensible ElderLez, you all are indulging in an orgy of hysterical fear.

It undoubtedly has to do with the PTSD that so many elder gays are subject to. FEAR. TERROR. 😱

You don’t believe in the medical efficiency of Prep, do you r392?

Your hypothesis breaks down in the sexual analogies, R394.

(Believe it or not, not everything revolves around sex.)

[quote]They recovered from the bout but I still worry about what developmental issues the little one might encounter as she grows.

When people start dropping dead of strokes and heart attacks asexual cunts like Candace Owens will just blame it on the "clot shot".

r373 I have talked about this in other threads, that I got Covid in April of 2020, developed long Covid for six months and only got better after a hypercoagulation panel was done and showed my blood was clotting, and I was put on heparin. I have heard of people still sick over a year and a half later and I feel this would have been me had I not been put on the heparin.

Excellent information!

R398 I was hospitalised for ten days with Covid in early 2020, suffered through long covid for six months then hospitalised for another ten days with bilateral pulmonary embolisms and another large clot in my leg. I was in acute care for the first week. I was only given the all clear to come off the blood thinners (Apixaban) last month.

No prior history of clotting and no other cause identified - always been active, no long flights in the previous six months and no periods of inactivity apart from the initial stay in hospital.

I am triple vaxxed but not letting my guard down as Omicron sweeps through my country.

I say this with love and in the great DataLounge tradition R399 - die in a grease fire.

I will second that, ElderLez.

I find it endlessly hilarious that morons like R399 continue to link to Bitchute. They can literally find nothing else to support their loon theories.

Excellent information for R399 on Charles Hoffe

r404 Check this out. Twitter has outsourced its “fact-checking” to Reuters, which is responsible for banning people. And the CEO/Chairman of Reuters sits on Pfizer’s board of directors 😉

Anti-Vax Right Wing Podcaster Dies Of COVID After Attending Conspiracy Conference

I was wondering if in the near future, a blood thinner might start being prescribed for post-Covid treatment as a preventative. I have not contracted Covid (that I know of), but when I was on chemo a few years ago, I got blood clots in my leg after my dose and had to be put on blood thinners for about a year. I still have residual pin in that area from time to time. The first couple times it flared up, I thought I had another clot and went to the doctor to get an ultrasound to be sure. I'm at the point that when it flares up, I can remain calm and know it's not a new clot, but now I feel like I'm gonna worry about it again that it's a new clot.

Pardon if this has been discussed before, but I have not seen it. If there are so many asymptomatic cases of Covid, how do we know if we've had it? If I have no symptoms, and I'm being careful, I'm not going for tests. I imagine I'm not the only one not going to be tested. How do we know if we've had it? I'd love to know if I've gotten it. But also, with all the incorrect results happening, how do we REALLY know?

R408, if you're vaccinated, I don't think they can currently tell where your antibodies came from, at least not easily. I assume there might be some test in the future that will quickly differentiate vaccine induced immune cells from covid infection induced immune cells that people could use. They might have to use such a thing for any long covid type issues that affect those who got infected in the next couple of years.

You can have a serological test for nucleocapsid Abs only. A positive result will tell you that you’ve been infected, but only if it was fairly recently. The vaccine has no nucleocapsid component.

Oddly enough, the people in real life who have asked me about this always start out by claiming it’s pure curiosity or they’ll list symptoms they had in October ‘19 and swear that COVID was flying around Silicon Valley at that time and they just really need a test to confirm it (which, it wouldn’t in that case anyway).

A few questions later, it comes out that they would actually view a positive result as a green light to “get back to normal,” as though they hadn’t been living life as normal all throughout.

Nope. It doesn’t work that way. As such, even if these people had been my patients I wouldn’t have ordered the test for them. I’ve never ordered it for anyone, period.

Oh no, I don't want to know if I've had it so I can throw caution to the wind. That's not gonna happen ever. I'm staying careful until I know this is licked. I would like to know if I have to look out for future vascular issues because of my past history with them.

Boris Johnson says- Live with Covid, peasants!

Sorry, r411, that was just a little anecdote about some of the strange people I run into. If it came across as commentary on your question, that wasn’t my intent. I know that some people have legitimate reasons for wondering. The thing is, circulating antibodies don’t last long.

You should definitely talk to your doctor about your vascular concerns, but things are so new that any speculation about the long term at this point are just that—speculation.

Foolish people have a tendency to speak very authoritatively, whether it’s an assertion that everyone who’s had COVID is going to have a stroke, or at the other extreme, that long COVID is nothing more than attention-seeking behavior. We can safely rule out the more dramatic extremes, but beyond that we just don’t know.

Oh that's okay. R414. I wasn't insulted or anything. I was just continuing the conversation. I appreciate the apology, but no harm done. I'm grateful for the input!

[r392] my niece's experience does not prove your point. The appropriate measure for her would have been to not invite people into her home with a newborn child in the midst of a raging pandemic that we understood so little about.

And indeed, I neglected to mention that once the guests were in the house, the masks were off while they were having food and drink. It was an enormously dumb thing to do, and she really was not thinking of the possible outcomes.

But as they acronym goes, FAFO.

"Long COVID could become Finland's largest chronic disease" -- odd when so many DLers are certain it's not real.

"Long COVID" = vaccine reaction/adverse effect

Notice how they've covered (and will continue to do so with new "variants") every single known/reported vaxx effect (myocarditis) with a COVID symptom.

Anti-vaxxers don’t understand how time works. The thread is getting glitchy for me so it won’t let me post a link, but just google myocarditis, COVID 2020 and articles from the spring of 2020 come up.

Anti-vaxxers also don't know how VAERS works.

Very true R420!

"Since April 2021, increased cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported in the United States after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna), particularly in adolescents and young adults. There has not been a similar reporting pattern observed after receipt of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (Johnson & Johnson)."

[quote]"Long COVID" = vaccine reaction/adverse effect

Odd that it afflicts so many people who never had the vaccine, then.

Can you get a booster that's different from the vaccine you got?

R424 You can mix the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). If your first dose was J&J, you should boost with either of the mRNA vaxxes.

Thanks, R425, I got the Pfizer vaccine but my local CVS only has boosters for the J&J (unless that's changed).

I have a long weekend in FL (West coast) planned staying in a waterfront AirBnb, flying direct from New England. My gut is to cancel this (first weekend of Feb) but my SO is making me feel like I am being an uptight buzzkill. We are both in our 50s, double vaxxed, boosted end of October, have eluded Omicrion and been hermits since the start of Dec.

If it were somewhere else I think I would consider but staying in Florida is scaring the crap out of me. Can anyone give me a reality check? Am I being too uptight or is travelling to Floriday in 3 weeks lunacy. Thx.

Traveling to Florida anytime is lunacy.

R427 - if you mask up adequately on the flight and plan to avoid people in FL and mask up in public, I think you should be okay? Just bring N95s or KN95s and be very strict about exposure down there. You can be hermits beachfront too?

R427 It's good that it's a direct flight so you'll be spending less time in airports. Get N95 masks and do NOT under any circumstances remove them from the minute you set foot in the airport in New England to the minute you leave the airport in FL. Turn the air nozzle above your airplane seat to high and point it straight down in front of your face.

Hope that there are no FL crazies on your flights.

I don't think you are being uptight R427. I think your instincts are right. Cancel your trip. Reschedule for March or April. If your booster was in December or January, I would have said go.

Check what the cases are--then multiply by @ 4.5 for infection numbers in the county of Florida you'll be in. Or look it up on covidestim.org ( Yale/Stanford, also on Twitter.)They multiply for infections vs cases, and also show the R value. See how you feel when you see those numbers. If, goddess forbid, you needed hospitalization while you were there ( for Covid or for anything), you would be in Florida. Hospitals are overwhelmed and that will be true in February in Florida. Doctor friend at a major hospital in NYC said, this is like chickenpox. If you enter a room 2 hours after someone infectious has left, you will get it. Also, the lack of mask and distancing will be quite different from New England ( a friend just got back from Florida. He was harassed for wearing a mask.) I think you can be safe ( maybe) on the plane and not leave the rental, but why not wait until it's safer. I wish you well whatever you decide.

The U.S. is doing its usual bang-up job with hospitalizations and deaths in this latest wave:

True R432. We are not South Africa, or even Europe. It's a shame.

R431 makes a good point about god forbid needing hospitalization in FL. I hadn’t thought of that. That would make me nervous.

Fourth Covid-19 shots for immunocompromised will start this week in the US

From CNN's Virginia Langmaid

Under the latest guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fourth doses of a Covid-19 vaccine can begin this week for the severely immunocompromised.

In early August, the agency recommended a third shot of an mRNA vaccine be added to the primary vaccination regimen for the severely immunocompromised. Later, in October, the CDC moved to recommend a booster dose for the severely immunocompromised age 12 and older at least six months after their third primary vaccination.

But the CDC recently shifted to urge boosters five months after primary vaccinations. For immunocompromised people, this means a fourth shot will be available to some as early as this week, five months after the third shot was authorized.

According to CDC data, more than 2 million people received an additional dose in the first week they were authorized, starting Aug. 13.

Vaccination rates right now are generally lower than they have been at previous points in the pandemic, but the average number of people starting vaccination, becoming fully vaccinated, or receiving a booster dose has increased in recent days.

Hospitalized for covid vs. with covid in New York:

cnbc If you've heard of "deltacron," don't panic yet. ⁠ ⁠ Global health experts are casting doubts over reports of a new possible Covid-19 mutation that appeared to be a combination of both the delta and omicron variants, dubbed as “deltacron,” saying it’s more likely that the “strain” is the result of a lab processing error.⁠ ⁠

Omicron-specific Pfizer vaccine will be ready by March, CEO says

From CNN's Naomi Thomas

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on CNBC Monday that an Omicron-specific vaccine from the company will be ready by March.

“We are working on a new version of our vaccine, a version that will be effective against Omicron as well, it’s not that it will not be effective against the other variants, but against Omicron as well,” Bourla said. “The hope is that we will achieve something that will have way, way better protection, particularly against infections, because the protection against the hospitalizations and severe disease, it is reasonable right now with the current vaccine, as long as you are having, let’s say, the third dose.”

“This vaccine will be ready in March. I don’t know if we will need it, I don’t know if and how it will be used, but will be ready,” Bourla said. “In fact, we already starting manufacturing some of these quantities at risk, so if there is a need for that vaccine that we will have some immediately because there are a lot of governors that would like to see it immediately.”

More context: Leaders of the US Food and Drug Administration said last Monday that while vaccine manufacturers are all working toward the possibility of a Omicron-specific vaccine, but it might not be necessary.

“We don’t know yet whether Omicron will take hold as the dominant variant over time. It could be that we have a very quick wave of Omicron and something else will be left behind it. Until we understand that, we can’t say with certainty what we will do with a variant vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “In other words, we don’t know yet whether it will have to be deployed, but we’ll be ready in case it does need to be deployed.”

If a booster shot of the current vaccine appears to offer sufficient protection, there is less need for a variant-specific vaccine, said acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock.

Bride-to-be attempts to contract COVID at club so it doesn’t spoil wedding

An Australian bride-to-be has devised an unconventional way to prevent COVID-19 from ruining her big day — by purposefully attempting to catch it.

A video detailing her preemptive wedding-saving measure currently boasts a whopping 121,000 views on TikTok.

“POV your wedding is in 6 weeks and you still haven’t had COVID,” reads the caption to the clip, which was posted Sunday by user @maddysmart31.

The 15-second video, entitled “Catch COVID not feelings,” shows the soon-to-be-betrothed embracing multiple men and women — and even swapping drinks — at a Melbourne nightclub in an attempt to contract the virus, which she seems to believe will prevent it from crashing the occasion.

yasss!! Feb 5th bride and I feel this on so many levels,” said one wedding hopeful, while another wrote, “I feel you sis.”

However, others found the so-called preventative measure a bit hare-brained.

“Sucks to be a healthcare worker watching this,” lamented one detractor.

Even “Love Island” Season 3 contestant Ryan Reid chimed in, writing: “I was so confused.”

Another wondered about the efficacy of Smart’s preemptive infection policy given that people can catch COVID more than once. In fact, recent studies show that reinfection is over five times more likely with the new Omicron variant than the Delta strain.

Indeed, infectious disease experts have warned the public to refrain from deliberately trying to contract the disease.

“People trying to get this virus when it’s still possible to ride through this wave without being infected isn’t wise,” epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia last week. “We’re hearing lots of people say “it might be mild” but it’s actually really terrible, so if you can avoid it, do.”

This stuff about hospitalized because of covid vs with covid is kind of bullshit. If you have a stroke from a blood clot caused by covid, they are going to say you were admitted due to a stroke. If you are admitted with kidney failure due to recent covid infection, they're going to admit you under kidney failure. And so on.

r418 is:

[quote]It's the vaxxed that getting sick, hospitalised, and/or dying. Turn off the CNN sheeple. Biden's just reading a script.

"Just a cold."

How many of those hospitalizations are unvaccinated, r442?

On twitter (FWIW) I seem to be seeing a lot about everyone overplaying how mild omicron is - even if you’re vaccinated. It seems like a lot of people are really feeling like shit. Much more like a flu than a cold.

"Mild" doesn't mean what they think it means, and that's why they're flooding emergency departments and putting them on divert.

If you follow #MedTwitter, you'll find doctors and nurses talking about people on vents and being coded in the hall. Try Dr Tatiania Prowell at Johns Hopkins or Dr Jeremy Faust ER in Boston. Not mild for those in the hospital. And elective surgeries are being cancelled ( that includes lung transplants and brain tumor surgery in CA, not enough ICU nurses) because of Covid hospitalizations. In Maryland, hospitals have been overrun for 2 weeks. Fire trucks are being used to take people to the hospital. They wait for hours for EMS. Not enough skilled nurses and HCWs to begin with, and then 30% are out sick or quit.

You may not have to go to the hospital but you will feel like shit. My friend had it and was miserable.

And how many of those hospitalizations are the unvaccinated, r446?

R438: By then, it will mutate into something else. Omicron is not Omega.

Here’s a question. At the outset of the pandemic when they were setting up field hospitals at the Javits Center in NY and McCormick Place in Chicago, which had almost 3000 beds at that one site, what was the plan for staffing them? They never got far enough to have to actually staff them, luckily, but what was the plan and how did that plan not help to prepare us for where we are now with the hospital staffing crisis? Were they going to be staffed entirely by military personnel?

r450 the plan was to fearmonger/terrorize the public. COVID theatre!

My coworker had delta and now omicron, yeah she's a Trumper, it's been two weeks and she's still sick as hell. Not hospital sick, but sick.

R452: Good for her.

where are they handing out the N95 masks? in nyc?

The Javits Center had just over 1k convalescent patients. They still had to be monitored and weren't ready to go home yet, but they were over the worst of it and didn't need to take up a hospital bed.

It was mainly staffed by the 44th Medical Brigade and FEMA.

^It's an idle question, but wouldn't you have to be INSANE to live in New York City right now and not be fully vaccinated by this point?

Still gonna try to avoid this.

Most people in New York are fully vaccinated. Omicron is going to crush the unvaxxed parts of the US.

80% of new Covid cases in Ontario are in the fully vaccinated. Only 14% unvaccinated.

I have friends in Toronto. Every single person they know who has "omicron" is fully vaccinated. Nobody I know who is unvaccinated has had covid. Yet we are still being blamed relentlessly. And r459 wants us all dead... preferably in grease fires 🤣

77.5% of Toronto residents are fully vaccinated. And as the article R460 linked notes:

"Health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots."

And I somehow missed the part where R459 wished death on the unvaxxed. As far as I can tell, she's merely stating a fact.

My 17-month-old just tested positive. She’s the 6th kid out of a total enrollment of 40 at her daycare to be diagnosed within the last day. Prior to this, they hadn’t had a single case.

Luckily, her symptoms are fairly mild, but we know of a few other kids her age who are having a much harder time with it.

Long COVID has always been my biggest fear, so I just hope she’s one of the lucky ones to avoid any lasting effects.

Coronavirus-related staff shortages force public transit cancellations across the US

From CNN's David Shortell

Staffing shortages tied to the surge in Covid-19 cases have forced slowdowns and cancellations in public transit across several cities.

In Detroit, 20 percent to 25 percent of SMART bus service is cancelled or delayed, the agency said in a statement Saturday.

In Washington, DC, Metrobus shifted this week to a Saturday schedule on weekdays — amounting to roughly 75% of regular service, the agency said.

Portland, Oregon's TriMet buses are "facing the most significant operator shortfall in agency history" and reduced bus service by 9% beginning Sunday, the agency said.

In New York City, 6% of the subway system workforce was out sick Monday, Metropolitan Transportation Authority said — down from about 21% last week. While three lines continued to be suspended, all of the subway system's stations still have round-the-clock service, as the suspended lines are redundant with other lines, an MTA spokesman told CNN last week.

First free rapid tests will arrive for distribution "early next week," White House says

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

The first Covid-19 tests that will be sent to Americans for free will start arriving for distribution “early next week,” the White House said Monday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during an afternoon briefing that the administration is “working closely with manufacturing distributors to understand what they can ship and by when.” She said officials were still “working through the timelines of distribution.”

“There are several components of this,” Psaki continued. “We want to ensure that there's not only that physical test, but the ability to distribute them, which is what we're working through right now.”

She said contracts with testing manufacturers were expected to be “structured in a way to require that significant amounts are delivered on an aggressive timeline, the first of which should be arriving early next week. We expect to have all contracts awarded over the next two weeks, and then Americans will begin being able to order these tests online later this month.”

“We also expect to have details on the website as well as a hotline later this week. So these are all components that we're working through and working to expedite as quickly as possible,” she said.

More background: On Friday, the Biden administration signed its first contract with a test manufacturer as part of President Biden's efforts to distribute half a billion free rapid tests throughout the country, according to White House officials. As CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported, officials have offered few details since Biden announced the endeavor to send free test kits amid a nationwide shortage and surge in new cases.

r461 Here's the official Ontario site that clearly shows vaxxed with more hospitalizations.

See the COVID-19 cases by vaccination status (All ages, past 30 days).

The fact that vaccination protected (imperfectly, but still substantially) from infection with prior variants protected the unvaxxed by lowering their likelihood of coming into contact with someone who would infect them. With Omicron everyone gets infected and the protection for the unvaccinated is gone.

Ron DeSantis Mocks Florida Residents After He Let A Million COVID Tests Expire

[quote]Notice how they've covered (and will continue to do so with new "variants") every single known/reported vaxx effect (myocarditis) with a COVID symptom.

Keep on trollin', r451...

Don't bother r461. r460 is also r451 and other trolling posts in this thread.

Griff R462 so sorry to hear about your baby. I know so many people who have children with it right now. Hopefully they all make complete recoveries soon.

[quote]Most people in New York are fully vaccinated. Omicron is going to crush the unvaxxed parts of the US.

Elder Lez, my Manhattan ZIP code has one of the lowest rates of infection in the city. But back in early November, the positive test rate here was around 2% and now it is around 20%. The parameters have shifted up, and from the current map on the city's COVID site, the worst-hit areas now are the West Bronx and several ZIP codes in Central and Eastern Queens, where the positive rates are approaching 40%.

We may not get crushed here, but people are getting the virus, alas.

Thank you, ElderLez. Much appreciated.

Yes, I think 80ish% of people everywhere are going to get Omicron, but the unvaccinated are probably going to be hospitalized and die about 20 times (X, not %) more. So it’s terrible in New York and it’s very worrisome about possible long COVID, but lots of areas of the country have 40-50% unvaxxed and when Omicron hits there, well it’ll be the viral equivalent of a country without seatbelts or drunk driving laws in an ice storm.

I don’t know how you people with kids handle the worry. I can barely stand when my dog is sick.

Hasn't omicron hit those unvaccinated parts of the country by now? I see that infections are skyrocketing in FL, for example.

I take a drug that suppresses my immune system and got the third shot in August. It looks like we can get a fourth now at five months. Anyone know if it’s the same process where you have to sign that you take qualify at a place like Walgreens?

I haven't gotten the final guidance yet but I have no reason to suspect it won't be self-attestation, just like the third primary dose. This one will be considered your booster.

R476 I live in a city outside of Houston, where our numbers of new cases are just beginning to move. On January 1, it was 105 new daily cases. Today, January 10, we’ve jumped to 329. The last numbers I tracked for those vaccinated were a little over 40%. With these numbers, I speculate tough times for the next few weeks.

Can someone explain to the idiot who keeps posting about vaxxed people getting infected that if 100% of people are vaccinated, then 100% of the people who get infected will be vaccinated and so on and so on? The unvaxxed make up a much larger percentage of the infected, hospitalized, and dead, compared to the amount of them in the population. So sick of dipshits.

Just ignore the trolls. People who want to live will get vaccinated. People who don’t can continue to play viral Russian roulette. Unfortunately we all pay the price with all the social and financial disruption. Ethically I don’t understand how someone wouldn’t practice safety measures right now in public, but that’s on them. Here in TX you only see about half of people masked.

Let’s Go Darwin!

I'm shocked by the number of people who apparently have never been really sick before. My brother got Covid just before Xmas and because of all the fear mongering that has been happening in the press, he freaked the fuck out because he was coughing so much his chest hurt. To him, "mild" meant sniffles and a slight cough but he was far sicker than that with Omicron. I've had the flu and bronchial pneumonia in the past and was actually so miserable I was hoping for death. But my brother I guess has never experienced anything like he just did with Covid. He called his doctor and asked if he should go to the emergency room but his doctor talked him down. He reached out to me in a panic and asked if I knew anyone who got really sick from Covid and recovered. Yes, I told him and he calmed down immediately. He was fully vaccinated and had just had his last shot 3 months ago. The media really needs to report the truth about what "mild Covid" means. It means you feel like you are dying and maybe even are hoping for death. Friend of mine (vaxxed but not yet boosted) is just recovering from Covid and she couldn't eat or shower for 4 days. THAT is a mild case of Covid. Imagine how much worse it is for the unvaccinated. Although a friend of mine got it before the vaccine was available and it truly was mild...sore throat, loss of taste and smell and a little cough. But "mild" can mean you feel like you are dying when you are not or you feel like you just have a cold.

Or "mild" can mean what most people think it means.....a cold or mild case of the flu. Medically, "mild" means something like not hospitalized. Most people mean "mild" to be exactly what the average person assumes that means.

Even thought I’m 3x vaxxed I plan my day as if the vaccines barely protect against omicron. (Which is probably what they’re not telling us)

Would be interested to know when others believe the pandemic as we know it (with all the waves) will end. There was a thread on DL some time (2020?) ago asking for a specific end date and many said 2021 or 2022.

I received an intuitive hit that it would be Spring of 2023 and was duly criticized when talk of vaccines were all the rage.

I still believe this is a marathon - not a sprint - and despite claims of Omicron burning through the population; sadly sense that there are further variants ahead in 2022.

I do not say this from a doomsayer perspective, but rather to inspire patience as 2022 unfolds. This will end. It just may be a bit further down the line and throw this out as a reminder not to become discouraged when the post-Omicron period does not extinguish the active phase of the pandemic.

I also sense that the largest gains will also arise from a greater understanding of the mechanism of the virus in both acute and long Covid and active treatment for the virus versus vaccines. This will also likely spur developments in treatments for other - seemingly (but not) - unrelated illnesses.

Well, since you said intuitive...

Two astrologers I watch and are pretty accurate said yesterday, each noting different aspects, that lockdowns may occur this weekend. One guy was about to have a nervous breakdown. That was odd. (Watching a bunch since WFH.)

Maryann from Revealing Light also said it is not over a couple weeks ago. There will be other variants.

Interesting, R484.

I weave my strong intuition with a scientific training. It has been extraordinarily helpful in diagnoses of difficult cases and to pace the direction of therapeutics.

Noting that nothing is fixed and everything dynamic, it’s remarkable that my spidey senses have consistently directed me to around April 1, 2023 as the date when the world can breathe more easily from Covid.

Thank you for sharing your perspectives/what you have heard. (By the way, who are the persons you mentioned?)

Cam White...kinda cute. I knew he was leading up to saying it and he did at the end. He got spazzy which I have never seen. He said the Mercury retro (and other things) this weekend triggers it.

Molly McCord...I forgot what she said but it was different and this weekend too.

In the news this am: 16.6% of students in Los Angeles testing today are positive.

A friend works in social services. She says home health care nurses are quitting.

And read r/nursing on Reddit. A lot of nurses are either quitting, looking for jobs in non-patient care settings, or retiring. At best they’re looking at traveling nurse jobs where they can get 3x the pay in some cases. And the hospitals are treating them like absolute shit, and insisting even sick symptomatic nurses work long hours without breaks. It’s not “optional for asymptomatic nurses to work,” like the guidelines say. Nurses are expected to work if they can walk, no matter how sick they are or if they’re coughing. Some refuse to come in sick because their job is attending preemies or cancer patients. One sniffle and those patients are gone.

Don’t go to the hospital if you don’t have to. Be careful around the house, this is not the time to climb on the roof or get on tall ladders.

[quote}Even thought I’m 3x vaxxed I plan my day as if the vaccines barely protect against omicron.

The vaccines don't protect you from Covid, period (without other protective measures). They protect you against severity and death. They've said that from the beginning.

^ oops with the quote...

[quote]Even thought I’m 3x vaxxed I plan my day as if the vaccines barely protect against omicron.

I've had a killer sore throat and cough since last Monday. I went to the CVS MinuteClinic yesterday. I tested negative for COVID but I'm wondering if I might have strep throat. I am triple vaxxed and got a flu shot in October.

WHO Europe chief urges countries to mandate “high-quality masks”

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London

Countries not yet affected by a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant should adopt mask mandates, according to Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe. "“For countries not yet hit by the Omicron surge, there is a closing window of opportunity to act now and plan for contingencies,” Kluge warned at a virtual news conference Tuesday. "

“Omicron moves faster and wider than any such Covid new variant that we have previously seen. We therefore urge these countries to mandate the use of high-quality masks in closed and indoor settings and ensure that vulnerable individuals have access to them,” he said.

As of January 10, 26 countries in the region reported that more than 1% of their population is catching Covid-19 each week, Kluge said.

He added that he is “deeply concerned that as the variant moves East [across Europe], we have yet to see its full impact in countries where levels of vaccination uptake are lower, and where we will see more severe disease in the unvaccinate.”

Kluge used the example of Denmark, where he said Omicron cases had “exploded” in recent weeks, and the Covid-19 hospitalization rate for unvaccinated patients was six-fold higher than for those who were fully vaccinated in the week over Christmas.

Australia surpasses 1 million Covid-19 cases

Washington Post:

Moderna vaccines the best — and Sinovac least effective — at stopping covid deaths, Singapore data suggests

[quote] In a real-world indicator of how coronavirus vaccines are performing, Singapore has released new figures suggesting shots produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are much more effective at preventing deaths than the Chinese-developed Sinopharm and Sinovac doses.

[quote] In terms of deaths per 100,000 people, there were 11 for those immunized with Sinovac and 7.8 for the Sinopharm vaccine, the state-affiliated Straits Times newspaper reported. The rate dropped for people who received messenger RNA — or mRNA — vaccines, with 6.2 deaths for Pfizer-BioNTech and one fatality for Moderna.

[quote]WHO Europe chief urges countries to mandate “high-quality masks”

The U.S. is mulling it over.

Wait a couple of months, or less. All this omicron is going to mutate even faster, because everyone is going to have it.

I made an appointment to get the second booster next week since I qualify due to meds I take. I’ll be five months out from my last one in August.

Yay R498!! Good for you!

I qualify for the booster at the end of this month. But I'd really like to wait for the Omicron based version.

I just signed up for my booster booster (having had 3 previous pfizer shots) and they said I would either receive the pfizer-biotech vaccine or the comirnaty vaccine (supposedly also made by pfizer). This is the first time I've ever heard of this. Does anyone else know about this? What is it? (I'm in the US.)

Here you go R501 - same thing, different brand names.

thank you. I did a search and nothing came up. Or nothing like this came up, I should say.

They're the same thing. Comirnaty is the brand name for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Also, if you're immunocompromised, the third shot you had is considered part of the primary series...not a booster. The fourth will be the booster.

Fauci: There Are Threats Against My Life 'Because People Are Lying About Me'

If you got the Pfizer vaccine, can you get the Moderna booster?

Have a few laughs...

Yes, R506.

Dr. Fauci to Sen. Paul: You personally attack me without a shred of evidence

Rand Paul is such a dick.

[quote]Famous epidemiologist Dr. Hulk Hogan implies that Betty White and Sidney Poitier passed away because of the vaccine

Hulk Hogan deserves a few "oh dears" there.

Makes sense. They were so young and unlikely to die of natural causes.

[quote]Hundreds of kids walked out of Brooklyn Tech today to protest the continuation of in person school during the Omicron wave and to call for a remote option

I really don't understand the various editorials I've been reading, insisting that we open schools up, etc. In the current surge it's just a recipe for constant disruptions due to absenteeism—they'll see wave after wave of students and teachers out sick for a week or two at a time. I teach in a college where the admin still plans on opening up as usual this month, and I just foresee constant canceled classes as soon as those kids come back from their covid-ridden hometowns into the dorms.

R515 The university where I work is the same. They are doing the bare minimum, asking the kids to have remote classes for two weeks, but permitting basketball games to go on!

Someone in Chicago who was protesting to go remote for the kids pointed out that during the first few days back of remote learning, there was nearly 100% attendance. When they tried to come back in person, it was 30%. This is a bunch of old people on boards of education across the country not understanding that children are natives when it comes to doing shit on computers.

If these kids go back next week, they will be remote again when teachers take off sick and not there to babysit...er, I mean teach them in person.

The insistence on sending kids to school is to free up both parents to work in order to keep the economy going. Because our economy is built on people buying things they don't need, eating in restaurants, going to the movies, etc.

R519 Yes, and the uni-aged kids whining about how remote classes are costing them their precious "college experience" = missing their drink-till-you-puke parties and date rape opportunities.

Go Omicron!

"Some research indicates that dogs may be more sensitive to the virus than PCR tests, identifying infected individuals even before they have amassed sufficient viral load to register on a test."

South Korea authorizes Novavax Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Gawon Bae in Seoul, South Korea

South Korea has authorized use of Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine, the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Wednesday.

The vaccine will be manufactured locally by South Korea’s SK BioScience, the ministry said.

It will be given to people age 18 or older, with 21 days between the first and second shot, the ministry said, adding a panel was consulted to review the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

The Novavax vaccine is expected to be available in the country as early as February, according to Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Gang-lip.

In December, India's drugs controller-general granted emergency use authorization for the Novavax shot. The vaccine is in use in other countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, according to the drugmaker.

Covid-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Janssen and Moderna have all been approved for use in South Korea.

From a Jan. 8 article about NY public schools in Talking Points Memo. This may be behind a paywall, so I'll quote it below.

"Yesterday attendance at my older son’s New York City public high school was 30%. In the city as a whole attendance was at 44%. Some measure of that may have been the snowfall on Thursday night. But not much. There wasn’t that much snow. What you currently have is a lot of students home with COVID, more who are quarantined and still more whose parents are keeping them home from school to avoid getting COVID. At the same time, many teachers and staff are out with COVID. In many schools the teachers who are still standing have temporarily set aside or modified the curriculum. Because if only a small minority of the students are in class it’s more disruptive to teach them and let everyone else fall behind than simply to wait. There are many reports of classes watching movies or simply amusing themselves because the teacher and half the class isn’t there.

Earlier in the week and before break as well (winter break in the New York City public schools is one week) it was clear that most of the function of the schools was a mix of administering COVID tests, scheduling durations of COVID quarantines and sending kids home with COVID. One image I remember was a class, as it was described to me later, in which the principal, herself coming down with COVID, was handing out two COVID tests to each students to administer at home over the next two evenings after classmates had come down with COVID. Everything I’ve seen over recent weeks has been principals, teachers and staff being incredibly conscientious and diligent under the most trying of circumstances. But increasingly the circumstances themselves seem absurd.

Through most of the last two years we’ve viewed the schools question either as a question of health safety for students, staff and teachers or efforts to ‘stop the spread’. Those remain critical issues, though vaccines have lowered the stakes for most involved. But there’s a separate issue which is that these schools aren’t really ‘open’ in any meaningful sense. They’re remaining open largely on principle and spending their time managing the COVID outbreak. What we’re seeing is not so much education or instruction as what we might call COVID perseverance theater, a political commitment to remain open at all times under all circumstances."

"COVID perseverance theater"—I like it.

Colbert

Almost 12k new cases here in Norway. New record.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Glenn Beck told Tucker Carlson that he didn't need the vaccine because he'd already had covid. Guess his "natural immunity" is not working out so well for him.

my friend got covid and has tested negative after recovery but is still feeling like shit.

Nasal spray could protect against all COVID-19 variants for 8 hours: study

A new experimental nasal spray could prevent people from getting infected with COVID-19 for up to eight hours, according to a study.

The promising treatment has shown it can block infection from the virus in lab studies with mice, according to researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland.

“This technology is cheap and highly manufacturable, and the inhibitor works equally well against all variants,” study author Kalle Saksela told Gizmodo.

“It works also against the now-extinct SARS virus, so it might well also serve as an emergency measure against possible new coronaviruses.”

The spray, developed for immunocompromised and other high-risk people, is made of an antibody-like synthetic protein that recognizes and binds to the spike protein of the coronavirus — temporarily stopping it in its tracks, according to the study.

Researchers found that a small dose of it prevented cells from being infected with all variants of the coronavirus, including Omicron.

They also found that mice given treatment were much less likely to have trouble in their upper respiratory tract and lungs after being exposed to the Beta variant of COVID-19.

But the nasal spray hasn’t yet been tested on humans, lab studies are not yet peer-reviewed and more research is needed, the scientists said.

Saksela also warned that the treatment isn’t meant to replace vaccines or other drugs.

“Its prophylactic use is meant to protect from SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Saksela said. “However, it is not a vaccine, nor meant to be an alternative for vaccines, but rather to complement vaccination for providing additional protection.”

Man claims his penis shrank 1.5 inches, ‘COVID d – – k is real’ say docs

As if contracting COVID wasn’t bad enough, a dismayed man now claims that he’s lost a whopping 1.5 inches from the length of his penis as a lingering result of the vile virus.

“My penis has shrunk,” lamented the griping guy in a letter to the “How To Do It” podcast this week.

“I’m a heterosexual man in my 30s,” he said, anonymously — only referring to himself as “coming up short.”

“In July of last year, I contracted COVID and was very sick. When I got out of the hospital, I had some erectile dysfunction issues,” he added.

The purportedly once-well-endowed man went on to explain that prior to his diagnosis, he boasted an “above average”-sized tool.

But, much to his chagrin, his formerly impressive privates have since lost their luster.

“[The erectile dysfunction] gradually got better with some medical attention, but I seemed to be left with a lasting problem,” he confessed. “Before I got sick [my penis] was above average. Not huge, but definitely bigger than normal. Now I’ve lost about an inch and a half and become decidedly less than average.”

He claimed that a medical adviser had attributed his pecker problems to vascular damage caused by COVID, and was warned that the impairment was likely permanent.

“It shouldn’t really matter,” the man wrote. “But it has had a profound impact on my self-confidence and my abilities in bed. I know you can’t give me back my missing length and girth, but I was wondering if you could give me any advice on what to do now.”

In response to the dude’s desperate plea for penis help, Dr. Charles Welliver — a urologist and Director of Men’s Health at Albany Medical College, NY — confirmed the rare, but real havoc COVID can wreak on a man’s unmentionables.

“You can connect these dots,” the physician told Slate of the virus’ correlation to ding-a-ling disorders.

“COVID [causes] a mass of respiratory symptoms that leads to a lot of the deaths,” he said. “But there’s also pretty significant vascular issues that occur with guys.”

The doctor went on to cite studies that have shown cases of men who’ve suffered from priapism — the persistent erection prompted sans sexual arousal — and erectile dysfunction (ED) after contracting COVID.

“When guys get ED, they get a lack of erections for a while, and when that happens they actually do get some shrinkage,” he added.

And his commentary on miniaturized members was backed by Dr. Ashley Winter, a urologist in Oregon, who insisted: “COVID d – – k is a real thing.”

“The main reason that we think this occurs is something what we call endothelial dysfunction,” she explained. “That’s basically the cells that line your blood vessels … and they’re really important for the function of many different organs.”

The health care pro went on to note that when COVID infects those vital cells, it can take a toll on a number of organs.

“And because the erection is a blood flow-event … When those blood vessels are affected, you can get the erectile dysfunction,” she said.

However, despite the prognosis “coming up short” received from his doom-and-gloom doctor, both urologists agreed that rehabilitative practices like doing “penis push-ups” or purchasing a “penis vacuum,” could restore length over time.

“A typical regimen would be starting something like Viagra or Cialis to improve blood flow,” advised Winter. “Another thing would be to buy a penis vacuum device and do penis exercise with it or penis push-ups.”

She also suggested stretching the penis with a traction device named RestoreX, which she says has reportedly elongated shortened wee-wees by 1 to 2 centimeters with consistent use.

“These are easy things you can do at home to either prevent shortening or actually get back length that you’ve lost,” she assured.

So, to make a long story short, just hang in there guys. There’s hope.

Is that an actual picture of him in R533?

Who cares? His dick is short.

[quote]Nicholas Alahverdian, a Rhode Island man who faked his own death to avoid fraud and sexual assault charges was found on life support due to COVID in Glasgow, Scotland, under the alias Arthur Knight

I hope the nasal spray pans out. Imagine being able to inhale it before a flight or going to work or school or a Thanksgiving dinner. It would be life changing at this point.

Right now, it's looking good if you're a mouse. I think I'll wait for the human trials before I get excited.

The Ivermectin crowd are probably already trying to bootleg their own version already.

Sorry about Tha alteadys already.

Free federal Covid-19 testing program will allow 4 tests to ship per US household

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

The website for the newly established federal effort to distribute Covid-19 rapid tests by mail across America will launch its website for requests on Jan. 19, but it will be limiting four rapid tests per residential US household, according to senior administration officials.

According to senior administration officials on a call with reporters on Friday:

Americans will be able to request tests at COVIDTests.gov beginning on Jan. 19 The initial program will allow four free tests to be requested per residential address “to preserve broad access” Tests are expected to ship within 7-12 days of being ordered

“The administration is quickly completing a contracting process for this unprecedented purchase of 500 million at home rapid tests, with over 420 million tests already under contract. All paths interactive through this program will be rapid at-home tests that have been granted an emergency use authorization by the FDA. Half a billion tests will be available for order on Jan. 19,” a senior administration official said about the process of test procurement.

The official noted that there are “some tests already in the possession of the US government, in the order of 10 million.”

While the official mentioned the administration will also be launching a free call line for the tests, a launch date wasn’t provided.

Pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as to whether the US government hadn’t yet secured the initially promised half-billion tests, the official noted that “we're working to finalize the contract on the last 80 million, and this is an unprecedentedly large purchase,” adding that “it's been going at a fast speed.”

The total cost for the initial 500 million tests, the official said, is around $4 billion for purchase and distribution.

“We're confident that with our contracting team, which is very fast, with the ones we have on hand and the timeline we’re laying out today, that we can meet all of our timelines and get these to Americans that want them,” the official said.

Another official noted that the initial limit to four tests per household that wants them “in the first 500 million.”

Interestingly enough, despite being obsessive about vaccines and precautions, and a big critic of QAoners, turns out I use topical ivermectin for a skin cream under the brand name Soolantra for a skin condition.

But do you drink your own urine?

Ivermectin is a perfectly reputable medication for some purposes. There's just no evidence that it helps with covid.

R544 I’ve been using Ivermectin topically for my rosacea since pre-covid. Now I’m scared to order more because I’ll get flagged as a qanon-er

I had a patient flip out on me when I wrote her a prescription for ivermectin. Her chest, face, and back were covered in Demodex abscesses and I was trying to be helpful by getting her started on it right away, rather than having her wait to see a derm. Overgrowth of D. folliculorum is common in immunocompromised patients.

No good deed goes unpunished and she started babbling about not wanting ivermectin to be "linked" to her name. She was very concerned that the mere writing of a prescription, even though she was refusing it, was going to go into her file and follow her.

If I had my way, IQ tests would be required at the door.

[quote]she started babbling about not wanting ivermectin to be "linked" to her name

It will go on her PERMANENT RECORD!

R547

It’s such a shame that a perfectly fine drug (also delicious for doggies) is getting a bad name because of numbskulls.

I was not aware it was used for rosacea.

Yes it’s no big deal. I just found it funny when I realized I’d been using ivermectin all this time. It’s only 1% as well, but I could see QAnons thinking it would protect them by using it.

[quote]San Mateo County workers are scrambling to clean up a mess uncovered by the ABC7 I-Team. More than $10 million worth of precious personal protective equipment-- purchased with your tax dollars - was left outside in the rain.

[quote]We all know how important masks, hospital gowns, and other protective gear are, as the COVID pandemic surges yet again.

[quote]This seems hard to believe, but top county officials didn't know that thousands of boxes of PPE were moved outside and forgotten for months until the I-Team told them.

[quote]Dan Noyes got a tip on a recent rainy day and went straight to the San Mateo County Event Center, Gate 9, and couldn't quite believe what he found. Thousands upon thousands of boxes containing all sorts of brand new personal protective equipment soaking in the rain; stacks of boxes collapsing, too many to count, some breaking open and spilling their contents.

It was moved outside for a software conference in September and left to rot.

More than 12k new cases in Norway. New record.

R551 Peak USA: Ineptitude and wanton wastefulness.

R484, how are those lockdowns coming along?

I found some covid home tests at a local CVS. Limit of 6. Hopefully, I'll never need to use them other than to prove health for access somewhere

Apartment dwellers, you might want to invest in an air purifier:

However, aren't studies also showing that the virus loses virulence soon after becoming airborne? All that stagnant air in the hall may not be virus-filled as time passes between the doors opening. Key here, I guess, is to stay inside your place for a while after you hear your neighbor out in the hall.

I do have air filters, though. Bought them years ago due to allergies.

Costco has home tests online now, 5/$47.

You can begin ordering free Covid test kits from the US government on January 19th.

[quote] Every home in the U.S. can soon order 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests will be completely free—there are no shipping costs and you don’t need to enter a credit card number. Ordering begins January 19.

We already got our free tests here in Vermont.

These at-home tests: how reliable are they? I've been doing PCR tests so far, but will soon have to switch to these, and I'm getting mixed messages about them. Can anyone recommend a well informed discussion?

R563 I think the general consensus is that they're only really accurate if you're symptomatic. False negatives are common in the asymptomatic.

R557 IT'S IN THE FOG!

Vive la France:

"France passed a law Sunday that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas, and other venues, one of the strictest measures taken by a country to stop the spread of COVID-19.

A COVID-19 pass was already required in France to go to restaurants, museums and many sites throughout the country, but unvaccinated people have been allowed in if they show a recent negative test or proof of recent recovery. Now, unvaccinated people will be denied at the door regardless."

China ain't playin':

At an office building in China's capital on Sunday, masked Covid control personnel lugged boxes of pillows and bedding through the closely guarded entrance for white collar workers stuck inside, preparing for what may be days of lockdown as Beijing rushes to prevent the spread of Omicron ahead of the Winter Olympics.

The snap lockdown meant the building in the west of the city was sealed off without advance warning, with everybody inside unable to leave and subject to compulsory Covid testing. The decision to lock the office down came after an employee tested positive for Omicron on Saturday -- the city's first recorded case of the highly transmissible variant.

Thanks, R564.

[quote]What is even being argued here? It’s on its way to endemicity, meaning there’s going to be a low baseline of circulation along with periodic outbreaks.

An alternative view:

Thanks R34. And that thread then led me to this article, which contains a boatload of truths that many DLers just don't want to hear.

I, too, have no intention of getting infected.

[quote]Inmates at a jail in Arkansas were given the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin without their consent as a "treatment" to COVID-19 and the jail's medical staff told them they were "vitamins." Some inmates were given over 6x more than the approved dosage. WTF

Some encouraging news:

Wow is that messed up R571

Russians and American right-wingers share a similar sense of social responsibility:

Sylvia/R570, do you want to start the next thread? I have a possible title, but it's not very good so if you've got something witty, I defer to you.

I live in Brevard County Fl. Many stores are no telling us we have to mask up again...I see no end to this.

R575 What's your idea?

Scratch that. Had some free time this morning. New thread

Thanks Sylvia!

R576 Brevard County is the heart of Trumplandia.... good luck.

R574 No surprise. Trumptard anti vaxers view Russia as their dream state.