Reply to BA.5 Variant, the worst version of Omicron, is vaccine evasiive and surging across the country

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Reply to "BA.5 Variant, the worst version of Omicron, is vaccine evasiive and surging across the country"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just don’t care anymore. I did all the things they told me to do and still got Covid and it was a bunch of nothing. Sorry but nothing will get me to panic again.

I was one of those who stayed shut inside for 2020 and I now regret it because it was a bunch of fear and nothing more.

Not saying it’s not a bad disease, but I’m treating it like the flu and moving on with living. I took 3 shots, masked all 2020-2021, and I’m sick of being gaslit. [/quote]

You were not gaslit. Unfortunately following the rules wasn’t enough. That’s why so many have fatigue over caring about precautions. Being good isn’t always enough to protect you. To be honest that’s true if pretty much anything. I hear you though. Realize not caring won’t matter to the virus if you cone across it anyway. Hopefully you’ll not get any version though.  [/quote]

I think you totally missed the point.  The PP isn’t angry he got it, he is angry is went to great lengths for a year+ thinking he would be gravely  sick, and it was a cold. [/quote]

That’s pretty simplistic and a bit of retroactive rose colored glasses. It was not a simple cold two years ago. [/quote]

Even so, it is now.  We have vaccines to lessen severity and effective treatment.  But STILL people are wanting everyone to cling to the guidelines, quarantines, restrictions, and mitigation efforts of 2020[/quote]

Clearly you are not keeping up with current variants.  [/quote]

I don’t understand what data you are looking at that is telling you the current variants are causing severe disease in people with vaccine or naturally acquired immunity. [/quote]

Because for me it’s not about severe illness it’s about catching it.  We have it now.  We did not report it so I can tell you numbers are not accurate.   It is miserable.  I don’t want this again.  Guess it’s time to start digging out a basement to hide in.  [/quote]

I’ve had it too. Being sick isn’t fun, but I would rather be sick occasionally than go back to 2020 restrictions. [/quote]

We never had real restrictions and I’d rather have precautions than go through this again.  You can get it multiple times.  Come school start it’s going to be a hot mess.  [/quote]

My kid really did kindergarten on an iPad, so don’t tell me there were no restrictions. Also we were warned school was going to be a disaster when they started 2 days a week in spring 2021 and then again for full time in fall of 2021 and then AGAIN after winter break in 2022 and yet again after spring break in 2022. You know what? It was fine. We will be fine. [/quote]

This! And then there were things that were not strictly restricted but made incredibly difficult (to impossible) due to restrictions. Like childcare. The idea that we haven’t sacrificed for this thing because society never *technically* locked down is ridiculous.

Look, I accept that this isn’t just a cold. But it’s not smallpox or the Black Death either. It’s a novel virus that poses an elevated threat and has killed millions of people. But we also have to be realistic about what can be done. At this point, eradicating it through lock downs is off the table. Look at New Zealand. That’s an island nation that really seemed to have beaten this thing through travel restriction and lock down. Cases have skyrocketed there. You can’t lock down indefinitely, and it’s a very contagious virus. It will come for you eventually.

I think we have to accept that this is something we live with now. I just don’t see what the alternative is. People who complain constantly about how everyone just wants to “move on” aren’t explaining what the effective, realistic alternative is. You are not going to get lockdowns, 100% masking, or any other severe restrictions again. Not if it’s on an indefinite basis. And there’s no evidence that doing that for a couple weeks or a couple months will help, unless everyone on the planet participated, which they won’t.

This is life now. We have to find a way to live it.[/quote]

I agree with much of what you say, but not all of it. "Moving on" should not be pretending that COVID does not exist. We don't need 100% masking or restrictions to live with COVID in a responsible way, which means testing when exposed or sick, staying home when positive or exhibiting symptoms, masking after exposures, when symptomatic, or when returning to activities after a positive test (up to 10 days). It also makes sense to be extra cautious with activities or tests after higher risk activities, like travel or crowded indoor activities (and maybe outdoor as well). We can't get rid of it, but can we treat COVID like the flu, when it is so much more transmissible? In truth, we are probably too lax about the flu as well, but I guarantee if there were hyperlocal outbreaks of the flu, like we have seen within some families, schools, etc., measures would be taken to control the spread. [/quote]

PP here, and I should have also said that living with COVID should include some caution, we have to end impossible quarantine policies like those for younger children at daycares. While that might involve accepting more risk of transmission, these policies are extremely burdensome and probably lead to fewer people testing when appropriate for fear of lost wages and other harm caused by quarantine policies.[/quote]

NP and I agree. Here is my wish list for dealing with covid at this point, in order of importance, which I recognize isn't gonna happen because it's too "socialist":

1)[b] Paid. Sick. Leave. I get 13 days a year that carry over if i don't use them. This should be a legal minimum. This would help with so many problems on its own, although i agree that the restrictive childcare quarantined are too much even for this. 
[/b]
2) Huge infrastructure bill for upgrading ventilation and air filtration in tons of places, especially schools, hospitals, and other crowded places that provide public services.

3) Masking for adults and older kids indoors during periods of high transmission or hospital capacity concerns (I'd prefer the first but would compromise). The difference from now would be automatic "on" and "off" switches based on community levels, not the delayed reactions we have now when it's a new debate whether to start/end every time.

4) Or even asking everyone to mask when experiencing any symptoms or for 5 days post exposure would do a ton! Good masks and tests provided free to all, of course.

5) Serious research into long covid and monitoring and treating post viral effects in general. Funding for treatment clinics. Let's figure out what we're dealing with long term. 
[/quote]

Just remember that childcare workers get covid too. So when they test positive and get sick and use all that paid. sick. leave., who's going to watch the kids if the kids aren't quarantining?[/quote]

I don't get why you think this would be worse than what's currently happening. Teachers are already getting covid and they don't usually get that much paid sick leave. They should, and if a class shuts down as a result, it's for an actual reason and not just precautionary. Also, a 10 day quarantine for exposure is really out of step with incubation time for current variants, if you think it's necessary in day cares (but not any other high risk setting) you could reduce it by half and do half the damage with probably very little added risk. [/quote]

Or…just stop shutting classrooms down.  If you are sick, don’t come to school.  Come back when you feel better.  Like any other illness.  Current Covid doesn’t have the complications of 2020 Covid.  We’ve moved past that and it should now be treated as any other virus
[/quote]

I’m a teacher and yes to this. Now that anyone can get vaccinated, the mitigations need to stop. [/quote]

Vaccines are not fully stopping transmission so you want a good chunk of your students and families sick because you are too lazy for basic precautions. [/quote]

Np. It's not lazy to be out of paid leave (or never had any to begin with) and need somewhere to send your kids while you work. We can't keep quarantining kids for exposure when not experiencing symptoms. [/quote]

School does not exist to provide you childcare. If your kid is exposed, KEEP THEM HOME. Period.[/quote]

That's literally not CDC guidance.  If everyone stayed home every time they were exposed, no one would ever work.[/quote]

It IS the guidance if you are unvaccinated.[/quote]

And that guidance should change, since being unvaccinated is no different from being vaccinated in terms of transmission.[/quote]

Nope. Not changing. Feel free to move to dumber southern states if that’s what you want. Bye![/quote]

If you think that vaccinated people don’t get and spread covid, then maybe you’re the dumb one. Bye![/quote]

The problem is that the confusion over this, and the willingness of the authorities to make bold statements of faith that aren't actually backed by data (what we used to call "science"), has led to bad policies and misconceptions about what vaccines can and can't do. I don't think PP who thinks we should still base public policy on outdated or incomplete evidence is dumb-- it is human nature to cling to one's beliefs, and entertain prejudices, as a way of feeling superior and protected against the uncertainties of life, sickness, and death. It is superstitious behavior, and many of us fall back upon it in situations where our instinctive, fear-based responses have been engaged.

I also believe in the power of the intellect over fear-based superstition, and the power of people to change and respond in the moment to what is required, which is why I optimistically present the following data:

One-third of South Africa's population is vaccinated. They have about 400 new Covid cases per day. About 90% of Portugal's total population is vaccinated. They are seeing about 4.500 cases per day. There are 59 million people in South Africa. There are 10 million people in Portugal.

The current case rate in Portugal about 44 per 100,000 people. It's less than 1 case per 100,000 in South Africa.

Obviously, there are differences in access and participation in Covid testing in these nations. But every "stupid" Southern state is MUCH more highly vaccinated than any (stupid?) African country.

Portugal, a vaccine success story, has the same current case rate as Texas and Arkansas (62 and 55 percent vaccinated, respectively).[/quote]

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