Y'all talk yourself up into a storm about what Biden hasn't done without considering the options that he actually has. Anyone who has vetted speeches for high ranking officials before (in an administration other than fact-free Trump's) would know that he can't possibly go on the record saying half the stuff you want him to say like it's established fact:

- We don't actually know that this variant causes less severe illness among the unvaccinated than Delta. You can't use population-level statistics and just show that hospitalization rates are lower under Omicron, because a higher percentage of the infected are vaccinated this time. You also can't really infer much from South Africa because the patterns of prior infection are so different from ours.
- It's also still too soon to know whether the variant causes less severe illness among the vaccinated. The variant has only been in our country for three and a half weeks, and has only become a high percentage of cases in the last week or so, shorter than the time it takes for severe consequences to develop. That's why the CDC website literally currently says "More data are needed to know if Omicron infections, and especially reinfections and breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated, cause more severe illness or death than infection with other variants."
- The Pfizer therapeutic (Paxlovid) doesn't even have EUA approval yet and can't be administered. Nonetheless, the Biden administration ordered 10 million doses within something like 48 hours of the EUA submission last month. Pfizer actually just released their full guidance on usage and final study results 5-6 days ago.

No way will the agencies that fact check speeches like this let half the stuff y'all are demanding slide. Letting a President talk out their ass does nobody any good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How is that not illegal?

If no conditions were placed on the money, I guess they could use it as they wished.
Huge issue, IMO. That the WH did not foresee this is a problem.
And, now some Dems want to dole out even more money. No.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The press is hammering the idea that people who are testing positive are all unvaccinated but that’s utter BS. My DC, sister and a handful of close friends who have tested positive with omicron are all triple vaxxed. It now seems almost inevitable that we are going to contract omicron which is a bit disturbing given that we have no idea if the long term implications.

The fact that members of Congress who have stated they are vaxxed and boosted have contracted the virus really puts a pin in that narrative balloon.
People are not stupid. Too much of the media think we are.

Do you have examples of this? Because it's not the impression I get from the press, so it seems like your observations are coming from your feverish imagination.

DP

...

Its all over the news that Senators Booker and Warren are positive days before Christmas.

Anonymous wrote:

How is that not illegal?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The press is hammering the idea that people who are testing positive are all unvaccinated but that’s utter BS. My DC, sister and a handful of close friends who have tested positive with omicron are all triple vaxxed. It now seems almost inevitable that we are going to contract omicron which is a bit disturbing given that we have no idea if the long term implications.

The fact that members of Congress who have stated they are vaxxed and boosted have contracted the virus really puts a pin in that narrative balloon.
People are not stupid. Too much of the media think we are.

Do you have examples of this? Because it's not the impression I get from the press, so it seems like your observations are coming from your feverish imagination.

We are witnessing the famous quote of Rahm (never let a good crisis go to waste) and moving more into an authoritarian government. The virus is worse than the flu, but not much more. Therapeutics are working with deaths (current 7 day avg of 1k) is lower than Sept and January (3k)

Anonymous wrote:NP.

I am reading and hearing rumors that Biden is going to announce that the really dangerous part of the pandemic is over and we need to get on with our lives while also taking precautions like masking in public, getting our shots, etc. Basically a more data-driven approach to risk where we acknowledge that people over 80 have different health outlooks and considerations than pre-schoolers or teenagers. So rather than everyone behaving as if they are an obese, immunocompromised 80 year old, we actually look at our true risk profiles based on our health and demographics. This means that most people should be living their lives normally now, perhaps with a mask on in public. Or not, since masks appear to be ineffective against omicron.

That's pretty much what many of us were saying a year ago - yet were were sneered at for wanting to kill grandma.

It's difficult for me to take Biden at any sincerity or face value. He's trapped because all the shutdown tools and strategies and restraints on civil liberties turned out to do pretty much nothing and yet we sacrificed so much political capital and social goodwill in pitting people against other people. Just like how Biden made me lose respect in him when he boasted about not trusting the vaccine.

Anonymous wrote:The press is hammering the idea that people who are testing positive are all unvaccinated but that’s utter BS. My DC, sister and a handful of close friends who have tested positive with omicron are all triple vaxxed. It now seems almost inevitable that we are going to contract omicron which is a bit disturbing given that we have no idea if the long term implications.

The fact that members of Congress who have stated they are vaxxed and boosted have contracted the virus really puts a pin in that narrative balloon.
People are not stupid. Too much of the media think we are.

The press is hammering the idea that people who are testing positive are all unvaccinated but that’s utter BS. My DC, sister and a handful of close friends who have tested positive with omicron are all triple vaxxed. It now seems almost inevitable that we are going to contract omicron which is a bit disturbing given that we have no idea if the long term implications.

Anonymous wrote:He's already said all of that. It is a given that everyone needs to be vaccinated and boosted, and we will all need to get boosted 1-2 times a year going forward, and we will still need to mask up and treat each other with respect.

It is also clear that our healthcare system cannot afford to manage the idiots who refuse to mask up or get vaccinated, and as such, insurance companies should no longer cover the costs for treatment for unvaccinated individuals, and should jack up premiums for unvaccinated individuals and that domestic air travel should require vaccination.

It s ridiculous that 30% of the country can just ignore basic facts and science and have the rest of us subsitidinzg those choices.

No, he hasn't.
What he has done is blame the unvaccinated for his failures. He has not worked to get therapeutics out. He never even talks about therapeutics.
His strategy has been insulting and mandating. And, it has worked so well. /s

And, the idea of refusing treatment to someone is a strategy you would find in a communist country. It is stunning that so many liberals think this is a good idea.
Remember the Hippocratic Oath..... first, do no harm.

The oath as currently used by many medical institutions:

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not", nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Dark and depressing is what the Dems thrive on. It is what got Biden elected. The constant drama. Inflation. Afghanistan withdrawal debacle. Kamala. He is hoping we forget those disasters. He made no attempts to boost testing or get test kits on shelves.

We need to take a data driven approach to who is getting hospitalized and start focusing on that group in terms of vaccinations and preventive health care. The majority of the country will get cOvid - be sick - and then get over it.

He's already said all of that. It is a given that everyone needs to be vaccinated and boosted, and we will all need to get boosted 1-2 times a year going forward, and we will still need to mask up and treat each other with respect.

It is also clear that our healthcare system cannot afford to manage the idiots who refuse to mask up or get vaccinated, and as such, insurance companies should no longer cover the costs for treatment for unvaccinated individuals, and should jack up premiums for unvaccinated individuals and that domestic air travel should require vaccination.

It s ridiculous that 30% of the country can just ignore basic facts and science and have the rest of us subsitidinzg those choices.

Biden would go a long way in reassuring the American people and possibly even convincing more people to get vaccinated and boosted if he would say something like this:

"My fellow Americans, since the beginning of this pandemic, we have been in this together. This pandemic knows no race, gender, or political party. We have learned a lot about Covid and we still have more to learn. We know there are some groups of people more susceptible to negative outcomes with the virus - the elderly and those with certain comorbidities. We also know that the previous administration was able to leave us with not one, not two, but three vaccines that are proving to help prevent serious illness and death in those who become infected with this virus. We are now working on developing and approving therapeutics that are effective against this virus. We know there are some already showing promise and are finding that most of these are effective when one seeks early treatment after being diagnosed with this virus.

We are now facing a new variant.... the Omicron variant. Early data suggests that while this may be more susceptible, it also appears to be less severe. That is a good thing. While there is nothing that can totally prevent you from getting the virus, we know, as I stated earlier, that the vaccines help in making the virus less severe and deadly.

We have to learn to live with this virus. Lock downs will not stop it from spreading. Masking, while helpful, is not a guarantee that you will not get the virus. Keeping children out of school is not an answer. So far, this virus has not had the negative effects on children that it has had on adults.

Should you get the virus, seek early treatment. If you are not vaccinated or boosted, talk with your doctor about getting the vaccine. We know it saves lives. Together, we will learn to deal with this virus and find more vaccines and treatments to prevent serious illness and death. Thank you."


I have no hopes that he will say anything like this. He will continue to demonize the unvaccinated, warn them of a dark winter, and encourage businesses to institute more mandates and possible closures. It will be a divisive speech.
When he addresses the public on Tuesday, it will not be an optimistic message. It will be dark and dire.
I hope I am wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP.

I am reading and hearing rumors that Biden is going to announce that the really dangerous part of the pandemic is over and we need to get on with our lives while also taking precautions like masking in public, getting our shots, etc. Basically a more data-driven approach to risk where we acknowledge that people over 80 have different health outlooks and considerations than pre-schoolers or teenagers. So rather than everyone behaving as if they are an obese, immunocompromised 80 year old, we actually look at our true risk profiles based on our health and demographics. This means that most people should be living their lives normally now, perhaps with a mask on in public. Or not, since masks appear to be ineffective against omicron.

Wait, you’re expecting reason to take hold when so many DCUM types take such pleasure in looking down on lower status people who don’t follow the rules? I don’t know that they can give up the COVID hysteria that easily.

To the original NP - if Biden was going to do this on Tuesday, he'd have to release definitive studies from the CDC that Omicron in fact is not a critical threat to personal health. As of now Biden's surrogates are still waving the boogeyman flag that it 'could' be as bad as Delta. It either is or isn't being stopped by the double-dose vaccination (WITHOUT the booster). So which is it?