Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have done my part re COVID - stayed home, masked up, vaccinated and booster -- I think this is all totally overblown. At this point we have all the tools needed to combat it (setting aside those who will not get vaccinated) - it is time to stop blowing up every new variant of this thing. Enough.

Enough what? Many of us have done the same, but if people get sick this quickly and it hits the unvaccinated particularly badly, then life will change a bit until it's under control. That's just how it's going to be until we get enough of the world vaccinated to beat it way down.

The Covid vaccines work more like the flu vaccines than the MMR vaccine. We aren't beating this thing way down. We're just turning it into a normal respiratory virus - and those also unfortunately kill thousands every year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have done my part re COVID - stayed home, masked up, vaccinated and booster -- I think this is all totally overblown. At this point we have all the tools needed to combat it (setting aside those who will not get vaccinated) - it is time to stop blowing up every new variant of this thing. Enough.

Enough what? Many of us have done the same, but if people get sick this quickly and it hits the unvaccinated particularly badly, then life will change a bit until it's under control. That's just how it's going to be until we get enough of the world vaccinated to beat it way down.

Enough with the fear mongering. There is a segment that seems to never want this to end.

Anonymous wrote:I have done my part re COVID - stayed home, masked up, vaccinated and booster -- I think this is all totally overblown. At this point we have all the tools needed to combat it (setting aside those who will not get vaccinated) - it is time to stop blowing up every new variant of this thing. Enough.

Enough what? Many of us have done the same, but if people get sick this quickly and it hits the unvaccinated particularly badly, then life will change a bit until it's under control. That's just how it's going to be until we get enough of the world vaccinated to beat it way down.

I have done my part re COVID - stayed home, masked up, vaccinated and booster -- I think this is all totally overblown. At this point we have all the tools needed to combat it (setting aside those who will not get vaccinated) - it is time to stop blowing up every new variant of this thing. Enough.

Anonymous wrote:It probably is in other places within the US. SF has been sequencing every positive test in the entire county and moved to 24/7 around the clock teams since the announcement. They take it very seriously, and have the money/skilled people to do it at this level. The isn’t happening in most of the rest of the US.

No, but shout out to Minnesota who also has robust testing. CDC did say they are sequencing 1 in 7 cases now, so that's good.

Anonymous wrote:

BlueFredneck wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a surprise. When people aren't getting vaccinated the virus will continue to mutate.

Yes - and when we don't also vaccinate the world - it will often happen outside our country then get brought here too.

You're aware that vaccine resistance is hardly a US only thing? South Africa has refused delivery of several million doses due to it.

Who knew that South Africa is full of Trumpers.

Lara Logan and Elon Musk say "Hi"

BlueFredneck wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a surprise. When people aren't getting vaccinated the virus will continue to mutate.

Yes - and when we don't also vaccinate the world - it will often happen outside our country then get brought here too.

You're aware that vaccine resistance is hardly a US only thing? South Africa has refused delivery of several million doses due to it.

Who knew that South Africa is full of Trumpers.

It probably is in other places within the US. SF has been sequencing every positive test in the entire county and moved to 24/7 around the clock teams since the announcement. They take it very seriously, and have the money/skilled people to do it at this level. The isn’t happening in most of the rest of the US.

Virginia is testing samples that are about 10-14 days old per this:

https://wtop.com/virginia/2021/12/virginia-labs-screen-previous-coronavirus-positive-tests-for-omicron-variant/

Anonymous wrote:If they have found one case there are thousands and not just in California. The US is not doing a coordinated DNA testing of covid positive test.

Yes, we are doing coordinated testing. The CDC Director said on Tuesday at the WH Covid briefing that they are sequencing 1 in 7 of all positive PCR tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone in San Francisco area who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22. They were vaccinated but not boosted. Mild symptoms, close contacts have tested negative.

All of that is good news.

+1, OP. I think there is media hype over Omicron for ratings. I am not discounting it, but I give it a side eye.

To be fair, Israel, Japan, and other countries are closing their borders. So it's sort of a feedback loop - country reacts, media covers it, panic ensues, more countries react.

If you're serious about stopping variants at the border, I do like the idea of testing ALL visitors to the US (or quarantining them for 5 days). These specific country travel bans are like Swiss cheese and have the perverse effect of discouraging countries - imagine how well we'd be doing if the PRC government was as open about OG COVID as the SA government has been about Omicron.

Yeah, it will blow a giant hole in the tourism industry. So too will an Omicron boom over January/February. Go big or just don't bother people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a surprise. When people aren't getting vaccinated the virus will continue to mutate.

Yes - and when we don't also vaccinate the world - it will often happen outside our country then get brought here too.

You're aware that vaccine resistance is hardly a US only thing? South Africa has refused delivery of several million doses due to it.

If they have found one case there are thousands and not just in California. The US is not doing a coordinated DNA testing of covid positive test.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Couldn't care less. What, are we supposed to stop the economy and our way of life for every letter in the Greek alphabet? Get used to variants and living with covid like the yearly cold. We aren't in the same place as we were back in late 2019-2020. Our arsenal for therapies is much bigger now. Even drugs that don't directly target the virus will help reduce severity and hospital stays.

Big whoop, life moves on.

What is your point? Do you want scientists to stop researching new variants? Do you think a virus isn't capable of mutating enough to present us with new problems?

The point is that if you look hard enough you're always going to find variants. Big whoopdie doo. There are many scientists out there looking to make a name for themselves by stoking fear over every variant they find. If you study the cold virus guess what? You'll find that it mutates constantly. So friggin' what? Stop with the fear mongering. The economy is going to open. Covid will spread and mutate. Oh well. Humans will learn to live with it. We don't stop the world because there's a much more dangerous bug out there like multidrug resistant TB now do we?

So omicron is just a result of looking too hard? Good to know.

You're missing the point. There are variants. Scientists should be discussing them. But right now omicron is being presented in the news as a big threat, yet there is no actual data to back that up. Under a microscope, scientists think it looks like it may evade vaccines. But there is no data to back that up. And countries all over the world are closing borders based on this possiblity with no real data.

I think it’s funny that random people on this thread think they have the same information as world leaders/top scientists. Obviously we don’t know everything and those who have actual information are concerned. Remember this is the same administration that was quick to get rid of mask requirements for vaccinated people. I don’t believe they would do this over nothing.

The one thing the minimizers have in common is a gross overestimation of their own intellect and mental state. The constant need to show one is not overreacting has become a pathology on DCUM.

NP.LOL! The constant need to overreact on dcum and panic about everything covid related has become a pathology on DCUM. And more prevalent. You don't sound too bright either.

I wonder how common asymptomatic infections are with Omicron (and how long people are pre-symptomatic).

If symptoms are as mild as described and different to original covid, are those who are symptomatic just not testing?

I'm not panicked, I just find it interesting that only one case has been detected in the U.S. a week (more or less-- the behind-the-scenes timeline is a little sketchy here) after scientists first became aware of this variant.