Omicron is basically changing all of the rhetoric on this virus from both sides right?
 

Herd Immunity is irrelevant when new mutations are able to easily punch through prior immunity. You can’t have faith in herd immunity.

Similarly, taking a vaccines isn’t very helpful in preventing spread since, unlike other viruses, future iterations are extremely difficult to predict and plan for. The thought that vaccines prevent severe illness may be true for omicron but may not be true in a few months. You can’t have faith in vaccines long term either.

So basically we are where we started. The question is what does this all look like in 5 years?

26 minutes ago, Thrive said:

Omicron is basically changing all of the rhetoric on this virus from both sides right?
 

Herd Immunity is irrelevant when new mutations are able to easily punch through prior immunity. You can’t have faith in herd immunity.

Similarly, taking a vaccines isn’t very helpful in preventing spread since, unlike other viruses, future iterations are extremely difficult to predict and plan for. The thought that vaccines prevent severe illness may be true for omicron but may not be true in a few months. You can’t have faith in vaccines long term either.

So basically we are where we started. The question is what does this all look like in 5 years?

A seasonally based endemic, like the flu. 

Flatten the curve

I read a local news article from back home that said the large majority of people who are in the hospital are testing positive for delta but the county is testing the waste water and finding that if a sample comes back positive then it is omicron nearly 100% of the time. 

It is believed that Omicron is not as severe as the Delta variant. Time to get on with our freaking lives. Covid has taken away too much already. I've not seen my brother in 2 years because of covid. He was due to come back to the UK on Thursday but has now tested positive for covid and so won't be coming. So F covid. I'm getting on with my life. The UK government can eat my ish if they think they are going to put restrictions on us. They make rules and don't follow them so neither will I. I'll do tests before I go to busy places but I'm getting on with my life. 

 

 

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

It is believed that Omicron is not as severe as the Delta variant. Time to get on with our freaking lives. Covid has taken away too much already. I've not seen my brother in 2 years because of covid. He was due to come back to the UK on Thursday but has now tested positive for covid and so won't be coming. So F covid. I'm getting on with my life. The UK government can eat my ish if they think they are going to put restrictions on us. They make rules and don't follow them so neither will I. I'll do tests before I go to busy places but I'm getting on with my life. 

I travelled 4 times this year including NYC and Chicago.  I was in a club saturday night.  The club required vax ID.  The airports require mask mandates.  That's the reality for next year or so and I'm fine with it.

37 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

There are good signs with omicron, yes. I am crossing my fingers. But the deaths curve is always behind the case surge, as it takes a few weeks for the virus in people to become lethal. Now, we are seeing such a huge bump in cases all at once. Perhaps omicron is less dangerous than other variants. Will we see a spike in hospitalizations and deaths nonetheless because so many are infected? Here's hoping for the best. 

9 hours ago, Thrive said:

Omicron is basically changing all of the rhetoric on this virus from both sides right?
 

Herd Immunity is irrelevant when new mutations are able to easily punch through prior immunity. You can’t have faith in herd immunity.

Similarly, taking a vaccines isn’t very helpful in preventing spread since, unlike other viruses, future iterations are extremely difficult to predict and plan for. The thought that vaccines prevent severe illness may be true for omicron but may not be true in a few months. You can’t have faith in vaccines long term either.

So basically we are where we started. The question is what does this all look like in 5 years?

How does this make sense to you? Back where we started? You missed the part about vaccines significantly preventing severe illness and death even with the new variants.

We have to move past the hope that this thing will be completely eradicated. That ship has sailed and, considering globalization, really wasn't likely in the first place. Get the damn vaccine, make reasonable COVID policies, and stop the fear mongering.

my ex wife tested positive with the rona last tuesday...so let's just say i wasn't surprised to see the 76ers game postponed over the weekend because of players testing positive.   

 

thankfully, my kid tested negative yesterday.   

 

Half of the NBA got Covid over the weekend.

1 hour ago, dawkins4prez said:

I travelled 4 times this year including NYC and Chicago.  I was in a club saturday night.  The club required vax ID.  The airports require mask mandates.  That's the reality for next year or so and I'm fine with it.

I'd be fine with that bud more than fine. But in the UK I suspect clubs are about to be shut again and the total number of people allowed to meet indoors limited. 

1 hour ago, dawkins4prez said:

I travelled 4 times this year including NYC and Chicago.  I was in a club saturday night.  The club required vax ID.  The airports require mask mandates.  That's the reality for next year or so and I'm fine with it.

 If everyone keeps going along with it, it'll be reality for a lot more than a year.

Had no idea there were so many club goers on the EMB. 

 

my youngest son's after-school had one teacher test positive for Covid - this after a recital the kids did saturday where everybody was on stage maskless (the school is pretty committed to mask wearing during school and I believe they wore masks back-stage, only taking them off when the kids went on stage).

my wife is now freaking out about what Christmas will look like if he tests positive. trying to talk her down off the ledge sharing how Omicron looks pretty mild compared to earlier cases, but she doesn't understand why I'm not freaking out about something we don't even know is a problem. 

we're keeping him home today as his after-school program was canceled anyway while the rest of the staff is tested, and the wife is trying to find a way for him to get tested today as well. 

she's more worried about how this impacts holiday plans than catching the virus itself. I'm not particularly worried either way.

Sarah Palin gave a speech opposing vaccination, and said she would get a shot 'over my dead body'

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sarah-palin-gave-speech-opposing-111229733.html

My Christmas plans are muted anyway, as my wife and I started pulling back once cases started rising after Thanksgiving. We are only going to see close family who we know are vaxxed, and outdoor events. We canceled on invites to indoor parties. School has had many positives per week since Thanksgiving, and that is only amongst the population who are actually testing their kids. I have heard from several parents who think testing kids is useless; they refuse to test their own, since they believe kids only get mild illness.

10 minutes ago, jsdarkstar said:

Sarah Palin gave a speech opposing vaccination, and said she would get a shot 'over my dead body'

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sarah-palin-gave-speech-opposing-111229733.html

There are actually people (likely triple vaxxed) that are still allowing the virus to dictate how you spend your lives? Yikes. 

12 hours ago, Joe Shades 73 said:

He definitely made it worse, but they've been like that for a long time.  Right wing radio hosts, who's entire job is to convince people to vote Republican, have always pretended to be "independent conservatives".  I mean, they're the leaders the Republican Party.  They literally create and sell Republican policy but even they're too ashamed to admit that they're Republicans.

Solid post.

38 minutes ago, Outlaw said:

 If everyone keeps going along with it, it'll be reality for a lot more than a year.

There is still a virus out there killing 1k people/day in the US alone.  You don't have to block the sun with your hand to get on with a normal life.

50 minutes ago, mr_hunt said:

my ex wife tested positive with the rona last tuesday...so let's just say i wasn't surprised to see the 76ers game postponed over the weekend because of players testing positive.   

 

thankfully, my kid tested negative yesterday.   

 

One of my best friends got it last week (dog sick 4-5 days, over it now.  Single dose J&J)  He's a bartender and the entire F&B circuit is getting shelled with cases.  Restaurants are shutting down or serving limited capacity not because of mandates, just because they are short of healthy employees.