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The mutation that helps Delta spread

nature.com

501–510 of 641 posts

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#501
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just dont see how getting a shot every year or six months for eternity is a viable solution What do you mean? We have yearly flu vaccinations.

> We have yearly flu vaccinations. Where I live (Eastern Europe) those are taken by a minority of the population.

That doesn't mean that's how it should be...

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're misdirecting and missing the point entirely. While I'm not quite anti mask like the parent comment, it is an important question to consider, it is always a trade off. What severity warrant what measures? If there's still covid like now in 10 years, will we all have to wear masks at work until we retire? Is this feasible? If not, then when do we stop? Will the people advocating it ever tell us to stop? If not,…

> will we all have to wear masks at work until we retire It's really funny to watch all the push back against masks considering how many uncomfortable things people put on themselves every single day, and usually just because someone told them it's cool thing to do. High heels, bras, neckties, etc. and not to forget things that we do to our bodies like implants and piercings and tattoos - most of that is way less use…

That analogy breaks down awkwardly when you consider the hijab or the burka

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#503
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Get vaccinated every 6 - 12 months indefinitely and always wear masks An annual Flu and COVID shot seems perfectly reasonable. Wearing masks in public is already normal (or at least not uncommon) in many places, and I don't have a problem with where I live being one of those places.

What if I have a problem with where I live being one of those places? Or another question in a similar vein, what if I don't have a problem wearing a mask but my neighbor does? Also I'd point out, seasonal flu vaccines are not mandatory and in most places have a low vaccination rate. Would you be fine with a non mandatory covid vaccine?

I think that if seasonal flu vaccines start being combined with seasonable COVID vaccines that the rate would go up. And unfortunately I think mandatory vaccines would be unacceptable to too many people to think it's a viable option.

I don't have an answer to masks, though I think they'll get more and more normalized as time goes on. Even if COVID were to be basically suppressed, I'd probably still keep wearing them on public transit.

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#504
post #151

Purely anecdotal but I'm double vaccinated (Astra Zeneca) and I caught Covid recently. It was probably Delta as 99% of cases in UK are. I know of quite a few vaccinated friends who've caught it recently too. Mainly AZ I think but one was Pfizer (single jabbed). Anyway, none of us had severe illness although I felt pretty rough for a few days like I had a really bad cold and smell went for a week completely. I was bas…

There’s a question of preferences that too often gets buried in this debate. If Covid becomes endemic at around its current severity, what level of pandemic restrictions are you willing to accept forever? For me personally, Covid would have to be at least 100 times worse before I’d support masking forever. But I get the sense that some people barely see any downside to it. I think these cross-views drive so much if t…

We're in the middle of a novel pandemic and children are apparently filling up ICUs, I could care less about what people on hackernews's 'preferences' on masks are. Let's be grown up and listen to the Doctors.

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You have to weigh the consequences of the escape against the consequences of not mass vaccinating Yes, agreed. At this point we're talking in circles. It's obvious you believe that the benefits of compulsory mass vaccination outweigh the potential consequences of vaccine induced immune escape, even though you admit that "it's unclear" whether compulsory mass vaccination will make the virus even more lethal and pote…

Not talking in circles I think - I'm happy with where we landed. Sorry I started off harsh. You sounded too close to an antivaxxer trying to pass your opinions off as authoritative, and semantics really do matter there. I'm glad to see your ideas are much more nuanced and I think we largely agree at this point. To get any clearer we probably need input from proper vaccinologists. And hopefully they are informing poli…

Yeah that's good feedback thanks - I'm definitely with you in praying for a healthier world supported by thoughtful and scientifically based policy.

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#506
post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's so bad about face masks? Just trying to understand.

Socializing is extremely high friction in a mask. Pre-mask, I'd make small talk with store clerks or waiters all the time. After masking, I can count on one hand the number of times that happened. You struggle to understand people's muffled words, they struggle to understand yours. Facial expressions, the most important component of non-verbal communication, are half-hidden. Conveying a smile, the universal way to ex…

If masking persists and it becomes a long-term norm, communication will evolve around the constraints. I'm reminded of a story of a Somali prisoner who was nearly suicidal in solitary confinement until a prisoner in another cell taught him something like morse code, eventually even reading him Anna Karenina, tap by tap.[0] Humans will overcome any constraints to communicate.

0: https://www.npr.org/2017/09/11/550058353/rough-translation-h...

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a question of preferences that too often gets buried in this debate. If Covid becomes endemic at around its current severity, what level of pandemic restrictions are you willing to accept forever? For me personally, Covid would have to be at least 100 times worse before I’d support masking forever. But I get the sense that some people barely see any downside to it. I think these cross-views drive so much if t…

I hope I am mistaken here, but... are you saying that it would need to kill 1/6th of the population every year (instead of 1/600) before you will consider putting a piece of cloth over your face? What's so terrible about wearing a mask?

People with hearing problems lose the ability to communicate in many cases if they cannot see the other person's lips.

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious to know how much the reaction to the second or subsequent jabs correlates to antibody/immunity level. I had no reaction to the first jab and a 12-hour flu-like reaction to the second jab the next day (both Moderna). NOT having a similar reaction to a third booster would be concerning, but I wonder how much the reaction actually correlates with protection for shots beyond the first.

for what its worth, I had AZ as my first shot and it was pretty rough for 36 hours and then I was fine. My second shot of pfizer 8 weeks later barely left a sore spot on my arm. Not sure what if anything it means, but curious what will happen if I get a 3rd.

I had 2 shots of AZ but the same experience. Rough initial period, but the second one was fine. I don't plan to get a third one until they make an updated vaccine for the newer variants like delta. What's the point if it's the old vaccine?

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a question of preferences that too often gets buried in this debate. If Covid becomes endemic at around its current severity, what level of pandemic restrictions are you willing to accept forever? For me personally, Covid would have to be at least 100 times worse before I’d support masking forever. But I get the sense that some people barely see any downside to it. I think these cross-views drive so much if t…

I hope I am mistaken here, but... are you saying that it would need to kill 1/6th of the population every year (instead of 1/600) before you will consider putting a piece of cloth over your face? What's so terrible about wearing a mask?

> What's so terrible about wearing a mask?

Their efficiency at stopping the spread is extremely small, and the whole debate takes energy away from things that actually work that we should be doing instead.

Masks are virtue-signaling talismans at best, just look at how people are actually using them.

Re: The mutation that helps Delta spread

#510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Covid death rate among vaccinated people is under 0.01%[1]. One hundred times worse than the current situation would make Covid not significantly worse than seasonal influenza for the vaccinated. Sure, one hundred times worse among those who refuse to vaccinate would be significantly worse. But if a significant proportion of the population voluntarily refuses to vaccinate, I see no reason why the rest of society…

> those who refuse to vaccinate Please don't forget about children who don't have a vaccine, or individuals that can't vaccinate. Last I heard maybe next year children under 12 (?, mine is under 5) will have a vaccine. But with talk of a third shot, and possible issues with Moderna, we'll see.

Healthy children are at approximately one-in-a-million risk of dying from covid-19 if they get infected. It's more dangerous for you to drive someplace with your kid than for your kid to remain unvaccinated.

Children in risk groups should of course get vaccinated.

But we're much better off making sure the limited supply of vaccines go to older people in other parts of the world than to healthy kids in the developed world that don't need them.

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