The Coronavirus Is Here Forever • Hacker News Board

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#51

Post by Pyramus » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:24 PM UTC

lambdaba wrote: post #17

alecst wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I downvoted for an opinion-based answer. Yea generally viruses evolve to be less deadly and more infectious, that’s the trend (but certainly not a law), but the important thing is the time scale. Plus there are endemic viruses that are not benign. So this comment came across as a bit too confident. Feel free to expand on it.

Didn't the Spanish Flu (which was way more virulent) basically evolve in this way?

As far as I know the virus H1N1 itself didn't really evolve in the sense that it got milder - all hosts either developed immunity or died off. Now our immune systems encounter one of the endemic, seasonal strains of H1N1 when we are young (or we get a flu vaccine) - however from time to time a new strain of H1N1 emerges that is dissimilar enough, see e.g. 1977 flu or the 2009 flu outbreak.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#52

Post by rpadovani » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:24 PM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #30

celticninja wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What restrictions do you mean? I am in the UK and facing no restrictions in daily life.

No restriction? You will have a nasty surprise if you return from a red list country. Plus mandatory covid tests before and after returning to the UK. Plus mandatory face masks in public transports. Plus mandatory self-quarantine if you are pinged by the NHS app. Many companies have not returned to the office. We are not back to normal.

> Plus mandatory face masks in public transports.

I really hope this will stay forever, or at least until people don't learn to stay home when they get a cold

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#53

Post by joshuaissac » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:25 PM UTC

cmsefton wrote: post #14

Bostonian wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIDS never spread broadly among heterosexuals who did not share needles or have partners who are bisexual or shared needles. Everyone is at risk for covid, like the flu.

This certainly was not the experience of other countries such as South Africa where the majority of transfer (roughly 80%) was via heterosexual transfer.

Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8420583/

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#54

Post by carnitine » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:25 PM UTC

SamBam wrote: post #45

cm2187 wrote: post #16

That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK. There isn't really a next step after having vaccinated the population, it is "steady state". So do they want us to have these restrictions (countries you can't travel to, endless testing, mask requirements) forever?

Since no one under 16 has been vaccinated yet, about 70% of the population is vaccinated (44M out of 67M). That might be barely enough for herd immunity for some diseases, but the case numbers in the UK are still very high and trending back upward, showing that this isn't enough for herd immunity for Covid. Hospitalization rates are also back up to significantly higher than they were this time last year. And that's w…

What restrictions are there in the UK? As far as I know in England and Wales where the vast majority live there are none except for those around international travel or imposed by private enterprise.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#55

Post by blacktriangle » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:25 PM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #16

That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK. There isn't really a next step after having vaccinated the population, it is "steady state". So do they want us to have these restrictions (countries you can't travel to, endless testing, mask requirements) forever?

Yes, yes they do. And they're even starting to be honest about it, look at the press coming out of NZ and Scotland. Many of us called this the second the lockdowns started and we were right. Coronavirus is real, but it's nothing more than another SARS, H1N1, Hong Kong flu, etc. The only difference between now and then is now governments were prepped for a full on power grab.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#56

Post by bserge » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

luffapi wrote: post #43

cm2187 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No restriction? You will have a nasty surprise if you return from a red list country. Plus mandatory covid tests before and after returning to the UK. Plus mandatory face masks in public transports. Plus mandatory self-quarantine if you are pinged by the NHS app. Many companies have not returned to the office. We are not back to normal.

> Many companies have not returned to the office. We are not back to normal. This is the new normal (thankfully). Government regulations or not, management will not be able to force people back in the office. Office culture was a quirk of the 20th century. A halfway house between the assembly line and the internet. Covid just forced its inevitable collapse.

Nice bubble you live in.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#57

Post by wongarsu » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #16

That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK. There isn't really a next step after having vaccinated the population, it is "steady state". So do they want us to have these restrictions (countries you can't travel to, endless testing, mask requirements) forever?

The vaccination rate in the UK is 67%. A year ago the estimate was that we need about a 75% vaccination rate to reach herd immunity, and I doubt that the new mutations have pushed that number down.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#58

Post by luffapi » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #50

alphager wrote: post #37

> close to full vaccination, like the UK. Why do people not consider kids younger than 12yo as part of the population? MILLIONS of kids can't be vaccinated yet (but will hopefully come december). Any talk of lifting restrictions before march is basically a re-formulated "fuck the kids".

No it's not. There's still no evidence that there is any real risk to children. Please prove otherwise. Anecdotes and one in a million cases don't count.

There are risks to all of us when we let millions of children act as a breeding and mutation substrate for the virus. I would think that would be blinding obvious to anyone with even a basic grasp of biology.

It’s also completely unknown what the long term effects of the virus are.

Edit: Disappointed but not surprised by the amount of anti-science on this site. I feel like a lot of people have let politics destroy their ability to think critically to the point of near suicidal ignorance. Sad.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#59

Post by pm215 » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #16

That's why I don't really understand why there are still covid restrictions in countries that are close to full vaccination, like the UK. There isn't really a next step after having vaccinated the population, it is "steady state". So do they want us to have these restrictions (countries you can't travel to, endless testing, mask requirements) forever?

The article's answer to this question is "the eventuality of endemic COVID-19 does not mean we should drop all precautions. The more we can flatten the curve now, the less hospitals will become overwhelmed". There are currently ~6000 COVID patients in hospital, which is a little less than 1/6 of the Jan 2021 peak and over 1/4 of the April 2020 peak. Which is to say, manageable right now but probably not something you want to let burn much hotter than that.

Re: The Coronavirus Is Here Forever

#60

Post by Uberphallus » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #30

celticninja wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What restrictions do you mean? I am in the UK and facing no restrictions in daily life.

No restriction? You will have a nasty surprise if you return from a red list country. Plus mandatory covid tests before and after returning to the UK. Plus mandatory face masks in public transports. Plus mandatory self-quarantine if you are pinged by the NHS app. Many companies have not returned to the office. We are not back to normal.

We're better than normal. My employer already decided to allow up to 60% time remote, no questions asked, forever. You can still come 100% of the time to the office if you want. Some restrictions are still in place, but the future seems brighter for the workplace.