Update on Omicron

Post by jordanthoms » Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 11:12 PM UTC

xg15 wrote: post #178

Hermel wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the virus could ever be stopped with today's vaccines, even if everyone was vaccinated. Data from fully or almost fully vaccinated countries clearly show that this doesn't eliminate the virus. It of course helps, but we have to depart from the idea that the "zero covid" strategies work.

I mean, there are Zero Covid strategies that work, see China or New Zealand. The problem is just that those measures are so drastic that many countries would probably not accept them. The goal in western countries is to get to the "endemic phase" of the infection - i.e. "live with the virus". That's all well and good, unfortunately this requires the disease to become significantly less deadly than it still is. We're…

Post by exegete » Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 11:13 PM UTC

jason0597 wrote: post #123

FPGAhacker wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Greek letter pronounced more like Kai. But, yes, the anglicized written form of the Greek letter looks like the anglicized written form of the Chinese leader’s name. And I agree, I’m sure it was skipped in the interest of not being antagonistic.

It's not really pronounced Kai, it's Xi. Ξύνω, Ξύστρα, Οξυγόνο, άνοιξε, ξένος, ξηρό, λέξη It's pronounced ξι, exactly. "ξ". Take it from a Greek ;)

Post by pm90 » Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 11:15 PM UTC

samwillis wrote: post #167

mr_sturd wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true; and even if Omicron turns out to be less dangerous than previous variants, it's a case of when, not if, a deadlier variant will emerge from a poorly-vaccinated population.

History shows that as a Virus mutates and evolves they tend towards more transmissibility but lower morality rate. There is a high chance Covid-19 will flow the same path. That’s not to say that a more deadly variant won’t appear it almost certainly will (or has already) but it is unlikely to become the dominant variant.

Post by ant6n » Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 11:15 PM UTC

mattrighetti wrote: post #192

pedalpete wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is correct, but I don't believe it devalues the original comment any less. Any part of the world where vaccination rates are lower allows (I assume) any variant to grow in that region, and then makes it easier to export to other parts of the world.

That seems to be disputed too, this is an interesting read: Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States.[0] > At the country-level, there appears to be no discernable relationship between percentage of population fully vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases in the last 7 days > Notably, Israel with over 60% of their population fully vaccinated had…

Post by tibyat » Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 11:16 PM UTC

mattrighetti wrote: post #192

pedalpete wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is correct, but I don't believe it devalues the original comment any less. Any part of the world where vaccination rates are lower allows (I assume) any variant to grow in that region, and then makes it easier to export to other parts of the world.

That seems to be disputed too, this is an interesting read: Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States.[0] > At the country-level, there appears to be no discernable relationship between percentage of population fully vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases in the last 7 days > Notably, Israel with over 60% of their population fully vaccinated had…