Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

washingtonpost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 1001 posts

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#231

Post by jonathanstrange »

aantix wrote: post #168
ceejayoz wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some NFL stadiums host 100k people. Would you go to a game if you knew 243 people were going to be randomly executed at it?

Would you attend the game if it were 11 people? Because that's what you do every time you drive. 11 crash fatalities per 100,000 people. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state...

That risk is an order of magnitude lower. Moreover, you're not taking that risk "...every time you drive". That risk is much lower, of course, given that most people drive more than once a year.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#232

Post by NoblePublius »

Who cares?

If you die with Omicron, you are very old and dying above the average life expectancy, or already sick with chronic preventable illnesses caused by poor lifestyle choices. We should be banning McDonalds advertising, not deputizing waitresses to be vaccination police.

If you are not very old or already sick and get omicron, whether you have antibodies or not, you’re going to experience mild symptoms, if anything at all, and achieve broader and more durable immunity than you would get from vaccine alone.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#233

Post by BrazzVuvuzela »

timr wrote: post #199
r00fus wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Death is merely the most extreme outcome. Not dying doesn't mean you're OK. Long COVID is a big deal, and it apparently affects half of those who get COVID [1]. Furthermore, even double-vaxxed, while protected against hospitalization or death, are still at risk (reduced about 50%) for long COVID [2]. Until/unless Omicron has been proven to have less severe long covid symptoms, yeah I'm treating it with the same cauti…

> Long COVID is a big deal Long Covid is not a defined term. It comprises everything from "post-hospitalization syndrome" -- which is something that has existed since long before Covid -- to "slight cough for a few weeks". If you're young (under 65) and otherwise healthy, you are highly unlikely to have anything more than a minor illness. Particularly after vaccination. Here's a paper that might interest you: https:/…

Ironically if this is true, then the people loudly handwringing about "long covid" are the ones who are inflicting it on others, by encouraging people to fear it.

To combat this, perhaps we could swap the masks out with gags. /s

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#234

Post by jonathanstrange »

aantix wrote: post #161
dTal wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That works out to 1-in-400. 6 times more deadly than base jumping. Not factoring the risk of long-term disability from post-viral CFS. I'll happily give those odds a miss.

Those (likely) aren't your odds. Without knowing your specific background, your numbers are probably much less. E.g. ages 0-17, there's been 644 deaths. Across a cohort with ~75,000,000 people. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#Ag...

Assuming that OP is a teenager or toddler...I guess that could be called "passive-aggressive optimism."

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#235

Post by slingnow »

ceejayoz wrote: post #171
aantix wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you attend the game if it were 11 people? Because that's what you do every time you drive. 11 crash fatalities per 100,000 people. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state...

Driving has benefits. Getting infected with COVID does not.

These statements don't follow from anything anyone has said.

You would need to compare the benefits of driving to the benefits of living a normal life, and compare that to the risks of dying from each.

Why would getting infected with COVID have benefits? What are you trying to say?

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#236

Post by jkubicek »

Karsteski wrote: post #117
wonderwonder wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a state where mask mandates are essentially gone. Very few people wear masks here and they are not required in schools so only ~5% of kids are wearing them at my children's elementary school. Everything seems pretty good so far, no marked rise in cases and almost no cases in my kids school over the last year, maybe 25 total, all mild. I am in no way saying masks don't work, in fact I think that they do. Wit…

> Not arguing with you, just genuinely interested on how long you would advocate for mask mandates? Would you be willing to accept mask mandates in perpetuity? This is the problem, isn't it? For how long will these mandates be in place for? Right now, it's clear that they won't end until populations start revolting.

> Right now, it's clear that they won't end until populations start revolting.

That's not at all clear. My very cautious Northern California county dropped the mask mandates when cases started dropping this summer and only re-implimented them when cases and hospitalizations started to rise again.

I don't see any reason for them not to drop the mandates again when infection/hospitalization rates drop down to acceptable levels.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#237

Post by BrazzVuvuzela »

kiba wrote: post #97
systemvoltage wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it means more lockdowns and more restrictions, more government powers; absolutely normalize COVID. We have given up enough.

Just because our economy cannot withstand further lockdowns and restrictions doesn't mean that the normalization of COVID is any more excusable. It just means we failed.

Damn the economy, I just want the media to stop terrorizing my friends and family.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#238

Post by lieut_data »

nicoburns wrote: post #181
wonderwonder wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a state where mask mandates are essentially gone. Very few people wear masks here and they are not required in schools so only ~5% of kids are wearing them at my children's elementary school. Everything seems pretty good so far, no marked rise in cases and almost no cases in my kids school over the last year, maybe 25 total, all mild. I am in no way saying masks don't work, in fact I think that they do. Wit…

> Would you be willing to accept mask mandates in perpetuity? I think it depends on location. In key environments like public transport and supermarkets and other spaces that everyone needs to be able to access it seems reasonable to me that we might keep them for at least a 5-10 year horizon if that proves necessary. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to wear a mask, and it would cut down on the need for more rest…

> It just doesn't seem like a big deal to wear a mask, and it would cut down on the need for more restrictive measures like lockdowns.

My wife has a medical exemption from wearing a mask. She cannot live a normal life when the standard response to her being out in public is disgust, constant questioning, or outright rejecting her due to "in-store policies."

My father has been wearing a mask, but constantly deals with hyperventilation issues. He's working with his family doctor to determine next steps.

Some things are a big deal for some people. I support anyone wearing a mask if they so choose. I oppose mask mandates as a one-size fits all solution.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#239

Post by jkubicek »

tn890 wrote: post #125
AustinDev wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may come off wrong but... COVID is not the first virus. Immunosuppressed people for all of human history have been falling victim to the common cold, the flu and other infections most humans can deal with safely. You can't stop the world economy and the benefit that brings to the majority of society to save a fraction of a percentage point of the population that is Immunocompromised.

Wearing a mask in a supermarket does not "stop the world economy". Americans are borderline insane with the mask mandate

Americans are full-on insane with their opposition to mask mandates.

Re: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe Covid: study

#240

Post by shtopointo »

This is pretty good news imo. A mild version of Covid is in a way like a vaccine. Maybe this is how COVID fizzles out.

* all disclaimers apply: I am not a doctor, you should still take care of yourself if you're immunocompromised / old / diabetic / overweight / unhealthy etc.

Post reply on HN