Omicron Update, Dec 2
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
Omicron Update, Dec 2
1–10 of 118 posts
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#2Related:
> Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#3Well if Rt is ~3 I guess we're going to have another ride in Spain. I don't think this country can handle another lockdown.
In my region people is pretty sensible about mask use etc. We relaxed a bit, but people still take care. I've been to Madrid and Barcelona for work and people behaves like this never happened.
I hope I get a chance to a boost shot, because I know a couple of dudes that got covid and the side effects are pretty ugly. I'd rather be in my bed with fever for a couple of days.
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#4Related: > Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
i don't have any domain knowledge so i cannot build an opinion on the matter, but the fact that they discovered it doesn't give them more authority on the topic then everyone else.
most researchers i've heard on the topic only said "we will have to pay close attention to it", which sounds pretty reasonable from my uneducated perspective.
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#5Related: > Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
That's because the news media does not make money on rational and level headed takes, and the people in power do not maintain power with rational and level headed takes.
Threat level ORANGE!
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#6Well if Rt is ~3 I guess we're going to have another ride in Spain. I don't think this country can handle another lockdown. In my region people is pretty sensible about mask use etc. We relaxed a bit, but people still take care. I've been to Madrid and Barcelona for work and people behaves like this never happened. I hope I get a chance to a boost shot, because I know a couple of dudes that got covid and the side eff…
Has anyone done the math on whether these lockdown policies have produced objectively better outcomes over the long term?
Given that widespread vaccination does not stop infection from spreading, lockdowns seem arbitrary and pointless. Especially when you consider economic consequences, which also inflicts very real pain and suffering on the populace.
Anecdotally, it doesn't seem to have made any difference at all in the US, state by state.
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#7Related: > Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
i don't have any domain knowledge so i cannot build an opinion on the matter, but the fact that they discovered it doesn't give them more authority on the topic then everyone else. most researchers i've heard on the topic only said "we will have to pay close attention to it", which sounds pretty reasonable from my uneducated perspective.
Both the name and the picture in the article would suggest that "he" is, in all likelihood, a she.
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#8Related: > Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
She, as a family doctor, was fast to alert from the front lines. But she is not an infectious disease specialist.
The first doctors seeing HIV cases in California without knowing what it was, yet alerting the medical community, were not the same people who brought us the current medication that controls it
Her position on the front lines is very important. But the decision on how dangerous the variant is should be given to those who specialize in just that (and would probably suck at diagnosing you with a stomach ulcer)
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#9Related: > Dr ANGELIQUE COETZEE, the doctor who alerted the world to the Omicron Covid variant, says we are over-reacting to the threat https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10256373/Dr-ANGEL...
i don't have any domain knowledge so i cannot build an opinion on the matter, but the fact that they discovered it doesn't give them more authority on the topic then everyone else. most researchers i've heard on the topic only said "we will have to pay close attention to it", which sounds pretty reasonable from my uneducated perspective.
The South African scientists I have read saying "over-reacting" also agree with what you summarize as most researchers saying: "we will have to pay attention to it".
They say we are over-reacting because many places are doing more than paying attention to it, making policy decisions and instituting additional restrictions based on unproven fears about it, not just paying attention to it.
The South African scientists who discovered it don't have more authority on the topic than everyone else, but they have as much or more than many. They have more than, say, me. They probably have as much as most other scientists in the field, since they're on the ground with access to evidence, and for longer than anyone else.
Re: Omicron Update, Dec 2
#10Well if Rt is ~3 I guess we're going to have another ride in Spain. I don't think this country can handle another lockdown. In my region people is pretty sensible about mask use etc. We relaxed a bit, but people still take care. I've been to Madrid and Barcelona for work and people behaves like this never happened. I hope I get a chance to a boost shot, because I know a couple of dudes that got covid and the side eff…
Has anyone done the math on whether these lockdown policies have produced objectively better outcomes over the long term? Given that widespread vaccination does not stop infection from spreading, lockdowns seem arbitrary and pointless. Especially when you consider economic consequences, which also inflicts very real pain and suffering on the populace. Anecdotally, it doesn't seem to have made any difference at all in…
Sweden did a nationwide study, it didn't end well.[1] Several of the bad variants also originated from countries which did not participate in full lockdown (India, Brazil).
Edit: if Omicron becomes a second 2020, I'd pay close attention to how Sweden reacts, given their recent experiences.
[1]: https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-covid-no-lockdown-str...