Coronavirus prep

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  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    @spiriteagle99 I hear you. It seems like we are in an endless cycle with this virus. :( I was just looking at some #s. US Pop 333.7M, and identified 49.05M cases. Is that really possible that almost 14.7% of the US pop has had a case? Did I math that right? As far as World total 261.2M cases vs 7,846M Pop seems 3.3% (just using the data from the NYT website)

    Columbia thinks 1/3 of the US had Covid by the end of 2020. Who know what it is almost a year later.

    https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/one-three-americans-already-had-covid-19-end-2020
    If you assume a 1% fatality rate, 777,000 deaths means roughly 78 million Americans have had Covid, which is what, about 23%? If you assume Covid is less fatal than that, it means even more people have had it.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    When I said things will probably be entirely different in a month and a half, I should explain that the forecast is not for the better. The experts here expect a spike in cases in January. That's when my SIL said they'd like me to come home, because my brother (who lives with my mother and is a NVax) always goes to Mexico for a month or two in January and February. My SIL said that they are also planning a trip for FEB.

    My husband (who loves my family) said "Are they nuts? January and February are the absolute worse 2 months to go to Minnesota", and of course, COVID will be spiking. Also, there are 7 of us. Being the oldest, I always feel responsible. It's easy to guilt-trip me.

    That is a lot of variables to weigh. I don't envy you that tough calculus. Especially when people in the same living group don't have the same risk tolerance (or approach to risk entirely). The public messaging here has been to plan your togetherness around the risk to the most vulnerable person. Maybe the unvaccinated brother can plan his trip to be away for the duration of the covid spike? Not sure about Mexico (maybe someone on the thread knows), but many countries require proof of vaccination in addition to proof of negative test result to enter.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    The following is just my summary of what I read this afternoon from virologists/epidemiologists I follow on twitter and FB, so please feel free to take it with a grain of salt!

    Don't know if/how much omicron might evade vaccines. Remember that vaccine protection is not all or nothing. At most, it would just make vaxxed people slightly more likely to get infected. It's not like everyone goes back to square one.

    It is not known if omicron will out compete Delta, as there wasn't much Delta in S Africa. If omicron IS becoming dominant in SA, it's out competing whatever variant they had.

    Not enough data to judge severity of omicron, but the small initial sample size is promising. In fact, it would actually be good if omicron out competes Delta but is less severe, which is possible.

    Vaccines would most likely just need to be tweaked, if even that is necessary. Initial data sounds like still all (or practically all) hospitalizations are unvaxxed.

    Also remember there have been other variants of concern that looked dangerous in one place they got a foothold but never managed to get traction anywhere else.
    Yep, if Omicron is more transmissible but milder, it could be a blessing. Praying!
  • makinlifehappen
    makinlifehappen Posts: 110 Member
    so long as toilet paper stays available I will have no complaints.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,264 Member
    My take on it is we can't keep getting mass inoculations every six months forever just because there's another variant, and they don't believe that will be necessary

    It seems highly likely to me that the long term maintenance will be annual jabs.

    Even though immunity might wane somewhat after, say, 9 months, for reasons of real life practicality I think it will be annual thing like flu vaccine.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    Are they still giving the 'dig into your skull' Covid test?? My poor neighbor had to have one yesterday and he's already suffering anxiety/agitation(he's 88) and it was he!! for him. :(
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Are they still giving the 'dig into your skull' Covid test?? My poor neighbor had to have one yesterday and he's already suffering anxiety/agitation(he's 88) and it was he!! for him. :(

    It depends...some places still do that deep swab because it's supposed to be the most accurate.
    I'm tested twice a week for work, two tests each time (a rapid test and a PCR), and they are nasal swabs, but not deep ones. Probably about halfway up the nose. They are not terribly comfortable, but also not painful and only take a few seconds.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Are they still giving the 'dig into your skull' Covid test?? My poor neighbor had to have one yesterday and he's already suffering anxiety/agitation(he's 88) and it was he!! for him. :(

    I had to get tested about a month ago as I came down with some bug and my work requires a negative test for me to come back to work. It was a self administered nose swab, but just inside the nostrils
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    @Fuzzipeg have you tried phoning to book an appointment? I have a relative who had success that way.