I think it’s good news that omicron is (so far) less severe. I’m curious if it’s any more stable, or if the things that made it more lethal are really gone forever or could return via other mutations.
I understand it’s best in the long term for the virus if it doesn’t kill the host. I read someone who pointed out the other day that the virus doesn’t actually care about that; it just cares that it has a host. I think mortality has been well below 10% for all of the variants, and that still leaves a lot of hosts that will survive.
Viruses absolutely can go back to be more lethal. Just look at a situation like H1N1 flu. And in general, the severity of the flu can vary year to year. (That one obviously is a little tricky because it has animal reservoirs and leaps back-and-forth, but in short yes things can get more lethal again). However. On the whole, viruses tend to mutate to be less severe.
I think it’s safe to assume that large metro areas with international airports are quite a bit higher (like the 13% cited in NY) and it’s barely reached rural areas but will sooner than later.
Oh for sure, But it’s worth noting that it’s still not the dominant strain for a few reasons. Chief among them is that the US tends to have a different population/clinical picture than a lot of other countries, especially when you contrast to somewhere like South Africa or Botswana, and so we definitely have to bear in mind while making decisions and while watching the data, that it’s still represents a minority portion of cases in the US right now.
Do not feel GREAT about this huge covid acceleration in NYC. It feels like we’re back in March 2020, where things are changing by the hour.
Still planning to fly to see my parents for the holidays on Tuesday. We’re all boosted and are doing PCR and rapid tests beforehand. I’m hoping this isn’t totally stupid. If it becomes clear it is by then, maybe I’ll reconsider. But I am desperately looking forward to Christmas at home after I couldn’t do it last year.
Jesus fucking Christ. Maybe 20 minutes after my parents get to my house for a weekend visit, they get a call from a friend saying that several people at the birthday party they went to last Saturday have tested positive for Covid. Luckily we had bought a couple of boxes of home tests and were able to get them tested and cleared immediately.
Yeah. Funeral for relative who died of delta. Everyone was testing daily, and about 20 of them were in a room together Sunday and Monday. Tuesday before getting in the funeral cars one for a positive (and locked himself in a bedroom with his window open). Two more have since gotten positives.
My Dad has only done his PCR for travel and will do more tests once he gets home and will isolate himself for a few more days plus negatives.
I am also back to being anxious about rates increasing in NY. My partner was supposed to go to the city tomorrow for a work trip and thankfully we had already cancelled that…
I am currently dithering about attending a 20 person holiday party on Saturday (all vaxxed except an unknown number of young children). It was supposed to be outdoors but will probably be moved indoors because sleet. Even if we all do rapid tests, idk if that’s in my risk tolerance…
Are y’all stocking up on rapid tests? Where are you buying them? They’ve been sold out in stores here for a while. I’ve been doing the $14/two pack at Walmart (BinaxNow) but haven’t done extensive comparison shopping.
For me, the spread is increasing rapidly enough I’m picking one holiday thing (my trip to see family) and prioritizing it above anything else. At this point, any other gathering would risk my ability to do thing I want to do more. So it depends on how important the holiday party is to you vs. other things coming up.
As for tests, that $14 deal from Walmart is the best you’ll find. They used to be around $25 per box, and I think part of Biden’s plan to expand testing is for companies to offer at-home rapid tests at closer to cost.
We anticipated this would happen and already planned to do a mini quarantine this week in advance seeing family next week. We’ve also asked everyone to plan on a PCR test mid next week and rapid tests before we visit. I wish I could convince my sister to cancel her weekend plans with friends but she’s going to do a couple rounds of testing before we see her, including the day of so… can’t make much more of a fuss.
