COVID-19 News and Discussions

[andmar74]

'Stealth omicron' is now in North Texas. Is it a new COVID variant? What we know.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there are at least two cases of a new form of omicron, “stealth omicron,” in North Texas.

Texas is one of a few states where stealth omicron has been detected. Along with the cases in North Texas, three cases have been identified in Houston.

Stealth omicron cases have been found in 40 countries. In the U.S., there are about 100 cases.

In Denmark, where stealth omicron cases are rapidly increasing, it went from 20% of cases in December, to 45% of cases two weeks ago, and now it’s about 65% of cases.

Read more: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/coro ... 85748.html

It must be the BA.2 variant.

[erowind]

This is an unknown at the time. But if the new omicron variant is more infectious and can reinfect people already infected by omicron than how exactly is it a "subvariant?" Wouldn't that be grounds enough to be a new variant entirely? Or is this part of the whole bid that "covid is over." Are we just going to name new variants omicron, A, B, C, D, etc from now on? It may well be a subvariant, but it's presumptuous to say that no?

[andmar74]

This is an unknown at the time. But if the new omicron variant is more infectious and can reinfect people already infected by omicron than how exactly is it a "subvariant?" Wouldn't that be grounds enough to be a new variant entirely? Or is this part of the whole bid that "covid is over." Are we just going to name new variants omicron, A, B, C, D, etc from now on? It may well be a subvariant, but it's presumptuous to say that no?

As I understand it, you can be infected with the same omicron variant multiple times. There have been talks about giving BA.2 a new name, but that really isn't important I think. BA.2 doesn't seem to give more severe disease than BA.1.
It's quite a mess.

[andmar74]

It's going downhill for Feigl-Ding, now he's dragging Hitler into it.



Update: He removed it shortly after he tweeted..

[Cyber_Rebel]

He removed it shortly after he tweeted..

What did it say? The only thing I see on his tweets which relate to Hitler are the comparisons to Putin/Ukraine, and him being worried about it. Not much to do with Covid, but I really hate this international focus when resources should be focused on ending the pandemic.

[andmar74]

He removed it shortly after he tweeted..

What did it say? The only thing I see on his tweets which relate to Hitler are the comparisons to Putin/Ukraine, and him being worried about it. Not much to do with Covid, but I really hate this international focus when resources should be focused on ending the pandemic.

Good question, I can't exactly remember, it was about Covid. Maybe the tweet will resurface from someone.

[caltrek]

But if the new omicron variant is more infectious and can reinfect people already infected by omicron than how exactly is it a "subvariant?"

Well, to me, calling it a subvariant gives a better indication of its lineage. Calling it a variant would make it unclear as to whether it mutated from an earlier form of Covid, or from the Omicron form. At least, that is how I interpret the words.

What I came here to post:

Good News for the United States: Omicron Is Waning. Bad News: It’s Still Really Bad.
by Pema Levy
January 29, 2022

https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus ... still-bad/

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) The Omicron variant of Covid-19, which has overwhelmed hospitals and set new pandemic case records, is starting to wane in states that saw late surges—a sign that the worst of the highly contagious variant wave may have passed in the United States.

The latest available numbers reveal that Omicron is following a pattern from rapid acceleration to quick drop-off. In South Africa, where the variant was first identified, infections are down 87 percent from a mid-December peak. In the US, Omicron first hit the northeast. According to New York Times data, infections in those states started coming down as quickly as they rose—though new infection rates remain above last winter’s record. Now, the Times reports, rates are finally falling in the last states where Omicron surged:

• In Arizona, the seven-day average of daily cases fell from a peak of 20,778 on Monday to 18,208 on Friday, a roughly 12 percent decrease over five days, according to a New York Times database. Cases in Utah have declined 35 percent and in Mississippi 25 percent since peaking on January 19. Cases in North Dakota have fallen 19 percent since a Jan. 22 peak.

The bad news is that hospitals remain overwhelmed. Since Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths lag behind infection rates, the pain this wave will inflict is probably at least a few weeks from dissipating. When it finally ends, the question will be whether there’s a new variant—and just how bad it might be. One contender nicknamed “stealth omicron” has already popped up in Europe. The future remains as uncertain as ever.

[raklian]

Herd immunity DOES NOT work with this virus, that's an undisputable fact.

[Ken_J]

It's going downhill for Feigl-Ding, now he's dragging Hitler into it.



Update: He removed it shortly after he tweeted..

I don't have a particular thing he's said or done that make me feel like I take him less seriously. There is just a sense about his posts that come across as doom scrolling, and a bit hyperbolic. Actually reminds me of those people before new year Y2K. Like yes, it was a real glitch, it could have been very bad, and caused a few problems, but the bomb shelter stocked with 30 years of canned goods because you think the all the worlds nukes would launch at once, or burying gold in coffee cans in the yard because you thought the whole monetary system of the world was going to collapse with the internet and computers in general.

Yes this pandemic numerically is worse than 1918, proportionally we are not there yet. But treating this like the plague in europe, and to a degree like the zombie apocalypse, where every person who has had it now has some wasting disease, or like it's an airborne prion disease, where the millions who have caught it and not died outright are now all withering away like watching family with MS, ALS or Parkinsons. It's a bit much. Very chicken little.

[caltrek]

Meanwhile, one can always count on Republican leadership to do their part to properly educate the public. /sarcasm


Sarah Palin Dined at Multiple New York Restaurants Despite Positive Covid Test
by Dani Anguiano
January 27, 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... covid-test

Introduction:

(The Guardian) Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, has continued to dine out at New York City restaurants despite testing positive for Covid-19.

The ex-Alaska governor, who is not vaccinated, was spotted on Wednesday eating outdoors at the upper east side restaurant Elio’s after testing positive for the illness, according to photos published by Mediaite. Palin had dined at the same restaurant on Saturday night, where she was seen eating indoors in violation of city rules requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining.

Palin was also seen eating outdoors Tuesday night at Campagnola, Gothamist reported. Under CDC guidance, people with Covid-19 should isolate for at least five days to avoid further spread.

The manager of Elio’s restaurant told the New York Times it was investigating Palin’s Saturday visit and that the restaurant had made a “mistake”. The manager told the Times that Palin had “probably just walked in and strolled over” to a table where she joined a regular customer.

Palin returned to the restaurant Wednesday evening. “Tonight Sarah Palin returned to the restaurant to apologize for the fracas around her previous visit,” Luca Guaitolini, Elio’s manager, said in a statement to Mediaite. “In accordance with the vaccine mandate and to protect our staff, we seated her outdoors. We are a restaurant open to the public and we treat all civilians the same.”

caltrek's comment: While it is nice that Palin apologized "for the fracas around her previous visit," perhaps she should also consider apologizing to all of the families of people that she might have exposed to a deadly virus. I suppose staying in the good graces of a small business owner is more important than such public health considerations.