Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

It's a fantasy to think a virus like COVID isn't going to infect everyone who isn't a hermit at some point in time. From this link:

Pssst. Sit down. Brace yourself. Sooner or later, we’re all going to get COVID-19, many experts say.

Even if we’re fully vaccinated.

“The idea that we’re going to live our lives without ever getting it is a fantasy — and a dangerous one,” said Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and demographer at UC Irvine. “A lot of people just don’t understand that. We’re all going to get it.”​

Or maybe you don't like this epidemiologist. So let's try this one:

This fast evolution has immense implications, many scientists say. It essentially dashes the hopes of eradicating SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S. or even in smaller communities. As with the flu, the coronavirus will likely be able to reinfect people over and over again. It will keep returning year after year.

"Eventually everyone will be exposed to SARS-CoV-2," says Dr. Abraar Karan, who's an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University. "It's a matter of whether you're exposed when you're fully vaccinated or when you're not vaccinated."
​

So unless you want to consign yourself to living life like a hermit, you will be exposed to COVID. If vaccinated and up-to-date with boosters, your risk is reduced significantly. You are less likely to have COVID at all, and if you do get a breakthrough case, as this new study reconfirms, less likely to spread COVID to others, if vaccinated.

This is why everyone eligible should get vaccinated. It not only protects themselves, vaccinations provide protections for all. It doesn't eliminate the risk, but vaccines, by far, are the best weapon to significantly reduce the risks associated with COVID.

 

It is clear for you that nothing matters other than getting vaccinated and boostering up.

Apparently everyone so going to get Covid and apparently multiple times so just get jabbed and don’t worry as I know better about how you should take care of yourself.

We will continue to disagree.

Booster up!

 

I did booster up. Thank you. It's the smart thing to do. And if everyone eligible did booster up, we'd have less COVID cases, less people in the hospital, and less people dying from COVID, and less people who recovered who still ended up dead less than a year later. How is any of this a bad thing?

 

Don’t forget your monoclonal antibodies if you get Covid as well. As we know you and and unvaccinated person may not need them. But…

 

you cannot say you won’t die in a car accident tomorrow. You cannot say a plane won’t crash into your house. But you can assess probabilities. With 10 billion doses of the vaccine the effects of the vaccine are well known. There is no lack of data. Beyond that there is no recorded history of any vaccine having unexpected long term side effects beyond a couple of months. It also makes no logical sense that you would see new effects years down the road.

You continue to harp about the “leaky” vaccine and how it wanes after months, but somehow seem to think unknown side effects may pop up years later - something that has never happened before with any vaccine.

There is no logical basis for your line of thinking. It is obviously a belief, like a religious belief, where evidence and logic need not apply. You are no different than wokesters who believe police shoot and kill thousands of unarmed blacks every year.

 

Exactly about assessing risk. A young healthy person is more likely to die in a car crash today if they drive than they are to die of Covid. So it makes perfect sense that they might decide to wait for long term data on a drug for a disease that is of little risk to them and that there are therapeutics now. Therapeutics that the vaccinated are using. And considering that is all the new drugs really provide is some potential therapeutic response. It makes all the sense that someone would choose not take one of these drugs at this time.

And that does not mean a healthy person should choose not to take one of these drugs either. To say one is right and the other is wrong is the problem.

 

this isn't good. wish we had more details on which vaccine, how long since, etc

Dutch authorities: all 14 passengers from S.Africa flights with Omicron were vaccinated (msn.com)

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - All 14 passengers on Nov. 26 flights from South Africa to the Netherlands that were later found to have the Omicron coronavirus variant had been vaccinated, Dutch health authorities said on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) confirmed the vaccination status of the 14 on the basis of an investigation by the regional health authority that oversees Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

 

Again, what is the higher risk? Long term side effects from a vaccine that contains 1 mRNA strand and organics that all break down in 8 hours? Or being infected by a virus with the same mRNA strand plus a full, viral genome?

Monoclonal antibodies are a good therapeutic, but expensive, and only works best if applied in early onset of the disease. Which means getting the treatment before you are having major symptoms. While many people do know if/when they have been exposed to COVID, not everyone does. Especially since a person can be contagious while being asymptomatic. This means there are people who are exposed to COVID who have no idea. And by the time they start showing symptoms, it's too late for the antibody treatment.

Want to lower your risk and the risks for those around you? Get vaccinated. It lowers the risk you get COVID. It lowers the risk that if you do get a breakthrough case that you will infect others, as you will be contagious for significantly less time. The result will be less COVID cases, less hospitalizations and less deaths. I ask again, how is any of this a bad thing?

 

Again...you assume that people are going to get Covid no matter what and be affected by it.

Your risk profile is clearly one that fears the virus far that some. So you are in the booster up with any and every version of these new drugs you can and don't worry about your personal health concerns down the road. Others are more comfortable with continuing to monitor the data and navigate this in a more holistic way knowing the data shows them to be at low risk or they have had the virus and clearly do not need the new drug. All are fine. What is wrong would be for one to tell you not to booster up and don't take the vaccine. Just like it is wrong for one to tell you that you must booster up and take every drug we have pushed to market.

 

I could argue the specifics here with your beliefs, but bottom line, what information or insight do you have that your beliefs are more applicable than almost the entire medical establishment?

 

Please explain how, long term, a vaccine with one mRNA strand plus some organics that all break down in 8 hours has a higher, long term risk than contracting a virus that contains the same mRNA strand, plus a lot more genomes, that stay in the body for up to two weeks.

Please also explain why everyone getting vaccinated, which will lead to less cases, less hospitalizations, and less deaths is bad.

Those who want to deal with this pandemic in a more holistic way and refuse to get a vaccine are either selfish, or can't figure out risk/reward. The risk of getting the virus is far higher than getting the vaccine. The vaccine also comes with additional benefits of reducing overall cases, reducing the chance of you spreading the virus, and reduces the risk of more variants of concern propping up.

There were those in the 1950s who decided not to get the polio vaccine, monitor the data, and deal with the disease in a more holistic way too. Plenty of anti-vax articles from the day. They were wrong then, just like those who are against the COVID vaccine are wrong today.

And while I'm as boostered up as possible, the fact that there are many others who are not means I have a greater chance of getting a breakthrough case. And the more the virus moves around and infects people, the greater the chance of another variant of concern. I just hope the next variant doesn't have significant vaccine resistance. Or worse, effects people of all ages the same way current strains attacks the elderly.

 

But were they double boostered? Get in line now, or else!!

 

this is like saying the risk of not wearing seatbelts and driving with balding tires is numerically small, so you will do neither but monitor the situation until further evidence comes in.

 

The data shows the virus is low risk to healthy people. The data shows the virus is quite dangerous to elderly and obese regardless of vaccination status. The data shows the virus spreads and at levels not seen before the vaccine in some of the highest vaccinated communities out there. The data shows that there is a potential therapeutic help by taking these new drugs. These new drugs are overall safe in the short term data but they do not slow the spread as we see by the data. There is no long term safety record so that is something people are going to consider.

Then you throw in the politics and the fact that our idiot public health officials decided that natural immunity was not important to meaningfully follow and we see that it is quite good at protection yet gets ignored by the people pushing the new drugs....

And some are going to take them and some are not. Neither is right or wrong.

The good news is that if you are healthy that there is very little risk from Covid.

 

Please explain how a healthy person spreads covid (note a healthy person does not have covid).

Please explain why a healthy person at little to no risk should force their body into action when it is not necessary.

People have the ability to take these new drugs as a potential therapeutic if they want. I sure hope they understand they are just as capable of spreading covid if they unfortunately get covid. But we know human behavior changes when someone is told they have protection.

 

When you are healthy and wearing your seat belt/driving with well treaded tires...you can navigate just fine.

 

Trust me it was the unvaccinated who caused this. @AzCatFan will bet on it...

Sorry AzCat but had to have a little fun with the idea that 2 of 89 was likely patient 0.

 

Appears it is JJ and Pfizer mainly in South Africa.

South Africa Gets More Vaccines From US Amid Ongoing Surge | Health News | US News

My doctor said he only had faith in Moderna. Same time...I know Moderna breakthroughs from the past as well. Fortunately covid is almost nonexistent in Florida right now so I have only heard of one case in the past couple of months from a personal side that I can think of. And they were fully vaccinated (not sure which one) and got the monoclonal as well. They did fine with it.

 

you didn’t answer the question. Why do most doctors recommend the vaccine, whether you are “healthy” (whatever that means) or not? What information and insight do you have that most MDs dont?

 

A healthy person spreads COVID after he/she has been infected. He/she gets infected by being around others who have COVID. How do you know if others have COVID? If they have symptoms, that's a sign. But many who have COVID are asymptomatic. It's not like infected people have a scarlet C on them.

[/quote]Please explain why a healthy person at little to no risk should force their body into action when it is not necessary.[/quote]

Several reasons:

1. Lower the risk of contracting COVID
2. Lowers community spread. As you say, if you remain healthy, you cannot infect others. Vaccinated people are more likely not to get the virus
3. Lower the risk of new variants. Less people infected, less copies, less mutations, less variants

Do you not wear a seatbelt because it doesn't provide 100% protection against dying in a car accident? The vaccine isn't perfect. No vaccine has ever been. But what provides a person better protection not only for himself, but the community against COVID than the vaccine? And vaccinated are just as capable of spreading COVID. Several studies have shown this. Being vaccinated lowers the risk of getting the disease in the first place. And those with a breakthrough case rid themselves of the virus days faster than unvaccinated, meaning vaccinated people are less contagious. And with a disease where the asymptomatic can spread it, this is important.

The virus reduces everyone's risk of getting the virus, reduces hospitalizations and deaths. I've answered your questions. Can you answer why this is a bad thing now?