Covid-19 discussion thread

[Lencoboy]

I can imagine that there will soon be debates as to the "best" variant to have..just like the vaccine preferences a while back.

Plenty of potential on Mumsnet for Annabelle to ask whether it would look better on Tarquin's Eton application to have had the omicron or delta variant?

Mumsnet can be an absolute cesspit of a forum as far as I'm concerned with endless opinionated high and mighty venomous bitching going on between many of its FMs, plus they have a fairly liberal attitude to F-bombs, which to me seems a bit incongruous for such a forum.

The other one, Netmums (which it probably often gets confused with) is much tamer by comparison.

I know I probably might be considered a bit of a weirdo for viewing such sites as an adult male, but it's usually when researching specific issues that concern me at the time, and the articles/threads on both of said sites were linked from Google.

Plus there are actually male posters on the Netmums forum despite said site's female-centric name.

[Lencoboy]

I had a bit of a heated conversation with my dad earlier today about the Omicron variant and he reckons we should have gone the whole hog straight into a full national lockdown the moment we first found out about said variant a fortnight ago tomorrow, if only as a precautionary measure. He also said that if he had his way I would stay away from my day centre until further notice, though so far there haven't been any serious Omicron-related problems reported there, and surely I would have been informed by now had that been the case.

I don't entirely agree with him at this stage, as there's still so far no evidence that it's any more harmful than Delta and other previous variants, or totally resistant to existing vaccines, but in the worst-case scenario, that is, if Omicron does actually transpire to be more harmful over the coming days/weeks, I might change my mind.

But in the meantime, I'm trying not to get too stressed over it and am continuing my existing daily routines as per usual, obviously whilst taking the recommended precautions at the same time.

BTW, I'm not attending my day centre today, not because of the Omicron risk, but because of the Yellow Weather Warning across the Midlands, and my dad is anxious for me not to end up getting stranded due to the likelihood of trains being cancelled, etc, which is probably the wisest.

But by sheer coincidence, it means that his other 'agenda' of insisting in me staying away due to (his) Omicron fears is also being fulfilled at the same time, even though there's still no news of Omicron being any more harmful so far.

[pulisa]

He'd be the one having to brave the storm in order to come and get you, Lenco should trains be cancelled. Driving conditions would be atrocious. I don't blame him for not wanting you to go today regardless of his omicron "agenda". I also don't blame him for not wanting you to bring covid of any variant into your home in view of your parents' age and vulnerability.

[Lencoboy]

He'd be the one having to brave the storm in order to come and get you, Lenco should trains be cancelled. Driving conditions would be atrocious. I don't blame him for not wanting you to go today regardless of his omicron "agenda". I also don't blame him for not wanting you to bring covid of any variant into your home in view of your parents' age and vulnerability.

But I did help my dad get numerous chores done instead that urgently needed doing before, so a silver lining there.

Going back to the Omicron thing, surely the manager of my day centre would have been in touch with me and all the other clients and their families by now if it was considered a major threat/hazard, but so far so good.

But we're probably all still at far greater risk from Delta in the meantime, and still without another lockdown as yet.

[Lencoboy]

Dashboard cases have dropped to 45k today. Whilst still up on last Tuesday, they were 51k yesterday, but that could have partly been due to counting problems in Scotland over the weekend, plus Wales don't publish their stats on Saturdays of course.

The media still (rightly or wrongly) seem to be in panic stations over Omicron, despite there still being no reports of any deaths or serious hospitalisations directly attributed to said variant anywhere in the world thus far.

It's been about a month since the very first suspected Omicron cases in SA, so surely we would have started to find out by now if Omicron was actually more lethal, or at least on a par with Delta.

I can also sense undertones of Britain-bashing and general blame-gaming with regards Omicron in some publications, especially the more left-leaning ones. In all fairness, it wasn't until about a fortnight ago that the rest of the world outside of SA were alerted to the Omicron variant by the WHO, but sadly some just revel in playing the 'laughing stock of the world' card when it comes to the UK, including many of our own!

[fishman65]

A useful video here from Tim Spector for those who think covid is 'just flu'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oLbZLrcE3c

[Lencoboy]

The WHO have reiterated that so far existing vaccines are still believed to protect against severe Covid.

It has also been reiterated that Omicron alone still hasn't as yet manifested in deaths or serious illnesses and hospitalisations.

I do, however, wonder if there may have been some degree of 'hushing up' over Omicron from the WHO during the most part of November, or even from the authorities in SA?

[elizabethalice]

Apparently pfizer just shared that 3 doses of vax is good for neutralising infections and 2 doses should still protect from severe.

Source: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-re...micron-variant

We arrived back from Spain on Monday. Didn't have to do LFT as that came in on Tuesday but did one anyway and have been testing every day since we got back.

My boyfriend has now developed a cough/ cold and was very hot in the night, although that didn't last long. We got our PCRs back though and they were negative, which is good!

Hoping it's just a cold for him and not flu (I've had my flu jab but he hasn't) but glad it's not covid.

[Pamplemousse]

From a Twitter thread at https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout/s...22626401669125

Preliminary data on Omicron and whether it escapes vaccine antibodies shows immune escape is “robust” but NOT complete- it’s partial! Reduction in nAbs was even LESS in those who had a previous infection & two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine. Boosters should be able to take this on!

[elizabethalice]

I so wish I was eligible for booster already. Still a few age groups above me. Hopefully my two vaccines and covid recovery (I had Alpha, remember that variant!) will still hold out 🤞