Promising New Coronavirus Vaccine

[digitaldog]

Besides masks like the N95, 3M Corporation also makes HVAC filters called Filtrete. 

Get the bluetooth optional version.
I'd try explain to you why I use that in my ERV, but it would be pointless.

[Manoli]

Thanks Chris, I did !
But perhaps slightly beyond the scope of the article which presumably was meant to persuade those still refusing to mask-up (yes, they still exist and persist).

Undoubtedly true, but a respirator only achieves its full protective potential if the product has been fit-tested on a particular individual—a procedure the user should repeat each time he puts on a new type of mask.  Execute a search on "face mask fit [training|testing]" to find articles and videos that attempt to explain the proper end-user procedures.  Some masks fit better on some faces than others; it's useful to try several different products and standardize on one that works well for you.

[digitaldog]

Not peer-reviewed but a initial hopeful sign:

The immune response of people infected with omicron appears to increase protection against delta more than fourfold, according to a study from South Africa.
Omicron could displace delta as a consequence, the team of scientists found.
If omicron also proves less severe, Covid infections could prove less disruptive to society, they wrote.
However, the study has not been peer reviewed, current data on severity is preliminary, and epidemiologists have warned omicron could still strain hospitals.

[Chris Kern]

Not peer-reviewed but a initial hopeful sign:

The immune response of people infected with omicron appears to increase protection against delta more than fourfold, according to a study from South Africa.

Indeed, it is interesting.  But, as you point out, the paper has not been reviewed yet and the authors of this study (which I've attached) offer an important qualification:

83 The ability of one variant to elicit immunity which can cross-neutralize another variant varies by
84 variant. Immunity elicited by Delta infection does not cross-neutralize Beta virus and Beta elicited
85 immunity does not cross-neutralize Delta well. However, participants in this study have likely been
86 previously infected, and more than half were vaccinated. Therefore, it is unclear if what we observe
87 is effective cross-neutralization of Delta virus by Omicron elicited antibodies, or activation of antibody
88 immunity from previous infection and/or vaccination.

Still:

89 These results are consistent with Omicron displacing the Delta variant, since it can elicit immunity
90 which neutralizes Delta making re-infection with Delta less likely. In contrast, Omicron escapes
91 neutralizing immunity elicited by Delta and therefore may re-infect Delta infected individuals. The
92 implications of such displacement would depend on whether Omicron is indeed less pathogenic than
93 Delta. If so, then the incidence of Covid-19 severe disease would be reduced and the infection may
94 shift to become less disruptive to individuals and society.

[Citations omitted.]

In other words, if you have been infected by the Delta variant, you are quite vulnerable to reinfection by the Omicron variant.  But if you're infected by the Omicron variant, you acquire considerable immunity to reinfection by the Delta variant.  Given that Omicron is much more likely to infect vaccinated individuals than Delta, the long-term effects of the surge in Omicron infections could provide a public health benefit—i.e., Omicron may infect many more people than Delta, but those who survive may be less vulnerable to reinfection by Delta.  But the medical infrastructure may still be overwhelmed by the Omicron variant in many places and, of course, given the larger number of infections that Omicron produces it may still result in a higher number of deaths.

[Alan Klein]

One wonders how much the CDC is telling us now is way off? It doesn't give confidence to the general public when their estimates are off 50%.

Covid Live Updates: C.D.C. Lowers Estimate of Omicron’s Prevalence in U.S.
Last week, the C.D.C. said that Omicron accounted for approximately 73 percent of variants circulating in the United States in the week ending Dec. 18. But in its revision, the agency said the variant accounted for about 23 percent of cases that week.

And Omicron is still spreading extremely fast.

Still, they said the C.D.C. did a poor job communicating the uncertainty of its estimates. The agency has had a series of missteps during the pandemic, including sending out botched tests early on and shifting guidance on masking. On Monday, when it halved the recommended isolation period to five days for those who test positive but show no symptoms, critics objected that there was no requirement to test before returning to work.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/28/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests

[digitaldog]

One wonders how much the CDC is telling us now is way off?

Translation: Alan Klein wonders. He has no training in this subject and told us awhile back something that since then has been proven to be wrong as the days progress. This is far more untrue today than when this fellow who told us here:

So now that Covid is on the way out, we're left with the economic damage.

To show how far off he is:
54 min ago: US hits record average number of new Covid-19 cases
The US reached a seven-day average of 254,496 new cases on Tuesday, the highest this number has ever been over the course of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Tuesday’s number beat the previous record of 251,989 new cases, set on Jan. 11, 2021.

But after stating such a blanet misunderstanding of this pandemic, he has the gall to come here and question the CDC.
One does not have wonders how much Alan is telling us now is way off.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt". -Bertrand Russel

[LesPalenik]

54 min ago: US hits record average number of new Covid-19 cases
The US reached a seven-day average of 254,496 new cases on Tuesday, the highest this number has ever been over the course of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Tuesday’s number beat the previous record of 251,989 new cases, set on Jan. 11, 2021.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt". -Bertrand Russel

The Tuesday numbers got even worse at the end of the day - almost 313,000 new cases and over 1,800 deaths in USA. Canada reached also record numbers (over 27,000 new infections today), and it is very likely that those numbers in the next days due to Christmas travel will climb even higher.

By the way, a great quote by Betrand Russel.

[Alan Klein]

While Omicron is very serious and deaths continue, the press has moved the goal posts focusing on escalating caseload and ignoring that deaths are declining despite that increase.  Before, cases and deaths were in the same headlines and stories.  Now they only discuss caseload and bury deaths at the bottom of the page.  The news is being biased to scare people.  This is why there's so much distrust about politicians, scientists, and the media.  They're being dishonest in the way they report the news.  The more appropriate headline from the NY Times should have been: "While Omicron cases multiply exponentially, deaths continue to diminish showing that the variant is not as deadly."

Covid News: U.S. Daily Record for Cases Is Broken
The seven-day average of U.S. cases topped 267,000 on Tuesday, with Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia particularly hard hit. The C.D.C. lowered its estimate of Omicron’s prevalence in the U.S.

(towards the bottom of the article):
Tracking the Coronavirus ›
United States
Avg. on Dec. 28   14-day change
New cases   267,305   +126%   
New deaths   1,243   –3%   

World
Avg. on Dec. 28   14-day change
New cases 930,469   +51%   
New deaths 6,408   –10%   
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/28/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests

[Robert Roaldi]

... The news is being biased to scare people.  This is why there's so much distrust about politicians, scientists, and the media.  They're being dishonest in the way they report the news.  ...

News reporting is biased, so people distrust scientists, is that the logic here?  Is this similar to when Hannity (or was it Tucker) said that the Jan 6 insurrection was a false flag operation, you mean that kind of fake sensationalism or do you only count the kind you don't like.

According to Worldometer, it's not clear that deaths are decreasing, they seem to be pretty stable these days, although they may be decreasing relative to the number of infections, or so it appears at the moment. I hope this is the case. There may be a lag in deaths though, the next few weeks should show that. Presumably, not all those new infections are due to Omicron, so the non-Omicron new infections should show similar death rates as in the past.

It seems to me that this little post of yours is a pretty good example of biased reporting. You're trying to push an agenda, are you.

Aside from that, I hope the non-lethal nature of Omicron is real and holds up.

[digitaldog]

News reporting is biased, so people distrust scientists, is that the logic here? 

Why ask the logic impaired?

[Alan Klein]

News reporting is biased, so people distrust scientists, is that the logic here?  Is this similar to when Hannity (or was it Tucker) said that the Jan 6 insurrection was a false flag operation, you mean that kind of fake sensationalism or do you only count the kind you don't like.

According to Worldometer, it's not clear that deaths are decreasing, they seem to be pretty stable these days, although they may be decreasing relative to the number of infections, or so it appears at the moment. I hope this is the case. There may be a lag in deaths though, the next few weeks should show that. Presumably, not all those new infections are due to Omicron, so the non-Omicron new infections should show similar death rates as in the past.

It seems to me that this little post of yours is a pretty good example of biased reporting. You're trying to push an agenda, are you.

Aside from that, I hope the non-lethal nature of Omicron is real and holds up.

Well, of course, Fox or CNN would be expected to bias their reporting.  But the article I selected was from the newspaper of record - the New York Times that is used throughout the world as an important and credible source of news. 

My point is that media that has great influence and is supposed to be unbiased have been presenting slanted news.  It's why so many Americans of all persuasions, don't trust the media.   In such important areas of news such as our health, they should be impeccable in their fairness in the way they present it so we can understand all the implications and draw intelligent and knowledgeable decisions about what we should personally do.  Instead, even the NYT has an agenda.
 
That's unfortunate. 

[Alan Klein]

It's not only the NY Times that covers the news unfairly.  The whole world is doing it.  Here is Goggle summary for Covid today and Omicron.  Articles from news around the world speak of cases, but not of deaths. Before they were always put together in the articles.  Why has this changed? Doesn't anyone care how many died?

[Alan Klein]

Besides bias, bad news sells.  No one wants to read an article that says deaths are down.  They'd rather read an article that says cases are up. 

[TechTalk]

Endless, relentless, mind-numbing repetition of the same theme songs over and over and over. Response is pointless as it only starts the same tune all over again.

That's unfortunate.

[digitaldog]

Well, of course, Fox or CNN would be expected to bias their reporting. 

Well of course you have watched both and can provide specific examples...
Or this is another set of knee jerk assumptions. Of course. 🤫

[Peter McLennan]

The news is being biased to scare people.

Educating them doesn't seem to work, so this would appear an excellent strategy -- scare people into getting the jab so we're all safer. 


"I LOVE the poorly-educated!"

[digitaldog]

Well of course you have watched both and can provide specific examples...
Or this is another set of knee jerk assumptions. Of course. 🤫

Allow me to start Alan:

During a Fox News appearance this week, the Republican lawmaker called the vaccines "divisive" — which apparently means many on the right don't like them — before sharing these words of wisdom:

“Listen, we all hoped and prayed the vaccines would be 100 percent effective, 100 percent safe, but they're not. We now know that fully vaccinated individuals can catch Covid, they can transmit Covid. So what's the point?"

What a dangerous moron.

[TechTalk]

Now we have the Delta variant, which is a 1000 times more contagious than Alpha

Glad to see nothing has changed here. 

Just to add, Omicold [Omicron]...

But anyway, yes, you will most likely get it and spread it at this point.  It is 70 times more transmissible that [than] Delta, which was 40 times more then [than] Alpha, which was very transmissible to begin with.  So 2800 times easier to spread that the first strain.

This is about as ludicrous as misinformation gets. No Delta was not "1,000 more contagious than Alpha" nor "40 times more then [than] Alpha". Omicron is not "70 times more transmissible" nor "2800 times easier to spread that the first strain". The Delta variant is estimated to be about 2x more contagious than previous variants, not 1,000x and not even 40x.

When the ridiculous claim was made that Delta was 1,000x more contagious, I pointed out that the replication rate of the virus inside an infected individual was completely different than the transmission rate from an infected individual to another individual. Ignorance is no longer an excuse for the spread of misinformation like this.

Looking for wild-ass claims regarding COVID-19? You'll find them here. Looking for reliable information? Look to those with knowledge and education on the subject and not BS spread thru social media or online forums by people completely ignorant on the topic, that jump to rash conclusions, and want to share their misinformation with others.

[digitaldog]

Looking for wild-ass claims regarding COVID-19? You'll find them here. Looking for reliable information? Look to those with knowledge and education on the subject and not BS spread thru social media or online forums by people completely ignorant on the topic, that jump to rash conclusions, and want to share their misinformation with others.

Well that begs the question, why does the LuLa owners allow this, when all kinds of other sites and social media attempt, repeat attempt, to police dangerous misinformation about this pandemic? Even "Nextdoor" where I live does a half decent job of deleting dangerous posts recommending Ivermectin, regurgitanting anti-vaccine and anti-mask lies. Of course, the same idiots who post this garbage then tell us, incorrectly, it is their first amendment right to speak these dangerous lies. It isn't. They know as little about the first amendment as they do about masks and vaccines.

[chez]

Doesn't anyone care how many died?

That's the question I asked you when all you could talk about are the people that had to scale back their businesses in order to control Covid spread.