Covid -- Omicron

I got my booster Monday, and I wear a mask when I'm out and about. What else can you do? Fretting doesn't help.

Just smoke some Omichronic and chill.

I'm about to find out what's up. Family gathering starts tonight. Everyone is vaxxed. Fingers crossed. I haven't seen my kid in 3 years thanks to covid so it's time to roll the dice. She's coming in from Hawaii and G-ma is coming from Chicago. I can only hold my breath for so long. 

Omricon or Delta, if you're vaxxed and boosted, even if you do catch it and don't have comorbidity, you'll probably not even know, or you'll get a bit sick for a few days.

OmniChronic may be out there somewhere but nothing yet on OmiChronic....yet

Momma's gonna take that Omicroonnn away.

Omacron or Oh! Macron! it's the French, i blame them

no changes, im not really worried about it at all. me + family is all vaxxed, seems like new variants that will be more effective at getting around the vaccines, or variants that are outright vaccine resistant will be pretty likely going forward and im not going to spend more years of my life changing plans or wearing masks or being afraid. when a new vax or booster is needed, ill get that as long as side effects remain mild and short lived, but aside from that im just living as normal...sometimes people get sick, sometimes people die, thats just life. shit happens. risk of any serious illness in vaccinated, healthy individuals is low enough for me to just accept that risk as a fact of life - just like the risk of potentially getting sick from other illnesses we have been dealing with all of our lives, or from automobile accident, or any number of risks we take every single day that may result in illness or death, yet we dont think twice about most of those. i might feel a bit differently if i was in regular contact with anyone who is really old or has serious comorbidities, but thankfully(or maybe sadly), i dont have any family members left that are old enough to be at any significant risk or who have serious health issues.

Delta is still the dominant variant so we haven't even begun to deal with omicron. 
apparently the vaccine wears off.. get boosted 

Daylight is wise.

Damn, is that a NON-sneering, negative post by Racket?

Another example of - If you live long enough, everything happens.

(I get that there may well be a semi-sneering subtle shot in there, but in this case I'm choosing to go with "a positive post")

I also agree with Daylight, except that I'm significantly older than he is and I have some "existing conditions" related to my lungs, so the risk factor for me is juuust a bit higher, as it is in almost all ways.

But what the hell, you can't hide forever, and living in fear is no way to live.

Still, living SMART is always a good way to live, which Daylight also points out, and in that light I am vaccinated & boosted, because that's what smarter & more knowledgeable people than I am tell me to do, and from the best I can tell, it makes the most sense.

I've been in some significant crowds this past year, so far so good, and I was in a crowded GA rock club for the first time the other night.

Fortunately, the show was good, we'll see if I take anything with me from it other than that.

And as usual I will continue to follow the advice of experts, and I'll try to continue to be safe, and smart.

Each of those, as always with me, in descending order from former to latter.

The most notable revelation of COVID is the sheer number of Americans who are such easily controlled lemmings. I mean sure the media and politicos are masters of propaganda, but still. 

I can't speak for the rest of the lemmings, Tatters, but I don't see the consensus view of the scientific community as propaganda. My paranoia just doesn't run that hot.

I'd rather wear a mask and get a shot than be found dead in my living room by friends. That's happened to 2 of my friends 

>>>>>The most notable revelation of COVID is the sheer number of Americans who are such easily controlled lemmings

For a wider-ranging discussion on that topic, we will now ask the 800,000 dead people in the US (and their families) about that. We'll also talk about all the holiday festivities they'll enjoy this year.  

Sometimes you just need to think not only of yourself, but of others also. Kinda like not farting in a crowded elevator. But way more serious and possibly deadly contagious.

Not to mention overcrowded hospitals, increased insurance payouts leading to higher premiums we'll ALL pay for, delayed needed surgeries, and overworked and burned out medical professionals.   

But go ahead, you do you. Have a great holiday. 

id also just like to add here that if you spent your youth buying and consuming weird psychedelics and other drugs from wooks on dead lot, and raging with them in unpredictable, public settings, and are now worried about possible health effects from the vaccines, you are a fucking idiot

Some people are not good at math

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

Fri, December 17, 2021, 6:02 AM

A study by Oregon researchers finds that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who have a breakthrough infection end up with what the authors call "super immunity."

They caution the vaccinated should not seek COVID-19 infection, but the "hybrid immunity" offers some solace for those who catch one despite having been vaccinated.

"The bottom line of the study is that vaccine provides you with foundational immunity for whatever comes next," said Fikadu Tafesse, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

The study matched 26 vaccinated Oregon Health & Science University staff people who had breakthrough infections with a similar group who were vaccinated but hadn't had COVID-19.

Omicron now accounts for 70% of new COVID infections in the US per the Washington Post

Covid hitting the local preschools here - one friend's grandkid down with 104 fever and really bad cough. Sucks for the under 5's who aren't  yet eligible to be vaccinated 

Merry Xmas from the white house, especially to people with children under 5!


I'm three shots down but still cautious. 

Biden going for trump level crazy is an interesting strategy, let's see if it works. 

c'mon

at least we're not in afghanistan 

Damn. Is that message really from the WH?

If so it's sure not the mealy-mouthed, don't-piss-anyone-off drivel we usually hear from politico's.

That's pretty much a straight-up FUCK YOU to "the unvaccinated."

It's nice to see a little attitude from the vanilla fuckers for once.

As for me, I've listened to the experts who know more than I do, am boosted up and have enjoyed being out and about these past months, but I also have a couple of chronic health issues that have been fucking with me more lately, and that, along with recent news has me thinking I'm going to be cautious and lay low for the next month or three.

I was really feeling those issues yesterday so I didn't go to the 49ers game. Those are events I hate to miss and I pay premium for my tickets, so I was really bummed not to be there, but even though it wasn't fear of COVID that kept me from going and my seat is relatively "distanced" from the masses, it crossed my mind while watching on TV that I was a little glad I wasn't among the screaming hoards.

(There's one more home game in two weeks and it may be an important one, so I imagine I'll put in a little extra effort to justify going. Triple masks?? Bleach in my flask instead of tequila??? We'll see.)

Stay safe, and GO NINERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's nice to see a little attitude from the vanilla fuckers for once.

I agree. It would be nice if they weren't doubling down on personal responsibility though. That strategy hasn't played out well. 

Author unknown:

A Covid Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, but Covid was here, 
So we all had to stay extra cautious this year. 
Our masks were all hung by the chimney with care 
In case Santa forgot his and needed a spare. 
With Covid, we couldn't leave cookies or cake 
So we left Santa hand sanitizer to take. 

The children were sleeping, the brave little tots 
The ones over 5 had just had their first shots, 
And mom in her kerchief and me in my cap 
Had just settled in for a long winter's nap. 
But we tossed and we turned all night in our beds 
As visions of variants danced in our heads. 

Gamma and Delta and now Omicron 
These Covid mutations that go on and on 
I thought to myself, "If this doesn't get better, 
I'll soon be familiar with every Greek letter". 

Then just as I started to drift off and doze 
A clatter of noise from the front lawn arose. 
I leapt from my bed and ran straight down the stair 
I opened the door, and an old gent stood there. 

His N95 made him look pretty weird 
But I knew who he was by his red suit and beard. 
I kept six feet away but blurted out quick 
" What are you doing here, jolly Saint Nick?" 

Then I said, "Where's your presents, your reindeer and sleigh ? 
Don't you know that tomorrow will be Christmas Day? ". 
And Santa stood there looking sad in the snow 
As he started to tell me a long tale of woe. 

He said he'd been stuck at the North Pole alone 
All his white collar elves had been working from home, 
And most of the others said "Santa, don't hire us! 
We can live off the CERB now, thanks to the virus". 

Those left in the toyshop had little to do. 
With supply chain disruptions, they could make nothing new. 
And as for the reindeer, they'd all gone away. 
None of them left to pull on his sleigh. 

He said Dasher and Dancer were in quarantine, 
Prancer and Vixen refused the vaccine, 
Comet and Cupid were in ICU, 
So were Donner and Blitzen, they may not pull through. 

And Rudolph's career can't be resurrected. 
With his shiny red nose, they all think he's infected. 
Even with his old sleigh, Santa couldn't go far. 
Every border to cross needs a new PCR. 

Santa sighed as he told me how nice it would be 
If children could once again sit on his knee. 
He couldn't care less if they're naughty or nice 
But they'd have to show proof that they'd had their shot twice. 

But then the old twinkle returned to his eyes. 
And he said that he'd brought me a Christmas surprise. 
When I unwrapped the box and opened it wide, 
Starlight and rainbows streamed out from inside. 

Some letters whirled round and flew up to the sky 
And they spelled out a word that was 40 feet high. 
There first was an H, then an O, then a P, 
Then I saw it spelled HOPE when it added the E. 

"Christmas magic" said Santa as he smiled through his beard. 
Then suddenly all of the reindeer appeared. 
He jumped into his sleigh and he waved me good-bye, 
Then he soared o'er the rooftops and into the sky. 

I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight 
"Get your vaccines my friends, Merry Christmas, good-night". 
Then I went back to bed and a sweet Christmas dream 
Of a world when we'd finished with Covid 19.

^^ ... and math is hard

* let's forward our scene with science

or

I was really feeling those issues yesterday so I didn't go to the 49ers game. Those are events I hate to miss and I pay premium for my tickets, so I was really bummed not to be there, but even though it wasn't fear of COVID that kept me from going and my seat is relatively "distanced" from the masses, it crossed my mind while watching on TV that I was a little glad I wasn't among the screaming hoards.

Sorry to hear about your health issues, Lance. That's a drag! The nurse who gave me my booster shot was wearing her mask under her nose, so I've pretty much lost all faith in people getting it together.

chin diapers suck

Re what you said, Dise: It's against my usual nature to have this feeling, but I've found myself thinking that people are such outright dumbfucks. And they are.

Appreciate that Dice. It's not that big a deal, mostly just life & aging and not feeling as "perky" as usual, but one issue could make a COVID infection more problematic.

I only mentioned my woes to make the point that for at least a while I'm likely going to be passing on some things that I normally wouldn't...

In An Abundance Of Caution!!!!!

We were going to my sister's in Jerseyland for Christmas, but her son just tested positive. He's in his mid 20's and boosted. Probably got it from work. So,

Christmas is canceled.  He has a sore throat but otherwise feels fine so far, he's quarantining in his room, which for him is normal behavior. About 10 people at my job

have it, just in the past 10 days. But that's out of 350 employees.

Stopped by my daughter's pharmacy and had my little doctor dose me up for the booster yesterday

It is obviously spreading very quickly - stay safe and vigilent, All! At least 135 cases is being called an outbreak at SpaceX in Hawthorne, L.A. 

So every winter for the rest of your lives, you will hide in fear?  Dumbfucks fir sure!

Racket, is it going to snow on the grapevine Thursday?

Looks like rain on Thursday, Slack. I'll be home if you have time to stop for a few.

No Fear, Racket, just facts and health

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It's a myth that people who believe in vaccines and wear masks are living in fear

...on a basic level, isn't it better to at least try to lessen the load and help yourself and others stay as healthy as possible, particularly the already over-burdened hospital and other healthcare professionals?

isn't it better to at least try to lessen the load and help yourself and others stay as healthy as possible>>

I dunno, have you seen the sorry state of many Americans? The amount of unhealthy and obese people is off the charts. Who is putting more strains on the health system, a healthy and young unvaccinated person or a fat, smoking person who is vaccinated? Probably the latter but granted, it's a dialogue this country is unwilling to have. 

In the long run, an obese smoker with Diabetes and heart disease statistically isn't going to live as long as a fit and healthy person, and when they go, they go quicker. The former will only use Medicare benefits for 5-10 years, while the latter could be 20+ years.

^^ These are surely interesting points that may lead to good discussions that could help us all get to better outcomes....but, yes, we have to be willing and able to have those conversations with teeth. Hence, we will likely be stuck here for a while.

Not to even mention the shit show that Congress, for example, is and has been for quite a while now too - but more healthy choices are personal decisions at the end of the day but, again, the facts are there to be digested and utilized or not.

For some reason the alcoholics and tobacco users in my family lived longer than the clean living ones 

...on a basic level, isn't it better to at least try to lessen the load and help yourself and others stay as healthy as possible, particularly the already over-burdened hospital and other healthcare professionals?

yes, but i think we can all agree, any time we are considering restricting peoples lives or freedom for the sake of public health, some kind of cost/benefit analysis must be applied. for example, lots of people die each year in automobile accidents, but obviously, the public health benefits of outlawing private citizens from driving cars would not be worth the cost to our lives and livelihoods. 

at what point does the social and personal costs of things like masking, social distancing, isolation/quarantine outweigh the benefits to public health? is there even a point where the costs outweigh the benefits, or are perpetual phases of masking, quarantine, etc etc worth the social and personal costs for the rest of our lives? or have we already reached the point where the costs begin to outweigh the benefits?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLmLiF4VPns

Good points, daylight, and I don't really disagree but it is pretty cheap and easy to try to put some distance between and/or wear a mask when around other people, particularly strangers. Seat belts may be a very minor inconvenience too but they do help save lives or likely limit more serious injuries in car crashes too. Lots of ways to look at this and respond.

I have to consider the burden and risks for healthcare workers, friends and families of those who become ill, people who work at stores, etc. We have to consider the people in our communities. We're not alone here.

I ended an argument recently with a guy who was yelling at me about not wanting to wear a mask (I hadn't asked him to) with "Jesus fucking christ! Think of your community!". He shut up.

We all have friends and family we can help protect by being considerate with masking, distancing, etc.

It seems crazy that so far DeadCo seems to be going ahead with Playing in the Sand which could be the mother of super spreader events....

^not to mention the narco-violence that has mostly engulfed the tourist hotspots along the Yucatan Peninsula as well

I don't have issues with the government putting laws in place for restaurant workers to have to wash their hands after taking a shit, or that their public restaurants are under very restrictive government mandates to maintain a clean, sanitary workplace.

I don't have a problem with the government mandating that restaurant workers must pass a food safety course to work in the kitchen, and I don't have a problem with government agencies shutting down places that don't follow those mandates.

Obviously we all know that many workers and restaurants do not follow those rules because they're lazy, greedy and/or they believe those rules are too restrictive, and obviously not everyone who eats in those places gets food poisoning.

But, if those government restrictions didn't exist and you knew for a fact that most restaurant workers didn't wash their hands, they didn't clean their work spaces but just wiped them occasionally with the same rag they wipe dishes with, they use the same knife they just used to cut raw chicken to then slice the tomatoes in your salad (which is held directly under raw meat at room temperature for hours/days) and they don't worry about food left on the floor because they know all the rats and cockroaches will gobble it all up overnight, is one a dumbfuck living in fear for choosing to not eat in that restaurant? Or to not eat in restaurants at all?

"Common'! Food poisoning is a myth! Sure, it happens, but all these rules about temperature control & sanitation are ridiculous! Hollandaise Sauce doesn't need to be held at 140 degrees! Just keep it warm and it can be used it for hours. People eat Eggs Benedict every day and almost never get sick, and almost nobody except kids & old people DIE from food poisoning. Bucha' dumbfucks living in fear."

Well, I guess that would be me.

Of course, there are no laws that force you to keep your home's kitchen sanitary. If you leave a raw chicken on your kitchen counter for three days and you like to eat it medium rare, no one is stopping you from living on the edge and putting yourself in danger.

Restaurant sanitation laws are created from best possible knowledge and are put in place so that personal beliefs don't put the public at large in danger. It took time to develop those laws, as knowledge about bacteria and how it spreads grew.

Knowledge about COVID is developing, so possibly, maybe even probably over-cautious public restrictions that are put in place based on best current knowledge to protect the public at large doesn't seem like dumbfucks living in fear.

Seems like common sense to me.

Poem posted above by Nancy, "A COVID Christmas", is by a Tom Macdonald.  

http://justottawa.com/articles/good-stories/453-a-covid-christmas-by-tom...

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It's a myth that people who believe in vaccines and wear masks are living in fear<<<

It is not a myth the unvaccinated get sicker quicker..

^^^I've had salmonella and hope that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

if you truly look at and read the poem Nancy posted, well I myself thought... what a sad world....

Attendees at Trump-allied conference now feel sick -- and they say someone attacked them with anthrax

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-supporters-anthrax/?utm_source=dlvr.it&ut...

Up next, Megadeth?

Just got word that two good friends that work together both got the Covid, and one of those two wife Donna now has it and has been put on a ventilator.

((((Donna))))

at what point does the social and personal costs of things like masking, social distancing, isolation/quarantine outweigh the benefits to public health? is there even a point where the costs outweigh the benefits, or are perpetual phases of masking, quarantine, etc etc worth the social and personal costs for the rest of our lives? or have we already reached the point where the costs begin to outweigh the benefits?<<<

Ben please don't question any of this. That is just plain silly talk. The government, pharmaceutical industry and enlightened citizens know what is best. 

^What are the social and personal costs of wearing a mask?

Can I clear one thing up for the paper tigers that come here and spout off the word Fear with getting the vaccine or staying away from crowds. We all know the connotation that you are implying, I do not mind the debating of if the vaccine should be mandated or not, it's effectiveness, but I guarantee you that the reason for those of us electing to get the vaccine on our own accord is not out of fear at all, it's for the Love of Life, plain and simple. 
 

I am not going to imply anything but coming to a site with a lot of elderly and a higher amount of people inflicted with physical burdens and calling them fearful because of their personal free choice is the mark of very weak human

Live that Life

....is Weir a fearful lemming for cancelling the shows at his Sweetwater over the next little while?

What are the social and personal costs of wearing a mask?

one of the fundamental pillars of human communication is making and interpreting facial expressions. masking probably has very little impact on older people who have already made a life for themselves and are retired or getting close to it, but what about young children trying to develop socially? what about young people in public areas trying to meet friends or romantic partners? what about young people in the start of their career, trying to network and climb the social ladders within their field? i dont think these things are super significant for shorter periods of time, but we are coming up on the third year here - that was the length of my entire junior high school experience, during which time i basically grew from a small child to a fully fledged teenager...that was the time where i started to like girls, and where social structures started to more closely match what i would find in high school, college, and early adulthood. its honestly a bit scary for me to think about how stunted my social development would have been if myself and everyone around me had their faces covered the vast majority of the time.

^Hasn't mask wearing been somewhat ubiquitous in many Asian countries for decades. Has this had a significant impact on child development, or impacted society at large?

> What are the social and personal costs of wearing a mask?

None that I can see, although I did have to train my eyes to smile on their own.

.....Got Face-Shield?

They pretty much only come in 'clear'/transparent, ya know.

^^    ^What are the social and personal costs of wearing a mask?

I, personally, look so much better with a mask on....

^Hasn't mask wearing been somewhat ubiquitous in many Asian countries for decades.

afaik its more of a situational thing - when you yourself are sick, if air pollution levels are high, maybe if there is a bad flu season, but i have not seen anything that would suggest any population in any country was spending the majority of their time in public masked up aside from conjecture and assumption. its true, masking up in many asian countries was alot more accepted pre-covid, and it was alot more common pre-covid than it was in the us or europe but average people were not walking around with masks all year anytime they are in public or indoors, and aside from other pandemics that didnt hit the us, masking had been a personal choice and was not compulsory.

((((Donna))))

Daylight, are you saying that man can no longer adapt to his surroundings and has lost the ability to evolve? has man become that weak?

>afaik its more of a situational thing - when you yourself are sick...<

Fair enough, daylight, although I've read that since the SARS outbreak, public mask wearing has been much more prevalent in Japan.

But I submit that our eyes and eyebrows are key elements in our nonverbal communication, as is our body language.  Masks do not interfere with such communication. Certainly covering one's mouth and nose limits some of our nonverbal cues, but as Fabes suggests, we can adapt. 

>>>I, personally, look so much better with a mask on....

Ditto.   I actually prefer looking like a masked banked robber.