[zimmertr]

My partner and I are probably going to be canceling our flights home to see our family this year. It's pretty sad. But, they're in their 60s and between them have MS and heart arrhythmia. Not worth the risk.... Omi is not a homie.

[coldrain108]

[Joey]

From one of the data experts tracking covid topics. "Unpopular expert opinion: rapid antigen tests contribute to the spread #Omicron." See tweet for details: https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1473355263667097603

[treeswarper]

Hmmm. I went to the county sponsored drive by for the first two shots. While waiting for the first one, an additonal shooter was added and I was in that line. I was his second shot. He was an EMT. After he took the needle out, he said,"You people don't bleed!" Now i kinda wonder about that remark. Did he expect a lot of blood? Did he want to use lots of Band Aids? Had aches and chills after the second and third so I assume it all worked. I think I'll go to the Dr. office from now on though.

[cdestroyer]

Got all three at local media Center. no pain after but then after so many gotten during military service never had any side effects. Never had RSV flu. I stopped my VA home care due to rapid rise of omicron which has now been detected in montana. Stay safe yall!!

[neek]

[Olympic Hiker]

Got the booster this morning. Started to feel tired late this afternoon. The pharmacy I went to today said they have been swamped with people getting boosters. They had an appointment system set up and the pharmacist said she’s been giving a booster shot every 15 minutes all day long, every day the pharmacy is open and that they were booked out for awhile.

[Sculpin]

[zephyr]

This news is out of Walter Reed Army Hospital. Their infectious disease unit has developed a new vaccine that appears to cover all variants. From the publication Defense One, quote: Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce that they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, even Omicron, as well as previous SARS-origin viruses that have killed millions of people worldwide. The achievement is the result of almost two years of work on the virus. The Army lab received its first DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020. Very early on, Walter Reed’s infectious diseases branch decided to focus on making a vaccine that would work against not just the existing strain but all of its potential variants as well. Walter Reed’s Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, or SpFN, completed animal trials earlier this year with positive results. Phase 1 of human trials, which tested the vaccine against Omicron and the other variants, wrapped up this month, again with positive results that are undergoing final review, Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of Walter Reed’s infectious diseases branch, said in an exclusive interview with Defense One. The new vaccine will still need to undergo phase 2 and phase 3 trials. Unlike existing vaccines, Walter Reed’s SpFN uses a soccer ball-shaped protein with 24 faces for its vaccine, which allows scientists to attach the spikes of multiple coronavirus strains on different faces of the protein. This looks promising. ~z

[treeswarper]

But it is a vaccine, and there is a substantial population that will not get vaccinated, no way, no how. We're screwed. Example: This is a quote from an Okanogan County anti vax page. It's bass ackwards but they believe it. They will not change their minds. I’m so sorry that you’ve been led to believe this but it’s 100% not true. These vaccines were designed with the very specific spike protein of the original virus. These new variants have brand new and totally different proteins so the jab will do NOTHING for the variants. And not only that but vaccinated people carry a much-higher viral load and so they are actually getting much sicker than the unvaxxed. Nurses in hospitals are quietly telling the truth that their ICU & covid beds are in actuality more full with the very sick vaccinated than they are with the unvaxxed.

[Stefan]

Most parts of the United States. Covid is not an issue. Its all in the past. Most of the US. The only parts that are trying to still hang on from what I have seen is Washington, Oregon, and California. Go see for yourselves. I checked a week ago on the CDC page and I swear that Washington had more cases of the "vid" than Florida.

[Schroder]

[zimmertr]

[Tom]

I believe Michigan is pretty bad right now, haven't really dived into data but I think that was based on the last two weeks.

[neek]

Florida was better (new cases, per capita) than Washington for several months. Before that, they were worse. Now they are worse again. I try not to get wrapped up in the daily vicissitudes. Go to http://91-divoc.com and look at something like Total Deaths, Normalized. As of now, 0.128% of WA and 0.290% of FL have succumbed. (Do we win a prize?) VT and HI are best (by this measure), MS and AL the worst. Of course there are other factors besides policy in play, like demographics, weather, and reporting. (I still haven't seen any evidence for outdoor transmission, but am keeping a close eye on the new variant.) Indeed that's a pretty steep slope on MI's curve this past month or two. I have high hopes for Paxlovid getting the death rate way down over the next few months, now that it is approved.