The Omicron variant

If it's 2x as infectious as delta, but the CHR is 40% of what deltas was, surely there's a net gain here overall

For every 1000 delta cases, 101 were hospitalised in SA.

For every 1000 omicron, 38 were hospitalised. It may spread 2x as much, but hospitalises at less than half as much. It really depends on what number the cases plateau at (as they always do) - exponential growth in case numbers is never constant, eventually it saturates

Twitter

& Tony's account tweeting again

Ireland 544 Probable Omicron today.

EU figures are well out but none from UK yet.

I thought I read somewhere that Moderna's share price, and this guy's personal wealth through share/share options, went up considerably when he talked up Omicron last week. He may not be the most objective suffice it to say....

This may have been on another thread already, but the UK authorities have just abolished the Red list after only a few weeks and also MHQ. The reason: as omicron is already well-established in the community measures to keep it out are pointless. I wonder how long it will take for us to make a similar decision: one week for NPHET to consider it, one week for the Cabinet to consider what NPHET says, and another week for actual implementation.

Actually Donnelly was very fast on that once NPHET recommended it, it was gone in days but with the season upon us it'll probably be there till January at least.

^^^ Please note: data processing delays occurred for England in the last 24 hours and additional data will be available tomorrow.*

total (worldwide) 13,205 (~78,092)

See above post where I linked the explanation on S-gene dropout on PCR tests.

To confirm test's there are sent for genome sequencing which is expensive.

14% is the number of tests results that had the S-gene dropout making probable omicron cases.

Only Confirmed GS tests are been reported and not the probable cases. That is how the world is reporting them.

Thanks for that, all is now clear! But the reporting could have made it clear in the first place!

So you keep saying, but do you not feel safe in your nuclear bunker?

I have the same question...as they are/were sequencing between delta and alpha....i wonder if they were only looking for delta and assumed the rest is alpha....etc...otherwise it doesnt make sense.....

Completely anecdotal, but I am regularly in touch with a bunch of people in London through work and while the odd person now and then has caught covid over the course of the pandemic, in the last week practically everyone I know there has caught it (about a couple of dozen people), and I know a few who have had their kid's nurseries closed because of large numbers of staff testing positive. I'd assume it's omicron from the seemingly rapid spread.

Nobody's had serious symptoms, but these are all relatively young, healthy and well vaccinated people.

I hear ya. But i do expect those high number cases to happen in January in Ireland. It would be good for vulnerable people to be really careful over Christmas and the other people meeting them to stay away. I would even go as far as saying that vulnerable, immuno compromised people would be better off not going to family christmas gatherings. There is an impression created that boosters are going to be a cure and will stop Omicron. It does not mean people w bad immune systems will be sufficiently protected because it is not a 'top up' but instead only goes to 100% of the existing immune system which may be running at 30%. And neither does it leave people w good immune systems without protection when not taking a booster as your T and killer cells trained by a vaccine will in most cases take care of the virus. So, i will wait for the results to come prior to deciding to get a booster shot.

I am a little bit in dubio about this. Let me explain: a booster will, well, boost my immune system. Probably not needed w Omicron so catching Omicron and let the immune system take care of it might be the best way to handle it and have it over and done with. What it will certainly NOT do, Lumen, is protect you against a more transmissable and more lethal version as that cannot happen. A following variant will be more transmissable and LESS harmful. But getting Omicron will protect you against the latter of course.

If something worse comes along it will be a different virus and current vaccines wont work.

I know some anti vaxxers who hope Omicron will be mild and solve their problems and aim to get it which is likely, get over it and get the stamp of approval. Then the others wont have to treat them as pariahs any more..