The Omicron variant

We will find out fairly soon, maybe even this week, so ease off on the Armageddon for a bit.

Because not enough is currently known about it and in fairness the spread needs to be slowed or managed somewhat even serious illness makes up a lower percentage of those infected.

It's awful stuff of course.

Oh, i think social distancing and masks do help but it is a matter of scale. About the masks it is pretty clear that they helps mitigating against the effects of coughs, sneezes and loud talking. They are rather useless against stopping aerosols and viruses are tiny. Scientists know that and that's why there are almost no proper studies done. There is also the counter argument that it gives people a false sense of security so they take more risk. It is more important to have good ventilation overall and particularly in a place where people gather for longer periods of time like workplaces and education. I do wear a mask in public places. It doesnt prevent me from getting Covid like people seem to think but protects others by me wearing it in the ways i mentioned. It irks me when i see unmasked workers laughing and shouting in public places like supermarkets etc. They are usually not stopped. Anyway, distancing is good. Dont know why you would have to use the adjective 'social' there. Pleonasm..

They shouldn't like that around anywhere! Shouldn't all of us want the SA experience to be correct? And yes, I know what you meant - that a few of us are talking up the positive data - but we are doing it mostly just as a counterpoint to the doom fest in the media. We all know the jury is still out

Also, re UK study, I'd argue their data is also far from representative of Ireland. Yes, similar gene pool with similar climate but they have lower (in London, much lower) vax levels and crucially most first doses in the UK were with AZ which has long since been shown to less effective against newer strains. Against that, the UK does have higher antibodies no doubt

Even as someone who is cautious and will continue to be cautious, it seems fairly obvious this is a milder variant. Initially we were told we'd know a lot more about it in two weeks, yet after a month of it being around, it seems governments are reluctant to spread the good news as long as cases are going up, which is understandable.

this was prob posted earlier but just in case https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/19/science-clear-case-more-covid-restrictions-overwhelming as people have said, we'll know for sure how bad the new strain is in a couple of weeks . just posting this as the article seems fair and reasonable to me

I assume you mean in the UK !

There is a functional speed limit on just how fast an infection can spread in a population. I'm sure someone somewhere has a formula for it.

Even if it double every 2-3 days, that just means it hits its peak faster. It doesn't mean it hits a higher peak. Looking at SA data and testing volumes, the UK could hit ~200k cases a day at peak, but it'll drop back very quickly. For us that's about 15k cases/day.

If thats what you took you should read it again because Not all but most were vaccinated.

And we most likely hit that last January when the speedometer broke all of a sudden

Where are all the bodies then after a month? It has been ripping through London which has relatively low vaccination levels and nothing much to report in terms of deaths or severe illness. They are basically waiting as long as they can, giving out muddled information, until everyone is vaccinated/boosted before revealing the severity of this variant, IMO.

I agree with that thinking if it is the case, because the variant is so transmissible that even as it appears milder, hospitals will still come under pressure, so it is the right thing to not give people good news because it will stop a lot of them getting vaccinated and behaving responsibly.

Again, I'm clearly speculating, but it has been a month and they're acting like they don't know anything. Why?

Mild would be considered having symptoms that do not require hospitalisation.

But in fairness 'a mild cold' hardly captures yer man's experience

No but mild covers a wide range of bases. Family members have had a flu that floored them for a week at home, as have many others. Medically that's still mild.