Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

I didn't deflect, you did by saying they are the same. You are saying its the same and yet we had no flu when we had masks and restrictions and multiples of death with Covid. We have been round this merry go round before.

Its not the same and only somebody with their head up where the sun doesn't shine the last nearly 3 years would say so.

I thought you had more sense than that?

Lets just agree to disagree here, shall we?

Hope we take learnings from the global response to Covid-19. There's a lot that brought out the worst in us, especially in the later days. That vaccine passport was nonsense in my opinion, but you can't expect perfection when things are in motion. Just hope there's a proper transparent analysis of it all for our own sake and egos don't get in the way unable to admit error.

You have gone down the rabbit hole again. The best you can do is stop digging.

You're trying to compare a novel virus with a virus that's been around and already infected pretty much everyone. If you want to be pedantic about the comparison (which you do for some reason), there are many strains of flu, which can be very different from each other and have caused localised lockdowns around the world many times.

SARS-COV2 became a pandemic because if it was highly infectious (R was higher than flu), was novel (people didn't have pre-existing similar antibodies to fight it off) and quickly spread between multiple countries (as symptoms sometimes followed infectiousness).

The flu almost disappeared during lockdowns, SARS-COV2 didn't.

It will also be tracked and monitored separately for a good few years (I'm guessing about a decade) before it becomes background noise, new variants with immune escape could cause localised problems in countries (I don't think we'll see global impact again).

And again, to be more pedantic, SARS-COV2 has more in common with a cold, from a virus perspective, than flu.

Okay, thanks for that tirade.

For the record, the previous poster accused me (and others) of stating "it's just the flu bro", and then accused me of stating that they are the same. Neither of which I said. That's not me being pedantic, it's the other poster being blatantly false and misleading. I said the flu and covid are comparable, as they share some characteristics. You said it has more in common with the cold. Okay, I didn't know that but now I do. Not the same, not "it's just a cold, bro", but shares some traits/characteristics. That's it.

Searching for the point here? For those with weak immune systems, SARS-COV2 is still an issue, it's also still very infectious, more so than flu. We've been lucky it hasn't been as mutagenic as the flu and vaccines still work and can be used to boost immunity (the quadrivalent flu vaccine usually has an efficacy of ~60% and doesn't help much in future years vs. COVID vaccines that still has strong efficacy afterwards). Vaccine drives will be used to keep it under control.

You're continuing to argue about a topic which you didn't have much information about, "it's just a flu" is wrong on a lot of levels unless your initial point was that both were respiratory virus, in which case, what was the point of the post in the first place if not to try and downplay the impact it had and still has.

Good to see you coming around. Now imagine those on the Island or native americans had vaccines available and used them, the impact of the novel virus would be very small.

For the record I didn't accuse you of saying its just a flu bro that was directed generally. You took it personally.

And secondly I ddn't mislead anyone in my post simply replied to your post and you didn't like my wording. You are the one being pedantic here. And objectionable. For example,why say @astrofool "s answer is a "tirade"? It was reasoned and sensible, something that a lot of people could learn from here.

And thirdly, it is not only good manners but decent when you are giving anither poster a bollxxxing or othetwise in a post third party to refer to them as I did to adtrofool above so they have the heads up that someone is talking about them.

If I had known that you had said all that cxxx about me in your rant at him I would have either dealt with it /you in my previous answer.

And I am basing my views as a nurse who looked after severely ill patients and now a research scientist .

Both coming at it from different perspectives I will give you that .

I could quote the posts but as both if the posters have now moderated their view it would serve no purpose except stir up ill feeling . I think there is enough of that here today .

So I respect your reply and viewpoint , and hope you have a good evening .

Insanity

Yeah but I did expect them to loosen up a little, this is hurting them now... it can't go on forever !!

Especially with omicron and how it has completely changed the landscape of all this...

Doesn't look like it from this... it seems to be offered as a 2nd or 3rd booster.

https://www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/get-the-vaccine/covid-19-vaccine-booster-dose/

What has come up about Pfizer?

Do you mean them reiterating what was covered in the trials? And from them, all the medical experts and immunologists and virologists understanding the results and what they would mean while some internet cranks try and misinterpret all of it?

That the really stupid republicans in the US are trying to make a thing?

That has actively caused more deaths of their supporter than democrats, even though the average democrat would live in locations more susceptible to COVID?

As if their president completely mismanaging the pandemic wasn't enough for them.

You need to find better sites to browse, I can only imagine what these echo chambers have done to you.

The vaccines prevented infections happening, that is 100% proven, all the data supports it.

The vaccines reduced the impact of serious disease by 90%+, that is also proven, all the data supports it.

Anyone saying otherwise is an idiot or has been misled by an idiot.

They prevented a lot of infections and still do, the higher infectivity rates (R), different strains and waning antibodies reduce the % they reduce infections by. However, this is also the case with actual infections as well (where people can be reinfected ~6 months later). The vaccinations reduced the novel nature of the virus and kept infection rates down to allow society to reopen without restrictions and virtually eliminated serious disease, especially in younger cohorts.

To claim they do nothing about infectiousness is wilful ignorance at this stage no matter how bad your graph interpreting skills are.

I wouldn’t agree with that. Omicron absolutely exploded in both the vaccinated and unvaccinated population. The vaccines did not significantly dent that spread. They helped with the severity though. That in combination with Omicron being less severe allowed restrictions to be lifted. If Omicron was a more severe variant restrictions would not have been lifted.