The COVID-2019 Thread

[harrybarracuda]

If it does that, I hope they give it a catch name. Like "Nippy" or something.

Or perhaps "Xi". That hasn't been used.

[Joe 90]

Just returned from taking my daughter for her first vaccine.

The army are now administering the vaccines

[katie23]

Two cases of omicron have been detected from recent arrivals in the Philippines. There have also been 14 delta cases detected from returning travellers. They were all required to present a negative test prior to their flight (it's the policy). The covid cases were detected during quarantine - so it shows that a negative result (pre-flight) is not a sure deal. (I guess one must self-isolate before the flight, just to minimize contact & infection.)

Similar to the case last week of the 60+ passengers who tested positive upon arrival in the Netherlands from South Africa. They all had pre-flight covid tests.

News link here:

Philippines reports first two cases of Omicron variant | Philstar.com

PH is still closed to foreign tourists. Reopening was supposed to happen last 1 December but it was postponed due to Omicron. No news of when it will reopen.

[HermantheGerman]

Sinovac booster shot shows 94% neutralization efficacy against Omicron: company

...the truth is

Study finds China's Sinovac null for antibodies to Omicron

SINGAPORE - People who received two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine were more likely to develop severe disease from Covid-19 than those who got two shots of the mRNA-based Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, a new local study has found.



Go for it OhOh

[misskit]

Travel curbs augur somber Christmas amid omicron uncertainty

LONDON (AP) — Travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are hammering the already beleaguered travel and tourism industries and adding to the gloom in Europe in the midst of the crucial holiday season.


Travelers are rearranging or canceling trips because of tightening rules. Eurostar, which operates trains across the English Channel, sold out of tickets to France on Friday before new travel restrictions to and from Britain went into effect.


Much remains unknown about the new variant, although increasing evidence indicates it spreads more easily. While researchers race to figure out how severe it is and how well vaccines work against it, the uncertainty itself is also causing some to change their plans.


Amanda Wheelock, 29, a grad student at the University of Michigan, canceled a trip to France with her partner as cases spiked there. Even though the surge isn’t necessarily due to omicron, the uncertainty about the new variant, and a new requirement that all U.S. travelers have to test negative before flying back to the U.S., made her worry that the trip would be more stressful than fun.


Instead, she’s traveling to the Anchorage, Alaska, area to see friends. She feared that she would spend much of her trip trying to avoid getting infected — thus not able to take full advantage of being in France.


“A vacation with a lot of stress probably not a great vacation,” said Wheelock, who is from Arvada, Colorado.


She is not alone. The Advantage Travel Group, which represents about 350 U.K. travel agents, said business had fallen by 40% in mid-December from a month earlier. Those numbers, including flights, cruise bookings and package holidays, add to the travel industry’s existing slump, which had already seen business fall by two-thirds since the pandemic began, CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said.


“Our members are dealing with customers who are really nervous about traveling now,” she said “They’re really nervous about bookings for the New Year because they fear that there’s a risk that the government will make more knee-jerk reactions.”


Britain is currently experiencing one of the most dramatic surges, dealing a blow to pubs and restaurants that have seen mass cancelations of parties in the runup to Christmas. Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak met with representatives of the hospitality sector on Thursday to hear their concerns about how they would make it through another season with slashed revenue.


Travel trade association Abta argued it deserved the same attention from the government. It demanded an “urgent meeting” with Sunak and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to discuss the sector’s “current financial situation and its pressing need for financial support.”


“The government has recognized the plight of the U.K. hospitality sector, with trade down by 40% in December,” chief executive Mark Tanzer said. “But at the same time, the travel industry, where income has been down by 78% this year, and further impacted by omicron restrictions since late November, continues to be ignored.”

Travel curbs augur somber Christmas amid omicron uncertainty | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

[beam8]

My Thoughts ?

This thing will end up like a common FLU.

Will never go away, old and infirm, overweight and unhealthy, people will suffer from it.

Young healthy and older fit people will be the new normal, so get used to it or start exorcising.

[katie23]

...the truth is

Study finds China's Sinovac null for antibodies to Omicron

SINGAPORE -

Oh no. My mom was vaccinated with Sinovac. It was the only vax available at the time. Her 2nd dose was in July. No news yet of booster shots for seniors in our province. I guess I'll have to tell her to social distance & minimise going out. She usually goes out for a morning walk & sometimes forgets the rules for distancing (or other ppl forget & come too close to her). Sigh.

Edit: I am expecting a post holiday surge in PH due to family parties & reunions. People are also more lax now since the number of cases are low (500 more or less daily cases, compared to ~25k a few months ago). More people have been vaccinated (I think it's now at 50% of target population) and Metro Manila, the source of most infections, is ~90% vaccinated.

[misskit]

‘This Is a Whole New Animal:' NY Reports Highest Single-Day Case Total of Pandemic


The share of people testing positive in New York City doubled in three days this week, and one of the mayor's top health experts says it's an indication of omicron evading immunity in a way no other variant had before.

MORE Omicron Breakthrough Infections Stoke NYC Shutdown Fears – NBC New York


Europeans reimpose restrictions as omicron sweeps continent

LONDON (AP) — Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona.


As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 p.m. curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events.


Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin captured the sense of the continent in an address to the nation, saying the new restrictions were needed to protect lives and livelihoods from the resurgent virus.

MORE Europeans reimpose restrictions as omicron sweeps continent | AP News


Modelling suggests rapid spread of Omicron in England but same severity as Delta

The new report (Report 49) from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant. This implies that the protection against reinfection by Omicron afforded by past infection may be as low as 19%.

MORE Omicron largely evades immunity from past infection or two vaccine doses | Imperial News | Imperial College London

[misskit]

Central Banks Worry Omicron Could Sustain Inflation


Latest Covid-19 variant seen as having less effect on growth, more pressure on prices than previous waves

The Omicron variant is circling the globe, closing borders and sparking new restrictions on economic activity. Yet central banks, instead of loosening monetary policy to prop up their economies as they did at the start of the pandemic, are moving to unwind stimulus and raise interest rates.


The moves reflect a new thinking among policy makers about the pandemic’s economic effects: Central-bank officials worry that rather than simply threatening to curtail economic growth, a surge in Covid-19 cases could also prolong high inflation.


In the past week, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank all moved to tighten monetary policy in response to inflation concerns.


When the pandemic first became widespread, in early 2020, governments locked down their economies. Consumer spending fell sharply, employers shed workers and prices fell. Within a few months, the rise of e-commerce and remote working allowed the economy in many developed countries to recover rapidly. With mass vaccinations, that recovery has continued this year.


Now, new case surges are having much less severe impacts on spending and job creation. Instead, they are threatening to prolong supply-chain disruptions and keep inflation elevated.

MORE Central Banks Worry Omicron Could Sustain Inflation - WSJ

[S Landreth]

Report A Doctor

For a state medical board to take disciplinary action against a doctor for spreading COVID-19 related disinformation, the doctor must be reported to the state board(s) in which they hold a current medical license. All 50 states and the District of Columbia each have their own medical board with their own specific process for filing and investigating complaints from the public.

While No License For Disinformation can’t submit a complaint on your behalf, we can provide you with state specific resources to make filing a complaint as easy as possible.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoLicenseForDisinformation - https://twitter.com/hashtag/DisinformationDoctors

[OhOh]

Oh no. My mom was vaccinated with Sinovac.

It does what it says on the tin, judging by the long-term numbers.

[panama hat]

It does what it says on the tin

Except that it doesn't with Sinovac . . . and your usual obfuscation with graphs doesn't support anything you claimed.

[russellsimpson]

It's a great source of annoyance Oh Oh that you continue to include China on those graphs. Could you explain one last time what your rationale is for contuing in this practice.

Cheers.

[S Landreth]

Moderna says its booster raised antibody levels against Omicron

Moderna on Monday said preliminary data showed its Covid-19 booster shot increased antibody levels against the Omicron strain well above those seen in people who completed only the initial two-dose course of the company’s vaccine.

A standard 50-microgram boost raised antibody levels about 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels 29 days after the shot was administered, while a 100-microgram dose raised levels about 83-fold higher, the company said. The data has not yet been peer-reviewed.

CEO Stéphane Bancel also said Moderna is responding to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant by advancing an Omicron-specific booster candidate that it will push into clinical testing early next year in case it becomes necessary. But the company said a third shot of its messenger-RNA vaccine remains the first line of defense.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Moderna says its booster raised antibody levels against Omicron

Moderna on Monday said preliminary data showed its Covid-19 booster shot increased antibody levels against the Omicron strain well above those seen in people who completed only the initial two-dose course of the company’s vaccine.

A standard 50-microgram boost raised antibody levels about 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels 29 days after the shot was administered, while a 100-microgram dose raised levels about 83-fold higher, the company said. The data has not yet been peer-reviewed.

CEO Stéphane Bancel also said Moderna is responding to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant by advancing an Omicron-specific booster candidate that it will push into clinical testing early next year in case it becomes necessary. But the company said a third shot of its messenger-RNA vaccine remains the first line of defense.

Since both me and the wife have recently received the Moderna Booster , it is certainly good news if it turns out to be true.
How does one know if he received the standard 50-microgram boost, or 100-microgram dose ?

[malmomike77]

You should be able to check with the 5G app

[S Landreth]

Since both me and the wife have recently received the Moderna Booster , it is certainly good news if it turns out to be true.
How does one know if he received the standard 50-microgram boost, or 100-microgram dose ?

Moderna - Booster dose 50 µg (0.25 ml)

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/me...-Reddy-508.pdf

[Shutree]

start exorcising.

A novel approach. Let us know how that goes.

[Shutree]

It does what it says on the tin

What it said on the tin was MarkI Covid, before mutations and Omicron were invented.

This whole thing isn't finished yet and while I'd agree China's approach has been particularly effective so far I don't think they should get too smug about this. Omicron is highly infectious, yesterday reported a Thai local transmission from a husband to his wife, he had returned from overseas, had had 3 jabs and tested negative before travel.

I see that Hong Kong has just placed New Zealand on its High Risk list. An HK friend who is travelling in NZ now and planning to return to HK soon faces 3 weeks of quarantine. It seems the new, democratically elected government of HK is scared of being the gateway for Omicron to Mother China.

[OhOh]

Thank you both for your replies.

It's a great source of annoyance Oh Oh that you continue to include China on those graphs. Could you explain one last time what your rationale is for contuing in this practice.

Cheers.

To you and those that are "annoyed".

I have posted very simple graphs from the same source for the past 2 years.

They indicate confirmed cases and deaths from the one source.

They indicate that, contrary to some here on TD, both China and Thailand are both superior in managing and delivering their response to COVID-19, i.e. fewer cases and fewer deaths compared to the alleged "leaders".

It is very easy to skip over the weekly update. Those that see it can accept or cry in their cup of tea.

I don't see any reason to stop, do you. If suddenly Thailand and Chinese numbers start growing, would you be happy to see the weekly update stop? I suspect some may relish the day the numbers climb, sad I know, but a predictable smug TD poster or ten would relish the opportunity.

What it said on the tin was MarkI Covid, before mutations and Omicron were invented.

The new variants don't appear, so far, to have had much effect on the variant numbers.

The latest variant may or may not become common in either China or Thailand, let's hope not.

Their available vaccines may work, let's hope so.

This whole thing isn't finished yet and while I'd agree China's approach has been particularly effective so far I don't think they should get too smug about this

Nobody is smug, some because their response, so far, has been pitiful. Others because ....

As for the future, we all want the problem to be solved, for all, not a select group.

I see that Hong Kong has just placed New Zealand on its High Risk list. An HK friend who is travelling in NZ now and planning to return to HK soon faces 3 weeks of quarantine.

Presumably all on HK's High Risk list, I presume mainland rules are the same, are in a similar situation, or are you suggesting NZ citizens is being targeted? As for the quarantine regulations, it's for the government to announce and all visitors should be equally treated. If you want to enter a country, you obey the rules, yes, or are some humans more trustworthy?

It seems the new, democratically elected government of HK is scared of being the gateway for Omicron to Mother China.

Glad to here they are taking their responsibilities seriously. We all know what happens to those that fail, in some countries.

[Joe 90]

Walk in centres being tun by the army everywhere in the UK at the moment.
Got my youngest vaccinated in less than 5 minutes inbetween Xmas shopping.

Boris really is throwing the kitchen sink at Omricon, more do than the first wave.

[beam8]

It's a great source of annoyance Oh Oh that you continue to include China on those graphs. Could you explain one last time what your rationale is for contuing in this practice.

Cheers.

As if anyone in the whole wide world would believe anything that China says about their Covid stats, LOL. Especially after what they did to start this mess.

[misskit]

China Puts 13 Million Residents in Lockdown Over COVID Outbreak

Chinese authorities have ordered all 13 million residents of Xi’an into isolation after 52 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the city. In total, the city has recorded 143 new infections since Dec. 9. The city government announced the strict new lockdown policy on Wednesday, warning residents that each household would be allowed to “send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities,” according to Channel News Asia. The harsh measures come as Chinese authorities seek to stop any spread of coronavirus ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, a task that is expected to be much harder in light of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. In Dongxing, a city in Guangxi province, authorities ordered 200,000 people into isolation this week after one of their neighbors tested positive for COVID-19.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/china-...covid-outbreak

[hallelujah]

Walk in centres being tun by the army everywhere in the UK at the moment.
Got my youngest vaccinated in less than 5 minutes inbetween Xmas shopping.

Boris really is throwing the kitchen sink at Omricon, more do than the first wave.

He's "throwing the kitchen sink" at a heavy cold/a bit of flu - as the South African doctors reported a month ago, have once again confirmed, and has finally been recognised in the UK.

Omicron COVID symptoms milder than Delta in UK, early data suggests – POLITICO
Covid: Omicron is 80 PER CENT less likely to cause hospital admission than Delta, study suggests | Daily Mail Online

And, no matter how they sensationalise the figures to cause panic, people have even less to worry about than they did before (average age of COVID deaths, over 80 years old, and, even then, around 95% of this age group survive the WuFlu: Infection fatality rate of COVID-19 in community-dwelling populations with emphasis on the elderly: An overview | medRxiv)


Even harry can't beat the UK for hysteria at the moment.

[misskit]

^ From what I have been reading this morning, the hospitals are not getting any kind of break with Omicron. It spreads many times faster and is reaching a larger number of people so there are still as many hospitalizations and deaths as before.