I serendipitously came across what I think is an outstanding update on the Omicron variant...what we know as of Dec, 15th...what the likely outcomes might be...how it might influence future medical decisions...and perhaps for us, thoughts on how we should 'behave' over the Christmas and New Year holidays...
This is a streaming version of a medical "Grand Rounds Review", hosted by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical School, with participation from Infectious Disease specialists from Atlanta (Emory Univ)...Boston (Mass General)...and UCSF...it lasts 1 hour, but quickly covers a great deal of what we're debating here, so even if you have to break up your viewing time into chunks, I encourage you to watch every minute.
Hope you find it informative...btw, it might be a good idea to take notes and pass on what you've learned to family and friends.
NOTE: After watching the video a second time, I'd recommend hitting the "Pause" button fairly often, especially when Dr. Del Rio is giving his presentation...lots of valuable info from essentially a "Fire Hose"...you might want to stop, look at the chart(s) and take notes...maybe even backup and re-view.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGspuLnRBB4
Confirms what I thought about experts. Educated idiots.
First, they are more than competent as to tell us WHAT is going on. Far less so in how to deal with this. Case in point is Paul in the lower right-hand screen. He won't go out to eat in a restaurant? Really? Even though he's vaccinated and boostered? Every bit of data shows us he is literally in almost zero danger of anything, yet he acts like his vaccine and booster won't work. (As I said before, this is the problem I have with our sports leagues.)
And the lady in the lower left - she's vaccinated and boostered, her 97-year-old grandma just got fully vaccinated...and yet she won't see grandma unless she's tested negative and they're both wearing masks? Ridiculous. My mom is 95, only has natural immunity and no one in my family, including two medical professionals, thinks it's necessary to be tested and wear masks. As my mom says, "I'm 95."
One of the most honest comments came when one (forgot which) said they are probably more cautious - and maybe too much so - because this is their profession and they focus too much on the bad outcomes. No nuance about age and how people younger than 50 should have almost no worries about this. No nuance about how vaccinated people should have no worries. Instead, we get the predictable fear that all, regardless of age or vaccination status, need to continue to mitigate and worry. Just no ability to use logic or reason, showing they're just flawed emotional humans like anyone else.
Informative as to what's actually happening, yes. Not so much as how to deal with this.
>Omicron ("O") is HIGHLY transmissible...party in Oslo, Norway...111 attendees at a restaurant...80 came down with "O"...all vaccinated (not boosted??)...but NO hospitalizations
>Only one monoclonal anti-body treatment effective (Sotrovimab/S309)...all others, near zero effect on "O"
(*) Current "Full Vaccination" condition (i.e. 2 doses of mRNA) affords near zero protection from transmission...Booster shot restores to ~75% (Pfizer)...very important to get "Boosted" for "O".
(*) Natural Immunity no longer exists with "O"...HOWEVER...if vaccinated after COVID infection, then patient becomes "Super Immune"...very good protection.
>20% higher risk of hospitalization for children with "O"...concerning...
>What to do?...
- Get Vaccinated...GET BOOSTED!
- Act more cautiously (masking, social distancing, etc.)
(*) Oral treatment pill (i.e. Pfizer's PAXLOVID) is a "Game Changer"...need to get patients in therapy ASAP...
>Each of the Grand Rounds ID Docs uses home COVID testing...especially for holiday gatherings...Ok to gather w/o masks IF...all attendees are vaccinated and boosted...have been tested shortly before entry to the gathering...must have a negative test to attend...if feeling 'unwell', e.g. scratchy throat, cough, malaise, etc....DON'T ATTEND...even with a negative test.
There's much more in the video that I'll leave to you and others to learn by watching it again, or for the first time.
Mark, from your reply, you seem to be looking for ways to ignore what they said...these are highly regarded specialists...they have been working for many years BEFORE COVID on such viral pathogens...you know NOTHING about this stuff...just stop with your judgements of them...you don't count at all...it's like someone who never played golf in their life criticizing your swing and trying to give you instruction...actually, even worse than that.
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Part of me believes that Omicron is COVID’s last punch.
Highly infectious, but less lethal, yet nature’s way of immunizing the unvaccinated hayseeds.
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btw, when logging on in the AM, it's really easy to find the posts I'm most interested in...just have to let the RED numbers guide me ;-).
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But I'm a sucker for the comic book genre.
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Littles get their 2nd tomorrow. Mom and Big Daddy Stark boosters on Boxing Day.
I am therefore confident not only will we not ever get sick, but live forever! It's gonna be great!
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want to spoil your viewing with comments beforehand.
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in brief segments...this is what real Infectious Disease Docs are saying...right now...about Omicron and their expectations for how it might pan out...hey, with this info, you might be the hit of your Christmas and New Years parties!
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That may be the way we ultimately exit the pandemic.
video...I'm sure you'll find the time worthwhile.
Maybe you could provide some cliff notes to entice me.
video...but honestly, this time...this video...is worth it...it's relatively fast-paced, but probably best to view it in 20 min segments, or so...again, I wish I could condense it and give you my thoughts, but this has to be viewed and considered by you and all others...I'll do my best next time to find something between 1 hr and 7 seconds ;-).