
The omicron variant is surging. Here’s what we’ve learned so far In the weeks since omicron emerged, the variant has been identified in more than 85 countries. In many of these places, omicron infections are rising fast. Omicron is responsible for nearly all new COVID-19 cases in South Africa, and is already the predominant version of the coronavirus in London. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimates that omicron will be the most common variant across the European Union by mid-January. In the United States, omicron now appears to reign. The variant was responsible for an estimated 73.2 percent of new infections across the country for the week ending December 18, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s predictions. That’s up from an estimated 12.6 percent the previous week and 0.7 percent the week ending December 4. Omicron now accounts for an estimated 92 percent of new cases in New York and New Jersey and 96.3 percent in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. With that in mind, omicron is likely to worsen the surge that is unfolding across the United States. Some places, including New York City, are already seeing large spikes in COVID-19 cases with numbers rising fast. The CDC said the Omicron variant now accounts for 73 percent of new cases in the U.S. It currently takes about two days for the number of omicron cases to double, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said. Highly infectious delta, in comparison, doubled every two weeks at. Preliminary data from the United Kingdom show that omicron is around 3.2 times as likely to spread among households as delta is. And people exposed to omicron may get sick faster — and therefore be able to spread the virus sooner — than people exposed to other variants. At a company Christmas party in Norway the median time that a person exposed at the party developed symptoms was three days. It takes slightly longer for delta infections to cause symptoms — around four days — and about five days for non-delta variants. Some preliminary studies done in lab-grown cells hint that omicron may turn out to be more transmissible than delta, though how much more is unclear. One reason may be because the new variant might make more copies of itself inside host cells than other variants do. Vaccines may be less effective against omicron, but boosters offer hope. Early studies suggest that vaccines will still protect us, especially after getting a booster shot. Lab-based studies of neutralizing antibody responses are a hint that protection from vaccines or previous infection might be diminished. Many of these same studies suggest that a third dose boosts antibodies back up to levels that should be protective against omicron. A study in South Africa, for instance, found that the effectiveness of two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at stopping infection dropped from 80 percent pre-omicron to 33 percent during the omicron wave. Antibodies from people who had previously been infected but not vaccinated also perform poorly against omicron. There was a less dramatic drop in the shot’s effectiveness at preventing hospitalization. Before omicron, the jab was 93 percent effective; it decreased to 70 percent amid the new surge. Experts expect that vaccines will largely keep vaccinated people out of the hospital. But with many people still unvaccinated across the United States, only time will tell whether the beginning of 2022 will be as devastating as the start of 2021.The bottom line:
- Omicron is far more infectious than delta or previous variants.
- Masks and social distancing will slow, but not prevent, the spread of the disease. Eventually, everyone will get it, though some may not have symptoms.
- A previous COVID infection will not protect you from the omicron variant.
- While vaccination does not provide total protection, it increases the odds you will not be sick enough to require hospitalization or die. The jab may save your life.
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THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.
The most important problems in economics involve:- Monetary Sovereignty describes money creation and destruction.
- Gap Psychology describes the common desire to distance oneself from those “below” in any socio-economic ranking, and to come nearer those “above.” The socio-economic distance is referred to as “The Gap.”
- Eliminate FICA
- Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
- Social Security for all
- Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
- Salary for attending school
- Eliminate federal taxes on business
- Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually.
- Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
- Federal ownership of all banks
- Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9%
MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY
Fully agree especially with that part at the end about hiding behind the “American Way.” We have a governor here in red Iowa that loves to tout that excuse. If red turns to blue so will her need to suddenly wear a mask, which will make it two masks that she wears.
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https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/12/21/update-anonymous-email-prompted-voter-fraud-arrests-in-the-villages/
Do you think Covid Kim Reynolds may some day be living at The Villages – Florida’s Finest Hometown [for those over 55]?
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Odd how the few instances of voter fraud have been committed by Republicans.
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27 possible cases of voter fraud out of three million ballots cast in 2020 in Wisconsin. Last I heard in the summer was that four had been prosecuted. Think the 27 possibles had been whittled down to like 11 potential prosecutions by then. Other 16 were people who got a written warning for using a box at UPS store as their voting address.
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And this is the basis upon which Trump and his #DumbTrumpers claim there was rampant fraud.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2015/01/30/mississippi-yes-mississippi-has-the-nations-best-child-vaccination-rate-heres-why/ Strange but true. Wonder how swiftly it will change now.
In other states, parents have increasingly used exemptions to avoid immunization mandates amid fears that the shots are harmful or unnecessary. Medical authorities have discredited these safety concerns. But a broad scientific consensus on the safety of vaccinations has not slowed exemption demand.
Today, Mississippi and West Virginia are the only states that don’t allow parents to claim religious or philosophical exemptions to the rules for vaccinating children before they enroll in school. Only medical exemptions are allowed in Mississippi and West Virginia, as they are in every state.
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Yes, religious and philosophical objections to health measures are beyond stupid. They are murder or suicide. These are the same fools who try to protect a fetus but don’t care about an already born child.
What next? Religious and philosophical objections to seat belts, speed limits, no smoking on planes, and prevention of pooping on public streets. (“Why can’t I poop here? My religion demands it.”)
Question for the objectors: Why should the law allow your religious beliefs to endanger your children and my children?
If the anti-vaxxers want to commit suicide, do it in a way that doesn’t harm your kids, my kids, and me. And when you get sick, don’t overcrowd the hospitals. Leave room for those of us who care about our fellow Americans.
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Trump’s COVID army turns against him
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What next? Religious and philosophical objections to prevention of pooping on public streets. (“Why can’t I poop here? My religion demands it.”)
That ever witless and obtuse Bill Mitchell would probably be all for that so then the ‘buffer stock’ of poop scoopers could be more fully utilized under a Crap Job Guarantee scheme! Speaking of the other Mitchell someone jokingly sent me this ivory tower absurdity a while back: https://theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CiCfbs-WkAAfLwQ.jpg
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https://www.ajc.com/politics/national-politics/businesswoman-image-key-to-greenes-rise/5RX3LQEGUJFI5P6N6EQWZCA5T4/
That space cadet would be a good one to bait openly if Daddy Warbucks Warren and RMM’s penpal Kelton were to dust off a decade old challenge to stir up public debate: http://web.archive.org/web/20101025141916/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101022005577/en/Senate-Candidate-Bets-Congress-100-Million-U.S.
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