Coronavirus (San Diego, Riverside, Beverly Hills: home, buy, public schools)

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

But whether symptomatic or not, any source of spread contributes to the possibility of new variants.

I said I have my doubts that asymptomatic people are a contributing source of spread though, so it does matter whether they are or not. Based on what that article says, that could represent as high as 30% of the population too. It stands to reason that those whose infections are "abortive and transient" aren't good vectors for spreading the virus. It's the effects of the symptoms which really help spread things around.

[KaraG]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

But whether symptomatic or not, any source of spread contributes to the possibility of new variants. The greater the number of people who get infected, the greater the number of potentially more transmissible variants.

Or maybe the opposite, maybe it will finally burn out with so many getting this latest variant.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by joosoon

I have my doubts that asymptomatic people are a contributing source of spread though, so it does matter whether they are or not. Based on what that article says, that could represent as high as 30% of the population too. It stands to reason that those whose infections are "abortive and transient" aren't good vectors for spreading the virus.

I'd have to disagree. Asymptomatic carriers are clearly a way that the virus spreads.

Viruses mutate. Especially single-stranded RNA viruses have a high mutation rate because their genome is not stabilized by a second matching strand as we know it from the DNA double-helix. It is an inherent viral property and survival strategy to mutate

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8146792/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf9569

Look how wrong Dr. Fauci--and many others--were in January of 2020. This is one complicated virus.

https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/23/...ut-of-control/

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Look how wrong Dr. Fauci--and many others--were in January of 2020.

That's precisely why I'm saying what I'm saying. Those links from over a year ago don't really address what I'm talking about either. It's just my opinion anyway. Logic dictates that an asymptomatic person who doesn't have enough of the virus in them, or minimally not enough of it in them long enough to test positive on an antigen test, isn't the best vector for the virus to spread. We *do* know that so-called viral load matters.


This isn't a far out concept. If you had to share a ride with someone from LA to SF and your choice was between two different people with covid, one who's sneezing, hacking, snotting all over the place, and the other with a normal healthy appearance, which would you choose?


Even the "science" is trending towards ignoring asymptomatic types. For instance, we allow symptom-free people to come back to work even if they still are testing positive on a rapid test after 10 days now (CDC wants to change that to 5 next). Considering it's possible to continue showing positive for months, it's not only sensible but necessary to ignore the virus in some cases.

[goodheathen]

"If you're coughing or sneezing, do not enter."

There's also the issue of asymptomatic vs. stealth symptomatic (for example, only fatigue) and presymptomatic. People who never test positive can be ignored (beyond known exposures, who should temporarily stay away from high-risk people).

[goodheathen]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...P=share_btn_tw

I know people will shrug, but taste and smell are important to quality of life and safety. (A silver lining for public health probably is reduced appetite.)

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by joosoon

It's just my opinion anyway. Logic dictates that an asymptomatic person who doesn't have enough of the virus in them, or minimally not enough of it in them long enough to test positive on an antigen test, isn't the best vector for the virus to spread. We *do* know that so-called viral load matters

Definitely viral load affects transmission. I might have misunderstood you; I thought you meant that the virus doesn’t mutate in asymptomatic people.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by KaraG

Or maybe the opposite, maybe it will finally burn out with so many getting this latest variant.

That's what they'd hoped back when herd immunity was discussed.

“BA.5 has a lot of mutations in its spike protein,” says microbiologist and pathologist Daniel Rhoads, MD.

With each new mutation that occurs in a virus, new characteristics arise. Some of these mutations cause the virus to stop working effectively, forcing them to die off or become less transmissible. Other mutations can cause the virus to become less detectable by our immune systems, become more transmissible or evade our immune system’s memory.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/w...s-is-mutating/

[njbiodude]

Originally Posted by sav858

California city votes unanimously not to enforce LA County mask mandate

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a...ownward-trend/

Three cities told LA county they'd refuse to uphold mask mandates and suddenly the "surging cases" are in fact "declining."

I think this may be the end for most places. Any places not bringing masks back this winter will probably never have masks again.

[CA4Now]

Los Angeles County will hold off on reinstituting a universal indoor public mask mandate, prompted by improvements in the region’s coronavirus case and hospitalization rates.

Aside from not implementing the order, which otherwise would’ve gone into effect Friday (7/29), the recent downward trends are fueling some optimism that the months-old COVID wave fueled by hyper-infectious Omicron subvariants is finally starting to wane.

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...n-mask-mandate