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What I would like to see data on is - what were hospitalization rates typically pre-COVID? And what are they now in comparison? If they are still significantly higher, then obviously we should still keep pandemic measures in place. If not, then that signifies a more return to so called "normalcy"
To this date, nobody has really shown us that comparison and that's key to figuring out whether COVID has indeed mutated to a level that we are probably comfortable living with.
I know. It's crazy that we never get this kind of data presented to us. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I wouldn't know how to find it.
There's still the problem that people get overly paranoid about Covid, and end up at the hospital when otherwise they'd normally just ride it out. A lot of people are also just showing up at the ER in order to get tested. I'm not sure that they can just turn these people away. ER's are crazy busy during the waves.
What we do know is that ICU's are always "almost full". They're designed that way, because ICU's are extremely expensive to run, so having staffed ICU units being unused, doesn't make financial sense. And of course it's all about profits.
For the record I am not denying in any way that we have had overcrowded hospitals over the past couple years during the waves. What I do question is how much that could be alleviated if there wasn't so much panic over the virus itself.
My mom went to a meeting where she was the only one who wore a mask. She went with the belief no one would purposely have exposed themselves and then gone to the meeting. She made a mistake in judgment. She found out afterwards that one of the people was helping a sick daughter the weekend before. A few days later my mom was testing positive. The lady was wreckless with other people’s lives. Thankfully my mom, who is immunocompromised, seems to be on the mend. But it needn’t have happened.
You need to stop this false equivalency with Covid and the cold. They are not the same. There could and likely will be a time where covid is endemic, just another seasonal flu which we treat accordingly. It is not that now, and we have the tools in place to help others. Use them.
There has been two hubbubs in our neighborhood in the last week on this topic.
1. A wedding recently, where two neighbors (out of about 20 who attended, I did not as I took kid duty), who are unvaxxed and had COVID symptoms, attended the wedding, sat next to everyone, had drinks with everyone, but didn't get in any group pictures "because they weren't feeling well" only to decide, after the wedding, to get tested....and then confirmed on the dads/moms group texts, that yup, they were positive. ****ing idiots.
2. Right now (learned of this this AM) the group of teenagers around us are all out of school; one kid has tested positive (vaxxed) another kid is showing symptoms (unvaxxed, mom held him out). Another kid, is showing all the signs of an infection....and yup....you guessed it....his mom (who works in the medical profession as a nurse)....sent him to school.
The height of disrespect, even pre COVID. I don't give a **** about your supposed work ethic, your FOMO, you not wanting to be at home on your day off with a sick kid. None of that matters.
I know. It's crazy that we never get this kind of data presented to us. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I wouldn't know how to find it.
To personally decide the pandemic has become manageable without any data is, well, a choice. But it puts other people in the crosshairs if your gut is wrong. All we truly know is Omicron is less deadly than the Delta variant. To what degree is unknown and there has been no data that shows it comparable in impact to the cold or even flu. We will know more as research happens, but that is hindsight. You are wanting everyone to act on information you feel but can not prove. That is dangerous.
There will be a time when covid is endemic. That time is not now as far as anyone is aware (and the initial data is not encouraging).
To personally decide the pandemic has become manageable without any data is, well, a choice. But it puts other people in the crosshairs if your gut is wrong. All we truly know is Omicron is less deadly than the Delta variant. To what degree is unknown and there has been no data that shows it comparable in impact to the cold or even flu. We will know more as research happens, but that is hindsight. You are wanting everyone to act on information you feel but can not prove. That is dangerous.
There will be a time when covid is endemic. That time is not now as far as anyone is aware (and the initial data is not encouraging).
We also know that Omicron puts far less people in the hospital. We have something like 10x the number of cases than the delta wave, and less hospitalizations. The hospitals are “dealing” - I don’t know what it looks like on the inside, but there certainly haven’t been local reports of severe issues at the hospitals considering the massive amount if cases. Unfortunately one of the two yearly Covid waves seems to line up with cold and flu season. It sucks and I much appreciate everyone that works at hospitals, but this may just be the way it is going forward. This is why I suggested spending less on testing, and more on supplementing hospitals, and getting and developing more therapeutics to keep people out of the hospitals. We already have a vaccine, and the ability to create effective therapeutics. These are what should be focused on, not masks, testing, and making the public panic. The media needs to be on board too.
We can (and are) doing other things, but penny-pinching on testing for what remains a fairly nasty virus (one multitude times more deadlier than the flu or cold even by conservative estimates at this time) just seems unwise. I know you are bunkered down with your thoughts on the matter. But at the end of the day, you are knowingly playing Russian roulette with other people’s lives and thinking the gun is empty without any way to know. That is reckless.
We can (and are) doing other things, but penny-pinching on testing for what remains a fairly nasty virus (one multitude times more deadlier than the flu or cold even by conservative estimates at this time) just seems unwise. I know you are bunkered down with your thoughts on the matter. But at the end of the day, you are knowingly playing Russian roulette with other people’s lives and thinking the gun is empty without any way to know. That is reckless.
I don’t consider 50 billion dollars a small amount even in federal government terms.
Everyone is getting Covid and I mean everyone. Ready or not, like it or not, you’re gonna get Covid. Personally I wouldn’t even waste my day going and being tested. During this time period to come down with some kind of strange cold like sickness, 7-1 odds are it’s Covid. All this testing hysteria is madness. Get Covid, get over it, And get on with your life. This latest variant is everywhere and you’re Honestly probably wasting your time trying to avoid it.
I disagree and have no intentions of getting COVID just to "get it over with". For some people doing that could be a deadly mistake. I keep my immune system strong and don't take any unnecessary risks that could expose me to an infected person. I've never been tested and don't plan to be unless I suspect an exposure has occurred. Testing just for the sake of testing is useless and a waste of time and resources.
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