Omicron found in the UK [title edited by MNHQ]

[manolantern]

Health Secretary has just said two cases have been found here. That was quick!

@RoseAndRose

No, I didn't choose to omit 'elderly' - though I don't think they should have 10 years or so lopped off their expected life span.

I focussed on the infirm, because the 500,000 mist vulnerable in this country - those who are immune suppressed, who have had a third primary jab and for whom the 6-month booster will be their 4th jab - are not an age defined group. They should not be overlooked, and it includes nearly everyone on treatment for cancer.

It's not only the elderly infirm who are at highest risk, and choosing to omit the young highly vulnerable is wrong.

They are a tiny minority, and while I agree that in the pre covid world they could have expected to have a good outcome, the environment has now changed to be much less hospitable for vulnerable people.

We just have to get used to this idea, as awful as it is.

@Alltheblue

this is making me not want my booster (3rd jab)

Hello new virus, I'd like to try out my waning immunity on you.

Haha! Love this.

“The new Omicron variant of the Coronavirus results in MILD disease, WITHOUT prominent symptoms.” -Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association.

"It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well. So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.” Hospitals have NOT been overburdened by Omicron patients and the new strain has not been detected in vaccinated individuals there. We know those vaccinated from other countries infected have been mild or asymptomatic.

twitter.com/sailorrooscout/status/1464622927333232640

[quote julieca]@SheikhMaraca Yes it is mainly over 65s. I don't consider 66 to be elderly[/quote]
We can’t ruin the lives of people barely out of school in order to give a 66 year old even more of something the younger person will never get at all.

It’s already the case that the overwhelmingly majority of this countries wealth is concentrated in the hands of the over 65s, they can’t realistically expect the younger generations to make even more sacrifices for them?

The UK government let two flights through from affected areas yesterday without quarantining or even testing the travellers. Their usual incompetence, delay and dither will have probably let more people through.

@sweetgingercat

The UK government let two flights through from affected areas yesterday without quarantining or even testing the travellers. Their usual incompetence, delay and dither will have probably let more people through.

What benefit would stopping them have had though?

It’s here already.

There will be new virus after new virus we do not want to live in a climate of fear. The excess deaths - those who have lost there live to preventable non-covid illnesses is huge. The impact on the mental health of the young in particular has been immense - the discorporate impact on the less well off. Yes there is a risk with the new virus but there we face other risks all the time, we need to accept that life needs to get back to normal, simple precautions fine but disproportate measures will cause more misery

@the80sweregreat

Chelmsford is about a 20minute drive from Brentwood. It's worrying they have said the wrong town though

It's in the same postal area (CM) so presumably someone has just looked at the postcode and assumed.

Surely it's here in droves already.

England v South Africa at Twickenham last weekend anyone? Not a single mask in sight and no one checking Covid passes at all.

Aren’t SA’s infinitely a healthier population? Therefore the variant won’t affect them in the same way?

@Switch82

Aren’t SA’s infinitely a healthier population? Therefore the variant won’t affect them in the same way?

Their median age is a lot lower, so not necessarily healthier overall, but Covid far less than an issue.

Press conference at 5pm.

@flowerycurtain

Surely it's here in droves already.

England v South Africa at Twickenham last weekend anyone? Not a single mask in sight and no one checking Covid passes at all.

Crap.

@flowerycurtain

Surely it's here in droves already.

England v South Africa at Twickenham last weekend anyone? Not a single mask in sight and no one checking Covid passes at all.

Bugger

@Switch82

Aren’t SA’s infinitely a healthier population? Therefore the variant won’t affect them in the same way?

South Africa is still a developing country. Almost 30% of the population lives in housing with no formal sanitation; two thirds rely on a public healthcare system where the “healthcare” parts is pretty much in name only; ten percent are classed as dangerously malnourished. And that’s before you even consider that a fifth of the South African population (rising to over 35% in some urban areas) is infected with HIV and not all of those infected have access to or reliably take antiretrovirals - and Covid behaves differently in people who are immunosuppressed, we already know this. Hence we can’t really base how it might affect the UK based on South African data.

@MeanderingGently

Bloody typical, one case would be Nottingham. In the East Midlands here, and there's a case in the next door major town. Maybe things don't bode well for Christmas after all.....

but it gives bolton a rest.

@Russianmax

Just wondered why they chose that particular Greek letter?

Because it was the next unused letter in the Greek alphabet after they discounted Nu (too daft to talk about the new variant Nu) and Xi (too similar to PM of China's name).

There have been other variants of concern since Alpha, Beta and Delta including Lambda and Mu.

There was all this hysteria about the Delta variant too and we are all still alive and well!

The reason that keep on finding them in SA - is because SA is geno sequencing. We are not!

um, that's not accurate. UK sequences possibly more than anyone else -- look up Sanger Institute. Something like 10-20% of all positives since May 2020. 600,000 by July 2021.

There was a mid-summer fall to 5% how many of arriving travellers +s got sequenced.

If SA first identified Omicron on 11 Nov, it makes sense UK wouldn't find any until a week or 2 later.

@julieca
the average number of years lost for those who had covid and died was ten years.
If you are going to argue that we just let a lot more elderly people die, at least get your facts right.

This is correct. But the majority of elderly people who got covid didn't die. So the average elderly person who got covid probably lost several months.

ps: lots of HIV+ people in SA, mixed quality treatment for them. Some talk if it was a person coinfected with HIV and meanwhile chronically with active Covid, who was host to Omicron developing with so many new mutations.

Its still a Corona Virus, so the probability remains that the vaccines, together with the 3rd Pfizer one, is going to offer very good protection from serious illness, thats even if it takes over from the Delta version.

No one seems to be bothered (nor is it widely reported) that 2 x AZ offers much less protection than 2 x Pfizer, on current timescales.

Too much speculation atm.

"sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well"

So milder than your average cold then.

Omicron = moronic 😂
Probably already rife throughout the country.