Why the panic of Omicron is mild?

[WineGetsMeThroughIt]

All of this just seems utter bollocks. A handful of new cases of a variant that could potentially pose less of a threat than delta. Yet with delta we were basically told to keep calm and carry on. No masks, no isolating, children or C+ parents going to school, no social distancing or any rules really.

I'm seeing news reports now encouraging everyone to go get their booster jab and their flu jab to help protect against the new variant and flu this winter. But if you come in contact or test positive with Omicron even if you're fully vaccinated then you must isolate for 8 days. Then seeing other reports saying that Omicron is resistant to the vaccine, so the pharm companies are rushing out a new vaccine - so potentially everyone will be encouraged to get a 4th vaccine.

Meanwhile even though you're vaccinated you can still spread it and it's been said that the first positive case of Omicron to enter this country was via a fully vaxx'd person because that's the only way you can travel now. But the vaccines were the ticket of this pandemic they said. Obviously there are fewer ill people because of the vaccine, but there are also a lot of people experiencing worrying Ng side effects with them as well. What will the build up of all these vaccines be doing to us I wonder. Genuine question we may not know for years.

Im just getting so fed up with all this now. It's so depressing

If they didn't act fast everyone would be up in arms. It's all shit.

To try and scare everyone into "behaving" so damages (ie hospital admissions) can be mitigated.

The scientist who discovered this variant has herself said, I believe, that it's a complete overreaction and cases/symptoms are very mild.

Plus it sells papers doesn't it?

No one knows if it will be mild or not is older or more vulnerable patients. Or in deed the general population as a whole as currently only a small number of people have had it. You also have to remember that when medics say mild they mean you won’t be hospitalised not you will feel fine and be able to carry out normal life tasks.

Hopefully it is milder that the Delta variant and then becomes the dominant variant.

24 hour news cycle.

I'm not one for the tin foil hat but it does make me wonder are they trying to soften us up scare us into more restrictions ?

No-one has ever said that vaccination is a ticket out of the pandemic. (Hardly likely given the number of people who refuse to have it.)

Scientists and medics were upfront from the very start about the continued risks posed by variants and vaccine escape.

Weren’t you listening?

They can’t win really can they!

But at the moment they only have very limited data to go on. So rather than make mistakes they have made in tne past they have tightened things slightly in the hope of controlling spread while we do learn more about it.

We are several weeks away from being able to assess the risks from this new variant. You are basing your assertion that it is a mild virus on one quote from one doctor in South Africa. That is not how risk is assessed.

Most governments worldwide are taking it seriously and are introducing restrictions until they have sufficient evidence to make an informed decision.

In UK the new national hobby seems to be to criticise whatever decision the government takes on Covid. Damned if they do. Damned if they do not.

I think it’s because they don’t know. And it’s better to be cautious till they find out than let it spread wildly and then find out it’s fatal for many people.

We don’t know for sure yet, but hopefully so

@Hellotoallmyfans

To try and scare everyone into "behaving" so damages (ie hospital admissions) can be mitigated.

The scientist who discovered this variant has herself said, I believe, that it's a complete overreaction and cases/symptoms are very mild.

Plus it sells papers doesn't it?

link to this?

@Hellotoallmyfans

To try and scare everyone into "behaving" so damages (ie hospital admissions) can be mitigated.

The scientist who discovered this variant has herself said, I believe, that it's a complete overreaction and cases/symptoms are very mild.

Plus it sells papers doesn't it?

Do you mean the Dr?

It’s more due to high mutation but I hope you’re right about it being mild after all.

I don't know! seems a bit crazy. Expecting restrictions to be reimposed now.

@Veeveeoxox

I'm not one for the tin foil hat but it does make me wonder are they trying to soften us up scare us into more restrictions ?

i think this is the case x

It would be really good if people could learn the difference between 'anecdote' and 'scientific review of data' before making dumb comments about how Omicron is mild.

It might be. It also might not be. It might affect some groups worse. It might not affect some groups as badly.

We don't know yet. We are going to have to have this thing called patience and wait for actual data.

Dr Coetzee has also said the patients seen in SA were largely young and otherwise healthy, where mild disease is much more likely with all variants of Covid.

The key will be seeing how it behaves in older and more vulnerable populations.

Why don’t we just leave it to the experts, or does everyone on mumsnet seem to think they already know everything about this variant? There’s only a handful of cases so how can they possibly know how serious this is across the population and if our vaccines will work against it?

Far from defending the government who I think have made a shambles of the whole pandemic management but they were criticised for not acting quickly enough in the first waves but now they have acted at the first signs of a potential problem people are not happy either.

Some people are more risk averse than others, they could never satisfy the whole population.

I personally would rather have to wear a mask and have travel restrictions in place than end up in another lockdown if the South African doctor is wrong and it turns out to be a nightmare variant.

It was only identified in the last couple of weeks so too early to say how mild it is.

They ignored the initial outbreak till it was too late, and were caught napping with Delta. Is it too much to hope that the Govt have finally learned a lesson?

@Veeveeoxox

I'm not one for the tin foil hat but it does make me wonder are they trying to soften us up scare us into more restrictions ?

It would also be nice that people wouldn't resort to saying 'I'm not a conspiracy theorist but' because they lack patience.

Ultimately, if it does scare a few people its more likely to give our behind expectation and rather flagging booster programme up the arse which isn't a bad thing even if Omicron turns out to be a damp squib because Delta is still very much out there anyway.

Patience.

We are approaching winter and the NHS is already on its knees. It cannot take another surge so that’s why they’re trying to minimise the spread “trying”…

It won’t take many serious cases to make the nhs topple over. This isn’t about the general population, but those who will need ICU care when there’s little to go around.

Think about it - if it was just a standard virus that did not cause any intensive care treatment then we wouldn’t have this need for measures.

@MrsWhites

Far from defending the government who I think have made a shambles of the whole pandemic management but they were criticised for not acting quickly enough in the first waves but now they have acted at the first signs of a potential problem people are not happy either.

Some people are more risk averse than others, they could never satisfy the whole population.

I personally would rather have to wear a mask and have travel restrictions in place than end up in another lockdown if the South African doctor is wrong and it turns out to be a nightmare variant.

If its as bad as it could be, we needed to lockdown fully and stop all international flights immediately.

Its already too late to avoid another lockdown if thats where Omicron takes us. We have community transmission. The only thing we can change is when that might happen (hint: almost certainly not before Christmas because we will be 'awaiting data' for at least 3 to 4 week - at most we will get 'advise' and 'at your own risk' disclaimers for Christmas) and to try to improve survival rates through vaccination.

I don't see the point in stressing about what we can't change too much at this point.

We are either fucked or we aren't!

Over the next few weeks evidence will start to stack up about the effects of omicron.

Already the "more transmissible" stack is growing.

But the "mild" one isn't yet.

We've got that quote from a single HCW about 5 minutes into the omicron wave in a single country. That's it.

In early 2020 much emphasis was placed on the fact that that covid was "a mild illness for most people"

But it went to kill 5 million people worldwide. Almost 168,000 of them in this country.

To ensure that everyone remains scared and compliant.

I think it’s probably more then a handful, 6 new cases in Scotland not linked to travel which means it’s spreading in community. Also a case found in primary school .

Dammed it they act quickly dammed when they don’t so can’t win! . We were told at beginning covid has little effect on kids . My Ds was very poorly , so yes I’m glad we’re being cautious as opposed to listening to one doctor from South Africa,

I’m no scientist but as very early days i would say it’s to early to call yet . Still a lot of people unvaccinated , or needing booster, still possible for nhs to be overwhelmed.