What IS the fuss about omicron?

[GingerHouse]

In all seriousness, data shows that not a single person has died from omicron and that’s in countries that have low vaccine uptake too.

The virus is going to mutate all the time and as things are showing this variant is very contagious and the vaccine doesn’t work as well against it, but it’s mild to almost everybody.

I feel like this is mass panic and for what reason?! I understand wearing a mask where applicable to help reduce the spread but I just don’t get it! Is this going to happen every winter forevermore?

@TheKeatingFive

And how exactly are you going to increase capacity in hospitals that are already creaking at the seams?

We're 20 months in and billions of pounds already spent on periodically shutting the country down. Some improvement on healthcare could have been achieved in that timeline and with that level of resource.

So you do realise that the extra money has gone to provide nationwide testing and vaccination programmes yes?

There has not been a bonanza of funding for business as usual services, they are just trying to carry on with reduced numbers of available staff.

And how exactly are you going to increase capacity in hospitals that are already creaking at the seams?

Remember the empty Nightingale hospitals?

@Ylvamoon

And how exactly are you going to increase capacity in hospitals that are already creaking at the seams?

Remember the empty Nightingale hospitals?

Yeah but they have to staff those hospitals ....

There has not been a bonanza of funding for business as usual services, they are just trying to carry on with reduced numbers of available staff.

I didn't say there was. I said billions have been spent on shutting the country downz

Down

SA has low vaxx rate, but they have very young population

It's more in the middle, by global standards. Similar to Brazil. There is also a big issue with obesity and lifestyle related illnesses.
They are not on average a young, slim archetype.

Agreed. This does not make any kind of logical sense. No one has died of it and the symptoms are mild. Omicron has been circulating for a while so we would have seen deaths going up by now. It is simply inaccurate to state that the virus has only been around for less than a month. That is when it was discovered but it was already present in the population.

We can't stop everything because a burden might be placed on hospitals especially because there seems to have been no action to try to improve the capacity and efficiency of the NHS to cope with Covid.

I have had the 3 vaccines and will not follow any further social distancing restrictions. I am done.

@Chloemol

As you agree on point one I’ll answer two and three.

Every single winter the CEV and CV are at risk of getting extremely poorly by viruses. That’s why they are priority for flu jab and then will take their own measured ways to go about their lives.

Also I obviously do understand it’s a highly transmissible virus I’m not dismissing that fact. The fact that you just seem to blindly assume I don’t is quite frankly rude and very telling, coronavirus is a normal virus and is behaving exactly how a virus behaves.

Why are you so scared of it? When every other virus you’ve ever known lives exactly like this.

@BusBusBus

but what do they want to control us for? They want us out spending money and going to work and renting the commercial properties and using the trains.

Exactly. I'm starting to get really tired of the tinfoil hat brigade who think anyone actually wants us to stay home and not mingle.

@titchy

For many people, especially in the vaccinated this variant is a ‘cold.’ And I’m not saying it’s right, but before covid many people would go into work, school with a common cold. If this should change business’ will have to learn to accommodate this.

You muppet we don't care about those who get it no worse than a cold. If everyone got it and it was no worse than cold for ALL it wouldn't be a problem. The problem is the 1% ish for whom it isn't just a cold. They take up hospital beds.

I wonder what percentage of people who get flu develop complications and require hospital treatment. More or less than 1%?

@ElectraBlue

Agreed. This does not make any kind of logical sense. No one has died of it and the symptoms are mild. Omicron has been circulating for a while so we would have seen deaths going up by now. It is simply inaccurate to state that the virus has only been around for less than a month. That is when it was discovered but it was already present in the population.

We can't stop everything because a burden might be placed on hospitals especially because there seems to have been no action to try to improve the capacity and efficiency of the NHS to cope with Covid.

I have had the 3 vaccines and will not follow any further social distancing restrictions. I am done.

I must tell my scientist friend who has been working on genome sequencing during the whole pandemic that ElectraBlue on MumsNet knows better.

The ignorance is so draining. How do you think we can improve the capacity of hospitals now? You think we can just magic up doctors and nurses from nowhere? People are leaving the NHS in droves because of the trauma they've experienced over the past couple of years.

Perhaps if you had been on the frontline and not sitting on your sofa playing expert you might be less glib.

[quote GingerHouse]@Chloemol

As you agree on point one I’ll answer two and three.

Every single winter the CEV and CV are at risk of getting extremely poorly by viruses. That’s why they are priority for flu jab and then will take their own measured ways to go about their lives.

Also I obviously do understand it’s a highly transmissible virus I’m not dismissing that fact. The fact that you just seem to blindly assume I don’t is quite frankly rude and very telling, coronavirus is a normal virus and is behaving exactly how a virus behaves.

Why are you so scared of it? When every other virus you’ve ever known lives exactly like this.[/quote]
But you don't seem to get it.

Because the fact that it's far more transmissible than most viruses is exactly what makes it such a problem.

It's not about being 'scared'. It's about realising that the health service is already over stretched and under funded. Where do you think patients who get sick from omicron are supposed to go, exactly?

Some people just seem to like panicking and whipping up fear at every opportunity. I’m just watching the data from SA. It looks promising so far.

@bumbleymummy

Some people just seem to like panicking and whipping up fear at every opportunity. I’m just watching the data from SA. It looks promising so far.

Well, not many of the experts agree with you, so forgive me if I'd rather listen to them.

So you do realise that the extra money has gone to provide nationwide testing and vaccination programmes yes?

And billions went on a crappy t&t app that wasn’t fit for purpose and on bloody vaccine passports that do sfa to prevent spread. Lining their friends pockets with tax payer money that could have been invested in the health service that is under pressure most winters, never mind when there’s a pandemic. I agree with Keating.

@MaxNormal

Chloemol you could possibly have made the same points without being rude. The endless hostility is so incredibly tedious and I'm really not sure what anyone hopes to achieve by it.

Was thinking this, I would be more inclined to hear someone's point of view if they would refrain from being rude to me. If someone replies to me telling me i am stupid, i will not have faith in their opinion.

It would be great if we could disagree and explain why, with some maturity and respect.

News at ten : we all have different opinions.

If that’s rude then so be it

Totally agree. I assume this is another one of those anti something post disguised as an innocent one.

I also think the state the NHS was in prior to covid is the elephant in the room.

Covid will certainly open up more excuses and opportunities to sell more and more of it off. Which is odd, considering WE paid for it, and yet when they sell it off we won't get our shares back.

Hope this doesn't come to pass. I am non partisan but the NHS remaining a functioning and better funded entity would swing my vote.

@bumbleymummy

Some people just seem to like panicking and whipping up fear at every opportunity. I’m just watching the data from SA. It looks promising so far.

SA has a very different population to us. The vast majority are under 45 and most of that majority under 35. The government seem concerned. They know that restrictions are going to be very unpopular, so I'm concerned there are things that the scientists don't yet know but are investigating.

“ CDC chief says Omicron is ‘mild’ as early data comes in on US spread of variant”

“ South African doctor who raised alarm about omicron variant says symptoms are ‘unusual but mild’”

“Omicron could be milder than Delta: WHO chief”

www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/8/omicron-could-be-milder-than-delta-who-chief

News at ten : we all have different opinions

'Opinion is the medium between knowlege and ignorance'

Said a very astute someone a very long time ago.

@herewegoOVERANDOVERagain I'm double vaxxed AND had booster and just got Covid 😒

@AnotherOneWithNoGoodName they’re keeping an eye on things as cases move into the older population but any report I’ve read has said that cases are milder so far and fewer people need oxygen support/critical care so that’s all positive news.

Good God when a virus evolved that targets the stupid I for one won't be calling for a vaccine to be developed. It's not even like you need a degree in epidemiology to understand this, a basic grasp of mathematics will do.

The question isn't whether it's less severe, but also if it is then the key question is how much less severe.

If it produces half the number of hospital cases, then gives us 3 days grace (for that is the doubling time)