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?

OMG the people who have done ZERO research quoting totally wrong figures and asking to be spoonfed from the the people who have done their research.

How many deaths a day from obesity did you say? You know do you?

Do your own research!

This chart - apparently made to explain the situation to Sajid Javid - suggests that if only 0.5% of omicron cases require hospital admission then "stringent National measures will need to be brought in by December 19th to avoid admissions of 5000 a day.

If 1% of omicron cases require hospitalisation and The Saj wants to keep daily admissions under 3000 then it will need to be the 14th of December that "stringent National measures" are brought in.

Just to say again.

For the back.

100 deaths a day. 100 PREVENTABLE deaths a day.

Preventable from you know, really terrible rights restrictive things like WEAR A BLOODY MASK ON THE TUBE, and ventilate your office building. Really, really terrible things to prevent 100 deaths a day…

Our choice.

How many of those are actually preventable though? The majority of deaths are still in the over 80s many of whom die of respiratory viruses every year.

@CherryBlossomAutumn

Just to say again.

For the back.

100 deaths a day. 100 PREVENTABLE deaths a day.

Preventable from you know, really terrible rights restrictive things like WEAR A BLOODY MASK ON THE TUBE, and ventilate your office building. Really, really terrible things to prevent 100 deaths a day…

Our choice.

Those things most people don’t have a problem with. But as we all know, it’s not just those things is it? How do you quantify the amount of people who have been made very poorly or died as a result of the previous lockdowns? How do you quantify that in human years lost when comparing it to covid? It’s all so one dimensional. Honestly would love to spend a day 20 years in the future to be able to look back.

I’m no virus expert by any means but at the beginning of all this I remember reading something about the possibility that it could eventually mutate to something less deadly - this could be the beginning of the end!

@bumbleymummy

How many of those are actually preventable though? The majority of deaths are still in the over 80s many of whom die of respiratory viruses every year.

Well, you know, do your own research?!

Of course they are preventable. People lose on average at least 10 years to Covid! Have you even seen an excess deaths graph?

People. If you have a view, go and back it up with facts. We aren’t in Trump land yet…

…or are we?

OH sorry just read the latest and of course.

I’m totally wrong.

We SHOULD NOT PREVENT DEATHS.

Because…. Blah blah eugenics blah

SHOULD NOT PREVENT DEATHS

Didn’t realise that was part of living in a community. Must. Do. Better.

@Greyowl32 ‘like’ 😀

@CherryBlossomAutumn well you’re the one saying that they’re preventable - that’s your view. So, technically, the onus is on you to show that.

As I said, the majority of people dying are over 80 and very few will be on public transport/in unventilated office buildings so I’m not sure what your suggested mitigations will do there.

The majority of elderly people are vaccinated, which does reduce their risk of serious illness but they are the highest risk group so, even with that reduction, a significant number will still die.

And yes, I’ve seen the excess death graphs. You realise that many of those excess deaths aren’t covid, right? It has been reported quite a lot recently - missed cancer diagnoses, increased numbers of people dying at home, people not seeking treatment because they didn’t want to be a burden etc. All those restrictions that you seem so fond of, can actually have negative impacts too.

Here's a handy graph showing all cause mortality in Scotland in the last 12 months

@Greyowl32

For all the people banging on about "100 deaths a day" .. do you realise 1600 die every day in the Uk from all sorts of things? The average covid death is someone at the end of their life with a myriad of other health issues. I think I'd sooner be dead anyway than live in perpetual fear of a virus that has an average age of death of over 80 where only 8% of even those deaths are from covid alone.

If you're terrified of the Omicron variant which includes a case of the sniffles and a headache as the main symptoms stay in. WHy should healthy people particularly children sacrifice their lives for a virus that won't impact them

You do realise all those people are still dying AS WELL?

Nobody is afraid of the sniffles. People are afraid that a small proportion of people getting very sick from Omicron will cause an already overburdened NHS to collapse. And that means severe restrictions.

Nobody is worrying about a snotty nose. People are worried about not getting to see loved ones abroad. People are worried about their jobs. People are worried about their mental health from being stuck inside for months on end again.

You seem to think we can just ignore covid and it will go away. It won't. Your perception of cause and effect is the wrong way round.

@CherryBlossomAutumn

OH sorry just read the latest and of course.

I’m totally wrong.

We SHOULD NOT PREVENT DEATHS.

Because…. Blah blah eugenics blah

SHOULD NOT PREVENT DEATHS

Didn’t realise that was part of living in a community. Must. Do. Better.

This kind of thinking is what is fuelling the covid hysteria.

It is not possible for us to prevent all deaths.

We know this already.

We've been through this pandemic for almost two years.

Even with vaccines, even with lockdowns, even with social distancing, masks, restrictions, etc, since the start of the pandemic we still haven't had a sustained period of time where daily death figures haven't dropped below double figures.

The evidence shows we can't stop people from catching Covid, despite all of the measures we've put in place.

And the evidence shows that we can't stop some of those people from going on to die from Covid, either, despite all of the treatments we now have.

Science is not perfect. It cannot make us immortal.

Unless we literally locked everyone in their houses forever more, we couldn't ever reach a point where no one would die of covid. It's impossible. Aiming for this as an outcome is therefore pointless and unhelpful.

Fear is the real virus.

@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?

Completely agree with you OP…

@EnidSpyton great post.

@SplodgeWaddler

I’m no virus expert by any means but at the beginning of all this I remember reading something about the possibility that it could eventually mutate to something less deadly - this could be the beginning of the end!

Exactly!!! So why are we fearful of a variant that is very much so less deadly, especially as we have vaccines!

@LifeIsWhat

Fear is the real virus.

You want to cross stitch that. It will be nice decoration for an ICU somewhere.

Imagine reading this whole thread and still asking that question. Sometimes I wish I was this oblivious. Must be nice!

Imagine the participants in 10-20 years time, being asked questions by their now adult families about what it was like during the time of Covid... Well, I er I er I... I complained about 'restrictions', and I disbelieved the consensus of the science and the data from the most acclaimed virologists and epidemiologists of the times, and I joined in gangs of similar ninnies to mock anyone taking the virus seriously...

@megustalacerveza

Imagine reading this whole thread and still asking that question. Sometimes I wish I was this oblivious. Must be nice!

I sometimes wonder if you’ve been living the same 2 years as me? We as a country have been promised just 2 weeks, just wfh, just tiers, just put Xmas on hold, just until the vaccine.

The people in charge have also had the same 2 years as we have to take into account that every winter the virus will spread.

@Wizzbangfizz

99.7% of the population survive this - there is zero evidence to suggest that this variant is anything to be concerned about and the measures put in place are simply preposterous

I know. When you think of the consequences of the lockdowns and restrictions, you’d think it affected 50% of the population. Thanks

Didn’t mean to type thanks 😂

On the bright side, you are about to receive a demonstration in real time of exponential growth, so perhaps you will leave 2021 a little more informed.