If omicron symptoms are so mild

[Mistletoeandwhineing]

To not understand what the panic is about?

Have been watching regular updates from Dr John Campbell, very level headed and knowledgeable. Current evidence seems to be looking very positive. I realise we need to wait a little longer to be sure, but overall it’s looking to be very mild and possibly actually a good thing for immunity. Or am I wrong?
Feel like I’m living in a parallel universe

The government has said repeatedly that people need to put aside the idea that this is a milder variant. It has also confirmed that Omicron is producing hospitalizations.

Yes, there are a lot of anecdotes about how last week I had a bit of a runny nose and sore throat and was fine after 2 days, but unless you have had omicron confirmed, it doesn't really mean anything. It's not helpful to just decide that you had it and it was no big deal when you don't actually know you've had it.

@rainrainraincamedowndowndown

Now first confirmed case of death from omicron has been announced. Just wonder about the status of the patient, young/old, vaxxed/unvaxxed, any underlying conditions, etc.

Either way, covid is mild for most. And mild for everyone is different. If huge number of people get ill at the same time, everything collapses, not just hospital.

Well knowing all that won't help to sell stories for the media, will it? Come on.

Because 'First death with Omicron!!!!!' news titles triggers anxiety and question marks and clickbaiting.

But a story titled 'First death with Omicron of a 98-year old patient with multiple terminal conditions' would probably not get some many to click, would it?

@StrangerThanSpring

The government has said repeatedly that people need to put aside the idea that this is a milder variant. It has also confirmed that Omicron is producing hospitalizations.

Yes, there are a lot of anecdotes about how last week I had a bit of a runny nose and sore throat and was fine after 2 days, but unless you have had omicron confirmed, it doesn't really mean anything. It's not helpful to just decide that you had it and it was no big deal when you don't actually know you've had it.

'The government has said....' As if they know. Puh-leaze.

South Africans on other hand are saying the opposite, and they have more time on this.

South Africans on other hand are saying the opposite, and they have more time on this.

Not much more time though. Also I'm sure i read somewhere that SA is updating its computer sytems ATM and so this could be causing a temporary lag in their data?

Watching numbers day to day isn't as accurate as watching over a 7 day period. At certain times, after weekends for exmaple, numbers will be lower and then catch up later in the week

Ah, I see. So the government is lying about the seriousness of omicron to distract from Boris' Christmas parties last year. It's actually really mild. Everyone will be fine except maybe a few old people and sick people but they probably would have died anyway. So just relax, enjoy Christmas and who gives a fuck?

Ok, got it! Thanks for explaining that to me Mumsnet!

Denmark is showing a 1% hospitalisation rate for omicron.

A 1% hospitalisation rate seems fine until you realise that Denmark's omicron rates are doubling every 40 hours.
Yes they do have the best sequencing facilities on the planet.

1% is worryingly high.

Currently, it's about 2% (down from the pre-vaccine 9%)

That halving of admissions only pushes us back one doubling of the case numbers. Unless we can stop the exponential growth, this is a somewhat concerning development,

It's spreading really really fast. Even if it's milder than previous variants, if a lot of people have it at the same time then we will really struggle day to day. If a lot of the postal workers get it at the same time, there goes our deliveries

Exactly. That is why they're asking contacts to lateral flow rather than isolate.

So it is half that of Delta and Alpha (which seem to be 2%) so it is milder. Just that 1% of a huge number of cases is a lot

@Idolovetrees how ironic that this is the time England chooses to run out of lft then.

You do know Dr John introduces himself as a doctor but isn't a doctor or a scientist? He's a mental health nurse who has become increasingly out of his depth and click baity in recent months, analysing research he clearly doesn't have the career science backing to evaluate as an expert and giving undue weight to some opinions. He is also too hasty to draw conclusions and off down the rabbit hole on a number of issues (to the point that he thinks the BBC is taking part in a conspiracy).

Dr John Campbell has a PhD. He has every right to use his title.

@Chachasha I agree.

9 @Chachasha he has a PhD in nursing education, so entitled to be called doctor.

He references all his info in the comments and invites people to disagree or correct him. Is he always right - no. Is he better and more accessible than most - yes.

a large number of people were dosed with AZ which gives you only marginally better than no protection

that's a load of nonsense!

@fakereview

a large number of people were dosed with AZ which gives you only marginally better than no protection

that's a load of nonsense!

Is it? I thought I'd read that 2xAZ gave negligible protection, 2xPfizer gave around 30% protection. Maybe that is protection from infection? Not sure.

SA used only Pfizer I think so that is another factor making it difficult to compare with UK. Ditto Denmark (I think).

@fakereview

a large number of people were dosed with AZ which gives you only marginally better than no protection

that's a load of nonsense!

Unfortunately it is true

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.08.21267491v1
Pre print on vaccine and convalescence efficiency for omicron

From infection it still works for preventing serious illness

So it is definitely still better than no protection plus a booster puts you right up which one dose of Pfizer doesn’t

Not from Omicron. WITH Omicron.

There is a very big difference. The media has been very careful in the way they have worded this. I watched Sky news at lunch. They were all saying with omicron including Boris. Then after the reporter then summed it up saying "died from Omicron" only to rephrase a few mins later saying "died with Omicron"

I still can’t believe people believe deaths “with” Covid are somehow suspect.

If you get hit by a bus, your cause of death isn’t “hit by a bus”. It will be whatever actual thing that killed you i.e head trauma, or massive internal bleeding or whatever. Does that mean we should assume that being hit by the bus had nothing to do with it?

Covid can lead to loss of life in many different ways. That a death certificate doesn’t say “they died from covid” does not mean it wasn’t a factor in the death.

@Postdatedpandemic

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.08.21267491v1 Pre print on vaccine and convalescence efficiency for omicron

I think we need to be clear when we talk about "protection" derived from vaccines whether we are talking about protection from symptomatic infection or protection from severe illness and death. The two are being conflated and misinterpreted.

10 people have apparently been hospitalised between the ages of 18 to 85 and most are double vaccinated.

Forgot screenshot

Not read the full thread, but I think there is concern about omicrons mutations and how it came to be so mutated and the long term effects of that. There are some scientists that believe it may have developed in a HIV patient and obviously there are risks associated with that.
It’s not so much to deaths and hospitalisations that are the concern I think, more the “long covid” effects.

Oh and an article for those who think this is all made up www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/How-a-Stanford-COVID-case-illustrates-the-16683546.php