Omicron is not an illness!

[CommonRoom]

People on MN are claiming they have omicron, or their DH/DCs have omicron or asking if someone else has omicron. Omicron is not a virus. The virus is covid! Omicron is a variant of covid. All virus have variants. Flu has new ones all the time, but we don't use the variant name, we still call it flu.

Also, LFTs and PCRs are tests to detect COVID. In the results you will only find out if you have COVID or not. The omicron variant is something that labs and researchers can detect and they are compiling statistics about its spread but these results are not being given to individuals as a matter of course. Simple common sense would tell you this. The LFTs and PCRs that people are doing regularly are COVID tests and the results are positive/negative for COVID. There is no mention in these results of omicron.

i think it wasn't until your fifth post that you mentioned you weren't a scientist.....four other posts ranting at us telling us people were liars if they claimed they had omicron ..when we ALL know that a proportion of people are indeed actually told

Channel changer

I was simply having a chatty rant about language.

Sure you did OP

On a lighter note, as it’s nearly the end of term…and almost time for lights-out, may I show you a photo of my pet corvid who came to share lunch?
….who also brought along Mrs Corvid with him today….

OP, you're an utter moron. HTH

Flu has new ones all the time, but we don't use the variant name, we still call it flu

Yes we do. All the time. Swine flu, avian flu, Spanish flu. All variant names. We could split the difference and call it “omicron covid” if it makes you feel happier?

Pedantic much.

Ahh, I remember when 'Covid-19' sounded all futuristic and unlikely to catch on (pun possibly intended) when almost everyone was using just 'Coronavirus'.

People had swine flu...

@SynchroSwimmer

On a lighter note, as it’s nearly the end of term…and almost time for lights-out, may I show you a photo of my pet corvid who came to share lunch? ….who also brought along Mrs Corvid with him today….

how delightful!!

I think people might be being told as I'm sure the Zoe app I log with wants us to tell them if it's Omicron

No your right it's a pokèmon.

Just picture Boris Johnson whose Christmas parties and cheese and wine gatherings have been found out and he's wondering what to do. He needs a distraction so he pulls out a pokèball and shouts....

Omicron, I choose you!

I may have been on the gin.

Wow. Why are you so angry?

Yes obviously Omicron is a variant of a virus rather than a virus in itself. But so what? Someone can still say ‘I have Omicron’ ,meaning they have have the Omicron variant.

@Whoopsmahoot

A positive result is the presence of SARS virus particles - it cannot discern which variant. The actual disease as others have stated is COVID.

A) a large share of UK positive test results get further sequencing to check the progress of variants B) Omicron has a specific quirk that means it usually shows a characteristic and identifiable result on standard PCR tests done by many labs

Over the last few weeks people who've been found to have the omicron variant have been informed as such, because different restrictions were in force for their contacts, though it may have been stopped now.

I can understand why people wouldn't know this stuff - it's a bit fiddly and specialist. But I can't understand why people like the OP who don't know this stuff would go onto social media and confidently asset stuff for no reasons.

Until I read this thread I thought it was omnicrom 😂

@CoffeeWithCheese

But then I've just read a 2 week long Twitter spat arguing among phoneticians about how to pronounce omicron and which syllable of the word the stress should go on... if you can read IPA and have insomnia - can recommend

Don’t leave us hanging! What was the outcome??

O-mee-cron (I say this)
Oh-mee-cron
Oh-my-cron
O-my-cron

Although I remain irrationally bothered by people saying covid (like horrid) rather than Coh-vid despite the fact I’ve no clue which is right.

My point is that the regular LFT and PCR results do not tell you what variant you have

PCR tests can tell you whether it is likely to be Omicron or not.

Yes Miss, can we play outside now?

@ivfbabymomma1

Until I read this thread I thought it was omnicrom 😂

I thought so for ages too, I kept wondering why my mum was saying it wrong 😂

Also for the record I don’t care what people say to reflect the fact they have it if it means they’re taking it seriously.

Oh @SynchroSwimmer they're beautiful. I love a corvid.

Are they ravens on the mesa?

I remember when Seine flu was a thing people would specifically say they had swine flu. People might say they have tonsillitis rather than a throat infection. Not sure why it's bothering you

Oh and a while back people would have said they had corona virus, then it moved on to say they had covid. Who actually cares 😆

I thought with your pcr test it tells you if you have the omicron variant? Correct me if I am wrong?