Omicron variant and the measures implemented in response to it

[TheEdge]

How should one be "cautious" ?

The T cell epitopes are not changing in any of the variants; why would that change now?

What evidence is there that this variant is any more dangerous than previous variants?

The number of mutations appears to be the main excuse for the hysteria, but that's not actually a reason for concern; more mutations does not mean more fitness or more virulence.

Virologists and immunologists who trust vaccines are not particularly concerned so I don't see why we should live our lives any differently?

The only important thing is to get vaccinated. That's it.

Rather than jumping down on anyone who doesn't 100% agree with you and your University of Google Decree in Virology take a moment to read what I wrote.

It wasn't that it is worse or really expressing any opinion on Omicron, its more not taking one persons word as gospel and waiting until people who may not have ulterior motives before deciding its all meaningless.

 

[PTR 444]

Considering we’re getting through the Greek alphabet a lot quicker than expected by skipping the likes of Nu and Xi, what system do we resort to for naming new variants after we reach Omega?

(same logic could be applied to the unanswered question of how UK vehicle registration plates will be numbered after the year 2100, but that’s for another thread).

 

[Dent]

(same logic could be applied to the unanswered question of how UK vehicle registration plates will be numbered after the year 2100).

Off topic, but that would actually be after March 2051, the two digit year identifier changes twice per year so covers 50 years from the first use of this format in September 2001.

 

[kristiang85]

Considering we’re getting through the Greek alphabet a lot quicker than expected by skipping the likes of Nu and Xi, what system do we resort to for naming new variants after we reach Omega?

(same logic could be applied to the unanswered question of how UK vehicle registration plates will be numbered after the year 2100).

My mate says we should name them after flowers to make them sound less threatening.

Petunia variant, anyone?

 

[Ediswan]

Considering we’re getting through the Greek alphabet a lot quicker than expected by skipping the likes of Nu and Xi, what system do we resort to for naming new variants after we reach Omega?

Egyptian hieroglyphs.

(same logic could be applied to the unanswered question of how UK vehicle registration plates will be numbered after the year 2100).

2050. We get through two of the available hundred numbers each year.

 

[PTR 444]

2050. We get through two of the available hundred numbers each year.

See my post in this thread:

How might car registration plates be numbered after the year 2100?

Off topic, but that would actually be after March 2051, the two digit year identifier changes twice per year so covers 50 years from the first use of this format in September 2001. Although there is already a plan for this - The format will go from XXnn XXX to XXX nnXX for the years 2051-2101...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Considering we’re getting through the Greek alphabet a lot quicker than expected by skipping the likes of Nu and Xi, what system do we resort to for naming new variants after we reach Omega?

(same logic could be applied to the unanswered question of how UK vehicle registration plates will be numbered after the year 2100).

I think galaxies was mentioned the other day (on the radio or a newspaper article).

 

[Yew]

Egyptian hieroglyphs.

And we have a winner, you win two reed and some twisted flax.

 

[Scotrail314209]

How about we do what we do with storms and go through every letter. I vote for a Karen/Doris/Susie variant.

 

[yorksrob]

My mate says we should name them after flowers to make them sound less threatening.

Petunia variant, anyone?

Triffid variant for a bad one ?

 

[Ediswan]

Triffid variant for a bad one ?

They get named first, the severity, or lack of, only becomes apparent later.

 

[PTR 444]

How about we do what we do with storms and go through every letter. I vote for a Karen/Doris/Susie variant.

How about a Boris variant, Whitty Variant, Valance variant etc

 

[brad465]

A class comment on the FT site:

"The year is 2032. Dozens of variants and 29 booster shots later, you smile nostalgically at the medical mask you find between your sofa's pillows just before you don your hazmat suit in order to go outside and walk the dog. You briefly remember what it must have been like reading a book in a full train and shudder - this new normal is much safer."

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Considering we’re getting through the Greek alphabet a lot quicker than expected by skipping the likes of Nu and Xi, what system do we resort to for naming new variants after we reach Omega?

This is a good thing we've gone from Delta to Omicron without over reacting.

 

[AlterEgo]

How about a Boris variant, Whitty Variant, Valance variant etc

Why not just name them after the country they originated from?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Nov 2021 ==

This is a good thing we've gone from Delta to Omicron without over reacting.

They skipped Xi though. Wonder why?

 

[bramling]

Why not just name them after the country they originated from?

Didn’t Trump try that one?!

 

[AlterEgo]

Didn’t Trump try that one?!

Yes I was being tongue in cheek! (But seriously I don’t see why not, Botswana Variant, Indian variant, Kent variant, seems fine to me)

 

[Jonny]

Why not just name them after the country they originated from?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Nov 2021 ==


They skipped Xi though. Wonder why?

Could it be the surname of the President where the disease was first observed?

 

[brad465]

Six cases discovered now in Scotland, this reporting is like January and February 2020 all over again:

Scotland expands vaccine rollout after six Omicron cases found

The Scottish government says it will offer a third dose to all over-18s and a second vaccine to those aged 12 to 15.

www.bbc.co.uk

Six cases of the new Covid Omicron variant have been identified in Scotland.
The Scottish government said four cases have been found in Lanarkshire and two in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
Contact tracing is taking place to establish the origin of the virus and find anyone else they have come into contact with in recent weeks.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was a "worrying time" for the six people with the new variant.
"All will receive expert help and support and Public Health Scotland will undertake enhanced contact tracing in all cases.
"This will help establish the origin of the virus and any further individuals they have come into contact with in recent weeks."

The media should have far more important things to be reporting on than this, such as why the ONS have been reporting excess deaths that cannot be explained by covid every week for the last 3 months? Of course they won't do that if it's not as big a cash cow to them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The media should have far more important things to be reporting on than this, such as why the ONS have been reporting excess deaths that cannot be explained by covid every week for the last 3 months? Of course they won't do that if it's not as big a cash cow to them.

The media always are on the lookout for something to fit their headline programme....it has always been so.

 

[kristiang85]

There is some speculation that the sequencing shows evidence that Omicron has been around since late September/early October, so therefore it might be spreading a lot slower than feared.

 

[yorksrob]

Six cases discovered now in Scotland, this reporting is like January and February 2020 all over again:

Scotland expands vaccine rollout after six Omicron cases found

The Scottish government says it will offer a third dose to all over-18s and a second vaccine to those aged 12 to 15.

www.bbc.co.uk

The media should have far more important things to be reporting on than this, such as why the ONS have been reporting excess deaths that cannot be explained by covid every week for the last 3 months? Of course they won't do that if it's not as big a cash cow to them.

One would have thought that the non-covid excess deaths over the past few months would be a good subject for a Panorama, or some such.

 

[Darandio]

There is some speculation that the sequencing shows evidence that Omicron has been around since late September/early October, so therefore it might be spreading a lot slower than feared.

And i'd hedge my bets that it never originated in Africa at all. No deaths have been attributed to it and initial reports show mild illness with no hospitalisations as yet for those vaccinated yet we are told to be very worried about it. It's blatant scaremongering.

 

[Yew]

Six cases discovered now in Scotland, this reporting is like January and February 2020 all over again:

Scotland expands vaccine rollout after six Omicron cases found

The Scottish government says it will offer a third dose to all over-18s and a second vaccine to those aged 12 to 15.

www.bbc.co.uk

The media should have far more important things to be reporting on than this, such as why the ONS have been reporting excess deaths that cannot be explained by covid every week for the last 3 months? Of course they won't do that if it's not as big a cash cow to them.

The quotes from our pre-2020 pandemic plans come to mind. Especially the ones about border controls being useless, as by the time something has been “discovered”, it will already be here.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Nov 2021 ==

And i'd hedge my bets that it never originated in Africa at all. No deaths have been attributed to it and initial reports show mild illness with no hospitalisations as yet for those vaccinated yet we are told to be very worried about it. It's blatant scaremongering.

We have been seeing the ratio of deaths to cases changing recently, I had presumed it was down to the booster programme providing more protection in vulnerable groups - but if the reports of milder symptoms coming from SA are true, it could also be contributing.

 

[Darandio]

We have been seeing the ratio of deaths to cases changing recently, I had presumed it was down to the booster programme providing more protection in vulnerable groups - but if the reports of milder symptoms coming from SA are true, it could also be contributing.

Indeed. As strange as it may sound to some Omicron could be one of the best things that could happen right now if it overtakes Delta and pushes it out.

 

[kristiang85]

Indeed. As strange as it may sound to some Omicron could be one of the best things that could happen right now if it overtakes Delta and pushes it out.

Agreed. A mild but transmisssble form of the virus would be great. The fact that it may have been in the community for a while but not detected could well mean it is incredibly mild.

The Scottish cases have no travel history, which shows it is probably in community circulation already.

 

[brad465]

We have been seeing the ratio of deaths to cases changing recently, I had presumed it was down to the booster programme providing more protection in vulnerable groups - but if the reports of milder symptoms coming from SA are true, it could also be contributing.

This is the latest Worldometer update for cases and deaths, which shows that while the worldwide daily cases are going up, the daily death total is staying flat and the trends clearly don't correlate like they used to:

COVID Live Update: 243,312,149 Cases and 4,946,037 Deaths from the Coronavirus - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

 

[Yew]

This is the latest Worldometer update for cases and deaths, which shows that while the worldwide daily cases are going up, the daily death total is staying flat and the trends clearly don't correlate like they used to:

COVID Live Update: 243,312,149 Cases and 4,946,037 Deaths from the Coronavirus - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

<images removed>

I'd not rule out that the curve is simply due to cases increasing in Europe, were there are lots of vaccinations, and decreasing in less-vaccinated parts of the world.

 

[yorksrob]

Jeremy Vine is already running with "should we have another full lockdown" today.

Time to get the popcorn in for the hypochondriacs special !

 

[adc82140]

Jeremy Vine is already running with "should we have another full lockdown" today.

Time to get the popcorn in for the hypochondriacs special !

I've said all along, if hypochondriac individuals want to lock themselves down, who am I to stop them. They can their lives and I won't interfere, and I'll live mine and they can stay out of my business.