What do you make of "Omicron" (COVID Variant B.1.1.529)? Big deal? No big deal?

Discussion in 'Opinion POLLS' started by Pollycy, Nov 28, 2021.

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Based on what we've been told so far, what do you make of the "Omicron" variant?

Poll closed Dec 12, 2021.
  1. Omicron is a significant new threat because it can be spread much more easily.

    12.1%
  2. Omicron is just another variant that the world will 'get used to'. A new jab is already underway.

    21.2%
  3. Omicron is actually less lethal than Delta and other COVID variants...?!

    27.3%
  4. Omicron actually inflicts milder symptoms on the infected.

    45.5%
  5. Omicron could 'join' with Ebola, or a 'flesh-eating' virus and make a devastating new hybrid.

    3.0%
  6. Omicron is mainly a new scare tactic 'insiders' are using to control public behavior and spending.

    42.4%
  7. Omicron will be used to enact new rounds of welfare, central bank "easing" & other manipulation.

    27.3%
  8. Omicron will cause me to go back into near-total isolation.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. Omicron will not affect me at all, unless the gov't. forces "measures" on the population.

    48.5%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. HonestJoe

    HonestJoe Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Again, who exactly did you see "screaming four-star RED ALERT"? I'm sure some tabloid media will have over-spun the situation and lots of random individuals will have picked up on and run with that, but they're not (or shouldn't be!) important. I'm not convinced the people actually directly involved reacted in such an extreme way. To put it another way, the panic wasn't in response to the actual discovery of the variant, it was in response to what other people said and did about it.

    Governments initially responded on the basis of the specifics being unknown so generally went with a not unreasonable excess of caution. As more is understood about the variant (as in from actual scientific study, not speculation), those responses will be adjusted appropriately. Similarly, the stock market responds strongly to unknowns in general, which is why the announcement of a new variant of concern that the specifics of weren't initially know triggered major shifts. They have already started to settle down and would largely have done regardless of what further details came out.
     
  2. James California

    James California Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    ~ It will be used to great advantage :blankstare:
     
  3. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And Biden was against the vax.....before he was for it! Wonder if he appreciated Operation Warp Speed.....or hated it?
     
  4. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    Who "exactly" was making a "four-star RED ALERT" out of the Omicron 'revelation'...? It would be easier to identify even one of them that didn't, Joe! All of a sudden, Omicron was here, it was there, and it was immediately announced by experts that it would be all over the place shortly! One first-world nation in 'the West' after another announced that it would quickly cut off travel from at least eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa -- or did you miss that...? You may not think that this should have happened, but it did.

    In fairness, there is a vacuum that forms when a 'phenom' like Omicron bursts on the scene, but there is a paucity of reliable information pertaining to it! That vacuum is rapidly filled with all kinds of speculation and worries, including concerns that the "what's-next" factor could include hybrid viruses that include behaviors far, far worse than anything we've seen to date.

    You jumped on me for even mentioning it in a hypothetical way, but, again -- to this moment, the root-causes of the COVID-19 pandemic remain very cloudy, according to the recently-released "Updated Assessment of COVID-19 Origins": https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Declassified-Assessment-on-COVID-19-Origins.pdf . It concludes, broadly, "Well, we don't know anything for SURE, but China sure as hell isn't helping!" So, Joe, truth? We still don't know exactly what we're dealing with, or what it may possibly turn into next!

    Your earlier accusations that I "sneak" in with "wild speculation and exaggerated rhetoric" was abrupt and dismissive. I didn't say or infer that China deliberately released a manufactured bioweapon on the world, and I didn't say or infer that the Omicron was just about to actually turn into a flesh-eating disease, either. Maybe... just maybe both of us could agree on that much...?

    As I said yesterday, if and when someone whose opinion I RESPECT, like Dr. Center ( @CenterField ), says there's something else to worry about regarding Omicron, then I'll worry. Barring that, with my two Pfizer vaxxes, one Pfizer booster, a conventional flu-shot, my vitamins, minerals, and my habitual mask-wearing all together, I ain't gonna worry about it anymore! Have a lovely day! :sun:
     
  5. HonestJoe

    HonestJoe Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I don't see what you describe there as "screaming four-star RED ALERT". Experts saying where the new variant had already been identified and stating that it could (and probably will) spread further very quickly are just simple statements of fact and the countries restricting travel was in general a reasonable response in the immediate term, at least until more specifics are known about the variant. The only panic I see is in the people claiming there has been some kind of panic.

    Your earlier accusations that I "sneak" in with "wild speculation and exaggerated rhetoric" was abrupt and dismissive. I didn't say or infer that China deliberately released a manufactured bioweapon on the world, and I didn't say or infer that the Omicron was just about to actually turn into a flesh-eating disease, either. Maybe... just maybe both of us could agree on that much...?[/quote]It was quite intentionally abrupt and dismissive. That's what happens when you make wild and entirely unsupported claims that can only be designed to generate the kind of panic that you claim to be objecting to in the first place. If you weren't saying or inferring anything, why else would you post those comments in the first place? Regardless, I never said you inferred anything anyway. If anything that makes it worse; it would have been somewhat better if you made clear accusations backed up with actual evidence.
     
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  6. dairyair

    dairyair Well-Known Member

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    And just what control is there with 8 or 10 countries restricted from travel to USA?
    There are about 195 countries in the world.

    So what kind of control do you think biden is getting?
     
  7. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    There are a couple of concerning pieces of information about Omicron.

    One, is that new Covid-19 cases in the region where it is first spreading (Southern Africa), jumped by a factor of 16x in two weeks. This does suggest that this variant is even more infectious than Delta, if it is confirmed that all or most of these cases are indeed Omicron cases.

    Two, the initial reports of it being very mild may have to do with the first major hot spot having happened in a college campus, therefore, hitting a population of healthy young adults who tend to have mild cases anyway. So, it is still not excluded that once Omicron starts getting to older and more infirm people, we'll see lethality more in tune with what other variants have inflicted, so far. Also, hospitalization, ICU care, and death lag behind new cases by a few weeks, so the mild stuff we have started seeing may still turn more deadly as the weeks go by. There are already some reports in South Africa's hospitals of more severe cases needing hospitalization.

    As of now we know close to nothing about vaccine efficacy against Omicron. It is hard to say, including because the Southern African population has very low rates of vaccination (even South Africa has a low rate; their poorer neighbors have an even lower rate). So maybe it's becoming a problem there with the high speed of spread, but maybe it won't be as dramatic in a Western country with higher rate of vaccination (in case the vaccines conserve some efficacy against Omicron).

    Lab tests with vaccine-generated antibodies, convalescent plasma, and monoclonal antibodies to gauge the degree of neutralization they deliver to cell cultures infested with Omicron, will have to be done to ascertain how the variant reacts to the various kinds of antibodies. Real-life observation of breakthrough infections and re-infections will also need to be done, and that takes a few weeks.

    So, again, patience. No need for panic, but yes, there is a potential for trouble, so we need to monitor the situation. We'll know more in 2 weeks, and a lot more in 4 and 6 weeks.
     
  8. ToughTalk

    ToughTalk Well-Known Member

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    It's actually really great news! If it becomes the dominant strain then we can ****ing relax and go back to normal. If we had a sane government in charge that is...and not the authoritarian bullshit we voted in.
     
  9. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    no he was not against the vax, that is fake news

    warp speed was created AFTER the vax entered trials, almost like Trump wanted to try to steal credit for the vaccine

    wonder if Biden will get the Covid pill approved faster than Trump got the vaccine approved?
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  10. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    On the virus?....he's not getting any control. Over weak willed Americans?.... He drives the fear to get more to turn to government for their answers.
     
  11. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    No, he was against the vaccine as long as Trump was behind it. He could have cared less about American health. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/biden-does-not-trust-trump-to-deliver-a-safe-vaccine
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  12. dairyair

    dairyair Well-Known Member

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    Then I don't see how he's getting control as you've suggested.
    Where does gov't get their information on covid?
     
  13. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  14. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    It was quite intentionally abrupt and dismissive. That's what happens when you make wild and entirely unsupported claims that can only be designed to generate the kind of panic that you claim to be objecting to in the first place. If you weren't saying or inferring anything, why else would you post those comments in the first place? Regardless, I never said you inferred anything anyway. If anything that makes it worse; it would have been somewhat better if you made clear accusations backed up with actual evidence.[/QUOTE]

    *** You screwed up the reply/quote feature, but I figured out what I think you were trying to reply to.... ***

    I'm not going to tell you YET AGAIN that I don't (DON'T) believe that we're actually, really, for sure, going to see a virus mutation that combines all the fun features of COVID with a "flesh-eating virus". Is that really some kind of 'epicenter' hot-button of yours, or are you the sort that just like to silence and 'cancel' people for amusement...?

    As I said, now, for about the third time, when someone I RESPECT, like 'Dr. Center' ( @CenterField ) says that we've got something to 'go-to-battle-stations' about, then I'll get spun up and take whatever measures are necessary.

    But you? You may say whatever you please, because, in case you need to be reminded of it -- here in the Forum you are welcome to contribute any commentary you like, so long as it does not violate the published rules.... And, in the meantime, don't worry --

    I'll do my best to keep the FLESH-EATING VIRUS that lives under the bed from crawling out and getting you!

    [​IMG] ... :party:.:lol:
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  15. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    LOL. Children, children, calm down!
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
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  16. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Ideally it shouldn't be up to Biden to "get" the Covid pill approved, just like it shouldn't have been up to Trump to get vaccines, Remdesivir, convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies approved. Biden is not an FDA career scientist, or a member of an FDA ad-hoc committee of experts (and neither is Trump). One of the reasons I voted for Biden is that I wanted to see the end of political interference, with the administration putting pressure on FDA and CDC scientists to do this or that. I'm not sure that this has happened (the end of it, after the change in administration), and I find it regrettable. The American people would be safer if politicians left the scientists alone when they are considering such decisions. Whether or not the FDA should approve something for the use of the American public, should be exclusively based on the balance between risks and benefits; not on the politics of the Republican or the Democratic parties. In the past there was no such interference, or at least, if there was some pressure, it should be seen as some unfortunate exception. Now pressuring the FDA and the CDC is becoming the rule rather than the exception.
     
  17. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    it's not up to Biden, that is the point, but the only way to make the right see that is to say Biden gets credit if it's approved :)

    many on the right thought Trump had something to do with the vaccine, he did not, would have happened under any President, every country approved it around the same time
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  18. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well this administration? It certainly is not science. If you'd like I can do a lengthy post on all the contradictions we've heard.....especially with Dr. Fauci who claims to be the Mr. epitome of science. No I think they get their information from the Globalist "Brain Child". They do not EVEN consider natural immunity in their assumptions so how can that be science?
     
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  19. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Of course, but only Trump would short circuit the bureaucracy to make it happen at operation warp speed. No one else has the political cajones to ever do that!
     
  20. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Ah OK, sarcasm sometimes is hard to read in an online forum. I now get your point.

    However, I can't entirely agree. An administration can lend support to scientific research and development, and the Warp Speed initiative did do that. I don't think we'd have the Moderna vaccine without Warp Speed. Moderna was a company that had never placed a product in the market and had never managed a phase 3 trial. They were small and poorly equipped and didn't have enough scientists. They did have bright ideas. So, Moderna got a huge grant from Warp Speed, and updated equipment, hired 100 additional scientists to work in shifts around the clock, and the NIH mentored and taught them how to run the phase 3 trial. Their vaccine ended up being the most successful of them all. Initially it seemed like the Pfizer (which was not developed within Warp Speed) was better, but later data showed that Moderna was delivering higher and more lasting protection.

    Would any administration have helped Moderna the same way? I simply don't know. Maybe, or maybe not. Maybe another administration would have placed a bet on some other company that would fail, like Inovio did fail. Operation Warp Speed bet on Inovio, Novavax, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi. Inovio and Sanofi didn't pay off. J&J and AstraZeneca did, but with a product a bit less efficacious and a bit riskier than Moderna's. Novavax had a mixed run, and was unable to get their product approved here in the US although they are placing it elsewhere (they didn't only get funds from OWS, by the way). Moderna is the huge success story, and it is abundantly clear that they couldn't have done it without Warp Speed.

    Sure, maybe if Moderna didn't exist, Pfizer would simply manufacture more vials and would fill up that market niche... but we wouldn't have the one vaccine that seems to be the best one.

    Did other countries also engage in supporting their biotech firms to make vaccines? Sure. But not all countries. Actually the ability to successfully deliver a sophisticated Covid-19 vaccine in about one year trying, is the privilege of just a few countries. Most countries approved vaccines that were made elsewhere or franchised to them from elsewhere.

    So, although I'm anti-Trump and I voted against Trump, I don't go as far as completely denying that the Warp Speed initiative was a good thing that actually did produce at least one major success story. If you don't acknowledge it when your opponent scores a hit, your credibility in criticizing your opponent when he screws up gets diminished.

    So, please, do give some credit to Trump for Operation Warp Speed. It was indeed a good thing, and it did produce results. In many other ways that relate to the pandemic, he screwed up, but on Operation Warp Speed, he didn't.
     
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  21. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    warp speed really did not do much other than make pre-orders, everything else would have occurred regardless

    warp speed was not even created until after Pfizer was in trials already, which means the vaccine already existed at that point
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  22. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    you mean like he did with ppe?
     
  23. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The Pfizer vaccine existed. The Moderna one entirely depended on Warp Speed. And no, that's not true. Warp Speed did a bunch of things, even down to contracting for freeze resistant glass vials, syringes, distribution networks, cost-sharing deals, and so on and so forth. I don't think you're fully informed about the full scope of Warp Speed. It was definitely a good thing.
     
  24. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    Be very careful, Dr. Center, about saying anything (ANYTHING) that can be construed as approving or praising anything (ANYTHING) that the Trump administration did regarding meeting the challenge of rapid development and deployment of a vaccine for COVID-19 -- because if the hyperliberal 'woke' faction thinks you've committed that heresy, they'll SAVAGE you!

    [​IMG] . "Send Dr. Center to a RE-EDUCATION CAMP!" :furious:
     
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  25. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hehe, it is true. But I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Yes, the Warp Speed initiative was definitely a positive feature of the Trump administration, and I won't ever refrain from acknowledging it.
     
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