Omicron variant

mellowowl40 said:He knows what he’s talking about, I guess, but his execution is always a bit... sloppy? Like that one video he did about Japan and ivermectin—it just felt off. It’s obvious he could use some more "training" in certain areas, if you know what I mean. I’m not saying we should just write him off entirely, but maybe a little constructive criticism wouldn't hurt. What really gets under my skin, though, is the deleting of comments and that total silence whenever someone actually challenges him. Just shutting down instead of engaging.

I give him a five out of five. My impression is that he generally understands the issues and has good intentions—or at least doesn't have a massive bias—but he trips up every now and then.

frozenraven22 said:He holds a Master’s in Public Health (not a doctorate). For the most part, he just summarizes news from the scientific community. My impression is that he knows his stuff, even if the ratio of cases to infections he cites seems off. Still, I wouldn't write him off as unreliable, at least regarding Omicron.

The man has a million videos out there. I’ve only watched a few, so I’ll preemptively throw some ashes on my own head here in case he actually claimed somewhere that alligator testicles can cure cancer, Corona, and laundry stains.

He’s been on YouTube since the pandemic started. I remember watching his stuff back when they were talking about that cruise ship quarantine in the USA. It was fine—pretty concise and objective.

The issue with him, honestly, is the same issue with all social media content. The more views you get through ads, the more money you make. And how do you get views? By being controversial. He can see all those stats YouTube feeds him.
He mentions vaccine benefits in almost every video, but hey, he makes his real money once he brings up things like Ivermectin or myocarditis. He totally gets that, and he plays it pretty slyly.
He’ll never say Vitamin D and zinc are replacements for vaccines or cures for COVID, but he’ll mention there's "strong evidence" they boost your immune response. Which is technically true, I guess, but the way he serves it up is clearly designed to bait clicks from folks looking for conspiracies rather than actually educating people.

mellowowl40 said:The ads that pop up in every single video if you aren't running an adblocker or whatever.

The guy is actually a retired nurse instructor—not an MD (if that's what you were implying)—and his way of processing things is a bit sloppy, here's something relatively recent:

https://twitter.com/MedCrisis/status...73228786192390

And honestly, the real issue is how he just wipes out any comments he doesn't like—plus, he stopped inviting the people he used to host for discussions, and now he won't even reply to their emails once they start questioning his takes...

That is just way too many oversights and mistakes

-briskjackal5

velvetranger4 said:I don't really follow this guy because his estimates are always way higher than the official data.
To be fair, though, ever since Omicron arrived, both politicians and health officials have been citing numbers that are significantly higher than what's officially confirmed.

I'm with you on the Omicron thing, but he made it clear right away that it's about 4 or 5 times more infectious than Delta or those earlier strains.

With all the fake news flying around regarding the pandemic, he’s actually one of the better sources out there

I guess those ads were just introduced recently

Me and my wife have been chewing on this whole delta thing.
There's no way it spread that fast overnight.

In my book, it’s more likely these mutations are popping up everywhere.
We’re just finally getting better at catching them.

Cheers

rustywalker82 said:That’s a fair question.
Looking at the data from where things first kicked off, the hospitalization rate is about half of what we saw with Delta—not the 10% being suggested. It might be because they're only looking at the very start of the surge across South Africa, so those folks haven't even hit the hospitals yet.
Interestingly, in that same area, deaths are sitting at about 10% compared to Delta. But honestly, it’s too early to call it. That curve is still climbing fast.

New FT chart update for Gauteng:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGvHiDjV...jpg&name=large

rustywalker82 said:JAR, Tshwane Metro, Gauteng Province, chart showing mortality rates among hospitalized patients by age group, omikron vs older strains:

https://www.datawrapper.de/_/wx1ag/
Quick heads-up:
In City of Tshwane Metro, between November-8 December 2021, there were 1,633 admissions and 39 deaths recorded across both public and private healthcare facilities.
...during the early stages, things can get a bit skewed. When numbers are still low, we tend to see more mild cases getting admitted just to be safe. Plus, some folks might test positive for SARS-CoV-2 incidentally while being treated for something else entirely. Also, you haven't really had enough time to see how severe the outcomes actually turn out to be.

The chart is slika 15, found in the full pdf, (NICD Covid-19 Hospital Surveillance Update: Week 48, 2021):

https://www.nicd.ac.za/wp-content/up...8-2021_rev.pdf

While we’re all just sitting around waiting for that next FT graph update, I gotta say, the latest data from the last couple of days hasn't exactly been looking great. Not exactly the news we wanted to see.
So, looking at the numbers from Monday through Saturday, we saw about 130 COVID deaths in California. Then, after those 50 reported on Sunday, they’re just now dropping another 50 for yesterday. It kind of messes with how the data looks when you try to compare it to that top graph and the image above.
I can't write anything yet because you haven't provided the data! Drop the details below and I'll get to work on it.
I was digging through some recent health data reports from the CDC today, and man, there’s a lot to unpack regarding how different diseases are moving through the country right now. It’s one of those things where you think you have a handle on what's going on, then you see the actual numbers and realize the landscape is shifting under your feet. The report breaks down a ton of stuff—everything from seasonal flu trends to more specific outbreaks. It’s pretty heavy reading if you're looking for raw data, but the takeaways are huge for anyone trying to make sense of public health in America. One thing that really jumped out at me was how much the patterns change depending on which region you're looking at. It’s not just one big wave hitting everyone at once; it's more like a series of smaller, localized surges that move across the states. It reminds me of back when we were all dealing with the Delta variant. Everything felt so unpredictable, and seeing these kinds of granular breakdowns makes me realize how much we still rely on this constant stream of surveillance to stay ahead of the curve. You can't just wing it when it comes to something this massive. Anyway, I know **mellownomad7** mentioned something similar about tracking local trends last week, and they were spot on. It’s all about staying informed. If you have a second, it's worth glancing through the summary sections. It’s eye-opening stuff.

The next big indicator to watch is New York City, where the Delta variant is already making up about 90% of all new cases. Hospitalizations are starting to climb quite a bit, too. We'll probably have a much clearer picture of what we're dealing with pretty soon.

mellownomad7 said:Me and my wife have been chewing on this whole delta thing.
There's no way it spread that fast overnight.

In my book, it’s more likely these mutations are popping up everywhere.
We’re just finally getting better at catching them.

Cheers

Well, it hit all the big cities first via air travel, just like every other respiratory virus we've seen. It's just that now, we're catching it much earlier.

In all the states where Omicron is blowing up, the rural areas haven't seen a huge spike yet, but I guess it might happen soon enough.

You’re saying people have better things to do out in the sticks than go over there just to poke around. 😁

The speed this variant is spreading—especially since nobody even knew it existed two or three weeks ago—is insane.

It’s happening right here among us. Just my two cents.

Cheers

Edit:
11/26/2021.

LittleAnt

The "omicron" variant

evo, looks like we’ve got a new variant that probably needs its own thread. They’re calling it Nu.
It’s still going by the code B.1.1.529, and it might end up being dubbed the South African or Botswanan variant.

Looks like old man Bill Gates is bracing for omicron even harder than he did for Katrina, and he’s still staying put after canceling his vacation. Kind of a bummer, especially since he went all out on precautions—who knows how many doses 😢
he actually took

I mean, you’d assume the world's top epidemiologist actually knows what they're doing, wouldn't you?

Bill Gates can do whatever he wants, you know how it goes...

With 25,000 initial Omicron cases popping up in the USA, we're seeing 85 hospitalizations, and since Omicron already accounts for about 60% of all cases across the country,

it’s pretty clear the virus has weakened even if it is spreading faster.

This whole nightmare should be winding down soon, unless, of course, the actual goal was never about containment to begin with. ☕

Just get off our backs and let us live our lives. It's getting ridiculous—little kids are actually starting to draw self-portraits wearing masks. Enough is enough.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/news/politics/national-election-update.html

🎉

The panic-mongers say:
Bill Gates can do whatever he wants, we all know how this works...

With 25,000 initial Omicron cases in the USA, 85 have been hospitalized... We already know Omicron makes up about 60% of all cases in the States.

Honestly, everything points to the fact that the virus has weakened, even if it is more contagious.

This literal nightmare is finally coming to an end—unless, of course, the ultimate goal isn't actually containing the virus at all. ☕

So, seriously, get off our backs and just let us live! It’s getting ridiculous; I've seen kids starting to draw self-portraits wearing masks. Enough is enough!!!

Go tell that to the twenty and thirty-somethings who refused the vaccine and ended up dying from COVID. There aren't many of them, sure, but maybe they could have been saved if it weren't for people like you spreading constant panic.

Linda Harris59 said:

The panic-mongers say:
Bill Gates can do whatever he wants, we all know how this works...

With 25,000 initial Omicron cases in the USA, 85 have been hospitalized... We already know Omicron makes up about 60% of all cases in the States.

Honestly, everything points to the fact that the virus has weakened, even if it is more contagious.

This literal nightmare is finally coming to an end—unless, of course, the ultimate goal isn't actually containing the virus at all. ☕

So, seriously, get off our backs and just let us live! It’s getting ridiculous; I've seen kids starting to draw self-portraits wearing masks. Enough is enough!!!

Go tell that to the twenty and thirty-somethings who refused the vaccine and ended up dying from COVID. There aren't many of them, sure, but maybe they could have been saved if it weren't for people like you spreading constant panic.

These kinds of populist "arguments" just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
So, by that logic, if the mortality rate drops to one in a million, are lockdowns still justified? If not, where exactly do we draw the line on when measures should be lifted?

Why is it that during flu season—which is milder than COVID, let's be clear—no one ever pushes for strict mandates using that same reasoning: if we save even one life through heavy restrictions, then it’s worth it...

INTERESTING FINDINGS
First major Omicron study results are in: 'Evidence suggests holiday lockdowns aren't necessary'
Early data suggested Omicron could dodge current vaccines, but hospitalization and death rates aren't hitting the dramatic levels we saw with Delta.

Two major vaccine manufacturers are claiming their shots still hold up against the Omicron variant. Plus, some decent news out of the USA shows that the risk of ending up in the hospital after catching Omicron is about 40 to 45 percent lower than it was with Delta.

The pandemic is flared up again across much of the globe thanks to Omicron's massive spread. It’s incredibly contagious—for instance, the US just recorded over 100,000 new cases on Wednesday alone, the highest since widespread testing started.

First spotted in South Africa and Hong Kong, Omicron is rapidly taking over Western Europe, though the WHO warns it's still too early to call it regarding how virulent it actually is.

Just waiting for Gordon Freeman to jumpstart the reactor.
That should be interesting. ☕

Later

Betty Gonzalez912 said:These kinds of populist "arguments" just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
So, by that logic, if the mortality rate drops to one in a million, are lockdowns still justified? If not, where exactly do we draw the line on when measures should be lifted?

Why is it that during flu season—which is milder than COVID, let's be clear—no one ever pushes for strict mandates using that same reasoning: if we save even one life through heavy restrictions, then it’s worth it...

You’re talking complete nonsense here. If the mortality rate were actually down to one in a million, we wouldn't be calling this a pandemic, our hospitals wouldn't be overflowing, and our healthcare workers wouldn't be reaching their breaking point.

Betty Gonzalez912 said:These kinds of populist "arguments" just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
So, by that logic, if the mortality rate drops to one in a million, are lockdowns still justified? If not, where exactly do we draw the line on when measures should be lifted?

Why is it that during flu season—which is milder than COVID, let's be clear—no one ever pushes for strict mandates using that same reasoning: if we save even one life through heavy restrictions, then it’s worth it...

Because the flu isn't anywhere near as contagious. It doesn't multiply nearly as fast. Period.

Sarah Ross21 said:Because the flu isn't anywhere near as contagious. It doesn't multiply nearly as fast. Period.

But unfortunately, it kills way more kids. That’s where the real danger lies. During those few months—say, December through February—the absolute bare minimum we could do is move schools to online learning... shut down birthday parties and anything else that isn't strictly essential. Look, I get it—dance classes, sports practice, music lessons—those can stay open. There has to be a reasonable line somewhere. Certain things should be allowed to happen in person, even during flu season.

So, what’s the deal with Omicron? One minute they say it isn’t a threat, then suddenly everyone is losing their minds again...🤷