Covid omicron subvariant back on the rise..........

[Takket]

This is so disheartening................

numbers in my home state (Michigan) have been down below 1000 cases a day for about two week now... the last update was back up to 1500......... reading about huge spikes in covid in sewage samples in the northeast....... Europe's numbers are going up and up....... I was thinking of going to an MLB game in early April, ComicCon is in May, and maybe get together with a card playing group... no way now... if it were just me, as vaxxed and boosted, i would have no problem doing this things. But I live with an immune-compromised loved one. They are also vaxxed and boosted but there is no telling what this thing could do to them, vaxxed or not.

Omicron almost seemed like a blessing. it washed over so many people that even the anti-vaxxers got a boost of immunity from having had it, and at the time there didn't seem anything "lined up" behind it. So it looked like covid was going to exhaust its supply of people to infect and maybe go endemic. now it seems the sub-variant is poised to put us right back where we were two months ago.

Are we all just going to have to hunker down and ride out another 2-3 of this variant?

[SoCalDavidS]

1. Americans Couldn't Care Less About Their Fellow Dead Americans

Absolutely, we're going to have to ride this out ALL ON OUR OWN. I haven't expected anybody to keep me safe other than myself, and that's more true now than ever before.

[HariSeldon]

7. I feel both sides keenly

I am, myself, patient and would rather ride the whole thing out as isolated as possible, vaxxing as recommended, masking when out of the house. But there are young children in my life: time perception changes by the time one reaches middle age. A child who was four years old when the lock-down started has spent 1/3 of her or his life under COVID-19 protocols of various levels. Childhood activities and peer bonding are developmentally important, and seeing friends only with masks on or over Zoom just isn't enough. Better to be alive, but not acceptable as a long-term solution.

[Blues Heron]

2. Remember Dr. Jha says wait for the wave before putting on your mask

dont jump the gun! But have it ready, know where it is in case the wave comes here. God forbid we get out in front of this thing.

[hlthe2b]

3. Meh. I like Jha but he's factoring in "acceptability." As a front line (and responsible) HCW

who doesn't want to take chances with my own or others' health I wear at least a surgical grade mask indoors with others outside the family and especially among the unvaccinated. Especially when shopping.

Or, hang some fuzzy dice on your rear-view mirror and give them a spin every day. May the luck of the "die" be with you.

[Blues Heron]

4. It's like the snowflake antimaskers have prevailed by being so loud and obnoxious

So even reasonable people like Jha are forced to go against what they would have said if everybody was on board with stopping this thing.

[Strelnikov_]

5. Time to roll out 4th boosts for everyone that wants one

If vaccine availability for the high risk is not a an issue, that is.


How much of this wave is due to waning immunity?

The vaxxes are not designed for this variant, but still provide protection as they ramp secondary immune response. However, this ramp up is more short lived.

All from my layman's understanding, that is.

[wnylib]

6. Since so many unvaccinated people have

recently had the delta and/or omicron variant(s), is it possible that some acquired immunity, combined with vaccinated people, will prevent a large surge again?

Or, will there be a slow build up of cases in susceptible people that gradually leads to a surge as natural immunity wears off and booster effectiveness declines?