'Deltacron' Variant w Delta & Omicron Mutations Found In Cyprus, May Be More Severe Than Omic: Plans

[appalachiablue]

- Daily Kos, Jan. 9, 2022. - Excerpts, Ed.

This could be the “worst of all worlds” variant scientists warned could emerge if COVID were allowed to run rampant, combining Delta’s higher hospitalization rates with Omicron’s greater transmissibility and ability to break through immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections. *A new coronavirus variant nicknamed "Deltacron" has been discovered in Cyprus, local media reported on Saturday. The variant has a similar genetic background to the Delta variant, as well as some of the mutations from Omicron, explained Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, the head of the laboratory of biotechnology & molecular virology at the University of Cyprus, according to the Cyprus Mail..

It will take at least a few more weeks to determine whether this is a false alarm or truly a variant that combines the worst aspects of Delta and Omicron—if it can’t outcompete Omicron or if it is no more severe than Omicron, we can breathe a slight sigh of relief for now, at least until the next even worse variant emerges. But if it does outcompete or just becomes as prevalent as Omicron while making it more likely that people be hospitalized (and thus more likely to die or get long COVID), we are in for a world of hurt even worse than the world of hurt we are currently in. Combinations of Delta and Omicron are very likely to happen given how both co-exist in many patients and populations and how COVID-19 has shown a dangerous ability to combine genes from different variants that co-exist in the same patient.

This is why the dropping of precautions on the assumption that Omicron is “mild” is so dangerous. We shouldn’t just “wait & see” if even worse variants emerge, only taking precautions after millions of additional hospitalizations prove that an even worse variant is outcompeting currently already very bad variants, by which time millions of additional people, possibly including us, will already have experienced unnecessary hospitalizations, deaths, or Long COVID. We should instead keep taking precautions until the pandemic is truly over, on the assumption that worse variants are going to emerge sooner or later, until better treatments & vaccines are more widely available to everyone in the world.. Personally, I am aiming to get through the pandemic without being infected, or, failing that, to get only an asymptomatic or very mild case of COVID..

To accomplish this, I am revising my idea of what is necessary for a good life, so that I can maintain maximum COVID precautions all the time, for the rest of my life if needed. For instance, I’ve learned to cook foods that taste even better than restaurant food, so I might never need to eat in restaurants again. I get all my groceries delivered too, and I actually like it better than going to a grocery store—it saves so much time!.. I always wear N95 masks indoors whenever I am outside my home, as well as when I am in crowded outdoor spaces. I’m trying to revise my idea of “fun” to include more local activities instead of anything that requires air travel (which would also be good for the environment). I’m trying to get my friends excited about outdoor activities instead of crowded indoor parties. I’m trying to get my employer to continue allowing remote work, perhaps on a permanent basis.

I also look on the bright side of a long-term anti-COVID lifestyle: I used to get colds, and sometimes flus (despite getting vaccinated every year), for months every year, but I haven’t been ill at all ever since COVID started...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/9/2073587/--Deltacron-variant-with-Delta-Omicron-mutations-found-in-Cyprus-may-cause-more-hospitalizations

- Select Comments: The diarist’s advice to continue to take precautions because the pandemic is not over is good. Perhaps covid is evolving to be more mild but it’s way too early to celebrate & let our guards down. Because this is a novel disease & we have billions of people for it to burn through & because we don’t build up permanent immunity to it, there’s a high degree of uncertainty in how the pandemic will go forward over the next few years.
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Thanks, that’s exactly my point--even if this particular variant turns out to be a false alarm (which we can’t know until more scientists weigh in with more evidence), it’s going to be just a matter of time before a worse variant emerges, so we shouldn’t let our guard down until the pandemic is truly over.. the scientist who discovered this “Deltacron” variant responded to skeptics by saying he is certain it is not based on a lab error, since the samples were processed in multiple sequencing procedures in more than one country, & that at least one sequence from Israel deposited in a global database exhibits genetic characteristics of deltacron. We’ll probably have to wait a few more weeks before the scientists sort this out... Cypriot Scientist Says Covid-19 Variant Deltacron Not an Error

[PSPS]

1. DailyKos clickbait of the day, I guess. There is no "deltacron." The lab said it was contamination.

[appalachiablue]

2. Link? speaking of clickbait. What the diarist says

is interesting in terms of living with the pandemic regardless. And more variants will likely continue to develop unfortunately.

[Scrivener7]

4. I love this guy's attitude! I'm going to try and be more like him.

[appalachiablue]

5. Same here, I think his outlook is great, inspiring!