Shanghai Disneyland will close in effort to contain coronavirus

People are still talking about COVID? That is so last year.

wahoo skipper said:

He definitely knows how to play the game.

The hallmark of a successful politician.

Earlier today my newsfeed included the article Gonch linked and then 2 stories down was an article about how the new variant is going to start a 5th wave and Fauci says we may have to lockdown again...for the body aches and scratchy throat I guess... As Brett said this is all so last year. Put a fork in me, I'm done. My husband is required to go in and out of a local hospital's Covid unit multiple times per week as part of his job but he got chased out by a secretary a few days ago because apparently it's OK for him to be exposed to the patients with Covid that he does not know personally, but dangerous and against policy for him to walk into the room next door and interact with a Covid patient in the unit that does know personally. There is no common sense to this, no actual risk consideration, just "policy" and blind adherence to it.

BrettV said:

People are still talking about COVID? That is so last year.

I've had so many relatives die of COVID-19 so far that I've lost count. Maybe a dozen or more. One of my cousins died yesterday, and her two children are hooked up to a ventilator right now. I'm getting tired of all the funerals. So yes, people are still talking about COVID.

Life is precious, to be respected, and not to be taken for granted.

My sincere condolences on your losses, Travis. I know how fortunate I am to have personally lucked out. Everyone in my circle that has contracted COVID has had a mild case that has been an annoyance at worst. I know how lucky I am to be in that position.

My comments about this being "so last year" were 100% silly and satirical because #Coasterbuzz. I have lost count now at how many times I've seen **** like this this and this.

I never meant to actually seem like I don't fully understand and appreciate the world we are living in.

Paisley said:

Fauci says we may have to lockdown again

I'm going to have to see the receipts for that one. And again, we never locked down. We closed some stuff for a few weeks/months. But you never once were prohibited from leaving your house, going to the store, or taking a walk or drive. He did say this: The United States must do "anything and everything" amid likely cases of the variant, but it is "too early to say" whether we need new lockdowns or mandates, Fauci told ABC News.

..for the body aches and scratchy throat I guess...

See, that's where you lose credibility. If we were to take any sort of 2020 style measures it would not be because the variant causes body aches and scratchy throats. A day at Cedar Point causes body aches and a scratchy throat. 2020 mandates would return if serious illness requiring hospitalization and a serious possibility of death became a major concern among the vaccinated.

There is no common sense to this, no actual risk consideration, just "policy" and blind adherence to it.

I'd argue that is your perception, which is fine, but there aren't any facts to really back it up.

The problem is that Fauci said no such thing, but rather it's too soon to tell what will happen with the latest variant. And to Brett's point, there never was a lockdown in the US. What there was, and has been, is a lot of bitching and moaning over common sense restrictions that were effective in the first wave, and even more noise over vaccines. And now, it's completely insane that a thousand people a day are still dying for a completely preventable disease. More Americans have now died since the release of the vaccines than before.

The possible outcomes are the same as they have been for every variant: Vaccines are just as effective, less effective but still prevent severe illness, outright ineffective, or something in between. The other dimension is about how easy it is to spread. The likelihood of vaccines not working and crazy transmission is seriously low. But instant gratification society is gonna have to wait a few weeks to know for sure. The good news is that adapting the vaccines is possible, and they could ship updates in three months if necessary.

I think the concern is warranted, but it's not a reason to panic. Policy doesn't keep up, whether it's from government or the private sector. I read a roundtable discussion among scientists that asked why professional athletes and entertainment companies (i.e., Broadway shows and movie productions) are still doing the massive testing, because a hundred vaccinated people working together are not likely to spontaneously start infecting each other. But conversely, not requiring vaccination among college populations and high schools is stupid.

The scientists were right though about what might happen if broad, global vaccination didn't happen fast enough. Sure enough, poorer nations see larger outbreaks which means more opportunities for mutation. Not sure when the world will start listening.

Not reading the article and whining about being inconvenienced is definitively played out.

But enough about my mom on social media.

In fairness to Gonch’s article and current conflation with Fauci’s political press tour... Here’s what we know...

1. Fauci, who has never seen Omicron...has zero data on Omicron...has zero observations of Omicron’s effects…says it's “really too early to say” whether to expect new lockdowns or mandates for the Omicron variant.

2. Dr Angelique Coetzee, speaking from experience with Omicron’s patients says, “What we are seeing clinically in South Africa, and remember that I’m at the epicenter, that’s where I’m practicing, is extremely mild…We haven’t admitted anyone [to hospital]. I spoke to other colleagues of mine: The same picture…”

I suspect panic levels are proportional to which “expert” or “pseudo-expert” one puts their faith in.

I admittedly, see Fauci as a fraud based on his record of being wrong, lying to Congress, etc... But “wait and see” is always safe advice. Can’t fault him much on that advice…except to note he hasn’t educated the public that “boots on the ground” are saying Omicron is “extremely mild.”

As for Dr Angelique Coetzee... I have no clue who she is. Maybe she has a history of being wrong and lying too. Maybe she’s a saint.

Based on what little we know and the credibility of the “experts” being discussed...I am cautiously optimistic that Omicron won’t reach Delta levels.

Aamilj said:

1. Fauci, who has never seen Omicron...has zero data on Omicron...has zero observations of Omicron’s effects…says it's “really too early to say” whether to expect new lockdowns or mandates for the Omicron variant.

Yeah, Fauci is in no position to have any data. That would be crazy. 🙄 Why do you even post here? It's never anything constructive.

Hope is “constructive” in some bubbles. A constant threat/posibility of more “mandates and lockdowns” must be helpful in others. Different bubbles…

Anyhow, let us “hope” Dr Angelique Coetzee is telling the truth when she says the symptoms of Omicron she is seeing on the ground are “very mild.”

It doesn’t go unnoticed that Dr. Fauci is “in position” to know the doctors in South Africa are reporting Omicron is “mild”…yet somehow has chosen not to relay that optimistic information publicly.

You realize of course that any time we learn more about how the science of all this stuff works and guidelines change and/or are revised, all of the anti-Fauci folks accuse him of "moving the goal posts" to destroy our freedumbs.

If he came out with optimistic information today and then the week before Christmas we realize the new variant is a serious, major threat, you'd do nothing but scream about how he lied to us today and is doing it all intentionally to ruin Christmas.

Interesting. It seems that the word from South Africa on Omicron is that it's *extremely* contagious (more so than Delta) but very mild, unlike Delta which was highly contagious but also very serious.

My understanding is that as viruses mutate their tendency is to become less lethal and more contagious. Something about natural selection. Anyway, I wonder if Omicron is the first stage of SARS-Co-V2 becoming endemic...becoming a contagious nuisance rather than a world-stopping deadly epidemic.

ObDisc: This isn't my specialty, but you knew that already.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

LostKause said:

I've had so many relatives die of COVID-19 so far that I've lost count. Maybe a dozen or more. One of my cousins died yesterday, and her two children are hooked up to a ventilator right now. I'm getting tired of all the funerals.

I'm curious as to how many were vaccinted.

BrettV said:

I know how fortunate I am to have personally lucked out. Everyone in my circle that has contracted COVID has had a mild case that has been an annoyance at worst. I know how lucky I am to be in that position.

Ok, so these two comments have me wondering how close/hard it was for everyone.

We're 20 months into this game and I personally know exactly two people IRL that tested positive. I indirectly know maybe another 6 or 8. All had mild symptoms.

That's it.

I'm not trying to downplay anything so let's not get our panties in a bunch, but it shows how different our experiences really are - even in something that is affecting the entire population of the planet.

I personally know a few (around 6-8 maybe?) who contracted it, the closest (both relationally and physically) of whom are my wife's parents who live within walking distance of our house. They're in their mid-70s, got it post-vaccine and their symptoms were not severe.

Others I know who have gotten it go to my church, which I think has an attendance of 2000+. I'm there just about every week, maskless, and have been COVID-free thus far.

I don't personally know anyone who died from it, but have heard of a small number of friends or relatives of acquaintances who have.

My understanding is that as viruses mutate their tendency is to become less lethal and more contagious. Something about natural selection.

That’s Theobald Smith’s “Law of Declining Virulence.” It is controversial in scientific circles. Intuitively, it makes sense. All else being equal, a pathogen's evolution towards harmlessness is the expected outcome of long-term biological associations, as this will ensure the survival of both species.

I've known dozens of people who were infected, including my son (who got it from a friend's parent who didn't disclose her non-vaccinated status). A few friends who got it pre-vaccine (30's/40's) were sick for as long as three weeks. I've been second degree to about two-dozen hospitalizations, and several deaths. A few people here have mentioned quite a few lost coworkers.

Whatever the facts end up being for the new variant, your emotional reaction to what the scientific community says as they're learning doesn't change those facts once they're known. Even if they contradict early opinions or observations, they will be no less real, or a rational justification to be willfully ignorant.

I've had a vaccinated colleague hospitalized and still getting over it a few months later. A handful of church folks (out of ~100) and co-workers tested positive including one whom I ate lunch with, causing me to isolate for a few days while I waited for a negative test. I've seen/heard of many deaths (probably 10+) in second degree (friends/parents/relatives of church folks).

Between close friends, acquaintances and co workers, I know of about 8-10 who have tested positive from the beginning of all this through now. All had mild symptoms (before and after vaccinations were a thing) and were fine within a few days.