COVID Gains After Mask Rules Dropped

[Guest]

23 hours ago, Rudynate said:

I will continue to guided by the pros.  After all, epidemiologists deal with this stuff every day.

Yeah, like why not look at the CDC website, for once. They're our country's top public health officials (epidemiologists are only partly helpful). 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Unicorn

[+ Tygerscent]

On 3/17/2022 at 8:03 PM, Lucky said:

President Obama isn't the only DC resident to get COVID. Biden had to cancel a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister when the latter tested positive. He had just spent time with Nancy Pelosi!

From the nytimes.com:

A flurry of high-profile coronavirus cases in the nation’s capital — including in people who have been around President Biden — has raised new questions about the trajectory of the two-year-old pandemic, even as the White House has signaled confidence in the country’s ability to resume normal activities...

...In the past week, Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, tested positive for the virus, ...At least nine House Democrats received positive tests this week after a party retreat in Philadelphia and late-night voting at the Capitol.

But the recent cases in Washington, and the spread of yet another variant around the world, highlight a challenge for Mr. Biden and his team: how to embrace the country’s desire to move on while being careful not to declare victory over a virus that is still making people sick and killing more than 1,000 Americans each day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/politics/washington-coronavirus-cases.html

Part of the circumstances is that BA.2 and it’s/other variants are heavily mutated with regard to the S protein that covid tests rely on to determine a positive or negative test result. 
 The mutations also elude current vaccines. The virus is simply mutating at a faster rate then we can create testing, prophylaxis and treatments for.  
 It seems to often be the case that in peoples minds and understanding there are only the original coronavirus, the Delta, the Omicron and maybe one or two prevalent variant forms but, in reality there are millions of variant forms emerging all the time from every new infected population.
 The nature of the virus is to replicate… it mutate constantly because it is small and replicates in the multiple millions even within one single individual. Many of the variant forms are unsuccessful surviving variants  but, numerous varieties known as “clades” and “clade variants” are successful and continue to infect others resulting in more mutations and different disease states associated with those new forms. The disease keeps evolving. 
 The idea of isolation does make sense in some settings. For examples, when there is a small percentage of infections and it’s possible to isolate the infection so that it doesn’t spread. If the pathogen is isolated, it can’t infect others, doesn’t have the opportunity to mutate and eventually ends within the few isolated individuals/cultures it’s infected~   
 Human beings, (collectively), have been unsuccessful/unwilling/unable to isolate this virus. So, it’s variant forms, replication and mutation rates are uncontrolled/uncontrollable. Lifting the mask mandates really only exacerbates the potential for new variant forms and illness that comes along with it. 
  BA.2 doesn’t reliably show up on the current/older home testing kits available. So, false negatives have a greater potential to occur. Since the current vaccines don’t “cure” the virus as it’s prevalence is so high, the treatments and prophylactics simply stress the infections…some percentage of the infection is killed off but, some small percentage survives that is stronger then cures and thus drug resistant forms develop and become dominant.  
 The risk of super bug syndrome increases when isolation and treatments can’t/don’t eliminate the pathogen… very similar to what happens with improper use of antibiotics:fungicides/pesticides etc.,  when the original strains are not completely wiped out of an infected individual and some resistant bug has a chance to succeed and spread. ie., MRSA and neuro Syphilis, resistant Gonorrhea etc.
 When this virus was not dealt with early on, it  created the lingering circumstances we continue to deal with now. 
  There’s also this assumption that viruses always mutate into harmless pathogens and that members of an infected population, (whether bacterial or human or whatever), overcome the pathogen with herd immunity. 
 Most people don’t understand the concept of herd immunity, (a potential, not a certainty). The world we live in is one with few boundaries… we fly, we travel, we ship things to each other all over the world… on personal levels, people have a track record of inconsistency in isolating themselves from this virus~ Some do and some don’t. 
 The more people that become infected with a highly infective/efficient pathogen, the greater that pathogen’s ability to survive elimination.   
 This isn’t a China or Biden specific challenge… its not any one person’s or group’s specific challenge… it’s bigger than that at this point~    
 I personally don’t see this virus going away anytime soon.
 One’s best bet is to avoid getting it and to get vaccinated as those options become available and remain effective and safe. 
 PreP works for HIV because HIV isn’t as infectious as covid… The idea of a covid PreP type approach is more difficult. 
 Maybe mass, (entire continents), vaccination in addition to isolation of those sick and not vaccinated might work if a vaccine were created that would actually reduce virus enough so that it wasn’t infectious to others and decreased its potential for mutation but, we would need to be a much more unified and sophisticated people to achieve that level of cooperation. 
I don’t think we are there yet. 
 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Tygerscent

[+ Tygerscent]

On 3/17/2022 at 2:24 AM, Unicorn said:

Case rates are irrelevant. What's important are hospitalization rates. Lord (and Xi) only knows what's going on in China, but if their vaccine doesn't work, they should just stop being idiots and use the western vaccines. China is very good on forcing their citizens to do shit, so they shouldn't have any trouble mandating vaccines for all of their citizens and anyone entering the country. Vaccinate everyone--->no one gets seriously ill--->problem solved. 

The vaccines used in the states are outdated already… they are only partially effective against the newer variants. They eventually will not work well at all.  
 If everyone were vaccinated with the same flu shot every season, the flu wouldn’t go away. There is constant need to predict with most prevalent forms and modify the vaccines. 
 We basically have one small set of covid vaccinations for a virus that has millions of clades that escape the current vaccinations and prophylactics.  
 Mass vaccination might have worked better had it been implemented more extensively, sooner and been accepted by people as a whole. There wasn’t the: fuller understanding of the virus, vaccinations available and there also wasn’t the time, knowledge and technology to deal with it all in the ways necessary for us to bring it all under control. 
 What was needed at the time to control it wasn’t there and still is not in place. 
 We are not simply physically naïve to coronavirus… we are also emotionally, psychologically and experience level naïve to coronavirus. That’s part of the difficulty of controlling it among our population. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Tygerscent

[Rudynate]

15 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Yeah, like why not look at the CDC website, for once. They're our countries top public health officials (epidemiologists are only partly helpful). 

Epidemiology is not for dilletantes.

[curiousbynature12]

Personally, I don't want to get COVID (because I really don't want to get Long COVID), so I hope this new wave peaks and declines sooner rather than later.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

Part of the circumstances is that BA.2 and it’s/other variants are heavily mutated with regard to the S protein that covid tests rely on to determine a positive or negative test result. 
 The mutations also elude current vaccines. The virus is simply mutating at a faster rate then we can create testing, prophylaxis and treatments for.  
 It seems to often be the case that in peoples minds and understanding there are only the original coronavirus, the Delta, the Omicron and maybe one or two prevalent variant forms but, in reality there are millions of variant forms emerging all the time from every new infected population.
 The nature of the virus is to replicate… it mutate constantly because it is small and replicates in the multiple millions even within one single individual. Many of the variant forms are unsuccessful surviving variants  but, numerous varieties known as “clades” and “clade variants” are successful and continue to infect others resulting in more mutations and different disease states associated with those new forms. The disease keeps evolving. 
 The idea of isolation does make sense in some settings. For examples, when there is a small percentage of infections and it’s possible to isolate the infection so that it doesn’t spread. If the pathogen is isolated, it can’t infect others, doesn’t have the opportunity to mutate and eventually ends within the few isolated individuals/cultures it’s infected~   
 Human beings, (collectively), have been unsuccessful/unwilling/unable to isolate this virus. So, it’s variant forms, replication and mutation rates are uncontrolled/uncontrollable. Lifting the mask mandates really only exacerbates the potential for new variant forms and illness that comes along with it. 
  BA.2 doesn’t reliably show up on the current/older home testing kits available. So, false negatives have a greater potential to occur. Since the current vaccines don’t “cure” the virus as it’s prevalence is so high, the treatments and prophylactics simply stress the infections…some percentage of the infection is killed off but, some small percentage survives that is stronger then cures and thus drug resistant forms develop and become dominant.  
 The risk of super bug syndrome increases when isolation and treatments can’t/don’t eliminate the pathogen… very similar to what happens with improper use of antibiotics:fungicides/pesticides etc.,  when the original strains are not completely wiped out of an infected individual and some resistant bug has a chance to succeed and spread. ie., MRSA and neuro Syphilis, resistant Gonorrhea etc.
 When this virus was not dealt with early on, it  created the lingering circumstances we continue to deal with now. 
  There’s also this assumption that viruses always mutate into harmless pathogens and that members of an infected population, (whether bacterial or human or whatever), overcome the pathogen with herd immunity. 
 Most people don’t understand the concept of herd immunity, (a potential, not a certainty). The world we live in is one with few boundaries… we fly, we travel, we ship things to each other all over the world… on personal levels, people have a track record of inconsistency in isolating themselves from this virus~ Some do and some don’t. 
 The more people that become infected with a highly infective/efficient pathogen, the greater that pathogen’s ability to survive elimination.   
 This isn’t a China or Biden specific challenge… its not any one person’s or group’s specific challenge… it’s bigger than that at this point~    
 I personally don’t see this virus going away anytime soon.
 One’s best bet is to avoid getting it and to get vaccinated as those options become available and remain effective and safe. 
 PreP works for HIV because HIV isn’t as infectious as covid… The idea of a covid PreP type approach is more difficult. 
 Maybe mass, (entire continents), vaccination in addition to isolation of those sick and not vaccinated might work if a vaccine were created that would actually reduce virus enough so that it wasn’t infectious to others and decreased its potential for mutation but, we would need to be a much more unified and sophisticated people to achieve that level of cooperation. 
I don’t think we are there yet. 
 

I'm not going to dissect this tirade point by point, but just want to express a hope that people obtain their information regarding our current status with respect to the virus (how we're doing, what to expect, how to behave) from the CDC and other public health professionals, and not from pseudo-informed ramblings from people who just have "opinions," "arguments," and limited insight into microbiology and public health. 

Sorry I was unable to copy and print the graph on my laptop, but this link shows the graph of the latest data, and both hospitalizations and ICU rates have dropped dramatically in the last several weeks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=data+on+Covid+hospitalizations+in+the+US&ei=YehAYpD0N-eGwbkPr7-GqAs&ved=0ahUKEwjQqIDPruf2AhVnQzABHa-fAbUQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=data+on+Covid+hospitalizations+in+the+US&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB4yCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjoECAAQQzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6CAgAEIAEELEDOgsILhCxAxCDARDUAjoLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDOgUIABCABDoICAAQsQMQgwE6BQguEIAEOgsILhCABBDHARCvAToHCAAQgAQQCjoGCAAQFhAeOgkIABDJAxAWEB46CAgAEBYQChAeSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUABYqEFg5kNoAXABeACAAe0BiAHfI5IBBjcuMzMuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

This is simply a matter of FACT, and not something which can be debated. The hospitalization rates and ICU statistics (and deaths) are the only important statistics, not the number of "cases." In fact, if the number of cases balloons, but the hospital data are radically better, this is only further proof that the virus has become markedly less virulent (and/or that we're getting close to herd immunity). It doesn't matter if you reasoned out that this is not the way it should be, or how you want to look at things. It simply is. 

Yes, it would be nicer for everyone if everyone were vaccinated. Don't forget that the reason a lot of people aren't vaccinated is for the same reason: it's people paying attention to internet ramblings by people who think they know something but don't, instead of paying attention to the CDC and other pubic health organizations. 

[Guest]

This is another view, directly from the CDC website. There's been a 92.5% drop in Covid-19 related hospitalizations since January 9, 2022, since omicron took over:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions

 

[pubic_assistance]

Covid is rough but no healthy person has died from it. Statistics have clearly demonstrated a population that is older / fatter and unhealthy are at risk. Young healthy people are not dying from Covid. That's a myth. If you're worried feel free to stay home and for the rest of us please let us get back to our lives.

[BuffaloKyle]

Covid cases were guaranteed to rise with restrictions dropped. Hopefully it's a minimal increase and hospitalizations don't go up too much. 

[+ nycman]

2 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Covid is rough but no healthy person has died from it.

I understand the point your trying to make, but this statement simply isn’t true. 

Yes, people with predisposing medical conditions are 1,000 times more likely to die. 

But, "1,000 times more likely"….isn’t the same as 100%.

[+ Tygerscent]

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I'm not going to dissect this tirade point by point, but just want to express a hope that people obtain their information regarding our current status with respect to the virus (how we're doing, what to expect, how to behave) from the CDC and other public health professionals, and not from pseudo-informed ramblings from people who just have "opinions," "arguments," and limited insight into microbiology and public health. 

Sorry I was unable to copy and print the graph on my laptop, but this link shows the graph of the latest data, and both hospitalizations and ICU rates have dropped dramatically in the last several weeks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=data+on+Covid+hospitalizations+in+the+US&ei=YehAYpD0N-eGwbkPr7-GqAs&ved=0ahUKEwjQqIDPruf2AhVnQzABHa-fAbUQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=data+on+Covid+hospitalizations+in+the+US&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB4yCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjoECAAQQzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6CAgAEIAEELEDOgsILhCxAxCDARDUAjoLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDOgUIABCABDoICAAQsQMQgwE6BQguEIAEOgsILhCABBDHARCvAToHCAAQgAQQCjoGCAAQFhAeOgkIABDJAxAWEB46CAgAEBYQChAeSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUABYqEFg5kNoAXABeACAAe0BiAHfI5IBBjcuMzMuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

This is simply a matter of FACT, and not something which can be debated. The hospitalization rates and ICU statistics (and deaths) are the only important statistics, not the number of "cases." In fact, if the number of cases balloons, but the hospital data are radically better, this is only further proof that the virus has become markedly less virulent (and/or that we're getting close to herd immunity). It doesn't matter if you reasoned out that this is not the way it should be, or how you want to look at things. It simply is. 

Yes, it would be nicer for everyone if everyone were vaccinated. Don't forget that the reason a lot of people aren't vaccinated is for the same reason: it's people paying attention to internet ramblings by people who think they know something but don't, instead of paying attention to the CDC and other pubic health organizations. 

Na… everyone everywhere vaccinated won’t happen…  The CDC isn’t that reliable actually… and Ourworldindata is only as reliable as what’s reported accurately~  These sources and the news are not where people should be attaining their information. 

[+ Tygerscent]

37 minutes ago, nycman said:

I understand the point your trying to make, but this statement simply isn’t true. 

Yes, people with predisposing medical conditions are 1,000 times more likely to die. 

But, "1,000 times more likely"….isn’t the same as 100%.

Also important to note is that all people become vulnerable at some point either due to aging, immune compromise, changes in nutrition, physical and emotional health, changes in inflammation responses, repeated exposure to disease including coronavirus, drugs, etc… It’s also important to note that viruses are complex… Shingles shows up years later after exposure to the pathogen that causes it. Herpes viruses can show up later as various forms of cancer, viral infections can leave people with compromised cardiovascular and neurological maladies, hepatitis C and other forms of Hep don’t necessarily cause immediate and obvious illness~
 Gosh… the initial infection of HIV can show with no to few symptoms, sometimes only mimicking “flu-like symptoms” until some number of years later when your immune system is collapsing… It’s a bit early to assume we know what this virus actually does in human beings~ 
 Regardless of how mild it is for some, just like any illness, I don’t want to get it and I wouldn’t want to give it to anyone else~ Even if I had the cold or the norovirus or something like that I wouldn’t just be randomly wanting to give it to people because it doesn’t kill them. I wouldn’t be completely disregarding of their own health or safety. 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Tygerscent

[+ Tygerscent]

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

This is another view, directly from the CDC website. There's been a 92.5% drop in Covid-19 related hospitalizations since January 9, 2022, since omicron took over:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions

 

Yes… that same cycle is what happened with the other five or six waves of covid. It repeats every three months or so in the states and sometimes sooner during holidays~  
 Additionally, it’s insufficient/inaccurate  to compare covid to a “cold”… while it has some similar symptoms in some cases, and while it may effect the pulmonary system and can lead to a pneumonia like disease state, it also has neurological cardiological effects and produce debilitating other disease stares caused by chronic inflammation in both “healthy” and “unhealthy” people~ 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Tygerscent

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Tygerscent said:

...
 Additionally, it’s insufficient/inaccurate  to compare covid to a “cold”… 

I hate to confuse you with actual factual information, but coronaviruses are a primary cause of the common cold. The SARS-CoV2 virus was simply a mutated form (whether the mutation was done at the Wuhan Lab or happened naturally, we can't know for sure, though I sure have my suspicions). It is simply reverting to the more "wild" (more contagious, less deadly, non-pulmonary/upper respiratory tract) form over time. 

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, Tygerscent said:

…  The CDC isn’t that reliable actually… 

They're not reliable because you know better than our nation's best public health experts? Because they make things up when reporting our statistics?

[+ Tygerscent]

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

They're not reliable because you know better than our nation's best public health experts? Because they make things up when reporting our statistics?

The CDC is not a reliable source or standard in science anymore… 

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220222/report-cdc-not-publishing-large-amounts-of-covid-19-data

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/24/cdc-coding-error-overcount-covid-deaths

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/589588-cdc-creating-more-confusion-than-calm-but-it-could-be-worse?amp

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/cdc-and-hhs-failed-track-covid-19-data

https://www.biospace.com/article/cdc-under-fire-for-hoarding-covid-19-data/

https://endpts.com/breaking-in-a-major-blow-to-vaccine-efforts-senior-fda-leaders-stepping-down-report/

https://endpts.com/with-the-cdc-under-fire-for-mixed-messages-again-can-new-communication-strategies-help-recoup-public-trust/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/19/nation/dr-rochelle-walensky-defends-her-cdc-tenure-were-making-decisions-imperfect-times/?outputType=amp

Edited March 28, 2022 by Tygerscent

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

The CDC is not a reliable source or standard in science anymore… 

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220222/report-cdc-not-publishing-large-amounts-of-covid-19-data

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/24/cdc-coding-error-overcount-covid-deaths

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/589588-cdc-creating-more-confusion-than-calm-but-it-could-be-worse?amp

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/cdc-and-hhs-failed-track-covid-19-data

https://www.biospace.com/article/cdc-under-fire-for-hoarding-covid-19-data/

https://endpts.com/breaking-in-a-major-blow-to-vaccine-efforts-senior-fda-leaders-stepping-down-report/

https://endpts.com/with-the-cdc-under-fire-for-mixed-messages-again-can-new-communication-strategies-help-recoup-public-trust/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/19/nation/dr-rochelle-walensky-defends-her-cdc-tenure-were-making-decisions-imperfect-times/?outputType=amp

Did you read those sources? "CDC coding error led to overcount of 72,000 Covid deaths," is one of the few factual criticisms, but this "error" (pretty minor, and subsequently corrected), if anything, detracts from your alarmist position rather than supports it. The CDC has made changes in their advice as the facts on the ground have changed or when new studies provide new data (for example, the first time transmission FROM a vaccinated person was documented was with the Delta variant). This doesn't mean the CDC was wrong. It means they're on top of things and looking at the data frequently. What evidence do you have of more accurate statistics (not just criticisms)?

Edited March 28, 2022 by Unicorn

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

...
 Additionally, it’s insufficient/inaccurate  to compare covid to a “cold”… while it has some similar symptoms in some cases, and while it may effect the pulmonary system and can lead to a pneumonia like disease state, it also has neurological cardiological effects and produce debilitating other disease stares caused by chronic inflammation in both “healthy” and “unhealthy” people~ 

Sorry, but that's simply factually incorrect. The omicron variant behaves more like all other coronaviruses which cause the common cold, both in where it attaches and how it reproduces. That's why serious illness, and especially pneumonia and neurological/cardiological effects are much rarer, even in the unvaccinated (and, again, practically unheard-of in vaccinated people). Again, possible even in the "wild forms" of coronavirus, just extraordinarily rare. 

Sorry, I was unable to copy and paste the photo on my laptop, but it's the 4th drawing/figure in this article:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/omicrons-surprising-anatomy-explains-why-it-is-wildly-contagious/

[+ Tygerscent]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

Did you read those sources? "CDC coding error led to overcount of 72,000 Covid deaths," is one of the few factual criticisms, but this "error" (pretty minor, and subsequently corrected), if anything, detracts from your alarmist position rather than supports it. The CDC has made changes in their advice as the facts on the ground have changed or when new studies provide new data (for example, the first time transmission FROM a vaccinated person was documented was with the Delta variant). This doesn't mean the CDC was wrong. It means they're on top of things and looking at the data frequently. What evidence do you have of more accurate statistics (not just criticisms)?

They aren’t criticisms… they are observations. It’s not a right or wrong thing… reality os what it is regardless of your or my personal points of view… I claim no side simply because something leans towards the way I might “like” something to be… coronavirus is a virus that we do not fully understand. I don’t take the position to side with any person or institution’s point of view simply because they assume themselves or are presumed to be an “authority”. 
 Having a bias towards the CDC one way or another doesn’t make the CDC good, right, wrong, accurate etc~ I don’t entrust absolute faith in them simony because I’m told to or someone advocate for them~ 

[+ Tygerscent]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

Sorry, but that's simply factually incorrect. The omicron variant behaves more like all other coronaviruses which cause the common cold, both in where it attaches and how it reproduces. That's why serious illness, and especially pneumonia and neurological/cardiological effects are much rarer, even in the unvaccinated (and, again, practically unheard-of in vaccinated people). Again, possible even in the "wild forms" of coronavirus, just extraordinarily rare. 

Sorry, I was unable to copy and paste the photo on my laptop, but it's the 4th drawing/figure in this article:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/omicrons-surprising-anatomy-explains-why-it-is-wildly-contagious/

Coronavirus infection has some symptoms that cause a “cold” but, Rhinovirus, Coronavirus, RSV and parainfluenza are different pathogens. One major difference being that human beings are relatively naive to the coronavirus that affects them.                          
 HIV can cause mild “cold & flu” type symptoms… but, I would not lump it together with cold causing pathogens because it creates those symptoms in people. Herpes either… 

[ncc1701d]

Pretty frightening to see people still after 2 years refer COVID as "just another cold"!!! COVID causes far more systemic inflammation than many other viruses, which is why we debate whether hospitalized COVID patients should receive treatment doses of anticoagulation to minimize the microvascular damages caused by the excessive inflammation, and why some young patients get the multi-inflammatory syndrome from COVID and also likely a contributor to this still rather mysterious "long COVID syndrome" that scientist and medical professionals are only scratching at the surface to understand, never mind treat and/or prevent. For sure newer variants are causing less hospitalizations and ICU admissions, but if you have a large enough population infected, by shear numbers there will be a large enough subgroup of them needing hospitalizations and ICU admissions that prevent others who need it from getting that level of care. There is no equivalent in the degree of inflammation seen in some COVID patients in the common cold. So please stop equating them!!!

And please remember, there is no rule that guarantees the virus will not mutate to a MORE virulent strain and stay that way....like Ebola!  What we can do, however, is to provide less chances or the virus to mutate, which is achieved with less infections overall. It is the laws of nature, and no amount of ignorance, screaming about personal freedom, or wishful thinking will change that. 

And while we certainly can't lockdown or close restaurants etc forever, we most definitely can put a mask on when indoors in crowded places, and be careful about our interactions to minimize risks. We will NOT return to "normal" or "preCOVID", at least not for a while. We are moving to a "new normal", and that just may involve wearing a mask more often than before.   

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

Coronavirus infection has some symptoms that cause a “cold” but, Rhinovirus, Coronavirus, RSV and parainfluenza are different pathogens. One major difference being that human beings are relatively naive to the coronavirus that affects them.                          
 HIV can cause mild “cold & flu” type symptoms… but, I would not lump it together with cold causing pathogens because it creates those symptoms in people. Herpes either… 

You are not familiar with medical terminology or diagnosis. When health professionals talk about "cold," which they call "upper respiratory infections," they're talking about viruses which affect the nasal passages, pharynx (throat), trachea, and maybe the main bronchi, but not the lungs or other tissues. These are generally caused by either rhinoviruses or coronaviruses (other than the older variants of SARS-CoV2). RSV can do this, but often affects the lungs in the very young and very old, so is not generally considered a cause of colds. Parainfluenza and influenza involve the lungs and other tisses, and are far more likely to result in hospitalization or death, so the diseases they cause are NOT called URI's/colds, although both can cause a cough. The symptoms of flus and colds are quite different, and a competent doctor rarely will confuse the two. 

HIV is way out there. Although I suppose primary HIV infection and colds can both cause sore throats, the minor similarity ends there. And flus and primary HIV can both cause a fever and muscle aches, but they're obviously very different infections, and HIV is not a respiratory infection at all. Colds almost never cause fevers and muscle aches. 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, ncc1701d said:

Pretty frightening to see people still after 2 years refer COVID as "just another cold"!!! COVID causes far more systemic inflammation than many other viruses, which is why we debate whether hospitalized COVID patients should receive treatment doses of anticoagulation to minimize the microvascular damages caused by the excessive inflammation, and why some young patients get the multi-inflammatory syndrome from COVID and also likely a contributor to this still rather mysterious "long COVID syndrome" that scientist and medical professionals are only scratching at the surface to understand, never mind treat and/or prevent. For sure newer variants are causing less hospitalizations and ICU admissions, but if you have a large enough population infected, by shear numbers there will be a large enough subgroup of them needing hospitalizations and ICU admissions that prevent others who need it from getting that level of care. There is no equivalent in the degree of inflammation seen in some COVID patients in the common cold. So please stop equating them!!!

And please remember, there is no rule that guarantees the virus will not mutate to a MORE virulent strain and stay that way....like Ebola!  What we can do, however, is to provide less chances or the virus to mutate, which is achieved with less infections overall. It is the laws of nature, and no amount of ignorance, screaming about personal freedom, or wishful thinking will change that. 

And while we certainly can't lockdown or close restaurants etc forever, we most definitely can put a mask on when indoors in crowded places, and be careful about our interactions to minimize risks. We will NOT return to "normal" or "preCOVID", at least not for a while. We are moving to a "new normal", and that just may involve wearing a mask more often than before.   

I'm sorry, but you're simply factually wrong about a whole lot of things. The virus has mutated substantially in the last 2 years and has affinity for different tissues, transmits differently, and does not have the systemic side-effects of prior strains:

The new viral behavior also explains why we're not seeing the non-upper respiratory tract effects (brain, heart, lungs, etc.) which we saw in the original strains.

The statistics for hospitalization rates, ICU rates, and death rates are available for all to see on the CDC site and elsewhere. Those rates are lower for fully vaccinated people than the rates for the common cold (serious illness extremely uncommon, even for immunocompromised). If you disagree, you don't simply have "another opinion." You're just factually wrong.

The comparison to Ebola is simply crazy talk about someone who's completely ignorant of virology. So far, the variants have become increasingly more contagious and less virulent. If the trend reverses, we can change tactics, although that seems somewhat unlikely. 

[+ augustus]

Omicron itself is by far the best booster for 95% of the population.  Those at low risk never needed one in the first place, let alone two. That reality is Not good for Big Pharma's bottom line though or Fauci's relevance, or what remains of it.

[+ Tygerscent]

5 hours ago, Unicorn said:

You are not familiar with medical terminology or diagnosis. When health professionals talk about "cold," which they call "upper respiratory infections," they're talking about viruses which affect the nasal passages, pharynx (throat), trachea, and maybe the main bronchi, but not the lungs or other tissues. These are generally caused by either rhinoviruses or coronaviruses (other than the older variants of SARS-CoV2). RSV can do this, but often affects the lungs in the very young and very old, so is not generally considered a cause of colds. Parainfluenza and influenza involve the lungs and other tisses, and are far more likely to result in hospitalization or death, so the diseases they cause are NOT called URI's/colds, although both can cause a cough. The symptoms of flus and colds are quite different, and a competent doctor rarely will confuse the two. 

HIV is way out there. Although I suppose primary HIV infection and colds can both cause sore throats, the minor similarity ends there. And flus and primary HIV can both cause a fever and muscle aches, but they're obviously very different infections, and HIV is not a respiratory infection at all. Colds almost never cause fevers and muscle aches. 

Right… that’s why I put the word “cold” in quotation marks.
 Definition of common cold:
: an acute disease of the upper respiratory tract that is marked by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, eyes, and eustachian tubes and by a watery then purulent discharge and is caused by any of several viruses (such as a rhinovirus or an adenovirus). 
 Yes… they are each different pathogens that cause different disease states.