There's a whole lot of rubbish going around regarding this new variant on social media, like "it infects and kills everyone, vaccinated or not" or similar. This short video (from Deutsche Welle, but it's in English) cuts through the chase and provides the currently available knowledge about this new variant.
@Dutchie trouble with the link on my cell phone. Do you have another link to the video. I'd like to watch it. Salamat
Curious where you heard that. From what I've seen, it transmits much more easily but the effects are more mild.
I heard on ANC News this morning that the two Sinovac jabs and the Pfizer booster (like I and many others had) may not be too effective against Omicron.
What I've been reading is that vaccines are still good at preventing severe illness and death. People in high risk categories that are vaccinated may need to visit the hospital but are being released earlier, having better health outcomes and are less likely to be put on ventilators than those that are not vaccinated. It is still largely a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Many in my extended family tested positive after Christmas gatherings, some with serious comorbidities. All of them (8 in total) were vaccinated. None have became seriously ill.
https://m.jpost.com/ Seems this is the latest one. But according to the gurus it will get less dangerous each time it's mutating.There are so many opinions. I guess time will show. Gesendet von meinem M2101K6G mit Tapatalk
Too true! I have read hundreds of articles on Covid-19 and there is still a huge variation in opinion on most aspects. It is correct that often a virus that spreads more easily is less virulent (because it does not force the host to isolate) - in the case of Omicron it spreads more easily because its main location within the body is the upper respiratory tract and for that reason it is found less deep in the lungs and so causes less severe damage. But it is plausible that Omicron might produce an even less virulent variant but that other variants in circulation may take another path and give rise to more dangerous variants. All of these variants will be able to enter a new species of host and re-emerge in another form. There is no doubt that the high vaccination status of some countries is helping but not as much as some people would originally have assumed. Hope that 2022 is the end of the severe pandemic for most countries.
Recent (the graph includes data up to Jan 5) development for our province still looks like this but this is what's already happening in the NCR. Don't be lulled into a false sense of safety by the low reported case numbers in our province, it won't be long before Omicron starts spreading (exploding) here, and actual cases will be up several days before the reported case numbers show any serious uptick. If you don't already have a bunch, stock up on N95/KN95 masks (don't rely on surgical masks), see this article to explain why ( you can't read the whole thing without a subscription, but enough to get the essential information). Edit: N95 fits fine for me, but for the three Filipina girls in my household they are too big. They much prefer a KF94 mask (Korean version of the N95, very similar specs). Obviously, a mask that doesn't fit well is worse than a well fitting one, even if the specs are slightly worse.
