Follow Up on the "New Normal"

 Here is a follow up to my last post I put on Facebook:

I have literally been hammering on long Covid for quite some time. You can read about what it could cost and other tidbits at: https://www.blogger.com/.../325404.../2700410517867404973...
Please don't say this is the "new normal" (disgusting phrase, it admits defeat). I would say this is the F'd up current situation. In Australia they are seeing BA.5.x surge and SIMULTENEOUSLY hospital and death rates surge. There used to be a lag of about 2 weeks. Caution when comparing locales (countries) though, each has it own unique preconditioned status.
Remember the "3 amigos" (BA.274/275/276) I mentioned over a month ago? They are now showing up surging in wastewater samples. My model says we will see a BA.4/5.x peak in 2-3 weeks (remember those are local too) and I suspect within 6-8 weeks the 3 amigos might be peaking then. I have not added them to the model yet.
Meanwhile, monkeypox (MPX) is surging and the US has less than 600k vaccines with no more on the way for 3 months. Evidence now exists of airborne transmission (albeit much less than Covid). Europe and South America have reported there first deaths from it. And it is not confined to the gay community, infants are getting it. If you would like 3 weeks of shingles like pain and suffering this is the virus for you.
Then we have the debate "should I get boosted now or wait" for the Omicron vax to debut in September/October. Are you kidding! It is clear that current vax are largely ineffective against BA/4/5.x infections but dammit, they reduce the risk of severe outcomes , save lives in the process, and reduce the stress on our health care system. Get boosted NOW. And for goodness sake wear a freakin mask and practice social distancing (>10 feet, 6 feet is BS).
This will not go away by surrendering and saying "this is the new normal".
Stay safe.

https://twitter.com/drclairetaylor/status/1557908420178616331?s=20&t=PQpEnAd-mDXjwuNrv8Y2uA

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2795163

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01214-4/fulltext



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