You been out a lot? I used to doordash frequently and my primary job requires me to go in and out of people's homes with mad kids present. Some who don't give af about the virus at all.

nah but i worked customer service where people get in your face. but no symptoms is certainly possible. what’s the positive rate where you are? if it’s below 10% you probably don’t have it

7%

yeah i think you’re straight. I’m wondering when it’s gonna rise here in FL again. probably late January.

pretty clear indicator to me that new variant is less severe than both original strains.

It was pretty clear from the very start, since the person who literally discovered the variant said the same thing. The media has done untold damage to people's psyche by making everything either a pending disaster or a cause for outrage. There is no nuance.

Roomates and girlfriend tested positive so I’m screwed

Round two baby

Yea, everyone is getting this s***

it has finally begun

At the individual level, for the most part, as long as you’re vaccinated, yes. At the collective level, the bigger risk is our healthcare institutions and workforce. All ignoring long Covid potential.

This article is long but helped me wrap my head around it. Ed Yong has been fantastic through this whole thing.

theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/12/america-omicron-variant-surge-booster/621027

Edit: as in general, I’d recommend ignoring the headline lol. The details are much more nuanced.

even doctors in south africa are saying people are overreacting

but the populace is traumatized from the initial wave so here we go again

S*** GETTING CRAZY BOYS.

I think the problem is that people aren’t going to die of covid as much anymore but the hospitals being overloaded will cause a bunch of unnecessary death for other reasons

schools in my area are going back to virtual learning. kinda shook

you’re 100% right

i’m curious to see if it’s any less severe to unvaccinated as well.

Yeah let’s hope so. Regardless I’m very grateful it’s not worse tbh

yea duh but you can minimize the spread and severity

Round 2

finally tested positive for this b**** today :(

No, lmao we can't minimize the spread. It's 70 times more infectious that Delta and xxx times more than the original. We're all going to get it, but thankfully the vast majority of people will have a mild cough. Cases per day will be in the millions in the US even if we're "masked and distanced" in a full lockdown. Hence why Biden won't do it. The middle class also doesn't realize who gets their food and packages for them.

Humans are smart but we'd be f***ed if a worse virus came along, or hell, an asteroid. We've barely gotten past landing on the moon and we still haven't figured out life's biggest questions. We still have a lot to learn. Covid will do as Covid does, and eventually it won't be a big deal. We are not a variable.

I was about to book a booster shot but I can't find my health card