This Means Less Than You Think

CDC: About 75 Percent of Omicron Cases Are in Fully Vaccinated People › American Greatness (amgreatness.com)

But what it does mean is that your vaccination offers no significant protection against getting this variant of the virus. It may offer you some protection against the virus affecting you seriously. Of course, the Omicron variant doesn’t appear to have serious effects in any case.

The Omicron variant has been detected in at least 19 states in the U.S., and is striking mainly fully vaccinated people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Forty-three people in 19 states have tested positive for omicron, according to remarks made to the Associated Press by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75 percent of those cases are in people who are fully vaccinated, and one person has been hospitalized. One-third of those individuals had traveled internationally; one-third had received a booster. The cases so far have been “mild,” she said.

I still think you should be rushing out to get Omicron. Seems like the best way to stay healthy in the future.

Is Omicron the Variant We’ve Been Waiting For?

So far it seems to be exceptionally mild, and exceptionally contagious. That is a winning combination if you’re trying to achieve natural immunity.

Omicron 'May Signal the End of COVID-19' According to Healthcare CEO – PJ Media

Richard Friedland, head honcho of Netcare Ltd also said, “I actually think there is a silver lining here and this may signal the end of COVID-19, with it attenuating itself to such an extent that it’s highly contagious, but doesn’t cause severe disease.”

“That’s what happened with Spanish flu,” he reminded people in a statement on Wednesday.

This is exactly what happened with the Spanish Flu, and tat this point it appears our only way out of this stupid thing. That is if governments don’t keep scaring us from getting the virus. Herd immunity isn’t coming from a vaccine we have to renew every six months. Herd immunity is coming from people actually getting the disease.

And How Many Shots Will We Need to Neutralize the Next Variant? And the One After That?

Pfizer: Two Shots Plus Booster Neutralizes Omicron Variant In Lab Studies | The Daily Wire

“The data very clearly indicate the value of a third dose,” BioNTech CEO and co-founder Uger Sahin said during a briefing discussing the results, according to Time.

“With the data now coming on the Omicron variant, it is very clear that our vaccine for the Omicron variant should be a three-dose vaccine. The best [strategy] now to ensure protection would be to get a booster shot, thereby improving levels of antibodies, [and] improving levels of T cells, which are correlated with better protection against the currently circulating Delta [variant] and which we believe will also translate to better protection against the Omicron variant,” he said.

Just tell me when the ride is over. I want to get off.

This Is a Sign We Need to Re-Think This Whole Vaccine Effort

You can’t expect the entire world to get a new vaccine every three months because some new odd variant has appeared.

Gottlieb: Vaccines against specific COVID variants may not work with others | One America News Network (oann.com)

According to former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, variant-specific vaccines may not work against new variations of COVID. During an interview Sunday, he said there’s reason to believe developed vaccines won’t work well against the full component of different variants.

“While Omicron may become a threat in U.S., the absolute risk from it right now is very low,” Gottlieb noted. “Many people will still become infected by Delta and may find that delta natural immunity doesn’t protect well against Omicron.

“So, the question right now is whether or not this is re-infecting people who have Delta immunity and haven’t been vaccinated, or whether it’s going to also infect people who have who have been vaccinated,” Gottlieb stated. “There’s some reason to believe that vaccines could be more protective than just immunity acquired through natural infection from Delta. That’s going to be a critical question we need to figure out in the coming weeks because we have some important policy decisions that we need to make, depending on the answer.”

Yes, policy decisions like “maybe we abandon this whole plan”. That would be a good place to start.

Remember, no one has died from Omicron yet.

Yes, This Is One of the Benefits of mRNA Vaccines, But...No.

CDC Head: FDA Could ‘Streamline’ Omicron Booster Authorization As ‘Much Of The Vaccine’ Is ‘The Same’ | The Daily Wire

I think a slow down, if not a pause, would be a good idea at this point.

On Sunday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky appeared on ABC’s “This Week” with host Martha Raddatz. During the segment, Raddatz asked Walensky about how quickly the FDA could approve a variant-specific vaccine from Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson.

“One of the things about a booster, about a variant-specific booster — I know Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson say they could all do this fairly quickly, within three months, but then you have FDA approval,” Raddatz said. “Is there any world where you can see that moving much faster given we’ve already been through this?”

Walensky said that while she would “have to defer to the FDA” on certain things, the organization is “already in conversations about streamlining the authorization … of an Omicron-specific vaccine, partially because much of the vaccine is actually exactly the same and really it would just be that mRNA code that would have to change.”

“So, those conversations are ongoing and certainly, FDA will move swiftly, and CDC will move swiftly right thereafter,” Walensky added.

 

I think that’s scary. I think we doing a lot of reacting right now. And reacting very rarely makes for good business decisions long term. And when you’re business is healthcare, that’s especially scary.

I’d rather we slow down a little at this point, instead of speeding up.

But I am not the head of the FDA, unfortunately.

Eventually Someone Will, but Clearly the Panic Is Unwarranted

WHO Admits The Truth About Omicron COVID Variant – Nobody Has Died From It (lifezette.com)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has finally admitted that despite all of the hysteria, nobody has died of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The WHO issued a warning stating that it may take several weeks for experts to figure out how infectious this new variant is, and how effective both jabs and other treatments are against it.

“‘We’re going to get the answers that everybody out there needs,” said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan, according to Daily Mail.

Yes, it’s early. They might change their minds as they learn more. But right now, it appears that we should all remain calm.

What a wonderful idea.

Remember That as of Now, There Are No Known Fatalities Due to Omicron

Ireland To Limit Multi-Household Gatherings, Shut Down Nightclubs Over Omicron Concerns | The Daily Wire

There aren’t even that many cases, which makes the first sentence in this piece particularly amusing.

In response to the surging Omicron variant, the Republic of Ireland has announced a wave of new coronavirus restrictions on homes, nightclubs, and restaurants from December 7 — January 9, 2022.

According to the rules recently announced by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, multi-household gatherings should include no more than three households in one home at the same time. Nightclubs will be closed down completely and restaurants and bars will only be allowed to have seating service with parties no bigger than six people during this time as well.

Sky News also reports that “[i]ndoor events such as concerts must operate at 50% capacity.”

I hate this virus. I hate our cowardly reaction to it even more.

That’s Because Democrats Buy Into the Fear

And will keep doing so as long as there is a Democrat in the White House.

Poll: 80% of Democrat voters afraid of Omicron, only 35% of Republicans are concerned | One America News Network (oann.com)

The poll also found the majority of Republican voters, 59 percent, said they are “not very concerned” or “not concerned” at all about Omicron despite the latest media frenzy.

“Democrat poll numbers are cratering, so the White House is stoking up unscientific fears about emerging variants to justify their unpopular policies,” noted Texas congressman Ronny Jackson. “This is a calculated political decision. Where is the science that’s dictating their heavy-handed response to the Omicron variant?”

The Republican lawmaker asserted that the left is simply using this new variant scare to further push lockdowns, vaccine mandates and other coronavirus restrictions. He insisted that the whole thing is political, not scientific.

See, this completely contradicts Heilemann as I said in my last post.

It’s the left that continues to try to use this virus as a political weapon. What they’re finding out though is that it’s not working nearly as well anymore. And it will continue to be less and less effective. They need to find a new plan.

Let’s All Hide in Our Basements Then

First Omicron Variant Case Detected In U.S.; Case Is Mild, Officials Say | The Daily Wire

Mild.

That’s the most common word I hear about this variant. Well, that and “LOCKDOWN!!!11!!!”

Maybe we should pay attention to the first word before grasping at the second.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters at the White House Wednesday that the Omicron variant has been found in a person in California. The person had recently returned from South Africa, according to the Associated Press. “We knew it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States,” said Fauci.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the person is exhibiting only mild symptoms.

In response to the development, California Governor Gavin Newsom emphasized there was “no reason to panic,” but insisted that Americans should get vaccinated and stay indoors.

Translation: don’t panic…err…panic a little!

The first advice was better. Don’t panic about this variant. In fact, stop panicking period.

My Forecast Is Simple: Inflation Remains High

In Remarks To Congress, Powell Says Omicron Complicates Inflation Forecasts | The Daily Wire

Powell, acknowledging that the inflation rate is running “well above” the Fed’s 2% long-run target, told members of the Senate Banking Committee:

Most forecasters, including at the Fed, continue to expect that inflation will move down significantly over the next year as supply and demand imbalances abate. It is difficult to predict the persistence and effects of supply constraints, but it now appears that factors pushing inflation upward will linger well into next year. In addition, with the rapid improvement in the labor market, slack is diminishing, and wages are rising at a brisk pace.

We understand that high inflation imposes significant burdens, especially on those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. We are committed to our price-stability goal. We will use our tools both to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.

The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions.

You want less uncertainty? Stop panicking with each new variant. Open up the country. Open up the economy. Stop putting blockers like vax mandates in front of the economy. Stop closing pipelines. Stop making it harder for businesses to succeed. Then the uncertainty will go away along with inflation and unemployment.

Moron.

I May Have to Move to Florida if He Keeps up This Kind of Thing

DeSantis Vows To Protect Florida From Biden: ‘We Will Not Let Them Lock You Down’ Or ‘Take Your Jobs’ | The Daily Wire

“And speaking of narratives, we are not in Florida going to allow any media driven hysteria to do anything to infringe people’s individual freedoms when it comes to any type of COVID variants,” DeSantis said. “And when I saw Fauci on TV yesterday saying that he couldn’t rule out lock downs. And then even today, President Biden didn’t rule it out. He said, ‘no, not now. For now.’ And let me just say in Florida, we will not let them lock you down. We will not let them take your jobs. We will not let them harm your businesses. We will not let them close your schools.”

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result,” DeSantis continued. “The lockdowns didn’t stop COVID. Forced masking, they said last year would end the pandemic, if 80% wore masks, many more than that were wearing masks and it hasn’t worked. They said you could get COVID off surfaces, which isn’t true. They’ve not been honest about the origins of the virus, and they haven’t been forthright about natural immunity. And with these travel restrictions, I was probably the first governor in January of 2020 to call for travel restrictions from China. I supported President Trump when he did that, but we have to take a step back and acknowledge that those travel restrictions just didn’t work, the virus had already spread.”

He talks the talk, but he walks the walk.

Desantis: “In Florida, we will not let them lock you down. We will not let them take your job. We will not let them harm your businesses. We will not let them close your schools. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” pic.twitter.com/npfLBI51Qu

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) November 29, 2021

WHO Wants Panic, but Data Doesn’t Justify It

WHO: Omicron Variant Poses ‘Very High’ Global Risk | The Daily Wire

“The overall global risk related to the new variant … is assessed as very high,” WHO said, adding that Omicron “has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic.”

Oh noes. Sounds awful.

“It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well,” Coetzee told the Telegraph. “So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.”

She detailed one case of a 6-year-old girl who had “a temperature and a very high pulse rate, and I wondered if I should admit her. But when I followed up two days later, she was so much better.”

Well, it’s early yet. It may turn out to be awful. Or it may not, and WHO may change their tune. We shall see.

Omicron...zzzzz....

Ugh. Wake me up when this variant is over, please.

Everything You Need To Know About The Omicron Variant – PJ Media

While it is still too early for officially to say anything about the symptoms of the Omicron variant, what we can say for now is that they have been relatively mild compared to Delta. Dr. Coetzee stated that her patients reported being very fatigued with body aches and headaches, according to Reuters.

Most patients do not even lose their sense of taste or smell and might acquire a slight cough, reports the New York Times.

Wow, a typical mild respiratory illness.

While it is still too early for officially to say anything about the symptoms of the Omicron variant, what we can say for now is that they have been relatively mild compared to Delta. Dr. Coetzee stated that her patients reported being very fatigued with body aches and headaches, according to Reuters.

Most patients do not even lose their sense of taste or smell and might acquire a slight cough, reports the New York Times.

Until we hear worse news, I am not going to lose any sleep over this one.

No. There Is No ”Worst”. The Last Two Years Have Been the Worst.

There will always be another variant. Another reason to try to get everyone to panic. Forget it.

I’m through being scared of this dumb virus.

‘Prepare For The Worst’: Fauci Says Travel Bans Won’t Stop Omicron, Too Early To Say If More Lockdowns Are Coming | The Daily Wire

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Americans Sunday that they should “prepare for the worst” after the emergence of another new coronavirus variant, dubbed omicron, but stopped short of calling for more lockdowns an travel bans.

Forget it. I’m not doing it. You want me cowering under my bed every time a new variant pops up. How long do you think you can do this? Personally, for me, my patience ended about 8 months ago. I’ve had enough. You keep trying to stir up fear. I’m going to continue to ignore you.

“Right now people should be prudent,” Fauci said, noting that any travel during a pandemic posed a risk. “The best way to protect yourself, if you’re going to travel, have to travel, or want to travel, is to get vaccinated and to be prudent when you travel about wearing masks in indoor settings such as if you go to the airport, which is one of the most congregate settings you can imagine. Make sure you wear a mask. Above all vaccination will be the most important way to prevent you from being at such a high risk.”

I’m going to Europe next year. And you can bite me.

“Let’s see what the information that we’re getting in real time tells us,” Fauci concluded, arguing that it might yet be premature to discuss implementing more mandates and lockdowns. “We’ll make decisions based on the science and the evidence the way we always do. But you want to be prepared to do anything and everything. That’s the reason why we’re playing such close attention to this and why we’re all over it.”

Ok, here’s the deal. Until you can convince me that there’s some exit strategy here, some way of returning to life as normal, then you’ve lost me. I’m going to assume you’re going to tell me the sky is falling every three months or so. You know what? I’ve looked up. The sky is still there.

Forget it. I’m long since past having had enough. Scare whom you will. It won’t be me.

Remember This? I Do.

Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on Donald Trump’s Expanded Travel Ban | by Joe Biden | Medium

Yesterday, Donald Trump further diminished the United States in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban, placing new restrictions on the residents of six more nations that limit who is allowed to come to the United States.

Three years ago, he took aim at Muslim-majority nations. This time, he targeted primarily African nations — including Nigeria, the largest economy and the most populous nation on the continent, and Sudan, a country striving to transition to civilian rule after decades of dictatorship. The “Muslim Ban,” this new “African Ban,” Trump’s atrocious asylum and refugee policies — they are all designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United States. It’s that simple. They are racist. They are xenophobic.

And there is no evidence that they do anything to make us safer. If anything, they endanger the best tools we have to fight terrorism — our globe-spanning network of alliances and partnerships. They erode our moral standing in the world and make it less likely that other nations will work with us to take on terrorist threats before they can reach our shores.

Immigrants from each of these countries and their broader diaspora communities here in the United States enrich the larger fabric of American life as our friends and neighbors and make vital contributions to our economy. They make our nation stronger. The United States has a meaningful history of offering safety and opportunity to peoples of every nation — no matter where they come from, no matter if they are rich or poor, no matter the faith they follow.

Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to destroy that legacy. It’s a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed.

Today:

President Joe Biden will limit air travel from eight African nations beginning Monday, in an effort to keep the mutant Omicron variant of COVID-19 from entering the United States, senior administration officials revealed.

Following advice from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the administration will restrict flights from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. Details on the exact policy remained sparse. However, officials proffered assurances that U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be able to return home, so long as they test negative for the novel coronavirus before arriving.

I expect all politicians to be hypocrites. That doesn’t bother me so much anymore. But when you explicitly campaign on your opponent’s actions on an issue, and then once in office you take the exact same actions, that I can’t put up with. That’s more than hypocrisy. That’s either blatant lying or a frank admission that you didn’t understand the job until you got it. And if you didn’t understand, you shouldn’t have been criticizing.

Oh No! Who Can Save Us From Omicron?

We’re all gonna die!

N.Y. Gov Declares State of Emergency Over New China Flu Variant, Even Though No Cases Yet in New York – PJ Media

The first line of Hochul’s press release regarding her state-of-emergency declaration reads, “Governor Kathy Hochul today announced urgent action to boost hospital capacity and address staffing shortages ahead of potential spikes in COVID-19 cases this upcoming winter.”

Maybe firing all those heroes filthy, unvaccinated healthcare workers two months ago wasn’t such a good idea. In fact, it was downright idiotic. It makes me wonder if she got her COVID acumen from reading Cuomo’s “COVID leadership” book. Or perhaps she just wants to beat Cuomo’s serial-killer toll of 15,000 dead New Yorkers.

Thank you, Governor Hochul for having the foresight to save us from…a low grade fever.

Agggggghhhh! The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Save us! Save us all!

Or maybe not.

Sounds Like Fears of Omicron Are Overblown

Quelle surprise.

All Bark, No Bite? Omicron Variant Symptoms Reportedly Mild – PJ Media

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor responsible for alerting health officials about the omicron variant of COVID-19 says it presents “unusual but mild” symptoms.

Coetzee first observed patients with unusual symptoms who were otherwise healthy in mid-November.

“Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,” Coetzee told The Telegraph. Coetzee has been a General Practitioner for 33 years, has her own practice, and chairs the South African Medical Association.

Coetzee noticed her patients were coming in with symptoms she said didn’t make sense at first. The diverse group of patients experienced intense fatigue, but none of her patients lost their sense of taste or smell.

Low grade fever, high heart rate. This is rarely life threatening.

So, why the panic over this variant? Because we haven’t had anything to panic over in a while. Who knows. We might stop panicking. We might start thinking we don’t need vax mandates or booster shots. We might go back to living our lives the way we did before we submitted to unreasonable government control.

The Justification Is the Need to Maintain Public Fear of the Virus

South Africa’s Top Health Official Slams ‘New COVID’ Travel Bans, Says They’re Unjustified [VIDEO] (lifezette.com)

[South Africa minister of health Dr. Joe Phaahla] also said that many countries that have imposed travel bans have a much higher daily infection rate than South Africa. “It really doesn’t look scientific in any way. So that’s why we insist that kind of reaction is quite a knee jerk and panic and actually almost wanting to put the blame on other countries rather than work together as guided by the World Health Organization.”

Pleading with countries and organizations to work with South Africa, Dr. Phaahla added, “The U.K. simply went ahead and imposed the restriction without even engaging us. So, that was basically a unilateral action without, before there could be any engagement.”

Knee jerk reactions have been the norm during this pandemic. Worse, once they’ve been shown to be knee jerk reactions, they aren’t revisited.

So Now Travel Restrictions Are Okay

Biden to enforce travel restrictions on 8 South African countries amid concern over new COVID-19 variant | One America News Network (oann.com)

This is what President Joe Biden (D-USA) had to say about travel restrictions when he was Senator Joe Biden (D-PA).

We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 1, 2020

But now they’re okay, I guess.

The Biden administration is placing travel restrictions on several South African countries amid the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant. On Friday, the White House said Biden will restrict travel from eight countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. While a timetable for the travel bans has yet to be disclosed, Joe Biden claimed he will listen to what his medical team advises.

Sing a different tune when you’re the guy making the calls.

As we move forward, we will continue to be guided by what the science and my medical team advises. For now the best way to strengthen your protection if you’re already vaccinated is to get a booster shot, immediately. For those not yet fully vaccinated: get vaccinated today.

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 26, 2021

Yes, There’s Another Variant

There will always be another variant.

Oh Joy! Another Covid Variant | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

It appears doubtful that existing vaccines will be effective against the South African variant:

B.1.1.529 has a spike protein that is drastically different to the one in the original bug that the vaccines are based on, according to the UK Health Security Agency, which is raising some concern about how current jabs will perform against it.

South Africa’s Department of Health also said during a briefing Thursday that the variant contains several mutations associated with increased antibody resistance, which may reduce the effectiveness of current vaccines.

So, the vaccines we have don’t work. The way these vaccines are created, there is great potential for new vaccines very quickly. Could be as soon as 3-4 months.

My own prediction is that covid will soon occupy the biological niche that in recent history has been taken up by what we call influenza, and also perhaps some of the niche occupied by the common cold. In another few years, things will have returned to normal, in that each winter some of us will contract respiratory viruses, and tens of thousands (mostly elderly and already weak) will die. The most important thing, in my opinion, is that we not treat every new covid mutation in hysterical fashion, blighting our people’s lives, needlessly devastating our economy, and above all abusing our children. Such “cures” are worse than the disease.

This is exactly right. However, no one seems to be following the advice of John’s last couple of sentences. Until we do, every new variant, every new spike, will scare us all. We didn’t used to be scared of our own shadows.