COVID 19 GLOBAL

[galenkia]

On 12/21/2021 at 7:47 PM, galenkia said:

Alot of the problem is over reaction to Covid, especially all the fuss every time a new variant appears. Yet what the hell have we had 3 vaccinations for if we still can't get on with life?. 

Every year hospitals are innundated by flu victims but we have never gone into endless lockdowns. The government has gone into mass hysteria and got way too obsessed with those lunatic 'experts' who see mass deaths everywhere. 

All this ping bullshit forcing people to isolation, the idiots are causing more problems than they are solving with their over reaction. 

As I said before, all a big overreaction....

[coxyhog]

China just locked down 13m people in Xi'an.I guess when they lock down the citizens won't protest.

[Glasseye]

This shit is getting bad.... 

 

https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/12/22/22849537/illinois-covid-record-cases-all-time-high-coronavirus-health-department

 

Illinois hits all-time record high of daily COVID cases

On Wednesday, Illinois reported 16,581 people tested positive for the virus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The previous record was set Nov. 13, 2020, with 15,415 positive cases that day.

By Clare Spaulding  Updated Dec 22, 2021, 7:21pm CST

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A medical professional gives instructions to people waiting in line to get tested for COVID-19 at a test site, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 at 2641 W Division St in Humboldt Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

 

With the Omicron variant surging, Illinois has set a single-day record in cases of COVID-19.

The 16,581 cases of the coronavirus reported Wednesday beat the previous high of 15,415 cases, set on Nov. 13, 2020, according to state data.

The number of people in Illinois hospitalized for the virus, 4,178, is the highest it’s been all year, that’s the number reported as of the end of the day Tuesday. And more people are in the Illinois intensive-care units being treated for COVID-19 than on any other day this year, filling 867 beds statewide. Hospitalization and ICU numbers haven’t been this high since Dec. 29, 2020.

Hospital pharmacist Jenna Lopez said the hospital is bracing for an overflow of patients. How quickly the Omicron variant is spreading is different than past surges, said Lopez, 32, of West Town.

“It’s rough,” Lopez said. “Part of it feels like the beginning of the pandemic again.”

Lopez waited about an hour outside a testing site on West Division Street on Wednesday after “lots of exposure” to the virus, in both work and social settings. After spending the holidays apart from family in 2020, Lopez said she initially expected a normal holiday season thanks to the vaccine. The latest surge has led her to remain undecided about whether to fly to Las Vegas to visit her brother Friday.

Illinois also reported an additional 66 lives claimed by the virus Wednesday, exceeding the average daily deaths of 49, though 70 deaths were reported on multiple days last week.

Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director for infection prevention and control for University of Chicago Medicine, said record-high case and hospitalization numbers are “exactly what you’d expect from a virus like Omicron,” a fast-spreading variant of COVID-19. In fact, Landon anticipates cases will double every two or three days, though that may not be reflected in state data, due to many people taking at-home tests that aren’t reported.

“Omicron is a different animal than what we were dealing with before,” Landon said. “If everybody gets sick at one time, there’ll be nobody to do work, to drive the train, run the hotel, deliver the mail and packages or take care of patients in the hospital.

“It’s time to come to terms with the fact that a lot of people are going to test positive for COVID,” Landon said.

But that doesn’t mean vaccines aren’t working, Landon said. Most people who are vaccinated will have milder symptoms if they test positive. With many people traveling for the holidays, Landon said it’s essential to avoid contact with people outside your circle and to test frequently.

Since the onset of the pandemic, more than 2 million people have contracted the virus in Illinois. Nearly 200,000 tests statewide were reported Wednesday, slightly above the state average of 193,450 tests administered per day.

“Getting tested for COVID-19 is critically important to helping reduce the spread of this deadly virus,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a news release Tuesday. “A year ago, our holidays looked much different. Now, with widely available testing, vaccinations and boosters Illinoisans can gather safely with family and friends.”

The state health department partnered with SHIELD Illinois to offer 20 free COVID-19 rapid-test sites; two are in Chicago.

People lined the sidewalk outside the West Town testing site Wednesday evening, often waiting over an hour in below-freezing temperatures before getting tested.

That site was the second place Alex Rejman went to try to get tested Wednesday, who said the place she’s gotten tested at in the past was “really busy.” Rejman, 26, who lives in the neighborhood, said a bartender at the restaurant where she works tested positive, so to return to work, she needs a negative test.

Though seeing family for the holidays was a partial factor in getting tested, Rejman said she “might not have gone if work hadn’t made me.”

The Omicron variant is especially why Michael Mitchell got tested Wednesday. He has family coming to visit for the holidays, including his stepfather who is older and a cousin who just had a baby, said Mitchell, 34, of Hyde Park.

“I just came to make sure I’m not getting any of the new strains,” Mitchell said. “I got tested a couple weeks ago. I’ll probably get tested at least once a month now.”

[Glasseye]

 

[Glasseye]

 

[Stillearly]

[roobob]

1 hour ago, Glasseye said:

This shit is getting bad.... 

 

https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/12/22/22849537/illinois-covid-record-cases-all-time-high-coronavirus-health-department

 

Illinois hits all-time record high of daily COVID cases

On Wednesday, Illinois reported 16,581 people tested positive for the virus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The previous record was set Nov. 13, 2020, with 15,415 positive cases that day.

By Clare Spaulding  Updated Dec 22, 2021, 7:21pm CST

Share this story

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•  
• SHAREAll sharing options

 

A medical professional gives instructions to people waiting in line to get tested for COVID-19 at a test site, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 at 2641 W Division St in Humboldt Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

 

With the Omicron variant surging, Illinois has set a single-day record in cases of COVID-19.

The 16,581 cases of the coronavirus reported Wednesday beat the previous high of 15,415 cases, set on Nov. 13, 2020, according to state data.

The number of people in Illinois hospitalized for the virus, 4,178, is the highest it’s been all year, that’s the number reported as of the end of the day Tuesday. And more people are in the Illinois intensive-care units being treated for COVID-19 than on any other day this year, filling 867 beds statewide. Hospitalization and ICU numbers haven’t been this high since Dec. 29, 2020.

Hospital pharmacist Jenna Lopez said the hospital is bracing for an overflow of patients. How quickly the Omicron variant is spreading is different than past surges, said Lopez, 32, of West Town.

“It’s rough,” Lopez said. “Part of it feels like the beginning of the pandemic again.”

Lopez waited about an hour outside a testing site on West Division Street on Wednesday after “lots of exposure” to the virus, in both work and social settings. After spending the holidays apart from family in 2020, Lopez said she initially expected a normal holiday season thanks to the vaccine. The latest surge has led her to remain undecided about whether to fly to Las Vegas to visit her brother Friday.

Illinois also reported an additional 66 lives claimed by the virus Wednesday, exceeding the average daily deaths of 49, though 70 deaths were reported on multiple days last week.

Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director for infection prevention and control for University of Chicago Medicine, said record-high case and hospitalization numbers are “exactly what you’d expect from a virus like Omicron,” a fast-spreading variant of COVID-19. In fact, Landon anticipates cases will double every two or three days, though that may not be reflected in state data, due to many people taking at-home tests that aren’t reported.

“Omicron is a different animal than what we were dealing with before,” Landon said. “If everybody gets sick at one time, there’ll be nobody to do work, to drive the train, run the hotel, deliver the mail and packages or take care of patients in the hospital.

“It’s time to come to terms with the fact that a lot of people are going to test positive for COVID,” Landon said.

But that doesn’t mean vaccines aren’t working, Landon said. Most people who are vaccinated will have milder symptoms if they test positive. With many people traveling for the holidays, Landon said it’s essential to avoid contact with people outside your circle and to test frequently.

Since the onset of the pandemic, more than 2 million people have contracted the virus in Illinois. Nearly 200,000 tests statewide were reported Wednesday, slightly above the state average of 193,450 tests administered per day.

“Getting tested for COVID-19 is critically important to helping reduce the spread of this deadly virus,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a news release Tuesday. “A year ago, our holidays looked much different. Now, with widely available testing, vaccinations and boosters Illinoisans can gather safely with family and friends.”

The state health department partnered with SHIELD Illinois to offer 20 free COVID-19 rapid-test sites; two are in Chicago.

People lined the sidewalk outside the West Town testing site Wednesday evening, often waiting over an hour in below-freezing temperatures before getting tested.

That site was the second place Alex Rejman went to try to get tested Wednesday, who said the place she’s gotten tested at in the past was “really busy.” Rejman, 26, who lives in the neighborhood, said a bartender at the restaurant where she works tested positive, so to return to work, she needs a negative test.

Though seeing family for the holidays was a partial factor in getting tested, Rejman said she “might not have gone if work hadn’t made me.”

The Omicron variant is especially why Michael Mitchell got tested Wednesday. He has family coming to visit for the holidays, including his stepfather who is older and a cousin who just had a baby, said Mitchell, 34, of Hyde Park.

“I just came to make sure I’m not getting any of the new strains,” Mitchell said. “I got tested a couple weeks ago. I’ll probably get tested at least once a month now.”

Scaremongering article at its best.

cheers

[galenkia]

4 minutes ago, roobob said:

Scaremongering article at its best.

cheers

Considering we have just hit 120,000 new case's yesterday in the UK, the rest of the world are amateurs compared to us. 😀

[galenkia]

Considering our high infection rate, hospital admissions are well down on a year ago. 

[boydeste]

8 minutes ago, galenkia said:

Considering our high infection rate, hospital admissions are well down on a year ago. 

And that's thanks to the vaccine. 

[Starshine]

4 minutes ago, boydeste said:

And that's thanks to the vaccine. 

Might get away some time this winter if things go well

[Bazle]

[lazarus]

Time to get serious about masking up when around (strangers or unvaccinated) people indoors.

Even if Omicron proves to be less serious, some people will still get very sick and/or die.

. . .

With omicron, you need a mask that means business

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/23/1066871176/mask-n95-omicron-contagious?utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR1I01937py9olBlIL3_ERy1C-LphBTndyHYqFFqvr2DS4RK9Sdq9B6iHLY

... "Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron," says Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies how viruses transmit in the air.

Omicron is so much more transmissible than coronavirus variants that have come before it. It spreads at least three times faster than delta. One person is infecting at least three others at a time on average, based on data from other countries.

...preliminary data from scientists at the University of Hong Kong has shown that omicron multiplies 70 times faster inside human respiratory tract tissue than the delta variant does. That study also found that omicron reaches higher levels in respiratory tract tissue 48 hours after infection, compared with delta.

"That would suggest to me that maybe it reaches higher levels and then we spew out more [virus particles] if we're infected," Marr says. And while it's too soon to tell, she says it's conceivable that omicron is so good at infecting us, we just need to breathe in fewer viral particles of omicron to get infected...

... Wachter says he's also covering up indoors with small groups of friends and family unless everyone is vaccinated and boosted. If they're not boosted, he says, "I consider them to be somewhere between vaccinated and unvaccinated, and I act appropriately if I'm going to be around them." That means he either has everyone mask up, or he has everyone take a rapid test to make sure no one is infectious at that moment. "One or the other." This is especially important if anyone attending is high-risk.

. . .

Edited December 23, 2021 by lazarus

[Glasseye]

2 hours ago, Stillearly said:

 

 

Best laugh of the day !

[Krapow]

1 hour ago, boydeste said:

And that's thanks to the vaccine. 

And deaths are still going down, which started to go that way soon after the booster campaign started.

It's not a coincidence.

[Krapow]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59769969

People catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants, a major analysis says.

The UK Health Security Agency says its early findings are "encouraging" but the variant could still lead to large numbers of people in hospital.

The current issue IMO is having staff to run critical services, due to being off sick or self isolating.  As there's data coming from all over now confirming this variant is a good bit milder. 

And SAGE still screaming for more restrictions, sigh!

[Bazle]

46 minutes ago, Krapow said:

The current issue IMO is having staff to run critical services, due to being off sick or self isolating.  As there's data coming from all over now confirming this variant is a good bit milder. 

Cutting isolation from 10 days to 7 is a start, but I suspect won't be enough. Maybe it should be abolished altogether unless displaying symptoms.

[fygjam]

8 hours ago, roobob said:

Scaremongering article at its best.

cheers

Only scares the unvaccinated.

Which bits scared you the most?

 

[roobob]

1 hour ago, fygjam said:

Only scares the unvaccinated.

Which bits scared you the most?

 

As can be seen...the scared ones are the vaccinated. The unvaccinated ones are happy for everything to open up and get on with their lives. For me...it does not scare me like it does you.

The most important thing now in a vaccinated ones life.... oh...when can I get my booster shot....or ...oh when can I get my second booster shot.

As soon as the new variant was announced the vaccinators went into melt down....out came the doom and doom claims.....this will happen...that will happen ...the world is doomed.

One thing to come out of this...all the bubble makers are doing ok as the vaccinators rush them for their product...555

cheers 

[Nightcrawler]

2 hours ago, roobob said:

 The unvaccinated ones are happy for everything to open up and get on with their lives.

..... And f*ck everyone else by  taking up hospital beds and Medical Resources just because they chose to be irresponsible members of society. They want it all, yet contribute nothing. 

We all want everything to open up but the vast majority of us realise that it can only happen once there are less hospital admissions and deaths. The vaccines have significantly reduced that. 

The majority of Covid patients in ICUs in UK are unvaccinated and are not only a burden on the Health system but a burden on the State. 

They refuse to protect themselves yet expect the system to care for them. If they become very sick and required hospital attention. 

Antivaxers are largely self centred, self entitled parasites who think the world owes them a favour,  in my view. 

[roobob]

21 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said:

..... And f*ck everyone else by  taking up hospital beds and Medical Resources just because they chose to be irresponsible members of society. They want it all, yet contribute nothing. 

We all want everything to open up but the vast majority of us realise that it can only happen once there are less hospital admissions and deaths. The vaccines have significantly reduced that. 

The majority of Covid patients in ICUs in UK are unvaccinated and are not only a burden on the Health system but a burden on the State. 

They refuse to protect themselves yet expect the system to care for them. If they become very sick and required hospital attention. 

Antivaxers are largely self centred, self entitled parasites who think the world owes them a favour,  in my view. 

Rubbish.....absolutely rubbish.

The self centred ones are people like you...running around demanding people put something into their bodies they do not want...you want to make it mandated they have too....time the vaccinated just kept their noses out of other peoples business.

The unvaccinated contribute just like you...work...pay taxes......pay for medical insurance...pay rates...... contribute to society...etc etc.. same as you but do not keep ranting on about it like they are some modern day heroes.

Again ..what is your problem...you are protected....you followed along like a good boy and did what you were told and was told all would be ok. Maybe you should take your vented rage out on the ones who told you all this baloney rather than the ones who are quite happy to get on with life with all things opened up.

You keeping hiding in your bubble...toeing the line while life passes you by...and let the ones who want to get on with a normal life do so.

cheers 

 

 

[Mr. Smooth]

5 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

..... And f*ck everyone else by  taking up hospital beds and Medical Resources just because they chose to be irresponsible members of society. They want it all, yet contribute nothing. 

We all want everything to open up but the vast majority of us realise that it can only happen once there are less hospital admissions and deaths. The vaccines have significantly reduced that. 

The majority of Covid patients in ICUs in UK are unvaccinated and are not only a burden on the Health system but a burden on the State. 

They refuse to protect themselves yet expect the system to care for them. If they become very sick and required hospital attention. 

Antivaxers are largely self centred, self entitled parasites who think the world owes them a favour,  in my view. 

This is a simple and not always accurate way to look at it. First of all, in the UK, you had nearly 206,000 overall hospital beds available in 2008. By 2020, that number had dropped to 163,000. I am assuming there must have been some budget cuts to your healthcare system over the years to reach that lower number by over 40,000 beds?

Secondly, your NHS in order to treat covid and non-covid patients separately according to the necessary enhanced infection protocols, had to get the hospitals reorganized as a result of the pandemic. That meant that beds and staff in ER's and ICU's, had to be deployed differently than from previous years, and because of that, hospitals might experience an overall lower occupancy rate than in previous years.

Bottom line was that according to the admissions data from your very own NHS England, the occupancy rate for the first quarter of 2021-22 was 83.8%, which was not quite as high as the 88.2% rate recorded in the same quarter during  2019-20. And further, for the same quarter in the previous 2 years, 2018-19 and 2017-18, occupancy was 87.8% and 87.2%. 

So, this media hysteria about an abundance of patients and overloaded hospitals, isn't unique with this pandemic, it has been going on for several years and I'm sure not a bloody peep from the BBC, Guardian, or any other media outlet was making it out to be some overwhelming crisis in the UK healthcare system.

This is all data from your own NHS! 

So the end result is that even without the pandemic, these hospitals would have had admittances within the ballpark figures that have been recorded during the pandemic anyway.

My question would be, and any of you UK blokes would know this more than a Yank would, is why in the bloody hell has the NHS had to make due with over 40,000 fewer overall hospital beds now than back in 2008, with, presumably, a slightly smaller overall population? Was that from 10 Downing St or your Parliament in cutting the budget for healthcare?

You all can't be getting THAT much healthier, can you? Jeez...just those massive English brekkys you people wolf down are a heart attack on a plate by themselves FFS!

[coxyhog]

Inside the Royal Liverpool Hospital,where 4 out of 5 Covid ICU patients are unvaccinated.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/inside-shocking-intensive-care-covid-25767321

[Nightcrawler]

We should be thankful for the NHS which is free at the point of service and funded from National Insurance contributions and subsidised from general taxation. 

If we had to rely on Private health insurance, then most households would be paying far more for healthcare. 

Since Insurance is based upon risk, then those who are unvaccinated would be charged a much higher premium and are far more likely to required hospital care for Covid related illnesses. 

There are thousands of people waiting for treatment and operations across the Country that has been put back due to the large number of Covid admissions. There are also staff shortages as a result of Covid infection and many front line Staff are worn simply worn  out by the constant demands that the Covid Virus has placed upon the service

The vaccines and boosters are a collective effort to fight against Covid infections, and protect against hospitalisation should people become infected. 

Vaccinated people here Are getting on with our lives. 

I get on with mine, for sure. I go out when I want, and where I want. I see who I want, when I want, I do what I want when I want, within the law of course. That does not mean that I throw caution to the wind and only think about myself.  That is not a bubble, it is a reality for most people. 

It is all about using Common Sense and adopting Social Responsibility during these difficult times. Something that antivaxers seem to sadly lack and are only concerned with themselves. 

Hopefully, as latest research has suggested, the Omicron variant produces milder symptoms, especially in those who have been vaccinated. 

We would all like to get back to 2019 before Covid hit the world, but it won't happen overnight, nor will it disappear over night, we all know that

But.......... 

To do Nothing, is not an option. 

Antivaxers have NO alternative  solutions to put forward, apart from do nothing and complain that they feel marginalised, oh, and that their freedoms are being compromised. 

I don't wish death or illness on anyone, but if people refuse to protect themselves and those around them, then so be it, as long as it is not at the expense of those who chose to protect themselves and their loved ones. 

During the last month, thousands of people have volunteered to help out at vaccination centres all over the country, offering whatever skills or time that they may have. They are doing it for others and not just thinking about themselves. 

[galenkia]

10 hours ago, roobob said:

 

 oh...when can I get my booster shot....or ...oh when can I get my second booster shot. 

Was reading earlier that Israel is already offering a second booster to over 60's and the UK government is considering it. 🤣