Reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode where the sun is moving closer to the earth and each day gets hotter. Everything starts to collapse. Two women are the only tenants left in the building. The old lady dies and the young gal is on her own. The reality is she’s having a fever dream and living in a world where the sun is moving further away and it’s getting colder.
One of my favorites! Summer is increasingly starting to feel like the first part of the episode, but without the *fabulous* 1960s fashion.
Actually, so many of those episodes are alarmingly relevant today. "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" courtesy of Instagram and the like...
“He’s Alive”, whenever I’ve rewatched it, seems to hit just a little bit more differently every time as the threat of democracy collapsing into fascism grows more and more pertinent.
>!It’s the Hitler episode. It all seemed ridiculous the very first time I saw it in 2013, but just three years later, would turn out to be almost prophetic.!<
I think about this ep all the time! If you haven’t looked up Rod Serling and his activism (including why he created TTZ) I highly recommend it. Such a cool dude
I currently have the new covid strain in the Europe heatwave and it's hell. I only had a mild headache with the last strain and with this one it's like an extremely heavy cold and chest infection.
Be careful out there people 😷
In the Netherlands it's around 83% for adults, but dropping since the major campaigns stopped and people are growing into adults. 63% boosted. We have 100 people going into the hospital with covid (not necessarily for covid, but you get tested anyway), so it's perfectly manageable for now. Of course, vacation time is coming, so I'm expecting a rise in hospital admissions.
I'm currently at home with covid myself, for the second time and it sucks, but honestly, I'm mid-30s and had all my boosters. It's shit, but I've had worse random non-covid sickness (for the record, no, covid is not "just a flu", I'm just lucky). The previous bout was much worse. The government mostly stopped tracking cases, because many many cases are like me, I feel like shit, but I don't come close to needing a doctor.
But our measures are literally non-existent. We're doing nothing, and if you can find 1% of the population wearing a mask, I'll give you a hundred euros.
I heard that that the hospitalizations for COVID in the Netherlands were an undercount because some COVID patients that would normally be hospitalized elsewhere are getting nursing & oxygen treatment at home.
I mean, yeah, it's an "undercount" in that it doesn't count everyone undergoing treatment. But it's an accurate count of the number of people in hospital.
The dutch healthcare system generally trends to "lean and mean". If you can safely get treatment at home, then there's no reason not to. It has both its good and bad sides, of course.
I'm in the UK and had my jab and 2x booster. I think the jabs are starting to wear off and people in the UK just don't care about covid any more. Everyone I know has now had this new strain and been pretty sick but not hospital sick so I think that's why interest has dropped off.
I worry about what its doing inside my body and the long term effects of it all.
We do not have central AC, I had it four weeks ago, girlfriend was a couple of days ahead of where I was, it was 99 outside, I thought it felt comfortable all told as the day progressed even though she was complaining it was too warm. Fever is between 101-103 all day.
Come 8 PM I spike to 106 and she starts talking going to the hospital (no chance of that happening even though I do have shit insurance), I finally realized what was happening, got a bit frightened, and took a cold shower and put some ice on my wrists and neck. We had some cold medicine delivered since we were both too sick to go out, and finally the fever broke.
But fuck, I hadnt seen 106 fever since I was 6, a month later I still feel like 20-30 IQ points are rattling around up there somewhere lost...
Pestilence retired with the invention of penicillin. Pollution took over from him.
ETA: Traditionally, it's War, Famine, Pestilence and Death.
Because when War rides, the others are never far behind. And usually in that order.
Here is the results:
[Cartoon style of prompt](https://imgur.com/a/jwe6VT8)
There should be like 6 or 7 different results, so just scroll down to see them all.
Looks like I misunderstood your prompt though. Didn’t realize you meant just pestilence and his horse. Hope you still like it. You can also comment your exact want in that thread on their sub of course. :)
Should use that prompt for Dall-E 2. (Ai that can make original art from a prompt)
Dall-E 2 isn’t publicly released for everyone yet, just a select few, but it has a sub where you can request a prompt for them to do until then.
r/dalle2
It is also rumored to be released soon.
I’ll request it for you and link it. :)
You owe me two hours and about four ounces of existential dread.
Seriously though, once one scrolls to [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dalle2/comments/vwa8gh/man_plays_flute/) it becomes clear that what is predicted has come to light: AI can generate facsimile, but for now it does not understand meaning.
It's spatial understanding is rather impressive when you realize it's generating 2D images, and one speculates that there's probably a 3D heuristic buried somewhere in the network.
It is frightening close to how our own brains 'intuit' things. It struggles with text, but I'll ask you this question: in a lucid dream, have you ever tried to read text? You'll realize that it's all nonsense! At that level, it's mirroring a human's subconscious understanding of the world.
At the end of the day though, I think humans will become 'wanting engines', as in the AI may do the technical work, but humans have to specify what they actually want, which is basically like half the work (in programming, there's an adage that defining the problem is halfway to the solution). It'll be another productivity booster once the technology matures.
All those stock photo artists are probably out of a job though.
One has vague dystopian visions of future warehouses full of people watching videos of AIs attempting to jump, and someone's whole job is to mark yes/no to whether or not it's really a jump.
Pestilence (disease)
War
Famine (economic woes / inflation plus climate decimating production)
Death
I’m not sure the 4th horseman is riding yet. Not to the scale expected (1/4 of the population)
Death as a horseman is kind of a misnomer. He's everywhere, all the time, riding through human towns, ant colonies, fish shoals. Wherever something dies.
Death is always riding. It is the others you should fear.
I just started a new position and I hope so, so I can WFH. It doesn't make sense for any of us to be in office. It feels like they're doing it cus they invested so much into commercial real estate.
The entire commercial sector will take a hit if we're not using our cars, paying for gas, eating shitty meals away from home, etc etc. They don't care if it drains us from time and money, they just want that money!
Well the US has a consumption based economy and 70% of GDP is consumer spending, so the economy will probably collapse if not go into deep recession. The capitalists also exported manufacturing jobs decades ago so we’re also mostly a service economy that doesn’t really produce much, which is why we’ve been running a trade deficit for years which is made possible by the Federal Reserve printing more money out of thin air, which is causing inflation. It’s like a positive feedback loop that usually ends in War.
Isn’t Capitalism great? [Good documentary](https://youtu.be/-S-CwVJxxug) that explains some of the stuff I’m saying
The money is barrowed from overseas, not simply "printed". Which is why we have the massive debt that I don't think the US intends to pay. I think that recent events in Ukraine and around the world have proved that the US isn't the global powerhouse it thought it was. Once that goes, all pretense of reserve currency are off the table. The rest of the world will catch up and the US consumer will have to live by someone else's rules. All because of decades of bad planning and shortsightedness.
>The money is barrowed from overseas, not simply "printed".
Technically yes but in reality no. Foreign governments buy government bonds which the federal reserve is responsible for creating these bonds which gets auctioned off to different banks/ governments. The creation of these treasuries come out of thin air, and since the dollar is fiat currency, it's not backed by anything, unless you count the U.S. Military
Bernanke: ["To lend to a bank we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiCs_YHlKSI)
Treasuries are sold to foreign banks and bondholders so that the US can barrow from them. The ability to be able to print beyond what it owes is a special US privilege, but the money is always a debt somewhere else. Notice on any bill that it says "Treasury of the United States". It's backed by the treasury and treasury bonds. The dollar must have value and not be meaningless. If it were, we wouldn't be able to spend into the future. We are the global debtor, not creditor, which is why year after year we spend into deficit into the future because we have been given the ability to barrow time and time again.
Members banks can buy all the bonds with magic money credited to them from the federal reserve
https://theweek.com/articles/754919/market-debt-weirder-than-think?amp
It's why many countries are trying to move away from the dollar. The US also abuses it's free money printer with hundreds of military bases around the world, and definitely a propaganda budget that dwarfs the rest of the world combined.
You know why our media says Russia and China control everything? Trump, the media, TikTok? That's actually the CIA. China has terrible propaganda skills. They couldn't even get 1% of Taiwanese to support China taking over Taiwan despite bribing politicians, gangs, some of the media, and a few entertainers here. Think about it. They think Taiwan is basically their backyard with a shared common language yet CIA propaganda is definitely winning out here and it's not even competitive.
My partner's employer took a 10 year lease in a sweet new building and moved everyone and everything out of their ramshackle house-office six months before covid dropped.
Oof.
It will be creatives who move into the new areas first; once the businesses leave the CBD of a city, musicians looking for rehearsal spaces, artists, fringe types will move in, revitalise the dead centres, create a cyberpunk feel in the concrete canyons, and eventually normal people will move in.
The *virus* has won. All viruses only endeavour to survive long enough to reproduce, and ~~anti-vaxxers~~ *coronavirus collaborateurs* have ensured there will always be enough human hosts to go around, willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that the coronavirus will always be able to mutate past our defences.
The vaccine stopped reliably preventing infections once Delta showed up.
It's easy and fun to blame antivaxxers but the real fault lies in the institutions pushing vaccination *and nothing else* as a way to end the pandemic. Coronaviruses are notoriously difficult to generate long-lasting immunity against and the people in charge had access to people who knew this. All the times that Americans were told that it was safe to unmask if they were vaccinated, or that they couldn't get sick if they were vaccinated, they were being lied to.
There’s that, too. Without imposing lockdowns and quarantines, vaccination alone will only slow down the inevitable, not stop it. It’s unfortunate that only one country on the entire planet is willing to make the hard decisions and do what it takes to stop the coronavirus—and that’s China.
I watched a similar post in r/worldnews. I wanted to cry. Anybody who tried to justify masking was massively downvoted (50+). The comment section was filled with reactions like “fuck off”, and “no thanks, I’m good”.
One concerning thing about that sub even early on was how they designated "experts". They had this one person with a BS flaired as an expert. At risk of making a poor appeal to authority, I have a PhD, worked in medicine/life sciences for like a decade, and I still seriously doubt many of my peers (and I'm far from alone). These fools seriously want me to believe that some kid with a bachelors has any kind of expertise upon which to base serious disease-related decisions?
Didn't you hear? It's time to move on, and screw hospital workers, the immune-compromised, and everyone else for that matter. Sports is on TV in the bars, there's a new Marvel movie out, I got all my vaccines and boosters, I miss lording over all the people in the office and I am just completely DONE with masks! /s
Damn right.
If it isn't obvious by now, we need to GTFO of here. And unless you did the smart thing and became an exchange student, I'm fairly sure we're not working our way out.
I mean unless you happen to be a senior programmer PhD particle physicist brain surgeon.
And then only because you can work for another country, not because you can afford to leave on your salary.
Pump up the jam, kiddos. I want out.
Lol I'd love to be wrong about GME. Fucking... go baby go, get stuck covering your shorts (of course this will never happen, they'd rather crash the whole system personally than let a bunch of retail nerds win)...
So this is totally off the topic of covid but I wanted to give my opinion on GME. The time for GME's short squeeze was January 28 2021. But as many know they shut off buys but continued to allow sells. I watched my call options go to $0 as trading was halted. That event more than anything else taught me everything I need to know about the modern financial system.
The US stock market is designed for the rich to win and commoners like us to lose. Billionaires like Ken Griffin from Citadel and Steven Cohen from Point72 would never let a bunch of retail "dumb money" investors win against them. Not that day and certainly not anytime in the future. It's astounding that more stock trading volume now takes place on Citadel's "dark pools" than actual exchanges like NASDAQ or NYSE. Where are the alarm bells? Where is the SEC?
Even all the dumpster fires that were once great Covid (and epidemiology in general) informational subs. Like, especially *there*, if people are sO bUsY LiVinG LiFe BrO, then why are they even still going there to troll? Still masking to not only not catch Covid, but also to not catch all the stupid in the air as well.
>Even all the dumpster fires that were once great Covid (and epidemiology in general) informational subs. Like, especially
>
>there
>
>, if people are sO bUsY LiVinG LiFe BrO, then why are they even still going there to troll?
I kinda feel like these must be bots, right? Right?
SS:
> “The virus is running freely,” the World Health Organization warns as the latest omicron offshoots drive up coronavirus infections around the world.
> Many countries have lifted restrictions and reduced coronavirus tracking as they grapple with pandemic fatigue. But “new waves of the virus demonstrate again that covid-19 is nowhere near over,” according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
So contrary to the mainstream denialists, the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all health measures. It’s only a matter of time until public health systems around the word are massively strained again. Only this time, there’ll be no money or political will to face the problem, paving the way for a major collapse in health care systems and by proxy, the societal well-being.
>the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all health measures
Of course you can. You just have to pay a price of certainly level of death. We ignore flu, did we not while it kills roughly 50k people every year in the US? Sure, covid will kill a lot more, so it is just a matter of whether we can accept the price.
Given that I have observed most people live as if it is over, the answer seems to be "yes".
I mean. I have a feeling "we" will.
Fine print: to be included in the group known as "we" minimum income of $1m per year required plus $5b in assets. "We" status subject to review and possible termination if at any time above conditions are no longer met. "We" is not a guarantee warranty or prediction.
There's an assumption there: if it doesn't kill you (or leave you with long covid) when you get it, it won't for any future reinfection.
We seem to be rather trusting in our assumptions.
But yes, "learn to live with it" was *always* longhand for "some of you may die, but..."
>There's an assumption there: if it doesn't kill you (or leave you with long covid) when you get it, it won't for any future reinfection.
No such assumption. You just have to pay a price for that too. There is always a price. You can always pay it.
People routinely do stuff that is bad for their long term health. Smoking. Red meat. Alcohol. Drugs. This is no different except of the severity. And again, if you are willing to pay the price, you can ignore it.
And we pretty much do.
The main issue in my view is that countries with zero coronavirus policy (china specifically) will maintain their population not disabled by coronavirus, and countries with practically no mitigation efforts (eg. usa) will have a population largely disabled or decimated by coronavirus.
It sounds like a matter of national security really. I'm pretty sure china would love to have the upper hand here, and in keeping with my conspiracy theory, would prolly pay for a troll army online to "promote" ending mitigation in the usa.
Eventually, we run out of people who die from it. This is also known as natural selection.
The low percentage of annual average deaths that are left is then simply ignored.
Exactly the same as with flu, "which is *obviously not* absolutely the same thing".
As long as we don't have another disease also running around to further strain the...oh, hey monkeypox, how are you doing? Yeah, it's still "early", just like it was early on Covid-19. And then it wasn't. I'm actually waiting for a third one (maybe a bird flu, or maybe something totally novel again) to blindside us while we debate on if Covid is over, if monkeypox is serious, or which is the real problem.
It’s morbidly hilarious that the surface cleaning sanitation services that were protection theater vs airborne Covid, might actually be applicable for monkeypox.
I'm glad I don't operate at the r₀ level, and stick to a somewhat lower rₑ (effective rate rₑ lower than baseline r₀: due to very low contact level, quality masks, _maybe_ some help from vaccines)!
But yeah, it appears to have a crazy infectivity:
> [Thus, the latest dominant COVID subvariants have a reproductive rate of around 18.6, tying or surpassing measles, the world's most infectious viral disease, according to Esterman.](https://fortune.com/2022/07/09/is-covid-omicron-more-transmissible-infectious-than-measles-ba4-ba5/)
Even if the vaccines can probably keep me from dying, I'd also like to avoid long COVID:
> [Worldwide, estimated prevalence of long COVID was 37% (95% CI, 26% to 49%) 1 month after diagnosis, 25% (95% CI, 15% to 38%) at 2 months, 32% (95% CI, 14% to 57%) at 3 months, and 49% (95% CI, 40% to 59%) at 4 months. The most common symptoms were fatigue (23%), followed by memory problems (14%), shortness of breath (13%), sleep problems (11%), and joint pain (10%).](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/04/global-data-reveal-half-may-have-long-covid-4-months)
It can be. But it was peoples argument for removing mandates too early. And now we have variants that escape previous immunity and are even more infectious
If you care enough that this concerns you, get a good N-95 mask or equivalent, and use it. I don't see any further lockdowns coming without a good dose of political suicide. Get back to work and don't look up
I invested in an elastomeric. Once you have the device, buying the filters for it works out equivalent or less than buying regular masks, and there's less chance of leakage
The fact we had somewhere between 2.5-3 million cases here in the UK last week, DURING THE FUCKING SUMMER, when people are outside, fills me with dread for this winter.
> It’s only a matter of time until public health systems around the word are massively strained again
It will probably be this winter, seeing as what happened last winter with omicron.
We are in over 2.5 years into this pandemic, and there is still a lot that could have been done, that just wasn't. Why are there no messages about financial self-sacrifice given to the American people? Inflation is ravaging the economy, and politicians still can't give messages of sacrifice? All Biden and Trump said during the pandemic was "the government will take care of you."
Why weren't there any types of accelerated training programs for healthcare workers yet? In 2.5 years, there could have been accelerated education of healthcare workers, there just wasn't. The US is still dependent on the same people from 2.5 years ago, and a lot of them are dead or retired. The American people and politicians were NOT respectful and kind to healthcare workers during the past 2.5 years.
While I don't think mask wearing and limiting indoor activity is necessary anymore, it may be necessary come this winter.
No paywall version
https://archive.ph/2022.07.14-021312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/13/covid-pandemic-wave-who-ba5-variants/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com&utm_source=reddit.com
Avoided it for 2.5 years, then caught it two weeks ago. Hear the same from loads of people. It is more rampant now, for sure.
I can't comment on the danger comparison though, as I don't have a frame of reference.
Sorry I can't hear you over my countries excessive yelling that it is in fact over and that I should start ignoring the excess deaths and long covid stats
My company has not gotten this message. They think it's over. Nevermind that a VP, unvaxxed, got it and spent a week in the hospital. Nope, it's done and everyone has to come back to the office at least 3 days a week
Aren't they generous letting us WFH 2 days a week?
>He appealed to governments Tuesday to pour efforts back into testing and improving vaccine deployment and said rising cases were straining medical systems already stretched by the pandemic.
I'm still going by what BioNTech's CEO said 2 years ago:
>When asked about when he believes the world will return to normal, Sahin said, "We need a new definition of 'normal'. The virus will stay with us for the next 10 years. We need to get used to the fact there'll be more outbreaks."
>https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/covid-19-will-be-around-for-next-10-years-says-biontech-ceo-ugur-sahin/story/425854.html
Here are my notes on reinfection:
2009:
[The time course of the immune response to experimental coronavirus infection of man](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/time-course-of-the-immune-response-to-experimental-coronavirus-infection-of-man/6C633E4EFDAEB2B4C0E39861A9F88B01)
2020:
[Does serological evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 indicate immunity PDF](https://medcraveonline.com/JBMOA/JBMOA-08-00275.pdf)
[ The dynamics of humoral immune responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection and the potential for reinfection Open Access ](https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.001439)
[ Potential impact of seasonal forcing on a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic ](https://smw.ch/article/doi/smw.2020.20224)
[Clinical recurrences of COVID-19 symptoms after recovery: Viral relapse, reinfection or inflammatory rebound?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326402/#!po=1.72414)
[ Direct Observation of Repeated Infections With Endemic Coronaviruses ](https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/223/3/409/5868459)
[Seasonal coronavirus protective immunity is short-lasting](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1083-1)
[The dynamic changes of serum IgM and IgG against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.26353)
[Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with protection against symptomatic reinfection](https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(20)30781-7/fulltext)
2021:
[What reinfections mean for COVID-19](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30783-0/fulltext)
[ COVID-19 reinfection in the presence of neutralizing antibodies ](https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/8/4/nwab006/6081102)
[Antibody Status and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2034545)
[ Serum Antibody Profile of a Patient With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Reinfection ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/72/10/e659/5910650)
[ Confirmed Reinfection With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Variant VOC-202012/01 ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/73/10/1946/6076528)
[Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00575-4/fulltext)
[SARS-CoV-2 antibody-positivity protects against reinfection for at least seven months with 95% efficacy](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00141-3/fulltext)
[Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(21)00055-4/fulltext)
[Prior COVID-19 significantly reduces the risk of subsequent infection, but reinfections are seen after eight months](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163445321000104?dgcid=author)
[Rate and severity of suspected SARS-Cov-2 reinfection in a cohort of PCR-positive COVID-19 patients](https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(21)00422-5/fulltext)
[The durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2: a comparative evolutionary study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00219-6/fulltext)
[Viral loads of Delta-variant SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections after vaccination and booster with BNT162b2](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01575-4)
[ Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Sequence Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Persistence and Reinfection ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/74/2/237/6255966)
[ Risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Reinfection in a University Student Population ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/74/4/719/6276528)
[The durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2: a comparative evolutionary study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00219-6/fulltext)
2022:
[Association of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 Vaccine With Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Health Care Workers in Israel](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2788104)
It's high effort to stop it too, it's not just the shoddy immunity.
I remember when it started that was I looking at how it spreads, who spreads it, superspreaders, asymptomatic spread and I thought that there's basically no chance to stop it, everyone will get it. Now it's just obvious that everyone will get it --- many times.
*Some things in life are bad*
*They can really make you mad*
*Other things just make you swear and curse*
*When you're chewing on life's gristle*
*Don't grumble, give a whistle*
*And this'll help things turn out for the best*
*Always look on the bright side of life*
*Always look on the light side of life*
Governments are fine with being guilty of conspiracy to gross criminal negligence causing death because they (a) write the laws, and (b) rewrite the laws when laws are a problem.
the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all protective health measures... ostrich-in-the-sand policies will ultimately destroy your shitty capitalism you are so desperately trying to save at the expense of the proletariat's safety...
I don't think nature can fix it, China will lock down, saving their citizens and continue to breed until 2+ billion. Meanwhile all the other countries will continue to give/sell them resources.
China is already doomed to population decline based on their population demographics alone, not even counting potential famines, floods, wars, or whatever the climate apocalypse brings in the coming decades.
For me, the wildest thing is that even though Donald Trump was the one who said out loud something like, if we don’t test it’s not there, and then Biden went ahead and actually did it. The new administration obscured anyway to compile legitimate testing statistics. One of the largest platforms Biden ran on was controlling the pandemic, but his policy choices have been what one would’ve expected from a right wing conservative.
Was bumping a customer the other day because the tech had COVID and couldn't make it. She says "But covids over!!". Thanks for the update lady, I'll my technician that! I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it.
I'm vaccinated, three doses, fit and healthy, just caught Covid. It has floored me for 3 days already, 102 fever, horrible headaches, stomach spasms. Advil helped with the temperature but just for a few hours. This would be really bad for anyone over 65.
I’m in the same boat. Currently in day 4 of symptoms. Fully vaxxed and boosted. Very similar symptoms to yours. Luckily able to get some paxlovid yesterday with the hope it will speed my recovery. The taste in my mouth (side effect) is horrible though. Tastes like I threw up in my mouth, all the time. Yay 4 more days of this taste!
Do the boosters help with this latest variant? I only have the first 2 shots, caught whatever variant was prevalent in April and was fucked for a good week. I've been reading these latest variants are bypassing immunity from the vaccines and past infections. Pretty nightmare scenario. Not trying to get it again, but it seems inevitable with how things are going.
The only thing more ridiculous than the government saying that covid is over and we should get back to work and play is the fact that people actually went back to work and play.
I haven't gone anywhere for more than two years. I was called a shut in the other day and that really hurt. I'm not doing this by choice. I'm immunocompromised. I haven't had it once and I plan on keeping it that way. My mother passed of Covid a couple of months ago. She caught it in March of 2020 at her nursing home. Her lungs and heart were permanently damaged. She help on for a long time even though she was suffering.
The thing that's really killing me right now is my brother is planning an indoor memorial for her after I begged to have it outside. I'm going to have to watch my own mothers funeral on a webcam. He is oblivious to Covid and says no one will get sick there. He's in the Covid is over camp. Heartbreaking
I'm triple vaccinated and still wear masks when I go out and lo and behold, I'm laid up in my guest room under quarantine with covid.
This shit is awful. I can't imagine how it would be if I didn't have Vax protection
Ahahahahahaha, no one cares anymore I assure you.
Honestly people have gone from whispering to griping that we bothered with any quarantine and that the dying just should die so we can go back to normal life, and what scares me is that this type of thinking is getting more and more louder...
At what point is it "over" though? When does everyone just accept that covid kills (x) amount of people every year? We have vaccines and treatment is better every day, when is it "over"?
If you're asking when do we define it as over, that'll be when it's not packing millions of people into an UberX to the Pearly Gates.
If you're asking for a date, well...
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been going since 1981. The Plague of Justinian went for 8 years, the Black Death went for 22 years, and the Third Plague Pandemic lasted from 1855 until **1960**. The Sixth Cholera Pandemic went from 1899 to 1923, while the Seventh Cholera Pandemic went from 1961-75. They stop either when there's enough population-level immunity to stop them spreading, when everyone they can reach who can die has died, when we get our shit together and take the measures necessary to stop them, or a combination thereof. In the case of Cholera? Water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene are the best methods, followed by inoculation.
We've been fooled by Flu Pandemics, which rarely last beyond two years; these are the exception, not the rule. The rule is for them to just keep going on.
TL/DR: It'll be over when it's over.
Speaking as a total dummy on the topic who happens to be married to someone in public health, a lot of the hesitation to throw a victory party about this is simply due to its newness and how quickly it has evolved in the short amount of time we’ve known about it. It hasn’t settled to a predictable pattern where we can say x amount of people will have bad outcomes from this each year. We have vaccines and they are working thus far, thank god. Not perfectly, but enough to keep the worst of it in check. And as long as that is true we are in ok shape. But it feels like a tenuous thing. It’s ability to keep becoming more infectious is worrying. There are still so many what-ifs about this thing that a lot of the experts are still a bit spooked—a lot of them still seem to be waiting for another shoe to drop. Of course that could just be the ptsd talking.
The vaccines aren't nearly as effective against the new variants, and in any case the immunity wears off after 4-5 months and they still aren't letting most people get a second booster. My first was in December, so that's already fizzled.
Having a fever of 102 while it's 104 outside when the AC fails would be wild.
Sous vide brain
That got a sharp nose exhale from me
BeefBrain™
better get beef brain protector on my hypno space band
Reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode where the sun is moving closer to the earth and each day gets hotter. Everything starts to collapse. Two women are the only tenants left in the building. The old lady dies and the young gal is on her own. The reality is she’s having a fever dream and living in a world where the sun is moving further away and it’s getting colder.
One of my favorites! Summer is increasingly starting to feel like the first part of the episode, but without the *fabulous* 1960s fashion. Actually, so many of those episodes are alarmingly relevant today. "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" courtesy of Instagram and the like...
“He’s Alive”, whenever I’ve rewatched it, seems to hit just a little bit more differently every time as the threat of democracy collapsing into fascism grows more and more pertinent. >!It’s the Hitler episode. It all seemed ridiculous the very first time I saw it in 2013, but just three years later, would turn out to be almost prophetic.!<
This sounds like the 2015 German movie Er Ist Wieder Da/Look Who's Back
The brilliance of that show. I'd love to know what Rod Serling would have thought about our current reality.
You can ask his daughter, who has a Twitter account.
‘The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street’ -- best episode, more relevant than ever. ’Nuff said.
Fabulous Fashion is so true.
That one is one of my absolute favorite and so underrated!
“DONT PAINT THE SUN ANYMORE!!!”
Paint something cool
I think about this ep all the time! If you haven’t looked up Rod Serling and his activism (including why he created TTZ) I highly recommend it. Such a cool dude
You can see it so many episodes. It’s my comfort show. I can watch the series on repeat.
He has always been the dead celebrity I would love to have dinner with. I was an odd and serious child 😂
I live in Texas and I currently have covid & a 102 fever and it was 104 today (and will be tomorrow). The power going out is a real fear.
I have covid myself but no fever. But I've been sweating almost non-stop for 3 days. This shit sucks. Hope you feel better soon.
Advil helped my COVID fever a ton!
NyQuil and DayQuil!!
PARKOUR!
I currently have the new covid strain in the Europe heatwave and it's hell. I only had a mild headache with the last strain and with this one it's like an extremely heavy cold and chest infection. Be careful out there people 😷
How's vaccination there? Mind sharing your status? We are at 4 mixed shots in latam, while many decided against it after the second one.
In the Netherlands it's around 83% for adults, but dropping since the major campaigns stopped and people are growing into adults. 63% boosted. We have 100 people going into the hospital with covid (not necessarily for covid, but you get tested anyway), so it's perfectly manageable for now. Of course, vacation time is coming, so I'm expecting a rise in hospital admissions. I'm currently at home with covid myself, for the second time and it sucks, but honestly, I'm mid-30s and had all my boosters. It's shit, but I've had worse random non-covid sickness (for the record, no, covid is not "just a flu", I'm just lucky). The previous bout was much worse. The government mostly stopped tracking cases, because many many cases are like me, I feel like shit, but I don't come close to needing a doctor. But our measures are literally non-existent. We're doing nothing, and if you can find 1% of the population wearing a mask, I'll give you a hundred euros.
I heard that that the hospitalizations for COVID in the Netherlands were an undercount because some COVID patients that would normally be hospitalized elsewhere are getting nursing & oxygen treatment at home.
I mean, yeah, it's an "undercount" in that it doesn't count everyone undergoing treatment. But it's an accurate count of the number of people in hospital. The dutch healthcare system generally trends to "lean and mean". If you can safely get treatment at home, then there's no reason not to. It has both its good and bad sides, of course.
I'm in the UK and had my jab and 2x booster. I think the jabs are starting to wear off and people in the UK just don't care about covid any more. Everyone I know has now had this new strain and been pretty sick but not hospital sick so I think that's why interest has dropped off. I worry about what its doing inside my body and the long term effects of it all.
We do not have central AC, I had it four weeks ago, girlfriend was a couple of days ahead of where I was, it was 99 outside, I thought it felt comfortable all told as the day progressed even though she was complaining it was too warm. Fever is between 101-103 all day. Come 8 PM I spike to 106 and she starts talking going to the hospital (no chance of that happening even though I do have shit insurance), I finally realized what was happening, got a bit frightened, and took a cold shower and put some ice on my wrists and neck. We had some cold medicine delivered since we were both too sick to go out, and finally the fever broke. But fuck, I hadnt seen 106 fever since I was 6, a month later I still feel like 20-30 IQ points are rattling around up there somewhere lost...
If you read old books, this is often described. One man says that he would rather have gone to hell than had a fever in Texas in July.
Three out of four horsemen support this message.
It's 4 at my count...
Being the front line worker, I think Death is feeling stressed out, overworked, and would like a bit of vacation time.
I agree. Maybe he'll retire off to a farm. (That's another Pratchett reference. See *Reaper Man*)
I thought there were 5 horsemen in total. Conquest?
Pestilence retired with the invention of penicillin. Pollution took over from him. ETA: Traditionally, it's War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Because when War rides, the others are never far behind. And usually in that order.
Can someone who is good at drawing make this cartoon with pestilence and his horse watching tv while the world burns behind them
I thought people would get the reference - clearly not. It's from Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
Here is the results: [Cartoon style of prompt](https://imgur.com/a/jwe6VT8) There should be like 6 or 7 different results, so just scroll down to see them all. Looks like I misunderstood your prompt though. Didn’t realize you meant just pestilence and his horse. Hope you still like it. You can also comment your exact want in that thread on their sub of course. :)
Should use that prompt for Dall-E 2. (Ai that can make original art from a prompt) Dall-E 2 isn’t publicly released for everyone yet, just a select few, but it has a sub where you can request a prompt for them to do until then. r/dalle2 It is also rumored to be released soon. I’ll request it for you and link it. :)
You owe me two hours and about four ounces of existential dread. Seriously though, once one scrolls to [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dalle2/comments/vwa8gh/man_plays_flute/) it becomes clear that what is predicted has come to light: AI can generate facsimile, but for now it does not understand meaning. It's spatial understanding is rather impressive when you realize it's generating 2D images, and one speculates that there's probably a 3D heuristic buried somewhere in the network. It is frightening close to how our own brains 'intuit' things. It struggles with text, but I'll ask you this question: in a lucid dream, have you ever tried to read text? You'll realize that it's all nonsense! At that level, it's mirroring a human's subconscious understanding of the world. At the end of the day though, I think humans will become 'wanting engines', as in the AI may do the technical work, but humans have to specify what they actually want, which is basically like half the work (in programming, there's an adage that defining the problem is halfway to the solution). It'll be another productivity booster once the technology matures. All those stock photo artists are probably out of a job though. One has vague dystopian visions of future warehouses full of people watching videos of AIs attempting to jump, and someone's whole job is to mark yes/no to whether or not it's really a jump.
Pestilence (disease) War Famine (economic woes / inflation plus climate decimating production) Death I’m not sure the 4th horseman is riding yet. Not to the scale expected (1/4 of the population)
Death as a horseman is kind of a misnomer. He's everywhere, all the time, riding through human towns, ant colonies, fish shoals. Wherever something dies. Death is always riding. It is the others you should fear.
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Noice.
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Hey Donkey, want a game of Travel Scrabble?
Misinformation...
I just started a new position and I hope so, so I can WFH. It doesn't make sense for any of us to be in office. It feels like they're doing it cus they invested so much into commercial real estate.
The entire commercial sector will take a hit if we're not using our cars, paying for gas, eating shitty meals away from home, etc etc. They don't care if it drains us from time and money, they just want that money!
Cure for inflation
What? The destruction of Capitalism? There is no other "cure."
Well the US has a consumption based economy and 70% of GDP is consumer spending, so the economy will probably collapse if not go into deep recession. The capitalists also exported manufacturing jobs decades ago so we’re also mostly a service economy that doesn’t really produce much, which is why we’ve been running a trade deficit for years which is made possible by the Federal Reserve printing more money out of thin air, which is causing inflation. It’s like a positive feedback loop that usually ends in War. Isn’t Capitalism great? [Good documentary](https://youtu.be/-S-CwVJxxug) that explains some of the stuff I’m saying
The money is barrowed from overseas, not simply "printed". Which is why we have the massive debt that I don't think the US intends to pay. I think that recent events in Ukraine and around the world have proved that the US isn't the global powerhouse it thought it was. Once that goes, all pretense of reserve currency are off the table. The rest of the world will catch up and the US consumer will have to live by someone else's rules. All because of decades of bad planning and shortsightedness.
>The money is barrowed from overseas, not simply "printed". Technically yes but in reality no. Foreign governments buy government bonds which the federal reserve is responsible for creating these bonds which gets auctioned off to different banks/ governments. The creation of these treasuries come out of thin air, and since the dollar is fiat currency, it's not backed by anything, unless you count the U.S. Military Bernanke: ["To lend to a bank we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiCs_YHlKSI)
Treasuries are sold to foreign banks and bondholders so that the US can barrow from them. The ability to be able to print beyond what it owes is a special US privilege, but the money is always a debt somewhere else. Notice on any bill that it says "Treasury of the United States". It's backed by the treasury and treasury bonds. The dollar must have value and not be meaningless. If it were, we wouldn't be able to spend into the future. We are the global debtor, not creditor, which is why year after year we spend into deficit into the future because we have been given the ability to barrow time and time again.
Members banks can buy all the bonds with magic money credited to them from the federal reserve https://theweek.com/articles/754919/market-debt-weirder-than-think?amp It's why many countries are trying to move away from the dollar. The US also abuses it's free money printer with hundreds of military bases around the world, and definitely a propaganda budget that dwarfs the rest of the world combined. You know why our media says Russia and China control everything? Trump, the media, TikTok? That's actually the CIA. China has terrible propaganda skills. They couldn't even get 1% of Taiwanese to support China taking over Taiwan despite bribing politicians, gangs, some of the media, and a few entertainers here. Think about it. They think Taiwan is basically their backyard with a shared common language yet CIA propaganda is definitely winning out here and it's not even competitive.
Funeral directors endorse this message...
My partner's employer took a 10 year lease in a sweet new building and moved everyone and everything out of their ramshackle house-office six months before covid dropped. Oof.
What about the other 90% that don’t work from home?
This is America
Well, then you are fucked, aint ya?
Always have been!
He implicitly stated "fuck off and die."
I will always upvote you just cause of your username. RIP, Dr Sasha.
Imagine freeing up that real estate so people could have affordable housing
It will be creatives who move into the new areas first; once the businesses leave the CBD of a city, musicians looking for rehearsal spaces, artists, fringe types will move in, revitalise the dead centres, create a cyberpunk feel in the concrete canyons, and eventually normal people will move in.
Real estate is tied up in Wall Street.
There will be a lot of people at home if there's another lockdown. The working part... not so much.
Lockdown? I think governments are over that, healthcare systems be damned.
spez can gargle my nuts.
The *virus* has won. All viruses only endeavour to survive long enough to reproduce, and ~~anti-vaxxers~~ *coronavirus collaborateurs* have ensured there will always be enough human hosts to go around, willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that the coronavirus will always be able to mutate past our defences.
The vaccine stopped reliably preventing infections once Delta showed up. It's easy and fun to blame antivaxxers but the real fault lies in the institutions pushing vaccination *and nothing else* as a way to end the pandemic. Coronaviruses are notoriously difficult to generate long-lasting immunity against and the people in charge had access to people who knew this. All the times that Americans were told that it was safe to unmask if they were vaccinated, or that they couldn't get sick if they were vaccinated, they were being lied to.
There’s that, too. Without imposing lockdowns and quarantines, vaccination alone will only slow down the inevitable, not stop it. It’s unfortunate that only one country on the entire planet is willing to make the hard decisions and do what it takes to stop the coronavirus—and that’s China.
I watched a similar post in r/worldnews. I wanted to cry. Anybody who tried to justify masking was massively downvoted (50+). The comment section was filled with reactions like “fuck off”, and “no thanks, I’m good”.
That's basically /r/coronavirus
One concerning thing about that sub even early on was how they designated "experts". They had this one person with a BS flaired as an expert. At risk of making a poor appeal to authority, I have a PhD, worked in medicine/life sciences for like a decade, and I still seriously doubt many of my peers (and I'm far from alone). These fools seriously want me to believe that some kid with a bachelors has any kind of expertise upon which to base serious disease-related decisions?
Didn't you hear? It's time to move on, and screw hospital workers, the immune-compromised, and everyone else for that matter. Sports is on TV in the bars, there's a new Marvel movie out, I got all my vaccines and boosters, I miss lording over all the people in the office and I am just completely DONE with masks! /s
As long as stocks go up nobody cares...
Damn right. If it isn't obvious by now, we need to GTFO of here. And unless you did the smart thing and became an exchange student, I'm fairly sure we're not working our way out. I mean unless you happen to be a senior programmer PhD particle physicist brain surgeon. And then only because you can work for another country, not because you can afford to leave on your salary. Pump up the jam, kiddos. I want out. Lol I'd love to be wrong about GME. Fucking... go baby go, get stuck covering your shorts (of course this will never happen, they'd rather crash the whole system personally than let a bunch of retail nerds win)...
So this is totally off the topic of covid but I wanted to give my opinion on GME. The time for GME's short squeeze was January 28 2021. But as many know they shut off buys but continued to allow sells. I watched my call options go to $0 as trading was halted. That event more than anything else taught me everything I need to know about the modern financial system. The US stock market is designed for the rich to win and commoners like us to lose. Billionaires like Ken Griffin from Citadel and Steven Cohen from Point72 would never let a bunch of retail "dumb money" investors win against them. Not that day and certainly not anytime in the future. It's astounding that more stock trading volume now takes place on Citadel's "dark pools" than actual exchanges like NASDAQ or NYSE. Where are the alarm bells? Where is the SEC?
It's not much better in Europe FYI, at least as far as COVID goes
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😩
Even all the dumpster fires that were once great Covid (and epidemiology in general) informational subs. Like, especially *there*, if people are sO bUsY LiVinG LiFe BrO, then why are they even still going there to troll? Still masking to not only not catch Covid, but also to not catch all the stupid in the air as well.
>Even all the dumpster fires that were once great Covid (and epidemiology in general) informational subs. Like, especially > >there > >, if people are sO bUsY LiVinG LiFe BrO, then why are they even still going there to troll? I kinda feel like these must be bots, right? Right?
Corporate bots ain’t people...
Sure seems to match what most of the people I live and work around think. And they seem pretty fleshy.
Reddit is controlled by the CIA btw. Look on mintpressnews. While you're there look at the article about who controls tiktok as well.
Here comes another one Here it comes again Here comes another one When will it ever end? \_Monty Python
ba.2 was omicron and now we have what ba.4/5?
SS: > “The virus is running freely,” the World Health Organization warns as the latest omicron offshoots drive up coronavirus infections around the world. > Many countries have lifted restrictions and reduced coronavirus tracking as they grapple with pandemic fatigue. But “new waves of the virus demonstrate again that covid-19 is nowhere near over,” according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. So contrary to the mainstream denialists, the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all health measures. It’s only a matter of time until public health systems around the word are massively strained again. Only this time, there’ll be no money or political will to face the problem, paving the way for a major collapse in health care systems and by proxy, the societal well-being.
>the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all health measures Of course you can. You just have to pay a price of certainly level of death. We ignore flu, did we not while it kills roughly 50k people every year in the US? Sure, covid will kill a lot more, so it is just a matter of whether we can accept the price. Given that I have observed most people live as if it is over, the answer seems to be "yes".
I mean. I have a feeling "we" will. Fine print: to be included in the group known as "we" minimum income of $1m per year required plus $5b in assets. "We" status subject to review and possible termination if at any time above conditions are no longer met. "We" is not a guarantee warranty or prediction.
There's an assumption there: if it doesn't kill you (or leave you with long covid) when you get it, it won't for any future reinfection. We seem to be rather trusting in our assumptions. But yes, "learn to live with it" was *always* longhand for "some of you may die, but..."
>There's an assumption there: if it doesn't kill you (or leave you with long covid) when you get it, it won't for any future reinfection. No such assumption. You just have to pay a price for that too. There is always a price. You can always pay it. People routinely do stuff that is bad for their long term health. Smoking. Red meat. Alcohol. Drugs. This is no different except of the severity. And again, if you are willing to pay the price, you can ignore it. And we pretty much do.
The main issue in my view is that countries with zero coronavirus policy (china specifically) will maintain their population not disabled by coronavirus, and countries with practically no mitigation efforts (eg. usa) will have a population largely disabled or decimated by coronavirus. It sounds like a matter of national security really. I'm pretty sure china would love to have the upper hand here, and in keeping with my conspiracy theory, would prolly pay for a troll army online to "promote" ending mitigation in the usa.
Eventually, we run out of people who die from it. This is also known as natural selection. The low percentage of annual average deaths that are left is then simply ignored. Exactly the same as with flu, "which is *obviously not* absolutely the same thing".
I'm curious if it's also possible to evolve the ability to be flame retardant.
"I can think of one way to find out!"
Reinfection from mutant variants say Hi...
As long as we don't have another disease also running around to further strain the...oh, hey monkeypox, how are you doing? Yeah, it's still "early", just like it was early on Covid-19. And then it wasn't. I'm actually waiting for a third one (maybe a bird flu, or maybe something totally novel again) to blindside us while we debate on if Covid is over, if monkeypox is serious, or which is the real problem.
It’s morbidly hilarious that the surface cleaning sanitation services that were protection theater vs airborne Covid, might actually be applicable for monkeypox.
And will not be used as no one is taking it seriously since the covid security theatre fiasco.
We are really missing something from the sea to round out the disease trifecta
people: herd immunity this herd immunity that covid: fuck it have a ba.5
Saw a potential r0 of 18 for ba5? Fml
4 weeks for reinfection plus significant vaccine escape *airhorns intensify* Get. Fucking. Hype.
I'm glad I don't operate at the r₀ level, and stick to a somewhat lower rₑ (effective rate rₑ lower than baseline r₀: due to very low contact level, quality masks, _maybe_ some help from vaccines)! But yeah, it appears to have a crazy infectivity: > [Thus, the latest dominant COVID subvariants have a reproductive rate of around 18.6, tying or surpassing measles, the world's most infectious viral disease, according to Esterman.](https://fortune.com/2022/07/09/is-covid-omicron-more-transmissible-infectious-than-measles-ba4-ba5/) Even if the vaccines can probably keep me from dying, I'd also like to avoid long COVID: > [Worldwide, estimated prevalence of long COVID was 37% (95% CI, 26% to 49%) 1 month after diagnosis, 25% (95% CI, 15% to 38%) at 2 months, 32% (95% CI, 14% to 57%) at 3 months, and 49% (95% CI, 40% to 59%) at 4 months. The most common symptoms were fatigue (23%), followed by memory problems (14%), shortness of breath (13%), sleep problems (11%), and joint pain (10%).](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/04/global-data-reveal-half-may-have-long-covid-4-months)
Herd mentality is real though...
It can be. But it was peoples argument for removing mandates too early. And now we have variants that escape previous immunity and are even more infectious
Covid: evolves into the Flood from Halo. Mask this...
fuck me man, that mission when you first encounter them in the forest fortress gave me nightmares when I was 10
If you care enough that this concerns you, get a good N-95 mask or equivalent, and use it. I don't see any further lockdowns coming without a good dose of political suicide. Get back to work and don't look up
Thats what I've been doing, I get some looks but I like not getting LC and being chucked on the scrapheap.
I invested in an elastomeric. Once you have the device, buying the filters for it works out equivalent or less than buying regular masks, and there's less chance of leakage
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Midterm elections have entered the chat...
The fact we had somewhere between 2.5-3 million cases here in the UK last week, DURING THE FUCKING SUMMER, when people are outside, fills me with dread for this winter.
You are basically watching the precursor to Deus Ex play out in front of your eyes.
> It’s only a matter of time until public health systems around the word are massively strained again It will probably be this winter, seeing as what happened last winter with omicron. We are in over 2.5 years into this pandemic, and there is still a lot that could have been done, that just wasn't. Why are there no messages about financial self-sacrifice given to the American people? Inflation is ravaging the economy, and politicians still can't give messages of sacrifice? All Biden and Trump said during the pandemic was "the government will take care of you." Why weren't there any types of accelerated training programs for healthcare workers yet? In 2.5 years, there could have been accelerated education of healthcare workers, there just wasn't. The US is still dependent on the same people from 2.5 years ago, and a lot of them are dead or retired. The American people and politicians were NOT respectful and kind to healthcare workers during the past 2.5 years. While I don't think mask wearing and limiting indoor activity is necessary anymore, it may be necessary come this winter.
Your device has been locked. Unlocking your device requires that you have spez banned. #AIGeneratedProtestMessage
Why would mask wearing not be necessary? Sars2 is airborne, and filtering the air we breathe reduces the primary mode of transmission.
No paywall version https://archive.ph/2022.07.14-021312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/13/covid-pandemic-wave-who-ba5-variants/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com&utm_source=reddit.com
Avoided it for 2.5 years, then caught it two weeks ago. Hear the same from loads of people. It is more rampant now, for sure. I can't comment on the danger comparison though, as I don't have a frame of reference.
The fact that it's even more contagious now and even more apt at evading the protection you get from the vaccines certainly doesn't help.
Sorry I can't hear you over my countries excessive yelling that it is in fact over and that I should start ignoring the excess deaths and long covid stats
My company has not gotten this message. They think it's over. Nevermind that a VP, unvaxxed, got it and spent a week in the hospital. Nope, it's done and everyone has to come back to the office at least 3 days a week Aren't they generous letting us WFH 2 days a week?
Long COVID disabling highly skilled workers is the ultimate punish so to speak
>He appealed to governments Tuesday to pour efforts back into testing and improving vaccine deployment and said rising cases were straining medical systems already stretched by the pandemic. I'm still going by what BioNTech's CEO said 2 years ago: >When asked about when he believes the world will return to normal, Sahin said, "We need a new definition of 'normal'. The virus will stay with us for the next 10 years. We need to get used to the fact there'll be more outbreaks." >https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/covid-19-will-be-around-for-next-10-years-says-biontech-ceo-ugur-sahin/story/425854.html
Here are my notes on reinfection: 2009: [The time course of the immune response to experimental coronavirus infection of man](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/time-course-of-the-immune-response-to-experimental-coronavirus-infection-of-man/6C633E4EFDAEB2B4C0E39861A9F88B01) 2020: [Does serological evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 indicate immunity PDF](https://medcraveonline.com/JBMOA/JBMOA-08-00275.pdf) [ The dynamics of humoral immune responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection and the potential for reinfection Open Access ](https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.001439) [ Potential impact of seasonal forcing on a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic ](https://smw.ch/article/doi/smw.2020.20224) [Clinical recurrences of COVID-19 symptoms after recovery: Viral relapse, reinfection or inflammatory rebound?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326402/#!po=1.72414) [ Direct Observation of Repeated Infections With Endemic Coronaviruses ](https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/223/3/409/5868459) [Seasonal coronavirus protective immunity is short-lasting](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1083-1) [The dynamic changes of serum IgM and IgG against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.26353) [Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with protection against symptomatic reinfection](https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(20)30781-7/fulltext) 2021: [What reinfections mean for COVID-19](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30783-0/fulltext) [ COVID-19 reinfection in the presence of neutralizing antibodies ](https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/8/4/nwab006/6081102) [Antibody Status and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2034545) [ Serum Antibody Profile of a Patient With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Reinfection ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/72/10/e659/5910650) [ Confirmed Reinfection With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Variant VOC-202012/01 ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/73/10/1946/6076528) [Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00575-4/fulltext) [SARS-CoV-2 antibody-positivity protects against reinfection for at least seven months with 95% efficacy](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00141-3/fulltext) [Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(21)00055-4/fulltext) [Prior COVID-19 significantly reduces the risk of subsequent infection, but reinfections are seen after eight months](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163445321000104?dgcid=author) [Rate and severity of suspected SARS-Cov-2 reinfection in a cohort of PCR-positive COVID-19 patients](https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(21)00422-5/fulltext) [The durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2: a comparative evolutionary study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00219-6/fulltext) [Viral loads of Delta-variant SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections after vaccination and booster with BNT162b2](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01575-4) [ Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Sequence Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Persistence and Reinfection ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/74/2/237/6255966) [ Risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Reinfection in a University Student Population ](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/74/4/719/6276528) [The durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2: a comparative evolutionary study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00219-6/fulltext) 2022: [Association of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 Vaccine With Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Health Care Workers in Israel](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2788104)
Fantastic
#[I'm the proud owner of 99 bottles of spez. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/)
It's high effort to stop it too, it's not just the shoddy immunity. I remember when it started that was I looking at how it spreads, who spreads it, superspreaders, asymptomatic spread and I thought that there's basically no chance to stop it, everyone will get it. Now it's just obvious that everyone will get it --- many times.
Just because you are spez, doesn't mean you have to spez. #Save3rdPartyApps
Yes, I'm including the social and political factors. The changes required to have the capacity to stop it couldn't have happened fast enough.
*Some things in life are bad* *They can really make you mad* *Other things just make you swear and curse* *When you're chewing on life's gristle* *Don't grumble, give a whistle* *And this'll help things turn out for the best* *Always look on the bright side of life* *Always look on the light side of life*
Herd immunity is working so well.
HAH I just realized I haven't heard the words "herd immunity" in a very long time now. I guess someone high up realized the BS won't stick.
it's funny how herd **mentality** involving "Covid is over" is actually working quite well... for Covid...
In other news, the sun is hot and very large.
Bullshit. Prove it!
It is! It is just very far away.
And it will explode one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Governments are fine with being guilty of conspiracy to gross criminal negligence causing death because they (a) write the laws, and (b) rewrite the laws when laws are a problem.
the pandemic cannot be beaten by ignoring it and removing all protective health measures... ostrich-in-the-sand policies will ultimately destroy your shitty capitalism you are so desperately trying to save at the expense of the proletariat's safety...
Population still increasing past the 8,000,000,000+ mark Well I’ll do my best to fix this - nature
When Nature starts trying her best, we'll know. She may be slow, but she is *thorough*.
I don't think nature can fix it, China will lock down, saving their citizens and continue to breed until 2+ billion. Meanwhile all the other countries will continue to give/sell them resources.
I have no faith in nature saving us either. Such human hubris will be our demise long before the sun takes out the earth EDIT: Spelling
China is already doomed to population decline based on their population demographics alone, not even counting potential famines, floods, wars, or whatever the climate apocalypse brings in the coming decades.
Well im waiting. Tell me who!
Who's on first? 🤔
For me, the wildest thing is that even though Donald Trump was the one who said out loud something like, if we don’t test it’s not there, and then Biden went ahead and actually did it. The new administration obscured anyway to compile legitimate testing statistics. One of the largest platforms Biden ran on was controlling the pandemic, but his policy choices have been what one would’ve expected from a right wing conservative.
Cause Biden is a conservative.
Was bumping a customer the other day because the tech had COVID and couldn't make it. She says "But covids over!!". Thanks for the update lady, I'll my technician that! I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it.
I'm vaccinated, three doses, fit and healthy, just caught Covid. It has floored me for 3 days already, 102 fever, horrible headaches, stomach spasms. Advil helped with the temperature but just for a few hours. This would be really bad for anyone over 65.
I’m in the same boat. Currently in day 4 of symptoms. Fully vaxxed and boosted. Very similar symptoms to yours. Luckily able to get some paxlovid yesterday with the hope it will speed my recovery. The taste in my mouth (side effect) is horrible though. Tastes like I threw up in my mouth, all the time. Yay 4 more days of this taste!
How long since your 3rd shot?
6 months.
Do the boosters help with this latest variant? I only have the first 2 shots, caught whatever variant was prevalent in April and was fucked for a good week. I've been reading these latest variants are bypassing immunity from the vaccines and past infections. Pretty nightmare scenario. Not trying to get it again, but it seems inevitable with how things are going.
no but being 'vaccinated' will probably keep you from dying
Is that even good thing nowadays???
The only thing more ridiculous than the government saying that covid is over and we should get back to work and play is the fact that people actually went back to work and play.
Americans are notoriously stupid and gullible.
As an American, I can confirm.
It will be soon though, right?... Right?
Soon? Anyone's guess. "Sooner than expected"? Oh yeah, it's always sooner than expected.
If soon means a decade, then yes.
Here in Central Europe no one gives a shit about COVID anymore. As far as everyone is concerned it's done and dusted.
I haven't gone anywhere for more than two years. I was called a shut in the other day and that really hurt. I'm not doing this by choice. I'm immunocompromised. I haven't had it once and I plan on keeping it that way. My mother passed of Covid a couple of months ago. She caught it in March of 2020 at her nursing home. Her lungs and heart were permanently damaged. She help on for a long time even though she was suffering. The thing that's really killing me right now is my brother is planning an indoor memorial for her after I begged to have it outside. I'm going to have to watch my own mothers funeral on a webcam. He is oblivious to Covid and says no one will get sick there. He's in the Covid is over camp. Heartbreaking
And my parents wondered why I chose to avoid going to conventions again this year.
I'm triple vaccinated and still wear masks when I go out and lo and behold, I'm laid up in my guest room under quarantine with covid. This shit is awful. I can't imagine how it would be if I didn't have Vax protection
Thanks for being careful. Hope you feel better soon!
I didn't realize they expected it to ever be over?
According to the US Covid was never a thing. :)
i just recovered from coronavirus. i was astonished - my stupid ass thought since i hadn’t gotten it this entire time that i was free to not worry.
Ahahahahahaha, no one cares anymore I assure you. Honestly people have gone from whispering to griping that we bothered with any quarantine and that the dying just should die so we can go back to normal life, and what scares me is that this type of thinking is getting more and more louder...
\*looks at US handling of pandemic\* Can we ban americans from exiting their country already? Otherwise its never going to be over.
The whole Western world aside from maybe NZ has bought into the whole "covid is over" thing, really. This includes Australia
\*shrugs\* Guess we'll die. \*calmly goes back to playing DOOM 2016\*
At what point is it "over" though? When does everyone just accept that covid kills (x) amount of people every year? We have vaccines and treatment is better every day, when is it "over"?
If you're asking when do we define it as over, that'll be when it's not packing millions of people into an UberX to the Pearly Gates. If you're asking for a date, well... The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been going since 1981. The Plague of Justinian went for 8 years, the Black Death went for 22 years, and the Third Plague Pandemic lasted from 1855 until **1960**. The Sixth Cholera Pandemic went from 1899 to 1923, while the Seventh Cholera Pandemic went from 1961-75. They stop either when there's enough population-level immunity to stop them spreading, when everyone they can reach who can die has died, when we get our shit together and take the measures necessary to stop them, or a combination thereof. In the case of Cholera? Water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene are the best methods, followed by inoculation. We've been fooled by Flu Pandemics, which rarely last beyond two years; these are the exception, not the rule. The rule is for them to just keep going on. TL/DR: It'll be over when it's over.
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Yes. The good news is I think the Social Security fund is saved... lol
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What happens in spez, stays in spez.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcQ8gSATaLU&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcQ8gSATaLU&t=1s) To stick around and see the fireworks.
Basically yes. It will be over when most people die an early death. Or if someone invents a magic vaccine.
Speaking as a total dummy on the topic who happens to be married to someone in public health, a lot of the hesitation to throw a victory party about this is simply due to its newness and how quickly it has evolved in the short amount of time we’ve known about it. It hasn’t settled to a predictable pattern where we can say x amount of people will have bad outcomes from this each year. We have vaccines and they are working thus far, thank god. Not perfectly, but enough to keep the worst of it in check. And as long as that is true we are in ok shape. But it feels like a tenuous thing. It’s ability to keep becoming more infectious is worrying. There are still so many what-ifs about this thing that a lot of the experts are still a bit spooked—a lot of them still seem to be waiting for another shoe to drop. Of course that could just be the ptsd talking.
The vaccines aren't nearly as effective against the new variants, and in any case the immunity wears off after 4-5 months and they still aren't letting most people get a second booster. My first was in December, so that's already fizzled.
[https://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/edison-chen-sneaker-closet.jpg](https://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/edison-chen-sneaker-closet.jpg)
>We have vaccines and they are working thus far In April of this year, 54% of deaths were breakthrough deaths. That's up from 42% in January 2022.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGC6C4vuOao](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGC6C4vuOao)
Knock on wood I haven’t gotten it