It is. Luckily, HIV is not terribly easy to spread. But if it were easy to spread (such as if it were airborne or if it didn't take so many exposures to transmit) then it would be a world-as-we-know-it ending disaster.
It is. Luckily, HIV is not terribly easy to spread. But if it were easy to spread (such as if it were airborne or if it didn't take so many exposures to transmit) then it would be a world-as-we-know-it ending disaster.HIV--> AIDS is probably as close to that "delay" function as you are talking.
Apparently there was some sort of anti-mask protest today where parents kept there kids home from our high school.
Son reported hallways were a little less crowded today.
To the shock of no one, all the kids in the honors\advance classes showed up to school as normal.
Weird how all the families with kids in the advance classes have had no issues with masks or vaccines.
It is. Luckily, HIV is not terribly easy to spread. But if it were easy to spread (such as if it were airborne or if it didn't take so many exposures to transmit) then it would be a world-as-we-know-it ending disaster.
I think one way you should think of infectious pathogens is that some are hidden ninjas dodging the immune system, while others follow the "slash and burn" philosophy. Flu, SARS, Ebola are great examples of the slash and burn approach. These viruses don't care what happens to the host, just as long as they make as many copies of themselves as soon as possible and spread to others. And it works. With many of these viruses, you're highly infectious for only a short time, but that's sufficient to cause massive outbreaks/epidemics/pandemics.Well yeah. I wonder sometimes why microorganisms/pathogens don't evolve in a more devious way than they actually do. Would there not be an evolutionary pressure for all of them to have as long an asymptomatic-but-infectious period as possible?
In fact, why haven't they all evolved to become symbiotic, and actually help the host survive longer? Any microorganism that did so would surely spread further and survive longer than one that killed the host.
Toxoplasmosis seems to behave the way I'd expect such things to - actively changing the host's behaviour to make it spread the pathogen more rapidly. I don't know why they don't all end up like that. Why doesn't COVID turn people Republican? That would be a successful strategy for it.
A conservative acquaintance of mine got fed up with mask requirements over the weekend (somehow stemming from the super bowl). In any event, he wanted to end mask requirements in schools because "think of the children".I think this entire government qualifies for this thread. All through the whole thing they've been pushing to pretend it isn't happening and end all restrictions. From the original "herd immunity through infection" strategy through all the repeated attempts to relax restrictions and open up again (only to have to reverse course), and now they are trying to declare the pandemic over by fiat, by ending all quarantine requirements for those infected and simultaneously stopping testing. So the pandemic will continue but we just won't hear about it. They are also talking about no longer reporting COVID death numbers. Going full ostrich.
The Conservatives are just ideologically not suited to managing a pandemic, because all they care about is money. Particularly _their_ money, of them and their class.
The Guardian view on axing Covid rules and testing: this is not normal | Editorial
Editorial: The longing for pre-pandemic life is natural. But we won’t get back what we missed by pretending that the risks are overwww.theguardian.com
They are a dying breed.I've always long wondered...if COVID (or whatever the next global pandemic is) had like a 50% all age mortality, would the right still be against vaccine and mask mandates?
2 years in and I finally got the ‘rona while the rest of the country is seeing cases plummet.
Daycare was my vector.
Seeing as getting infected comes with the risk of death or long term complications, you'd essentially be rolling the dice twice with a future infection instead of once.I assume you are fully vaccinated?
Apparently being both vaccinated _and_ having the infection gives you the best immune response, including against possible future variants. Though I can't work out if they are saying it's better to be infected _then_ vaccinated or if it works the other way round also.
The cells that can give you super-immunity
Memory B cells were discovered more than half a century ago. But scientists are just beginning to understand the crucial role they play in protecting people from serious illness.www.bbc.com
Seeing as getting infected comes with the risk of death or long term complications, you'd essentially be rolling the dice twice with a future infection instead of once.
The only way those odds work out better is if the immune response generated for the second infection is *extremely* good.
I assume you are fully vaccinated?
Apparently being both vaccinated _and_ having the infection gives you the best immune response, including against possible future variants. Though I can't work out if they are saying it's better to be infected _then_ vaccinated or if it works the other way round also.
The cells that can give you super-immunity
Memory B cells were discovered more than half a century ago. But scientists are just beginning to understand the crucial role they play in protecting people from serious illness.www.bbc.com
The studies aren't unanimous, but it's generally accepted that if you're fully vaccinated and later get a natural infection, that serves as a nice "booster" to reinvigorate your immune response. With the boosting rates in the U.S. being less than great, a lot of Americans got a natural booster from an omicron infection these past two months.Not saying it's _desirable_ to get infected, but if one is, then at least there's a compensatory upside.
Also, if what that article says applies for the reverse order, i.e. vaccine then infection, then that would be the best of all worlds, as you are also far less likely to suffer serious consequences from the infection, because you've already got some protection.
Only I fear it might be a zero-sum game, insofar as you only get the extra, broader-spectrum, protection precisely _because_ you've had a bad infection because you weren't vaccinated first. That article isn't clear on that point.
The studies aren't unanimous, but it's generally accepted that if you're fully vaccinated and later get a natural infection, that serves as a nice "booster" to reinvigorate your immune response. With the boosting rates in the U.S. being less than great, a lot of Americans got a natural booster from an omicron infection these past two months.
I can't speak to the quality of immunity itself, but since vaccine availability, getting naturally infected before vaccination is the dumb way of doing things [the older a person gets]. Keep in mind the immune response after a natural infection varies a lot. It seems like the worse a case of COVID, the more the immune system had to fight, and the better the immunity. If I recall correctly, the science of immunity against reinfection after an asymptomatic or "mild" case is far from settled.
TLDR: Vaccination is still by far the best way to prevent severe COVID.
That's my fear after all this time. I'm 4 months out from my booster and I'm in a state that's very aggressive about controlling the virus, although the mask mandate will be over in mid March here. I really would hate to get the rona after being so vigilant. Fortunately, I'm able to really isolate, being retired and living alone.Vaxxed and boosted (Pfizer) but still got symptomatic. Kids are not old enough for the vax but had very mild symptoms—wouldn’t have even tested them without the close contact notice.
That's my fear after all this time. I'm 4 months out from my booster and I'm in a state that's very aggressive about controlling the virus, although the mask mandate will be over in mid March here. I really would hate to get the rona after being so vigilant. Fortunately, I'm able to really isolate, being retired and living alone.
Still, it would be nice to get my rona hair cut and sit down to a meal at a restuarant.
All true, but I don't mean to imply many people intentionally contracted omicron as an immunity strategy. Many people under the age of 50 have just never cared that much about the pandemic, and took relatively few precautions, esp. during the past two holiday seasons. With widespread vaccine availability, it's still the dumb play to wait for a natural infection. But statistically, most younger and "healthier" people will survive this low-risk gamble.Yeah, getting infected on purpose to boost immunity is just dumb no matter how or when it's done.
From what I read, the Mix of Vaccine Plus real infection does provide better immunity that either alone, which makes sense if you think about it. But I also read it didn't matter which order you had those in, so obviously you just get all your shots. Even then it doesn't make sense to seek out actually getting infected to boost immunity. If it happens and you are healthy and fully vaxxed then you will likely be OK. But no one should seek it out, even fully boosted.
Likewise, from what I read, having a mix of different vaccine types is better than a single type. If not boosted yet, people might consider seeking a different booster from their base shots.
The more different views your immune system has, the more alert it will be for variations.
I have no comorbidities except age (over 50), and I'm boosted, so I don't worry too much for myself, but I'm the main contact for a immune compromised family member, so I am staying masked and limiting contacts even as restrictions ease.
Hope I don't get harassed by covidiots when I'm in the minority still wearing a mask.
I'm more or less a hermit, but nothing's stopping you from doing those last two things. I certainly took extra precautions during the last two surges, but you have to assess for yourself what risk is acceptable for a given activity. The last restaurant meal I had was sandwiched between the delta and omicron surges, and have been very infrequent since the pandemic began. I'll wear a mask during the occasional haircut.That's my fear after all this time. I'm 4 months out from my booster and I'm in a state that's very aggressive about controlling the virus, although the mask mandate will be over in mid March here. I really would hate to get the rona after being so vigilant. Fortunately, I'm able to really isolate, being retired and living alone.
Still, it would be nice to get my rona hair cut and sit down to a meal at a restuarant.
I'm almost 5 months post booster, but we are going on with life, with cautions. To go to the grocery or Sam's club, KN95 regardless of local, state, or store mandates. We meet friends at local breweries about twice a week. We are all retired, vaxxed, and boosted. Likewise, we go to venues that have large open areas, and even outside space which can be at the mercy of the weather.That's my fear after all this time. I'm 4 months out from my booster and I'm in a state that's very aggressive about controlling the virus, although the mask mandate will be over in mid March here. I really would hate to get the rona after being so vigilant. Fortunately, I'm able to really isolate, being retired and living alone.
Still, it would be nice to get my rona hair cut and sit down to a meal at a restuarant.
Yea, your last paragraph is my main concern. When is it really over.All true, but I don't mean to imply many people intentionally contracted omicron as an immunity strategy. Many people under the age of 50 have just never cared that much about the pandemic, and took relatively few precautions, esp. during the past two holiday seasons. With widespread vaccine availability, it's still the dumb play to wait for a natural infection. But statistically, most younger and "healthier" people will survive this low-risk gamble.
I'm more or less a hermit, but nothing's stopping you from doing those last two things. I certainly took extra precautions during the last two surges, but you have to assess for yourself what risk is acceptable for a given activity. The last restaurant meal I had was sandwiched between the delta and omicron surges, and have been very infrequent since the pandemic began. I'll wear a mask during the occasional haircut.
Without prying into your personal medical background, I don't know if most people should have fear of an omicron infection. You and I definitely skew towards the precautious side, and we're not really buying this pivot to "masks aren't necessary anymore."
Most people have been wrong about "what happens next" multiple times in the past, so I don't think I'm good enough to predict where things will stand in January 2023. My best guess is that omicron will recede to low levels, like 10k new daily cases last May. At least for a time, we'll have our normalcy and most lay people will declare the pandemic is over. But there's always potential for a new variant or another season surge after antibodies wane.