Daviewolf83 said:
dogplasma said:
FWIW, my friend's wife who works at Wake Med reports that they now have 111 Covid patients admitted. She says that's the first time Wake Med has ever topped 100 Covid patients. I didn't get ICU numbers so hopefully they aren't as extreme.
Based on the current percentage of Covid patients in ICU, I would estimate 25 of the 111 patients are in ICU. We have about a week left in the Winter Wave, when I project hospitalizations will peak. It is possible hospitalizations will reach the same level as last year's Winter Wave, but I think it is very unlikely. Based on what is being reported in the UK, where the Omicron driven Winter Wave began sooner than in the US, they have peaked and hospitalizations were roughly 50% of last year's Winter Wave amounts.
I was just looking at that last wave.
I think it is possible based just on case volume alone especially at the rate they are increasing. Plus we still have the December Deltas.
I do think we will start to see the week over week decrease in cases next week once our 7 day averages are completely clear of holiday reporting.
Going to be a slog to get through the next 2 weeks.
The briefings from our almighty rulers today, didn't give me warm fuzzies.
I still feel likely the are stuck with messaging that would make sense for a winter seasonal wave that is primarily Delta. And setting the number one priority as boosting everyone with wild-type in the face of Omicron just doesn't pass the sniff test.
I don't get why they can't pivot? The claims the 'current' vaccines are effective against preventing infection from Omicron are dubious. Anecdotal observations and some pre-print (that doesn't originate with pharma) show just the opposite... an eventual -VE.
It feels just like the promises made when the original vaccine trials were only 3 months in and 100 percent effective. Omicron hasn't been around long enough to be making these confident assertions.
If Omicron really has quelled Delta, the strategy should shift completely.
It was just so uncomfortable watching the messaging today and Roy "We Know What Works" Cooper spewing the party 'Science'.
And I am not even saying it didn't make sense for at-risk boosting in the face of a winter Delta wave. But if Delta is not largely spreading and an issue (beyond the existing hospital impact)
But calling for universal boosting with a vaccine that doesn't
seem to be slowing Omicron cases (and if has -VE is actually accelerating them). I mean, Cooper literally pleaded with the CDC to change the definition of 'fully vaccinated' to include boosters at his briefing today.
Is it just me? Am I just broken? Feels like I am in the Twilight Zone, where everything coming out of public health and leadership doesn't seem to jibe with what I see in real life or in the numbers.