packgrad said:I really don't see how they can mandate a vaccine that expresses a spike protein RBD from a two-year old virus that doesn't exist anymore and has negative VE for the 95%+ dominant variant. When that variant is no more pathogenic than typical seasonal respiratory viruses.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 5, 2022
I wish they'd knock down his mandate for executive branch employees, I don't want the choice of a booster or early retirement.Daviewolf83 said:The case is supposed to go before the Supreme court this week and the court has said they will fast-track a decision. Most legal experts believe the court will strike it down and a decision could come fairly quickly. It is one of two cases the court will be hearing. There is a similar ruling that is also going before the court this week and legal experts are expecting a similar outcome.Steve Williams said:
The employee mandates for companies with over 100 workers, is that still a go?
One policy that applies to Federal contractors and is the one my company falls under, is not going before the court this week. It is still going through the courts and last I checked, a stay had been issued and the Biden administration is appealing.
The following article provides a good summation of the arguments against the two policies:
SCOTUS Should Nix Biden's Vaccine Mandates
Mormad said:packgrad said:I really don't see how they can mandate a vaccine that expresses a spike protein RBD from a two-year old virus that doesn't exist anymore and has negative VE for the 95%+ dominant variant. When that variant is no more pathogenic than typical seasonal respiratory viruses.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 5, 2022
As you guys know, I'm not a huge fan of many tweets regarding this pandemic and i love to argue them honestly. My experience has often been very different from much that i read. But this particular tweet is very much how i feel. Nice find, packgrad.
Quote:
...
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.
..............
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.
I was going to say the same thing about my posts :-)Wayland said:Mormad said:packgrad said:I really don't see how they can mandate a vaccine that expresses a spike protein RBD from a two-year old virus that doesn't exist anymore and has negative VE for the 95%+ dominant variant. When that variant is no more pathogenic than typical seasonal respiratory viruses.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 5, 2022
As you guys know, I'm not a huge fan of many tweets regarding this pandemic and i love to argue them honestly. My experience has often been very different from much that i read. But this particular tweet is very much how i feel. Nice find, packgrad.
Almost like Kerpen has been reading my posts!Quote:
...
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.
..............
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.
Sigh. This morning's WH CRT going all in on wild-type boosters this morning on the briefing. Walensky admitting they are using Delta studies and 'expect' to see the same results with Omicron.Daviewolf83 said:I was going to say the same thing about my posts :-)Wayland said:Mormad said:packgrad said:I really don't see how they can mandate a vaccine that expresses a spike protein RBD from a two-year old virus that doesn't exist anymore and has negative VE for the 95%+ dominant variant. When that variant is no more pathogenic than typical seasonal respiratory viruses.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 5, 2022
As you guys know, I'm not a huge fan of many tweets regarding this pandemic and i love to argue them honestly. My experience has often been very different from much that i read. But this particular tweet is very much how i feel. Nice find, packgrad.
Almost like Kerpen has been reading my posts!Quote:
...
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.
..............
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.
I also found a Twitter thread yesterday by a PhD virologist regarding the virus and he made most of the same points I made in a lengthy post a week ago on endemicity and how we will move forward in a world where SAR-CoV-2 does not go away. Seems we are on the right track on several topics.
Quote:
As the Omicron wave of Covid-19 washed over the American Northeast and started to spread nationwide, familiar public-health officials and commentators suddenly started to say things that were previously unsayable. And CDC guidance started changing rapidly.
Things such as "your masks are useless." And "the hospitalization figures for Covid in children are overcounted." And "we need to stop focusing on cases and start focusing on hospitalizations." And even that public-health regulations had to retreat to the point at which they would be tolerated by the public.
Quote:
You may also have noticed that the CDC changed its guidance, shortening its recommended quarantine from ten days to five days after an infection with Covid-19. The science informing this decision is over a year old, but apparently the interest in conforming the CDC's recommendations to it only picked up once a wave was really crushing blue America. CDC director Rochelle Walensky also explained that it wasn't just the science, and it "really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate."
Bas2020 said:
So get the booster now or wait until the next round of boosters that may be more effective given the change in strain?
I am waiting for the Novavax vaccine to be approved and it will be my booster. Should be approved in January if things go well. Already approved by the EU and several other countries. It is a protein based vaccine and has a reportedly higher efficacy against all known variants, including the Omicron variant. It also has the potential to be more robust against future variants.Bas2020 said:
So get the booster now or wait until the next round of boosters that may be more effective given the change in strain?
Cases in Australia are up an astounding 426,644% since the Washington Post said they’d “almost eliminated” COVID by following science
— IM (@ianmSC) January 5, 2022
Even with masks, vaccine passports and forced isolation, they just reported the equivalent of ~950,000 US cases
Nailed it again, The Science™ pic.twitter.com/6IdfyGaFBr
Changing the language only works if you change the solutions you're presenting to the problem. Like others have stated, it's time to get out of pandemic mode and into epidemic mode and move forward with life.Wayland said:
Damn, lost the ACIP feed during discussion.
Seemed like a lot wanted to vote 12-15 SHOULD get boosted. Then one guy was like "What are we doing? What are we asking of these vaccines, to stop every sniffle?" Then my feed cut.
Got feed back, just as another doctor says she is going to vote "Should" but feels like playing "whack a mole" and this has to be the last one.
These people are desperate and you can feel the pressure on them. No Omicron data was really ever presented.
Just feels like they are all going to vote 'should' boost even though they feel like the effort needs to be on unvaccinated.
The rubber stamping without real data on prevention of severe illness in this age group with a booster is baffling.
Oh, so listening to the discussion... they aren't going to change "Fully Vaccinated" = Primary Series.... they are going to introduce NEW LANGUAGE - "Up To Date"... that is how they will get around the backlash from changing "Fully Vaccinated" definition.
Just to make this crystal clear, data just released from Denmark (where 85% of infections are omicron) show no effect of the booster against being infected and no difference between 2 and 3 doses against severe disease except 3 doses better against severe disease for those >70. https://t.co/EY06530rLm
— Tracy Høeg, MD, PhD (@TracyBethHoeg) January 5, 2022
Cleary I wasn't the only one who took note of this new language guidance during the ACIP.hokiewolf said:Changing the language only works if you change the solutions you're presenting to the problem. Like others have stated, it's time to get out of pandemic mode and into epidemic mode and move forward with life.Wayland said:
Damn, lost the ACIP feed during discussion.
Seemed like a lot wanted to vote 12-15 SHOULD get boosted. Then one guy was like "What are we doing? What are we asking of these vaccines, to stop every sniffle?" Then my feed cut.
Got feed back, just as another doctor says she is going to vote "Should" but feels like playing "whack a mole" and this has to be the last one.
These people are desperate and you can feel the pressure on them. No Omicron data was really ever presented.
Just feels like they are all going to vote 'should' boost even though they feel like the effort needs to be on unvaccinated.
The rubber stamping without real data on prevention of severe illness in this age group with a booster is baffling.
Oh, so listening to the discussion... they aren't going to change "Fully Vaccinated" = Primary Series.... they are going to introduce NEW LANGUAGE - "Up To Date"... that is how they will get around the backlash from changing "Fully Vaccinated" definition.
CDC Yesterday: "In order to qualify for skipping Quarantine, you must be fully vaxxed and boosted if over 18"
— Woke Zombie 😊 (@AWokeZombie) January 5, 2022
CDC Today: "We have no plans to change the definition of fully vaccinated".
CDC Tomorrow: "We are changing the definition of "fully vaccinated" to "up to date"
WTF?? https://t.co/p5NvrN9T7y
PackBacker07 said:
Novak's Visa has now been disallowed. I hope you get some help and lead a long, productive life.
Child Abuse!!!Werewolf said:
This little baby will be getting some jabs soon to go along with this highly protective mask. Is this really where you guys are headed?
Ya, I hadn't updated this one for the new year yet because the data hadn't filled in yet.Daviewolf83 said:
Following up on my posts from earlier this week, the chart below shows a comparison of Deaths by the Date of Death for the 2020 and 2021 Winter wave. As you can see from the chart, deaths are dramatically lower for this year's Winter Wave, compared with last year's Winter Wave. This is news you are not likely to get from the local mainstream media.
Of course, death reporting typically lags, so the last week's numbers are likely to increase, but it is encouraging to see that as cases and hospitalizations rise, the deaths are not rising yet. Deaths are a trailing indicator and as such, you typically do not see a rise in them until about 3 weeks after cases start to rise. Since the Winter Wave in NC started later this year (approximately 12/1 beginning), you would expect to see a rise in deaths the third to fourth week of December. So far, we are not seeing a rise, but given the reporting lag, I think it could take another week to accurately report on the deaths in late December. Given the vaccination rates and the fact Omicron appears to be less severe, I am optimistic that deaths will be decoupled from cases and hospitalizations.
Know 15ish folks in our circle that have gotten it this go around. Most think from xmas / new years get togethers. Most are fine with cold symptoms or none at all. One is ****ting his brains out. One unvaxed went to the hospital but has since come home and should be fine. My better half has preexisting heart issues so still hoping she can avoid it but if there's a variant to get, it certainly seems to be this one.Wayland said:
But, 2% of ALL of Wake County was actually identified as COVID positive in the last week. If they are catching that many cases... imagine what they don't catch.
mrcpack17 said:Know 15ish folks in our circle that have gotten it this go around. Most think from xmas / new years get togethers. Most are fine with cold symptoms or none at all. One is ****ting his brains out. One unvaxed went to the hospital but has since come home and should be fine. My better half has preexisting heart issues so still hoping she can avoid it but if there's a variant to get, it certainly seems to be this one.Wayland said:
But, 2% of ALL of Wake County was actually identified as COVID positive in the last week. If they are catching that many cases... imagine what they don't catch.
There’s now a consensus that cloth and surgical masks do very little. Rather than pivot to upgraded respirator masks, we should pivot to abandoning mask mandates entirely, especially in schools where they potentially interfere with learning, teaching, and socialization.
— Anthony LaMesa (@ajlamesa) January 6, 2022
My SIL's family in upper VA all have it. Her husband is EMS so it's amazing they haven't had anything before now. But they're all vaxxed, adults boosted, and no one has symptoms worse than a cold. Their son has zero symptoms.mrcpack17 said:Know 15ish folks in our circle that have gotten it this go around. Most think from xmas / new years get togethers. Most are fine with cold symptoms or none at all. One is ****ting his brains out. One unvaxed went to the hospital but has since come home and should be fine. My better half has preexisting heart issues so still hoping she can avoid it but if there's a variant to get, it certainly seems to be this one.Wayland said:
But, 2% of ALL of Wake County was actually identified as COVID positive in the last week. If they are catching that many cases... imagine what they don't catch.
I guess it's the "power"/influence of the commie Establishment Lamestream media. Even for people who are conservative and generally distrustful of the government and far Left Establishment media, if those people primarily get their "news" (propaganda) from the Establishment media, then they start to actually believe that what the government and Establishment media is telling them is "true". It's a psychological effect. If you hear lies repeated ad naseum 24/7, then you start to believe them...even if you should know better.Werewolf said:
^Here on the Gulf Coast we see very few with masks and those are usually in a Walmart or a cell phone store. Occasionally we might see someone walking down the street with a mask. Maybe 40% of the population is JABBED. Of my 30 employees only 3 have the 1st two JABS. Probably 20 of 30 had positive PCR (God only knows what the actual virus was) last year. We've had one positive PCR test this winter. My office has not given in to the fear and we have not donned a mask since reopening after the shutdown. Unreal to see all the fear and people falling for it such that they are getting boosters. Maybe in 75 years the contents of the jab are released......but why wait so long to know?
Daviewolf83 said:
Some good news to start the morning. The percentage of hospitalized Covid patients in ICU continues to fall. The 14-day average has declined from 24% to 23% in just one week. This is the LOWEST it has been, since NCDHHS has been reporting the data.
Additionally, the percentage of hospitalized Covid patients on ventilators also continues to fall, as you can see from the attached chart. The percentage is now down to 12% and I do expect this number to continue to fall, as Omicron patients become the majority of those who are hospitalized.
This is news you will not get from your local mainstream media. They will continue to focus on cases and how bad everything is going with the Covid pandemic.
Excess deaths in Gauteng during the #Omicron wave were 18x lower compared to the Delta wave.
— pieterstreicher (@pieterstreicher) January 6, 2022
Gauteng had 27,430 excess deaths from 9 May - 29 Aug and 1,488 from 21 Nov - 26 Dec.
The population fatality rate (PFR) for Omicron was 0.01%.
data source: https://t.co/nx4hinA7sb pic.twitter.com/nP2pW1QOAX