16 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

 But at least you admit it's possibly in your community.

OK, I'll admit it may be in the community, but it's not making anyone sick ( so far ), and no one that has been tested has been positive. Sooo, if it is in the community it's doing a great job of hiding.

 

However, today, tomorrow or next week, next month etc the government ( and I ) fully expect it be with us. Reported a couple of days ago that one case detected in the not too far away city, so it's probably just a matter of time now.

Actually, I'm surprised it took so long to get here, given the claim that it's so infectious. When omicron was first reported in NZ I even decided not to visit my friends as I didn't want to be responsible for infecting them, should I get it first, but that was so long ago, and with no evidence of infections so far I gave that up and returned to life as normal, which was nice.

Now, it's only a case of waiting, and preparing as best we can. I went to the pharmacy and stocked up with over the counter meds for the symptoms should I contract it. After all, if I didn't already have the meds and got it, I wouldn't be able to go get them, as would be in isolation.

Of course, I'll be very happy if I don't have to use them.

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I don't know anyone that has had smallpox since we had that vaccine. Was not community smallpox eradicated world wide by 1980 due to a global vaccination campaign?

Yes, it was eradicated, but the smallpox vaccine was not 100% effective.  Its efficacy was quite high at 95%, but when enough people are vaccinated, the disease will grind to a halt.   Humans are the only host of the smallpox virus, so with a dwindling number of people to infect, it eventually died out.  Immunity to smallpox is fairly long lasting, with vaccinations being effective for between 3 to 5 years. 

 

There are a lot of factors at play in catching a disease.  A guy I know who works at a large grocery store has not been vaccinated and only wears a mask if forced to.  He's a little on the elderly side.  The store has had major outbreaks of Covid among employees, both vaccinated and not, both young and old, but for some reason he has dodged a bullet.  I suspect luck is a factor.

 

5 minutes ago, Credo said:

There are a lot of factors at play in catching a disease.  A guy I know who works at a large grocery store has not been vaccinated and only wears a mask if forced to.  He's a little on the elderly side.  The store has had major outbreaks of Covid among employees, both vaccinated and not, both young and old, but for some reason he has dodged a bullet.  I suspect luck is a factor.

IMO luck is always a factor, but genetics helps too. Humans would never have survived long had not some been immune to certain diseases eg the Black Death plague, IMO.

Sweden advises agains vaccinating kids, “benefits don’t outweigh the risks”: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-vaccines-kids-aged-5-12-2022-01-27/

53 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

The vaccines help stop transmission significantly. But don't 100% stop it. So yes, people still get infected, but don't get as sick if vaccinated.

 

This has been widely discussed.

 

Covid will eventually be endemic. Just like the Spanish flu. But nobody knows what's up next. Nobody, especially if a new crazy variant crops up.

Transmission isn’t reduced in a significant way else we’d see much less spread in Israel compared to many less vaccinated countries. Again, it’s one of the most vaxxed and boosted countries in the world. I just don’t understand how you can claim this especially with Omicron for which the current vaccines were not developed.

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO luck is always a factor, but genetics helps too. Humans would never have survived long had not some been immune to certain diseases eg the Black Death plague, IMO.

The Black Death certainly had a major impact on the world and in many ways we still feel today.   There are genetic components to the immune system, but these seldom confer complete immunity.  They simply have the memory cells that can more quickly direct the immune system to target a specific pathogen.

 

Here is an interesting read about the Black Death and the various factors at play:

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/black-death-survivors-and-their-descendants-went-on-to-live-longer/#:~:text=If people's susceptibility to the,a hardier post-plague population.

So, like the majority in the poll, I've given consent for my nearly 7-year-old to get the Pfizer vaccine, but there is no indication of a timescale. Has anyone seen when the vaccine will actually be available for 5-11 year-olds?

28 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

So, like the majority in the poll, I've given consent for my nearly 7-year-old to get the Pfizer vaccine, but there is no indication of a timescale. Has anyone seen when the vaccine will actually be available for 5-11 year-olds?

My guess is mid Feb as they are doing those at risk first:

 

#COVID19 vaccination for young children aged 5-11 years will start on 31 January. Children with underlying health conditions will be prioritized in this vaccination drive. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine approved for young children by Thai FDA.

 

https://twitter.com/prdthailand/status/1486881715117342722

 

5 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Sweden advises agains vaccinating kids, “benefits don’t outweigh the risks”: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-vaccines-kids-aged-5-12-2022-01-27/

Interesting, seem to be taking the same approach as the UK is currently with only vaccinating 5 - 11 year olds that are at risk

 

That reuters article is behind a paywall for me but its also here:

 

STOCKHOLM (REUTERS) - Sweden has decided against recommending Covid-19 vaccines for kids aged 5-11, the Health Agency said on Thursday (Jan 27), arguing that the benefits did not outweigh the risks.

 

"With the knowledge we have today, with a low risk for serious disease for kids, we don't see any clear benefit with vaccinating them," Health Agency official Britta Bjorkholm told a news conference.

 

She added that the decision could be revisited if the research changed or if a new variant changed the pandemic. Kids in high-risk groups can already get the vaccine.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-19-vaccines-for-kids-aged-5-12

 

 

A little off topic, but well worth a watch as it does have a connection....

 

 

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO luck is always a factor, but genetics helps too. Humans would never have survived long had not some been immune to certain diseases eg the Black Death plague, IMO.

Humans were never immune to the plague, it was not a virus. Antibiotics are mainly responsible for reducing its spread.

6 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Sweden advises agains vaccinating kids, “benefits don’t outweigh the risks”: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-vaccines-kids-aged-5-12-2022-01-27/

Not the country with the best track record of dealing with the pandemic.  Even their officials admit this.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-admits-coronavirus-strategy-underestimated-strenght-virus-lofven-stefan-2020-12

Quote

Sweden's prime minister admits the country got its coronavirus strategy wrong

 

14 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Transmission isn’t reduced in a significant way else we’d see much less spread in Israel compared to many less vaccinated countries. Again, it’s one of the most vaxxed and boosted countries in the world. I just don’t understand how you can claim this especially with Omicron for which the current vaccines were not developed.

Vaccines work.

 

https://www.vox.com/22894978/covid-19-vaccine-lives-saved-deaths-avoided-omicron-chart

 

 

Quote

The extraordinary success of Covid-19 vaccines, in two charts

Deaths tell one story of the pandemic. The lives saved tell another.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

Vaccines work.  Sad some don't believe this.

 

https://www.vox.com/22894978/covid-19-vaccine-lives-saved-deaths-avoided-omicron-chart

 

 

 

 

Those deaths from 2021 in the graph. The vaccines were quite effective against Delta. They seem very ineffective against Omicron (remember: the booster is still the same vaccine). Again, look at Israel, the most vaxxed and boosted country in the world. Cases through the roof ...

6 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Those deaths from 2021 in the graph. The vaccines were quite effective against Delta. They seem very ineffective against Omicron (remember: the booster is still the same vaccine). Again, look at Israel, the most vaxxed and boosted country in the world. Cases through the roof ...

Wrong.

 

https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20220124/booster-shots-effective-preventing-omicron-hospitalizations-cdc

Quote

Booster Shots 90% Effective at Preventing Omicron Hospitalizations: CDC Data

 

The extra doses were 90% effective at keeping people out of the hospital after infection and 82% effective at preventing emergency department and urgent care visits.

 

7 minutes ago, wolf81 said:

Those deaths from 2021 in the graph. The vaccines were quite effective against Delta. They seem very ineffective against Omicron (remember: the booster is still the same vaccine). Again, look at Israel, the most vaxxed and boosted country in the world. Cases through the roof ...

While a fourth inoculation may not do much to stop transmission, the vaccines are in fact very effective against Omicron:

Israel Finds Fourth COVID Booster is only ‘Partially Effective,’ Vast Majority of Hospitalised Omicron Patients Are Unvaccinated

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/israel-fourth-covid-booster-ineffective/

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Humans were never immune to the plague, it was not a virus. Antibiotics are mainly responsible for reducing its spread.

I wasn't aware that immunity only referred to a virus caused illness. As you know, antibiotics were not around for several hundred years after the Black Death, so how else would those that survived have done so if not immune?

 

Anyway, the topic isn't the Black Death, so I'll leave it at that. Reply if you wish.

A few posters here should read this article.  And see where they land.  LOL

 

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/02/01/david-oliver-covid-deniers-precarious-jenga-tower-is-collapsing-on-contact-with-reality/

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I wasn't aware that immunity only referred to a virus caused illness. As you know, antibiotics were not around for several hundred years after the Black Death, so how else would those that survived have done so if not immune?

 

Anyway, the topic isn't the Black Death, so I'll leave it at that. Reply if you wish.

ok, that's true. You're right.

15 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I wasn't aware that immunity only referred to a virus caused illness. As you know, antibiotics were not around for several hundred years after the Black Death, so how else would those that survived have done so if not immune?

 

Anyway, the topic isn't the Black Death, so I'll leave it at that. Reply if you wish.

Correct. There are currently many vaccines for bacterial infections such as tetanus, bacterial pneumonia, and diptheria.

5 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

A few posters here should read this article.  And see where they land.  LOL

 

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/02/01/david-oliver-covid-deniers-precarious-jenga-tower-is-collapsing-on-contact-with-reality/

 

Wow! That was great reading...

 

Kinda like, a UK version of the "Greatest Hits of COVID Misinformation,"  one by one debunked by the physician author.

 

Quote

David Oliver is an experienced NHS consultant physician who has worked on acute covid-19 wards throughout the pandemic. He writes a weekly column in The BMJ. 

 

Many of our most favorite COVID misinformation bits are in there....

 

Somehow, though, I think he failed the cover the one about COVID vaccines, microchips and world domination.... Maybe he ran out of space to include that one, certainly a favorite among the "do your own research" crowd.

 

????