The Coronavirus | Contains 4.5% Alcohol

[Moonface]

I was just about to make a very silly reply, but frankly considering all the nuts that actually believe this garbage I do not think I should give them any ammo even as a joke.

I'd be impressed if any such person came on here to find such remarks. You should just share it.

[Mr EliteL]

@Moonface Yes, everyone's had theirs now. My sister brought hers forward so she didn't have to wait until September. Don't think anyone else had any side effects, was just me.

Did they have any symptoms on their first shot? I've heard of people getting it happen during their first more than their second, and that they probably had encountered the virus before, hence the bad reaction their "second" time exposed to the blueprint, as it were.

Not sure what the others had, nothing major. I know my mum just felt lousy for a while and didn't do much and stayed in bed most of the time. Sister about the same but less so? Then had it easy for the second dose.  

As much as I find it weird to hear younger kids are getting a possible chance for vaccination, it's good yes but there's the hope nothing terrible happens to any that receive it, even if it's been tested.

[Moonface]

@Mr EliteL: It has been tested. The article mentions a lower dose was trialed in elementary school children:

For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, told The Associated Press.

It probably wasn't even hard to find children to test it with since there's going to be parents who really want to get their kids vaccinated as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

[Moonface]

Since @Karo asked me about it, I'm sure everyone knows about that a new variant of this stupid virus has been discovered, dubbed Omicron. It's new and not everything is known and what is known is subject to change as with most scientific related things, but this is the current state of affairs:

Health authorities say Omicron carries a unique set of mutations that might give the virus an advantage in driving new surges of infections compared with the fast-spreading Delta variant, which currently makes up virtually all U.S. cases. Omicron, which may spread even faster, appears to have evolved independently from the Delta variant, descending from another strain that appeared in mid-2020.

"The Omicron variant is the most divergent variant that has been detected in significant numbers during the pandemic so far which raises serious concerns that it may be associated with significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness and increased risk for reinfections," European health officials said on Friday.

Named B.1.1.529 by scientists who track the evolution of the virus, Omicron also shares some distinctive changes seen in other variants of concern that have been able to evade the body's defenses built up from surviving COVID-19 or from vaccination.

I think most countries have already barred travel to and from South Africa and six other surrounding countries, not that it probably means anything since it already got out. I just really hope this thing doesn't make everything worse or restricts travel further because I'm going to be so upset if I have to put off my trip to England for yet another yet.

[Mr EliteL]

I thought this Winter would be a bit problematic because of the cold weather again and covid still being a thing, but a new variant just pushes the progress we've made back, but I hope not by too much/for too long. Masks are mandatory again for shops (unless exempt), but damnit, really don't want to see it cause another lockdown. Screw this thing. 

[ShiraNoMai]

Screw all the idiots perpetuating this damn thing to be longer than necessary, creating environments for variants to sprout, and for the stupid capitalistic countries that horde their load of vaccines for ungrateful twats to not use and waste while other countries struggle to get enough for even a small portion of their population and become breeding grounds for variants. Ugh.

[Dragon Lord]

A new COVID variant?!?!?



This is kind of what viruses do. There's no stopping it. Vaccine doesn't even stop the vaccinated from catching and spreading the virus (and even if it did fully prevent you from catching COVID, it wouldn't stop the virus from mutating). Flu virus has been doing the same thing for years and years. Life goes on and the world keeps on spinning. I think it's about time people realize that COVID isn't the world ending disaster that they want it to be, or the media portrays it to be.

[Moonface]

I'm not so much fussed about the variant as I am about the consequences of it. If borders don't close off and we don't end up worse off than we already are there can be 100 variants for all I care. I just don't want to be stuck for more years being unable to go home because of all this stuff due to flight and travel restrictions.

[Dragon Lord]

I should clarify that I wasn't referring to you or anyone else here really, but more of the hoards of people on Twitter and such that run to their doomsday bunkers anytime COVID is even mentioned. Reports are that the symptoms of this new variant are mild at their worst, yet people there want everything to shut down again because of it (probably more because they want to get more free money from the government and have the increased unemployment benefits return so they don't have to actually work for a living). The overreacting and being overdramatic to the whole thing is just getting very tiring after two years.

Also I find it humorous that Biden shut down travel to Africa so fast, and yet he called Trump racist and xenophobic for shutting down travel to China when COVID first started spreading in the US. But of course Biden is gonna play it out as long as he can, since being the "hero who saved the world from COVID" is the only hope of him bringing his approval rating up from the bottom of the dumpster. Unfortunately this country has super politicized this whole situation (both the government and the citizens).

[Moonface]

I should clarify that I wasn't referring to you or anyone else here really, but more of the hoards of people on Twitter and such that run to their doomsday bunkers anytime COVID is even mentioned. Reports are that the symptoms of this new variant are mild at their worst, yet people there want everything to shut down again because of it (probably more because they want to get more free money from the government and have the increased unemployment benefits return so they don't have to actually work for a living). The overreacting and being overdramatic to the whole thing is just getting very tiring after two years.

Ah. I wasn't fussed if you were but thanks for clarifying.
In my experience most people seem to be acting almost like the pandemic is just non-existent now, which would be fine if not for the fact they expect every single thing to be back to normal including food production. I've rarely encountered people who want to be understanding that things need to be as normal as possible where it can be, but that not everything can be that way for a while longer. It tends to veer from one extreme to the other.

[WR91]

I still haven't caught it and at this point, I don't think I will. Go me!

[Moonface]

I still haven't caught it and at this point, I don't think I will. Go me!

I haven't caught it either, but I expect I'll catch it eventually just like how everybody gets the flu at some point in their life, since Covid is clearly never going to go away.

[ShiraNoMai]

Yeah, the number of people I know that, like us, haven't caught it, are starting to dwindle away. People that have been isolating, masking and vaccinated up the wazoo. It's unfortunate that even with the efforts of each other, everyone else is selfish and ignorant to the point our efforts are in vein. Individualism can be such a fucking hex upon humanity, I swear.

[Dragon Lord]

I still haven't caught it and at this point, I don't think I will. Go me!

I haven't caught it either, but I expect I'll catch it eventually just like how everybody gets the flu at some point in their life, since Covid is clearly never going to go away.

The funniest part is that I'm not vaccinated at all and I don't mask any more, and I haven't gotten COVID once. Meanwhile two of my co-workers, both fully vaccinated and one who probably sleeps with her mask on and won't touch anything without gloves on, have both gotten it recently. kek

I guess I'm just too stronk for COVID. Only Corona I'm gonna be catching around here is a 12-pack (alas, I don't drink alcohol, so I won't be catching that either).

At least I'd get some easy days off work if COVID-chan ever decided to visit me.

[Moonface]

At least I'd get some easy days off work if COVID-chan ever decided to visit me.

Does your job give COVID pay if you catch it and have to be off work? My job used to provide that but got rid of it earlier this year, which just means any part timer who gets it will just come to work because otherwise they'll get zero pay. As bad as it sounds, if I catch it and don't feel too unwell to work I will go in because I can't afford to lose the money these days.