Kendra wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 7:28 pm
That is sad, Hotez has worked so hard to keep the public informed.
Also, Susan Rice tests positive.
Piggybacking on your post for a general comment:
I struggle with what seem to me to be significant over-reactions to positive tests in this phase of the pandemic.
Yes, it was disappointing to learn that the vaccines do not prevent infection, but the shift to "true, but look at how drastically they reduce your odds of hospitalization, etc." doesn't seem to have taken hold. "Testing positive" is still talked about as an uber-scary thing for the vaccinated, even when the testee is symtomless. My sister drags up the case of her double vaxxed friend who was "really sick" to justify her ongoing fears.
All the stats show that masking and vaxxing greatly lower your odds of disruptive illness and death. But the press is now having a field day scaring people with data that purports to show that the raw numbers of vaxxed and unvaxxed hospitalizations are now roughly equal--and then grudgingly go on to discuss how the math works with 70 percent of the plus five population vaxxed, and to point out that your odds of serious illness are still way lower if you're vaxxed.
COVID in all it's forms is endemic now. In it's current form it is literally in the same ball park as flu as a health concern. There is no date about "long covid" for omicron (too soon). I've had five friends test positive this month. Wicked sore throat for a couple of days.
And no I am not saying that it isn't killing people. And yes I realize it'll take a while for the residual fear to fade away. I guess I just don't like to see folks stressing more than is indicated, given all the hell that has gone down. Because while there are no guarantees for the future, currently, if you're vaxxed and boosted, you're in damn good shape.