Coronavirus, The First Edition, 2022

 Coronavirus, The First Edition, 2022

By the Numbers

 

The Numbers:

The Omicron surge continues to be breathtaking.  The daily new cases blew past the previous record by almost double at 849,000 on Friday, Jan 7.  Pennsylvania broke its record new case numbers as well, with 32,000 on the same day.  My estimate on total number of cases is over 7.5 million. Triple what it was 2 weeks ago.

And this is only the official cases.  There is a shortage of test kits everywhere, so this number is certainly under counted.  John's Hopkins is reporting more than a million new cases per day for several days now. 

As an example, my sister probably caught Covid.  She attended a concert with a friend whose husband had tested positive, and she now has the mid range symptoms, but didn't want to wait 4 hours in the car to get tested.  

I have seen headlines that Omicron is "peaking".  I can say the percentage growth in new cases is reducing, from 14% per day last week to 7% per day this week.  You judge whether or not that is "peaking".

Omicron update:

Fortunately, Omicron continues to be more benign than previous variants.  And hospitals are only now just hitting peak, despite an estimated 300% higher count in the total number of cases over just 2 weeks ago. This is still a very bad thing, as hospitals are now cancelling surgeries to deal with the deluge.  

We now have some very solid numbers.  These are derived from an article from NPR.ORG.

 From initial infection, to onset of symptoms with Omicron is 3 days.  Delta was 4, and pre-alpha was 5.

Omicron is 2/3rds less likely to send you to the ER.  From 15% to 5%.

Omicron is half as likely to send you to the hospital overall, from 4% to 2%.

If hospitalized, the chances of going to the ICU is halved as well, from .8% to .4%.

And being on a ventilator from .4% to .1%

Evidence continues to point to Omicron residing more in the bronchial tubes vice the lungs.

The symptom of loss of smell and taste is not as common with Omicron. 

However, other symptoms, fever, gastrointestinal problems, aches and pains, brain fog, weakness are still in effect. 

Your odds skew much better if you are vaccinated, or have recently recovered from Delta. In hospitals, 80% of the Covid patients are still among the unvaccinated.

The net of this is that Omicron is between 1/10 to 1/2 as debilitating as Delta, but we have more than 4 times as many cases today, 8.7 million, and that number is low, then we had 30 days ago, at 2 million.

Fed up with Covid?:

There have been a number of articles, some pushed by the Drudgereport, of those that are tired of Covid, and are just going to live with it.  

Sometimes I'm tired of the traffic laws, but that doesn't mean I cross the lane divide and into oncoming traffic.

You can't make this stuff up:

North Korea held a massive rally to show support for the government's efforts in fighting Covid.

 

An update on "ReAwaken America":

2 weeks ago, I reported about a conspiracy convention, "ReAwaken America",where a number of their members had developed Covid symptoms, and blamed an anthrax attack.  

One of the infected members, Doug Kuzma, after 5 days of being ill, replied to a suggestion that he have a Covid test with, "no way"!  It was just his chronic bronchitis, or maybe anthrax. But either way, there was a photo of himself with a container of Ivermectin.  Is Ivermectin a proper treatment for anthrax?

He was found unconscious at his home on Christmas Eve, hospitalized, and died 10 days later.

Before anyone comments on me making light on what is a personal tragedy for Mr. Kuzma. I will point out that he was a podcaster and doing his best to rage against the vaccines that would have saved his life and others

 

I lost sympathy with him and his ilk about half a million deaths ago.

 

Personal count:

My personal count of Covid is now 18, 2 dead, 5 with long hauler symptoms.