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THE VIRUS 2020 - the good, the bad, and the ugly

Can’t say I’m loving it! Shops are bare, businesses are closed because of lack of staff, everyone a bit on edge at the moment, virtually impossible to get a test, mixed messaging from the NSW government doesn’t help either.

If the modelling is correct and we’ve all caught it by the end of Feb, shit will be back to normal in about two months… until the next variant comes along.
 
That being said, it definitely beats lockdown.

It’s evident the Feds and the states (apart from WA) have just decided to let it rip considering the ‘mildness’ of Omicron. Only time will tell if the herd immunity strategy pays off.
 
That being said, it definitely beats lockdown.

It’s evident the Feds and the states (apart from WA) have just decided to let it rip considering the ‘mildness’ of Omicron. Only time will tell if the herd immunity strategy pays off.

I am afraid to step outside now, and freaked out by this sudden change of tactic
After doctor appointment tomorrow I plan on being isolated for about a month
For those of us with high risks, we are fucked....
My immune system is fucked, I am more likely to catch anything I am not vaccinated against
And having an auto immune disease means I die if I get it
So, I am double fucked
Adding double masks, plastic shield, gloves to my armour for tomorrow
Considering, shedding clothes outside....run inside and shower
 
If state border closures or hotel quarantine couldn't keep out previous variants then how could that keep out Omicron? It would've eventually leaked into communities anyway. Unless you completely cutoff Australia from the world then we'll probably continue getting new variants if more emerge. We've had it good compared to most other countries over the past 2 years! It would've been much worse if we had this high level of case numbers with Delta or the older variants. UK, US, France, Italy and many other countries haven't been as lucky as us.

The previous zero covid states probably aren't as adjusted to this either. They'll have to learn to take their own precautions as individuals. You can't expect your state premier to announce a border closure every time a new variant is detected in the country. Some people want to live like the pandemic doesn't exist, that you can just lock a whole city down like it's easy, that you can just close a border, but it's too idealistic of a solution even more so now with Omicron. I'm impressed that WA have kept their way of life for this long but I think their population is probably going to have a rough transition when it finally gets in there.
 
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If the West had been better at donating vaccines to Africa, Omicron might not have eventuated. Selfish, rich nations got us to where we find ourselves now.

But yeah it's too late to lockdown against Omicron, thanks to a lack of political will, particularly by the Libs. I've read on FB it's possible to get a Moderna jab where I am for US$25 and even though I've had 2 x Sinovac and 1 x AZ I am tempted. I'll wait another week or two to even out the spacing in between. Hope you can stay safe @kxk.

And if anyone dares ask "what was the point of all the lockdowns?" - there are may, many people alive today who would not have made it through the last two years had we not taken that action. And it spared the entire health system a major crisis (that we may yet be about to witness now). So don't even go there. kthxbai.
 
If state border closures or hotel quarantine couldn't keep out previous variants then how could that keep out Omicron? It would've eventually leaked into communities anyway. Unless you completely cutoff Australia from the world then we'll probably continue getting new variants if more emerge. We've had it good compared to most other countries over the past 2 years! It would've been much worse if we had this high level of case numbers with Delta or the older variants. UK, US, France, Italy and many other countries haven't been as lucky as us.

The previous zero covid states probably aren't as adjusted to this either. They'll have to learn to take their own precautions as individuals. You can't expect your state premier to announce a border closure every time a new variant is detected in the country. Some people want to live like the pandemic doesn't exist, that you can just lock a whole city down like it's easy, that you can just close a border, but it's too idealistic of a solution even more so now with Omicron. I'm impressed that WA have kept their way of life for this long but I think their population is probably going to have a rough transition when it finally gets in there.
And the vulnerable people who do take precautions and still get it anyway - indigenous communities, aged care communiities, people with immune systems that are vulnerable due to other diseases? I am not saying we stay locked in a bubble for ever but there is a difference between lockdown and letting it run rampant, allowing sick people be charged exorbitant amounts of money for scarce as hens teeth testing to see if they have a communicable disease, (testing that is not totally reliable either) and not having the infrastructure in place for people to get tested with the more reliable and free testing. Of course many people who cannot afford/cannot find a test are just not getting tested and are therefore just continuing to spread the disease. Especially if they cannot get the time off work. Add to that the policies in place regarding non symptomatic positive people being asked to continue working in some professions like health, where they will then be continuing to spread the virus, we really have gone to a mentality of "its just a flu" as a nation. Oh well it may kill a few people - sucks to be them seems to be the mentality of the nation. Yay - what a great place we have got to.
 
The lack of RAT availability, and the prices that some places are charging for them, is nothing short of fucking disgusting.

For something worth $3 wholesale, to see places charging $30 each is woeful. Profiting off the pandemic and misfortune of others is about as fucked up as you can get. Both PCR & RAT testing should be free and available to everyone, not just those on welfare.
 
If the West had been better at donating vaccines to Africa, Omicron might not have eventuated. Selfish, rich nations got us to where we find ourselves now.

But yeah it's too late to lockdown against Omicron, thanks to a lack of political will, particularly by the Libs. I've read on FB it's possible to get a Moderna jab where I am for US$25 and even though I've had 2 x Sinovac and 1 x AZ I am tempted. I'll wait another week or two to even out the spacing in between. Hope you can stay safe @kxk.

And if anyone dares ask "what was the point of all the lockdowns?" - there are may, many people alive today who would not have made it through the last two years had we not taken that action. And it spared the entire health system a major crisis (that we may yet be about to witness now). So don't even go there. kthxbai.

It most likely occurred in vaccinated populations as there is where the evolutionary pressure for the virus to mutate around the vaccines would have occurred.

Vaccines aren't a shield from the virus. They create an immune response before the virus can take hold. There is still an evolutionary pressure on the virus as it is still replicating in vaccinated people before the immune response occurs to quash it. With vaccines focuses specifically on the spike protein. The pressure is for the virus to evade it. It was predicted we'd see this and it is what Omnicom is. A variant adapted to evade the vaccine and to spread amongst the vaccinated. It is far more likely these characteristics evolved within vaccinated people than non-vaccinated people as that is where the stronger evolutionary pressure would be.

It's just the hazards of vaccinating during a pandemic. Vaccines are still better than not being vaccinated. This is exactly one of the issues widely known but allowed very little discussion. Vaccines don't stop evolutionary biology. They aren't a force field that instantly kills the virus. You still get exposed. It still replicates in you before your immune response gets rid of it.

It just gets confusing because no one knows how to deal with idiots, dumb people and misguided people. So conversations are simplified. We need people to get vaccinated and so the complex issues around it are not allowed to be discussed. This then, unfortunately, leads to vaccine hesitancy because not everyone with issues is a complete moron. So it builds distrust.

The point isn't that vaccines are bad. I'm double AZ. Will get a booster next month. The point is that variants escaping vaccines has always been expected and that's because of basic evolutionary biology. Blaming the unvaccinated doesn't make sense. It's just part of the politics of promoting vaccines which is messed up and unfortunately creating hesistency.

Which is not to say vaccine polices haven't been disgusting. Haven't we stopped making AZ locally? Or at least reduced? Why? We should be making it and giving it to the third world.
 
Oh boy international media now focused on Aus......
Not a good view
Interviewing refugees stuck in that putrid hotel for years

This sure has blown up in their fucked stupid politician faces
Focus on our Covid policies, our refugee failures, ooo la la
Have we ever had a PM this embarrassing all the time? Yeah others suck but we usually got to boot the faster

If I had small kids, they would be staying home for the months until they are double vaxed
What a MESS

Oh and they had better bring back Tele health bulk billing, fast
 
The Novax sitch was just a smoke screen to hide how truly inept the current Government is.
All the media is/was focussed on is his court case.
No mention of rising case numbers, no mention of testing queues, no mention of RAT unavailability, no mention of empty shelves at grocery stores, no mention of businesses being shut down because half the fucking country is in iso.

The government knew what they were doing. And as a further slap in the face, our tax dollars have now contributed to Novax's legal costs.
Imagine letting an unvaxxed, foreign tennis player into the country to compete for millions of dollars, where spectators wanting to attend that same event MUST be vaccinated, all while other AUSTRALIANS still can't get home.

Truly disgusted by this whole saga.
 
This sure has blown up in their fucked stupid politician faces
Focus on our Covid policies, our refugee failures, ooo la la
Have we ever had a PM this embarrassing all the time? Yeah others suck but we usually got to boot the faster
All the media is/was focussed on is his court case.

They can't even get their distraction to not be a colossal fuck up. It certainly was a staged distraction.

The thing is, plenty of people fall for Morrison's style of politics. I know quite a few people who over the holiday periods have recounted talking to family members who think Morrison is doing a great job as PM. When pressed, they actually couldn't explain why. They also seemed to be oblivious to things like the sports rorts and corruption.

They're ignorant. They don't pay attention. They see his slogans. He isn't really doing anything. So they just think things are going great.
 
Oh and they had better bring back Tele health bulk billing, fast

Agreed. They used to have this but for some reason changed it so only those with certain criteria could access it. (I believe from memory that the criteria was having an existing relationship with the clinic which is usually a visit within 12 months) It just does not make sense as those with health care cards can get bulk billed by visiting clinics but not over the phone.

Like what is the difference? Don’t just allow some phone appointments to be bulk billed. Allow all of them I say.
 
The Novax sitch was just a smoke screen to hide how truly inept the current Government is.
All the media is/was focussed on is his court case.
And thanks to the Federal Circuit Court it was a massive own goal. No matter what they do now, the government can't save face. It's a no win situation for them.

The only good to come from this debacle is international attention on the plight of asylum seekers in that hotel. But ofc Novax doesn't give a rat's arse about them, only himself. And advancing his antivax views.
 
Meanwhile back on Covid itself: I was reading on Twitter people saying that mRNA vaccines have caused people's warts to disappear. So if anyone's had Pfizer or Moderna, have you any evidence/experience of this?

I might get a Moderna shot soon. I don't have any warts except I have a wart-like thing on my chin that Dr Pimplepopper thinks is a pre-cancerous growth. He froze it off but it's come back. I'll get the Moderna shot and see what happens before I go back to get it zapped again.
 
Don't you remember a while ago the federal government was saying that they'll allow an unvaccinated international tennis player in as long as they meet their quarantine requirements? They were not as fussed as the Victorian government when it comes to compulsury vaccination. Anyway I sure do remember Dan Andrews as you should also remember coming out saying that the Victorian government has the final say in who is allowed to play at the Australian open, and we will not allow any one to play at the Australian open unless they declare their vaccination status.

I actually want to see Dan Andrews stick to his guns on this and not allow Novak or any other tennis players to play here unless they are fully vaccinated like he kept harping on about all those weeks ago to the media.

I can tell you if the decision is made by the federal government then you will most likely see Novak playing at the Australian Open unvaccinated. This will make Dan Andrews look like a fool. I do remember alot of reports about this and in the end it all falls down on what the individual states choose on and that they have the final say in what goes on in each state. Not the pollies in Canberra.

If now Dan Andrews stands back and says well I can't do anything about it because the feds have full control of local Victorian laws then it's a complete joke.

Ha! Gees doesn't anyone have a memory at all, has everyone forgotten what Dan Andrews said just a few months ago? LOL! Maybe this video clip will refresh everyone's memory?


Well Dan Andrews is now playing safe politics, yep now just stand back Dan and say "It's not upto us in Victoria it's upto the feds now". LOL! Oh yes play it safe mate you wouldn't want to look like a bad person and possibly be the cause of the world's number 1 tennis player possibly not being able to play at the Australian Open in Melbourne. A different approach to what he was saying 2 months ago...LOL!

Anyway in all this circus with Novak and him well getting his way, why is there no mention at all of the other poor 3 or 4 tennis players that all were forced to get back on a plane and not allowed to play at the Australian Open? Shouldn't they also be allowed to return and play unvaccinated like Novak seems to be doing? I think it's only fair that if Novak gets his way then all these other tennis players who did not also meet all the COVID criteria be allowed to return and play at the Australian Open? Otherwise it seems there are rules for some and rules for others...
 
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One of my oldest online friends died today of Covid. (Not someone from this forum).

I had been talking to her online since 2001 (apart from a gap where she went away, remarried and had another baby).

She used to phone me from America. We weren't as close after her return but we were facebook friendly.

She had ongoing medical issues, so when she was admitted to hospital a few days ago with COVID, and hooked to a respirator, she just couldn't breathe.

We didn't see eye to eye over everything - she was a Trump supporter and probably anti-vax (or just too complacent to get vaccinated), but it's still terribly sad.
 
One of my oldest online friends died today of Covid. (Not someone from this forum).

I had been talking to her online since 2001 (apart from a gap where she went away, remarried and had another baby).

She used to phone me from America. We weren't as close after her return but we were facebook friendly.

She had ongoing medical issues, so when she was admitted to hospital a few days ago with COVID, and hooked to a respirator, she just couldn't breathe.

We didn't see eye to eye over everything - she was a Trump supporter and probably anti-vax (or just too complacent to get vaccinated), but it's still terribly sad.
Sorry for your loss Meglos. xx
 
And the vulnerable people who do take precautions and still get it anyway - indigenous communities, aged care communiities, people with immune systems that are vulnerable due to other diseases? I am not saying we stay locked in a bubble for ever but there is a difference between lockdown and letting it run rampant, allowing sick people be charged exorbitant amounts of money for scarce as hens teeth testing to see if they have a communicable disease, (testing that is not totally reliable either) and not having the infrastructure in place for people to get tested with the more reliable and free testing. Of course many people who cannot afford/cannot find a test are just not getting tested and are therefore just continuing to spread the disease. Especially if they cannot get the time off work. Add to that the policies in place regarding non symptomatic positive people being asked to continue working in some professions like health, where they will then be continuing to spread the virus, we really have gone to a mentality of "its just a flu" as a nation. Oh well it may kill a few people - sucks to be them seems to be the mentality of the nation. Yay - what a great place we have got to.
Are you trying to misconstrue my previous post as being insensitive?

The vulnerable should be protected as best as society can.

The diabolical testing situation should also be corrected!

I agree with both those things and have't ever argued against that.

But politicians also can't regulate every single thing that every single person does!

We're about 2 years into this and there are people still putting themselves in risky situations!

Some of these types just want their state premier to close the border and think they can get on with their life like normal. It's like they think the solution is that simple.

It's a GLOBAL pandemic, we can't hide from it forever and that everyone should have some responsibility and accept that this is the new way of life for now.

The state premiers can't just make this problem disappear but some people cling to that idea yet can't be bothered taking any precautions themselves.

What I disagree with is having a lazy public expectation for politicians to fix every single issue society faces. It's not realistic.

There's not a country in the world that has dealt with this pandemic perfectly.
 
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