Well I read today that they are working on a new booster that will cover this variant. Now considering how many times a mutation happens…are they seriously expecting us all to get injected with different things as they happen? Sounds a bit wild. 
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Quite. Wouldn’t surprise me if they end up using a placebo for motivational purposes instead.
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To what end?
To the end of how they’ve got such a fantastic handle on the situation.
I meant more about the motivation bit…placebo to motivate us to do what?
Ah. To motivate us to keep on taking whatever chemicals they deem fit, and to keep on flying the flag of compliance.
Going to make a wild suggestion here…most people have well and truly got bored of all of this and left to their own devices would happily just ignore it and go back to their normal lives and ignore the risks. We’ve all heard so much from all sides and are sick to the back teeth of it.
Hence the need to motivate us, even if in reality they’re injecting a bit of saline solution with some general vitamins in it.
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Do you really think so?
I think half the people might be sick of covid and want to return to some sense of normality, and within that group are some selfish people who think …‘Covid, what covid’ … but I also think a great many people are concerned about the new variant, probably do wonder how much truth is in what the government or medical experts tell them but go along with it purely because they don’t want to become ill, or die.
Trouble is Morty that at present we have no idea of what Omicron is like. But if it proves to be a(nother) damp squib, then more and more people are likely just to give up worrying about things.
I think it’s great that we are all wearing masks or can wear masks without looking silly. Because of all this I haven’t had the usual debilitating chest bug that I used to get every year at this time. It would inevitably turn into a chronic cough that could last for a couple of months. I had this just before Covid, caught on a plane trip and it last right until January. Then Covid hit and since then blissfully free of any cough. So if wearing a mask means avoiding the usual bugs then I am very happy to continue to do so (FFP3 mask that is).
@Dextrous … another damp squib?
Why? How many do you think we’ve had?
In many ways the pandemic perhaps hasn’t been as ‘lethal’ as everyone dreaded back in early 2020. Certainly we haven’t hit anywhere the number of deaths as imagine or forecast.
And if it had been horrific and the death toll has been massively higher would that mean that people would think better of any measures the government introduced, or then blame them instead for not acting quick enough, with enough severity.
If this pandemic has done anything it has been an educational insight into human nature. In how we pull together … or would change or hesitate to change our own behaviour for the sake of others.
@AnnieS … well that is good news.
It’s good to hear they benefited you but you know, even come the day when this is all over I don’t think anyone would look at you oddly for wearing a mask anymore. Too many people have to see them as a sensible precaution whether it be for seasonal flu or covid.
Copying and pasting stuff using my phone seems problematic for some reason.
Try googling it. There have been a fair few already, non of which seems to have been a particular further cause for concern.
I can’t think why everyone makes a song and dance over wearing a mask . It’s a little bit of cloth worn for a short time what are we a nation of wusses
What happened to the British fighting spirit as displayed in the war when even little kids had to lug around ruddy great gas masks that weighted a ton and smelt of rubber.
Hear what you’re saying @Muddy. But, in the same vein, what happened to the idea of throwing caution to the wind and laughing in the face of danger? 
I don’t think people did throw caution to the winds and laugh in the face of danger .
makes me think of Captain Flash in BlackAdder Ha ha ha ha !
We had wardens who told people off if they didn’t conform .
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Anyway, I’ll put a mask on and have booked my booster. Really not much of an issue either way, and I’m happy to bleat my way to market.
Similar talk on the commercial networks
Bruce I mentioned that in a previous thread somewhere…surely if noone is dying from this new strain shouldn’t we allow it to spread and give us all some immunity…we might feel ill for a few days but the added immunity might save us from the next strain which could be deadly?
A week after the variant was named Omicron, the world is still scrambling to understand the true threat posed by the variant. But now the first of pieces of a large and complex puzzle are starting to be assembled.
We already know the variant is heavily mutated and officials in South Africa have warned it is leading to a surge in cases there.
The latest piece of the jigsaw is understanding how likely somebody who has already had Covid is likely to catch Omicron.
It has also been detected in more than 30 countries.
Scientists have analysed nearly 36,000 suspected re-infections in South Africa to look for any changes to re-infection rates (catching it twice or more) throughout the pandemic.
They showed there was no surge in the risk of re-infection during either the Beta or Delta waves. This is despite laboratory studies suggesting those variants had the potential to evade some immunity.
However, they are now detecting a spike in re-infections. They have not tested each patient to prove it is Omicron, but they say the timing suggests the variant is the driving force.
Of course, this may turn out to be a false alarm … 
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