I spent the past week in a more urban area and was shocked. I come from a semi-rural, conservative area, and as Rick Moran wrote Tuesday, COVID-19 hype scarcely exists. But in liberal land, masks, panic, and unnecessary mandates abound.
This is the majority of America. https://t.co/wqYUs99Tzn
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) December 14, 2021
Speaking of neurotic goons, the New York Times claimed Tuesday that “Omicron is a Dress Rehearsal for the Next Pandemic.”
The next pandemic?
The Gray Lady neglects to mention that the best and most important news on omicron is that it’s killed almost no one.
At the worst, there are about 4,700 confirmed cases of the omicron variant in the United Kingdom, which has a socialist health care system. Omicron is now responsible for nearly half the cases in London — a crowded left-wing locale — and will likely become the dominant variant in the capital city later this week.
South African scientists announced the discovery of the omicron variant on Nov. 25. Since then, the country has had 230,000 COVID-19 cases, but fewer than 400 deaths, none resulting from omicron.
So death is minimal.
The study by South Africa’s largest health insurer of 211,000 positive coronavirus cases — of which 78,000 were attributed to omicron — showed that the risk of hospital admissions among adults was 30% lower than during the initial pandemic wave 21 months ago.
Omicron will spread fast, including in the U.S, but it’ll be mostly mild. The other good news is that omicron hasn’t yet triggered a massive rush to America’s hospitals.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, about three-quarters of the country’s hospital beds are being used, which is about the same rate as a month ago.
Just over 8% of hospital beds are being used by coronavirus patients when a month ago that figure was 7%. The percentage of the country’s ICU beds in use by COVID patients has increased, but only by 3%.
Hospitalizations are a much better indicator than cases. More great wisdom from @MonicaGandhi9 https://t.co/BamHb3W3CS
— Marty Makary MD, MPH (@MartyMakary) December 14, 2021
Once again, the states seeing the highest increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations are in the north, where the weather is cold and people are spending more time indoors.
In the past two weeks, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., have seen large increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Meanwhile, eight states have seen their hospitalizations decrease the past fortnight, including Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota, which are red states with even colder weather, so why are they seeing a decrease?
Related: Omicron May Have Been Around for Awhile
In the end, no matter what Joe Biden or Rochelle Walensky argue, the dynamics of the pandemic have not changed; if you’re elderly, immunocompromised, or have comorbidities, you have a higher risk of having a tough time fighting off the virus.
If you’re young and healthy, you’re probably going to be fine. And don’t forget about natural immunity, where there is big news today from Israel: natural immunity still surpasses immunity from a vaccine.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member