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Covid-19 #42 Nu Tsunami Incoming


Zorral

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1 hour ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I can get a PCR test with results in 30 minutes to an hour here in the States.

Would need to drive somewhere to get one in MA. Even so, not sure results could be back that quickly. I had a rapid at-home test that I was going to use before traveling last week -- the test stopped part-way through due to a product recall. The link to click for the recall was broken. The local CVS that I bought that test (and two others around that time) was out. Joy.

Glad to hear other parts of the country are in a better place - at least for testing.

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8 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Isn't that a bit of a catch 22-esque kind of thing? You are basically forcing someone to do one of two things that you can't legally enforce on their own. You can't force someone to undertake a test (a medical procedure), and you can't demand that a person reveal their vaccination status. But somehow you can demand that they do one or the other? If the law allows you to demand one of two (or more) things, then it would surely allow you to demand each thing individually.

And if you can't demand someone reveal their vaccination status, can you demand to know someone's COVID-19 infection status?

You can't force someone to do it but places where it is required need to deny you access if you don't or both sides can be fined. At least that is the setup in Austria. Most places started having 2G or 2G+(vaccinated/recovered + tested) before our lockdown. Does not really work to control the pandemic if it is not enforced and cities did far better than rural areas with that system. 

Work is one of the few places where 3G is still acceptable. The fines for employers are pretty severe if they don't and they have the right to fire violators without notice (which is difficult otherwise here in Austria).

It is seen as reasonable by the law because everybody who wanted and was eligible got vaccinated months ago here. It is supposed to be uncomfortable to get people to vaccinate.

3G for work is the main reason why our PCR test system is being overwhelmed outside of cities that started offering the gargle test PCR test system months ago. I just got one such result in less than 24 hours(I'm moving and have to interact with people and I prefer a better safe than sorry approach). In Germany you have to pay for PCR tests new I believe.

PCR tests are valid for 48 hours and flow tests for 24 hours. As those tests are free people prefer getting a PCR test. I can get a rapid PCR tests in cities if I'm willing to pay if course.

Not following quarantine rules when you have been informed that you have been infected is actually a far more severe thing because there are epidemic laws. 

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10 hours ago, Impmk2 said:

I'm on the omicron rollercoaster. The wastewater data from South Africa looks fucking horrific. Extremely rapid spread if this isn't just noise (or a change in sampling methodology). However it has been almost certainly circulating for a couple months, and hasn't caused this kind of a spike otherwise. Lots of conflicting data points.

Do you have a link on that?

I have the feeling (backup up by the large fraction of infected coming out of airplanes) that S. Africa has a far larger outbreak than they know and community transmission is probably widespread in many other countries.

 

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The tests I took this year all took DAYS to get my lab results in rural northern Wisconsin. That's DAYS as in over 3 each time.

It was pretty frustrating because I often heard people bragging about getting the super duper fast results, but it (quick results) never happened for me.

Waisted a significant amount of last year's vacation days waiting on those damn results just to be able to get in some wknd/holiday visits to elderly family members.

I am not going through or falling for that crap again.

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Found a interesting thread in twitter.

Few things. Omicron is not a descendant of Alpha, Beta or Delta, it is a descendant from older SARS-CoV-2 variants that were circulating mid-2020 (I do wonder whether it's a spill back from some animal rather than an immunocompromissed individual). It probably started to spread between September-October 2021. It is unclear whether it's more transmissible than vanilla SARS-CoV-2 (doubling times are possibly larger) but potential immune escape can give it an edge.

We will see

 

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11 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Where the fuck do you live?? I’ve had several PCR tests, my daughter has had about 15, and apart from maybe very early on, none have raken longer than 24-30 hours. Many within 12 hours

This is in South East England (Berkshire), sadly not Scotland. Apparently this is causing quite a few other people similar issues, Aunt's new care home is apparently now referring other people to the fast testing company we found. I am tempted to contact the BBC, but Aunt does not want the publicity unfortunately.

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8 hours ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I can get a PCR test with results in 30 minutes to an hour here in the States.

The one we paid for ourselves took about 6 hours from swabbing (Aunt has to be taken to the site) to emailed certificate. One hour or less is very impressive, as I understand you need time to replicate the DNA in the sample. They must be doing something very fancy to replicate it so fast.

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12 hours ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I can get a PCR test with results in 30 minutes to an hour here in the States.

Just yesterday I saw a billboard advertising PCR tests for $45 with results in 12 hours and I thought to myself, wow that’s the best deal I’ve ever seen, the system has come so far, hasn’t it? That’s really a distance from $75 and 72 hours back in in 2020! :D 

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45 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

Just yesterday I saw a billboard advertising PCR tests for $45 with results in 12 hours and I thought to myself, wow that’s the best deal I’ve ever seen, the system has come so far, hasn’t it? That’s really a distance from $75 and 72 hours back in in 2020! :D 

Chats can properly bill that as expenses... :p

Cost of that test would be interesting though. Fastest test in Austria (Vienna) costs 89€ for 2 hours maximum.

@Chataya de Fleury

 

 

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56 minutes ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I will check my insurance to find the bill. It’s zero cost to me, since my deductible has been met for the year.

Done. My insurance paid $340.

Well that is a significant amount for most people. I have yet to find such an expensive option here. Here where I live I can do the express option for 89€ in 5 hours as the lab is in Vienna. We have a free system that usually works in less than 24 hours as competition though.

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These testing centers here for 'free' -- because the federal government is paying for it, like it is the vaccines -- are charging the insurance companies up to $450.  We are paying one way and another after all, ya?

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2 hours ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

Mine is done at an urgent care, not a testing center. I would have to pay my deductible on this, if I hadn’t met my deductible already.

I just paid $250 at a testing center for my son - 4 hour turnaround was promised, got it in two.  Got an almost immediate appointment.  I’ll get 40% back from insurance.  I never hit my deductible.  This is not a bad thing necessarily, because if I did, something would have REALLY gone wrong.

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28 minutes ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

My deductible is only $500, so I burn through that at my first few CT and ultrasound appointments in January, following a lung nodule and thyroid nodule, respectively. 

Ah.  I have a high deductible plan + HSA (which I actually invest on a tax-advantageous basis for my future health care rather than use).  Part of that stems from having equity - I'm kinda paying for it one way or another (but also because this is the best financial decision based on what is available to me.  I'm on our benefits committee, so I've thought about it a lot).

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https://gothamist.com/news/why-it-will-take-two-weeks-to-learn-if-omicron-impacts-covid-19-vaccines

"Why It Will Take ‘Two Weeks’ To Learn If Omicron Impacts COVID-19 Vaccines"

Quote

... Landau is leading one out of the hundreds of labs that is working with the World Health Organization to determine if omicron can bypass our immunity. After meeting with the WHO on Monday morning, Landau walked WNYC/Gothamist — step-by-step — through what goes into the process and why it will take about 14 days. ....

 

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There seems to be growing optimism / speculation that omicron will both become the dominant strain everywhere as well as being a much less pathogenic virus effectively spelling the end of the seriousness of the pandemic. Like a lot of the miracle cures that have been promoted throughout this pandemic I would not want people to get ahead of themselves when it comes to declaring omicron to be our saviour. But if it is it creates quite an interesting situation here.

Right now we are still pretty much keeping introduction of more COVID into the country at bay by keeping our border tightly controlled with very limited entry, so we are a delta exclusive population for now. Hence we may be very successful in the short term at keeping omicron out. If omicron quickly becomes the dominant strain and proves to be not much worse than the common cold or at least considerably less severe than seasonal 'flu, then it would behove our govt to completely open our borders so that omicron can quickly become the dominant variant here as a measure to eliminate delta from the community. But if we become one of the last enclaves of delta would that suddenly put us on a no-fly list, as most countries would not want to re-introduce delta into the population, and a lot of people probably would rather not come to a country where you could catch delta?

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If that is what omicron signifies in the development of this pandemic, it would be following fairly closely along the model of the Great Influenza -- how the final wave was a lot less lethal and much more mild, generally.  At this point though we are wishing hard, but know nothing.

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