WSJ: The Omicron disconnect between cases and serious hospitalizations is real..

[SVPete]

WSJ: The Omicron disconnect between cases and serious hospitalizations is real -- and maybe spectacular

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/01/07/wsj-the-omicron-disconnect-between-cases-and-hospitalizations-is-real-and-maybe-spectacular-n439975

Great news if true and it holds up, because the US still finds itself on the upside of a massive increase in both cases and hospitalizations. Whether or not the latter is correlative or causative will be the subject of heated debate, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the UK has seen a clear and large disconnect between cases and causative hospitalizations, as well as more severe outcomes:

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has fueled the biggest surge in Covid-19 cases in the U.K. since the pandemic began, but the number of people critically ill in hospitals hasn’t increased significantly, a promising sign for countries including the U.S. that are seeing their own rapid run-ups in infections.

Doctors say Omicron is making fewer people seriously sick and the severe respiratory problems that were hallmarks of earlier waves of Covid-19 aren’t so prevalent this time around. The change reflects differences in how the variant attacks the body, booster shots shielding the most vulnerable against the severest aspects of the disease, and better treatments that forestall Covid-19’s progression.

It's a slightly different comparison, but look at the Daily New Cases and Daily Deaths graphs here, https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ . Compare especially last winter's surge to the current one. Last winter's surge had over double the daily deaths as the current surge, while the current surge has had more daily new cases.

As a side note, I don't know where the MSM and (some) Progs came up with their Million Cases Day claim. The claim is contradicted by the data in the Daily New Cases graph.

[Eupher]

From what I understand (via Dr. Robert Malone, who is sane as opposed to the legacy media and the #SharterJoe administration), the bulk of the hospitalizations that are actually Covid related (rather than heart attacks, gunshot wounds, or traffic accidents) are still caused by the Delta strain. Omicron is basically a very mild case of the flu and not hospitalization-worthy.

[SVPete]

Robert W. Malone, sighhhhh ...

It is correct that back in October when the Federal gooberment claimed 77% of US cases were Omicron, reality was that it was 22%. IIRC, I posted a news story about this (ETA: this thread, https://conservativecave.com/cave/index.php?topic=127659.0 ). The big problem this misstatement caused it that the FDA suspended the EUA for Eli Lilly's and Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatments and distribution was also suspended. Supposedly those mab treatments are not effective against Omicron (I haven't seen good quality info confirming this, so I'm skeptical), but is effective against Delta (and etc.). Because of this case percentage wrong information, hundreds or thousands of Covid patients in October onward who would have benefited from a mab treatment could not get it. Chances are some of them died. Because LIEden and his Kovid-Klown-Krew propagated and acted on false data.

Take Malone's pronouncements with a grain of salt, a block of salt if he is commenting on mRNA vaccines. He was part of a team (not a leader, as far as I can tell) that in the 1980s and 1990s worked on the idea of mRNA vaccines. As far as I can learn, he has not worked on mRNA vaccine technology in the 2000s. He does not and did not work for one of the companies that have spent the past 10-12 years taking the idea of an mRNA vaccine from idea to a working product. The bottom line is: Malone has been exaggerating his role in creating mRNA vaccines; Malone lacks the 20-25 years of hands-on technology and product development experience to be credible in many/most of his his mRNA vaccine claims.

[Eupher]

The principle point that Malone is making, and he said this several times in Joe Rogan's podcast (deleted out of YT and probably Twatter), is that informed consent and free speech are being trampled by the #SharterJoe thugs.

Having been involved in drug development (from a QA perspective, not as a scientist) for about 25 years, from what I could gather based on Malone's talking points to Rogan's very targeted questions, Malone understands the drug development process. What he knows about mRNA and whether he was in the weeds on that technology, and whether he's exaggerating his claims, I'm not going to comment toward because I haven't looked into it well enough.

But all of that does not outweigh his central point -- the fraud, deception, lies, and data manipulation employed by the #SharterJoe thugs completely run counter to our core principles of free speech and informed consent.

[FlaGator]

Quarantining and shutting down is the learned response to the origin of the epidemic. Even when the illness no longer warrants that level of response it is the method they have taught themselves to put into practice. A one-size-fits-all, mountain-sized overreaction to a molehill issue. Why? Because it's easier than thinking. Thinking leads to choices and bad choices can be laid at the feet of the chooser.

[Wineslob]

A one-size-fits-all, mountain-sized overreaction to a molehill issue. Why? Because it's easier than thinking.

I'm highly suspicious that the DemonRats want to use it for mandatory mail-in ballots.

[Ptarmigan]

Universities' Covid Policies Defy Science and Reason
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/universities-covid-policies-defy

Universities are supposed to be bastions of critical thinking, reason and logic. But the Covid policies they have adopted—policies that have derailed two years of students’ education and threaten to upend the upcoming spring semester—have exposed them as nonsensical, anti-scientific and often downright cruel.

Some of America’s most prestigious universities are leading the charge.

At Georgetown University, fully vaccinated students are randomly tested for Covid every week. Using a PCR test, which can detect tiny amounts of dead virus, asymptomatic students who test positive are ordered to a room in a designated building where they spend 10 days in confinement. Food is dropped off once a day at the door.

I spoke to several students who were holed up. One of them told me she would sometimes call a friend to come and wave at her through the window, just to see a human face. Another told me that the experience in quarantine “totally changed” her feelings about the school. “Everyone’s just fed up at this point,” she said. “People walk around the library and yell at you if you drink a sip of water. And it was during finals.” She told me she is thinking about “transferring to an SEC school just to have an in-person experience.”

Worth reading.