Christmas in Covid Times

[happyheini]

Dear friends,as last year Covid will again disrupt most of our plans and hopes for the holiday season. With my best wishes:

https://www.jacquielawson.com/ecard/pic ... n=receiver

[Elizabeth]

Thanks Heini - I love the Jacqui Lawson cards for all occasions

[Judy]

Best wishes to our small group for a happy, safe Christmas.

Hold on to hope that 2022 will be a better year for everyone.

[Elizabeth]

Well, the spread of the current variant of concern has caused the cancellation of all in-person worship at my church after tomorrow. That means that once again we will be worshiping virtually over the Christmas season. This news just broke earlier this evening.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will still be able to attend Canadians, even with the 50% limits that have now been imposed.

Please stay as safe as possible and avoid this virulent strain!!

[fred]

The Delta Variant is a danger, but we don't have to worry about the omicron. It spreads very easily and quickly, but the symptoms are minimal compared to the earlier variants. It's being hyped up in order to sell vaccines.

[Elizabeth]

The Delta Variant is a danger, but we don't have to worry about the omicron. It spreads very easily and quickly, but the symptoms are minimal compared to the earlier variants. It's being hyped up in order to sell vaccines.

That may be your opinion, Fred.

[fred]

I note that South Africa had 4000 cases and no deaths, in fact not one even needed to be hospitalized. Omicron is not much worse than a cold.

[happyheini]

Let's get back to the season of hope and love and family and friends.

[Elizabeth]

Sadly the editorial cartoon in today's Halifax Chronicle Herald is pretty accurate:


It was reported today:

Ottawa wastewater has flipped from all Delta to all Omicron in about 1 week. This is unprecedented. Alpha took 4 weeks to replace the ancestral variant. Delta took 2 weeks to supplant Alpha...

New cases are continuing to increase exponentially here and deaths too are rising while, for the moment, hospitalizations remain steady.

[fred]

Nobody dies from omicron.

[Elizabeth]

Nobody dies from omicron.

Sadly, that is not true. The deaths may not be numerous but they do happen. Hospitalizations are starting to increase, especially among children.

No one knows yet about the "long haul" effects.

I, for one, am taking no chances. I have had my booster and have N95 masks.

[fred]

Ah, The Matrix has you, Elizabeth. How come 4000 cases in South Africa and not one death and not one hospitalization. One in 4000 would be 1/4 of 1%, and that was the upper limit. How come it would be worse over here?

Quoting from "The Canadian Press" Dec. 21. "A study from the United Kingdom shows the most common symptoms associated with the Omicron variant are the same as the common cold: runny nose, headache, sneezing and sore throat.
It is really hard for people to know the difference, which is why it is so important to get tested,"

Toronto Public Health said, in June of last year,

Individuals who have died with COVID-19, but not as a result of COVID-19 are included in the case counts for COVID-19 deaths in Toronto.

September 19, 2021

Oregon Senators Kim Thatcher and Dennis Linthicum File Grand Jury Petition Alleging CDC, FDA Violated Federal Law by Inflating COVID Death Data ...
In March 2020, according to a paper published in the journal Science, Public Health Policy, and The Law, the CDC abruptly changed how death certificates were recorded for only one type of death — COVID-19 — and circumvented multiple federal laws to do so. This hyperinflation of death certificate reporting kicked off an avalanche of data degradation and destructive public health policies...
“The CDC’s unlawful and questionable changes to death certificates related to COVID, the use of false-positive PCR tests and their callous indifference to individual rights—or science, for that matter—led to fraudulent data that was used to justify sweeping policy changes, not only in Oregon but across the country.

See also this article: <https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national ... eport-says>

[Elizabeth]

Fred - I will not argue with you on this topic.

I worked in health statistics, including consulting on disease classification with the World Health Organization, and I know very well the rules of how death registrations are intended to be completed with respect to the underlying cause of death, contributing factors, etc. The fact that there has been some "manipulation" of registrations in some parts of the world is not new and not restricted to this particular disease.

There are many studies about the situation in South Africa with respect to the age of those infected - that can be a factor in the seriousness of illness.

I am OUT of this discussion, particularly as it has nothing to do with Christmas!!

[kittykins]

Hi. I think there is a lot we don't know about Omicron. it does seem that in most cases, it is very transmissible, but that the symptoms are generally less severe. Certainly here there have been an increase in cases, but not in hospitalizations. However, as Elizabeth said, it may not be true in every case and they are seeing more severe cases. Some of my family members (who I haven't been in contact with recently by the way) had COVID, I believe Omicron, but I'm not sure. One of their kids came in contact through school and one of his brothers tested positive. He was just a little ill and the next day was running around like normal. One parent got extremely tired and the other had an infection like a flu. They have to isolate until after New Years, which is 2 weeks. I have been very disappointed not to see them this holiday (RATS).

[fred]

Things have changed a great deal in recent years. I got rid of my television back in 2008, I think it was. I now get information from around the world via the internet. It's much more balanced.
Williams Casey said, "When everything Americans believe is false, our misinformation campaign will be complete." We're getting close to it.

[Elizabeth]

"Balance", of course, depends on which sources you choose - some of those available fall very short on that scale

[kittykins]

"Balance", of course, depends on which sources you choose - some of those available fall very short on that scale

Yes, quite true. I'm sort of at the point that I'm avoiding the news for the most part. Now it seems "the numbers" mean very little and the negative news spiral gets my goat. At this point I'm not changing my masks as I have an allergy to certain chemicals...I figure I'll leave well enough alone. Ok, so they aren't perfect, but the next news story will be that we have to wear ventilators or something like that...this is said very much tongue in cheek . I did double mask on my flight back home. I'm just trying to be careful, but not let fear rule my life.