NewsA new variant in France can also evade vaccines and seems to originate in Cameroon. A preprint was published at the end of December, but it seems to have picked up steam in mainstream media recently:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101 ... 21268174v1https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/01/0 ... -in-franceIt has more spike mutations than Omicron, but it has not picked up speed despite the fact that it was discovered at the same time as Omicron - though I wonder if this is simply because Omicron was discovered later into the epidemic whereas this new one was discovered earlier. Euronews also published some disputes about the actual caseload involved.
And in some news about lockdowns over Omicron:
After a US military base in the southernmost island of Japan (really far south and far from mainland Japan) had a massive and serious cluster, this spilled out into the general public and now there will be quasi-lockdowns in Okinawa.
https://www.scmp.com/video/asia/3162428 ... tary-basesThat would mean that much of Europe and East Asia is starting to impose restrictions and lockdowns over Omicron.
CommentsI just wanted to clear up some points I made earlier (and none of this concerns Omicron and the new Cameroon variant which affects unvaccinated people anyway):
The Delta variant (which is what a fully vaccinated person is protected against) will only affect a small percentage of the unvaccinated population, so if 20% of the population is unvaccinated, then probably only a small percenage of that should need to go into hospital. A healthcare system should be able to deal with such small surges (if they happen). The entire 20% will NOT be hospitalized, only a fraction of that 20% and then a small (if smaller) number of vaccinated as well.
A healthcare system should not force people to take vaccines if they feel uncomfortable about it, especially if it is based on health reasons such as unfamiliarlity with their own health issues. And there will always be a percentage who cannot be vaccinated (5% to 10%), and a small percentage who are unsure about whether it is positive for them to be vaccinated for various health concerns (another 5% to 10%, but it will be higher for a vaccine that has not gone through the normal long term side effects safety process - it is safe for the majority but more risky for a minority). What unvaccinated percentage would people here be happy with?
And the probability of side effects for medications will rise the more you take them.
And also, many of the big surges and lockdowns happening now involve highly vaccinated areas and the Omicron variant. Blaming unvaccinated people means the vast majority should be locked-down (Singapore has already changed the definition of "fully vaccinated" to three shots) - and I also doubt that people are willing to have a booster shot every few months (the average is currently less than six months actually).
And finally it will NOT be feasible to vaccinate the world with even one shot, let alone three, and all these variants came from the developing world.
If your country has reached 80% vaccinated, then it is time to focus on treatments and reforming hospitals by making the coronavirus the "new normal". You don't just blame the unvaccinated when the flu comes around every year, you make a major effort to prepare the health service to deal with the flu. A similar effort is needed for the healthcare system.
And to focus on something about vaccinations, we are already in the realms where being "fully vaccinated" does not mean you are protected - so should everyone now be lockdown unless they have three shots (Singapore's definition) or even four shots (as Israel and the UK are doing)?
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... s-rcna5907https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2021/10/30 ... the-vacci/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ ... -1.4670229Europe is seeing the majority of hospital patients having been vaccinated with vaccination rates being at around 80%. And it's also the European hospitals that are in crisis mode due to Omicron. Blaming the unvaccinated is just blaming the minority when the problem is elsewhere.
This IS a case where mainstream (and left wing) media is adding fuel to the fire, and where Fauci and the CDC are incompetent. Blaming someone else (and especially Trump) does not solve the problems causing the pandemic.
