6 ms·

For a brief while after getting vaccinated, before Delta and Omicron, my friends, coworkers, and I felt we were out of the woods. We are actively going out tog

For a brief while after getting vaccinated, before Delta and Omicron, my friends, coworkers, and I felt we were out of the woods. We are actively going out together to our favorite hangouts and being normal. I didn't think we would need this site. Finding out that my Governor let a million tests expire rather than give them out, make me happy this site is available. I'm glad I can rely on the federal government to fix what my state government is ruining.

djanogo 5y ago
Did people who wanted to get vaccinated not find doses in stock?, just because tests in some warehouse expired doesn't mean they were hidden to stop their usage.
JohnTHaller 5y ago
For the curious, Florida Gov Desantis revealed they'd let 800,000 to 1 million tests expire sitting in a warehouse. The federal govt granted an exception and they're being sent out to be used at testing sites. These aren't at-home tests.
- jjcon 5y ago
  Wouldn't over-ordering be better than under ordering?
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    They weren't over ordered. The evidence strongly supports that they were purposely held back by the DeSantis administration and the Florida Department of Health while pushing monoclonal antibodies [2]. > Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said last week that the tests weren't distributed because of "low demand." [1] > Florida residents have also described months of difficulty getting tests, with long lines and few testing appointment available. [1] I haven't filed the relevant FOIA requests myself, but Florida open government and transparency laws are fairly robust for those who are inquiring in this specific matter. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda-approves-use/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda... [2] https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01/03/more-covid-monoclonal-antibody-treatments-sought-florida-gov-ron-desantis/9079704002/ https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01...
    - throw_nbvc1234 5y ago
      How would they know to use the antibodies if they didn't test people first? The [2] article you linked refer to vaccines not tests. I think you're missing something in your explanation here.
    - dchuk 5y ago
    - dillondoyle 5y ago
      There's also a lot of evidence desantis 'hacked' test result reporting and nursing home deaths too. It's more complicated than a headline, but it's a really bad look to raid someone who was trying to get info out - even if their goal was political it should have been public information and that just intimidates future whistleblowers. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-rebekah-jones-desantis-coronavirus-20201210-txcxkgm4tfhb5cvgdq77wdl7ja-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-r... https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-07-29/advocate-blasts-desantis-administration-for-not-releasing-covid-nursing-home-data https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-07-29...
  - JohnTHaller 5y ago
    Desantis et al have been actively discouraging testing of asymptomatic people with confirmed exposures.
nradov 5y ago
You're out of the woods. If you're vaccinated then unless you have some high risk condition your real risk is extremely low. More tests aren't going to solve anything. At best they might slow the spread down only slightly. In the long run everyone will be exposed regardless of whether they go to their favorite hangouts or not. That is our reality. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646
- wonnage 5y ago
  It still sucks to get Covid, based on my small sample size of a few breakthrough infected friends even "mild" omicron is on par with a bad flu. It's also about 10x as contagious. Most people don't want to infect all their friends if they can help it, so they test. Also we all have friends and family members with high-risk conditions and don't want to give it to them either.
  - nradov 5y ago
    I understand that people don't want to get infected, but that doesn't change the reality that everyone will be exposed. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-experts-say-most-of-us-will-get-covid-19-what-does-that-mean https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-expe... The virus isn't going away. No one will be able to avoid it without living as a hermit. The CDC estimated that about 44% of Americans had already been infected as of October 2021 and with the more contagious Omicron variant now circulating we're probably well over 50%. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burden.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burd... Additional home testing is largely a feel-good measure. It might ease some people's anxiety but won't significantly change the course of the pandemic.
- wrycoder 5y ago
  A quick positive test could get you a Paxlovid prescription, while it's still early enough in the course of infection to have maximal benefit.
  - 5y ago
hammock 5y ago
>For a brief while after getting vaccinated, before Delta and Omicron, my friends, coworkers, and I felt we were out of the woods. We are actively going out together to our favorite hangouts and being normal. I didn't think we would need this site. You seem to be describing what journalist Alex Berenson has coined the "happy vaccine valley": >the three-to four-month period following the second dose when antibodies are high enough that the vaccines actually appear to work. (For those of you keeping score at home, that’s two weeks of negative efficacy after the first shot, a month of maybe 50% efficacy, three months of near-complete protection, and then a rapid fall to what looks like 0% protection within three months. https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-happening https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-... Of course that description was written in Sept 2021 based on pre-Omicron data, and the picture is different now. The latest data: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.22268919v1.full-text https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.22268919v... See Figures 1 and 2 above. This study from California in December shows much lower protection from the current vaccines against Omicron compared to Delta: 0% effectiveness of a 2-dose regimen at 6+ months, and 49% effectiveness of a 3-dose regimen at ~2+ months.
- nradov 5y ago
  Measuring vaccine effectiveness in terms of protection against infection (as in the article you linked) is pointless. We expect almost everyone to get infected. What actually matters is protection against severe symptoms, and even with the Omicron variant the vaccines are still pretty good at that. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-experts-say-most-of-us-will-get-covid-19-what-does-that-mean https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-expe...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - hammock 5y ago
    I was responding to a specific comment, which seemed to be referring to rising case counts. I agree it's likely that almost everyone will get infected, many have been saying this for two years. As for "what actually matters," that entirely depends on the problem you are trying to solve, the solutions you are putting on the table, and the human value systems at play. Omicron has been strikingly mild, regardless of vaccination status. A new study of over 52,000 infected found "zero cases with Omicron variant infection received mechanical ventilation." https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v1 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v...

djanogo 5y ago

Did people who wanted to get vaccinated not find doses in stock?, just because tests in some warehouse expired doesn't mean they were hidden to stop their usage.

JohnTHaller 5y ago

For the curious, Florida Gov Desantis revealed they'd let 800,000 to 1 million tests expire sitting in a warehouse. The federal govt granted an exception and they're being sent out to be used at testing sites. These aren't at-home tests.

jjcon 5y ago
Wouldn't over-ordering be better than under ordering?
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  They weren't over ordered. The evidence strongly supports that they were purposely held back by the DeSantis administration and the Florida Department of Health while pushing monoclonal antibodies [2]. > Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said last week that the tests weren't distributed because of "low demand." [1] > Florida residents have also described months of difficulty getting tests, with long lines and few testing appointment available. [1] I haven't filed the relevant FOIA requests myself, but Florida open government and transparency laws are fairly robust for those who are inquiring in this specific matter. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda-approves-use/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda... [2] https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01/03/more-covid-monoclonal-antibody-treatments-sought-florida-gov-ron-desantis/9079704002/ https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01...
  - throw_nbvc1234 5y ago
    How would they know to use the antibodies if they didn't test people first? The [2] article you linked refer to vaccines not tests. I think you're missing something in your explanation here.
  - dchuk 5y ago
  - dillondoyle 5y ago
    There's also a lot of evidence desantis 'hacked' test result reporting and nursing home deaths too. It's more complicated than a headline, but it's a really bad look to raid someone who was trying to get info out - even if their goal was political it should have been public information and that just intimidates future whistleblowers. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-rebekah-jones-desantis-coronavirus-20201210-txcxkgm4tfhb5cvgdq77wdl7ja-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-r... https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-07-29/advocate-blasts-desantis-administration-for-not-releasing-covid-nursing-home-data https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-07-29...
- JohnTHaller 5y ago
  Desantis et al have been actively discouraging testing of asymptomatic people with confirmed exposures.

nradov 5y ago

You're out of the woods. If you're vaccinated then unless you have some high risk condition your real risk is extremely low. More tests aren't going to solve anything. At best they might slow the spread down only slightly. In the long run everyone will be exposed regardless of whether they go to their favorite hangouts or not. That is our reality. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646

wonnage 5y ago
It still sucks to get Covid, based on my small sample size of a few breakthrough infected friends even "mild" omicron is on par with a bad flu. It's also about 10x as contagious. Most people don't want to infect all their friends if they can help it, so they test. Also we all have friends and family members with high-risk conditions and don't want to give it to them either.
- nradov 5y ago
  I understand that people don't want to get infected, but that doesn't change the reality that everyone will be exposed. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-experts-say-most-of-us-will-get-covid-19-what-does-that-mean https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-expe... The virus isn't going away. No one will be able to avoid it without living as a hermit. The CDC estimated that about 44% of Americans had already been infected as of October 2021 and with the more contagious Omicron variant now circulating we're probably well over 50%. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burden.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burd... Additional home testing is largely a feel-good measure. It might ease some people's anxiety but won't significantly change the course of the pandemic.
wrycoder 5y ago
A quick positive test could get you a Paxlovid prescription, while it's still early enough in the course of infection to have maximal benefit.
- 5y ago

hammock 5y ago

>For a brief while after getting vaccinated, before Delta and Omicron, my friends, coworkers, and I felt we were out of the woods. We are actively going out together to our favorite hangouts and being normal. I didn't think we would need this site. You seem to be describing what journalist Alex Berenson has coined the "happy vaccine valley": >the three-to four-month period following the second dose when antibodies are high enough that the vaccines actually appear to work. (For those of you keeping score at home, that’s two weeks of negative efficacy after the first shot, a month of maybe 50% efficacy, three months of near-complete protection, and then a rapid fall to what looks like 0% protection within three months. https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-happening https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-... Of course that description was written in Sept 2021 based on pre-Omicron data, and the picture is different now. The latest data: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.22268919v1.full-text https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.22268919v... See Figures 1 and 2 above. This study from California in December shows much lower protection from the current vaccines against Omicron compared to Delta: 0% effectiveness of a 2-dose regimen at 6+ months, and 49% effectiveness of a 3-dose regimen at ~2+ months.

nradov 5y ago
Measuring vaccine effectiveness in terms of protection against infection (as in the article you linked) is pointless. We expect almost everyone to get infected. What actually matters is protection against severe symptoms, and even with the Omicron variant the vaccines are still pretty good at that. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-experts-say-most-of-us-will-get-covid-19-what-does-that-mean https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072548446/public-health-expe...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- hammock 5y ago
  I was responding to a specific comment, which seemed to be referring to rising case counts. I agree it's likely that almost everyone will get infected, many have been saying this for two years. As for "what actually matters," that entirely depends on the problem you are trying to solve, the solutions you are putting on the table, and the human value systems at play. Omicron has been strikingly mild, regardless of vaccination status. A new study of over 52,000 infected found "zero cases with Omicron variant infection received mechanical ventilation." https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v1 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v...