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Omicron Hits 73% - Herd Immunity? Unexpedtedly!
[Dallas News/AP] The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society.That used to be the definition of "natural immunity, before it was cancelled.  About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported. One influential model uses those factors and others to estimate that 73% of Americans are, for now, immune to omicron, the dominant variant, and that could rise to 80% by mid-March.Which seems really slow gain for a super-contagious variant. Perhaps the virus has burned itself out? However -- The coronavirus — the current variant or future ones that are sure to pop up — remains a dangerous germ. It is still infecting more than 130,000 Americans and killing more than 2,000 every day. Tens of millions of people remain vulnerable. Germ? I thought it was a virus. The new 'germ variant'? "I am optimistic even if we have a surge in summer, cases will go up, but hospitalizations and deaths will not," said Mokdad, who works on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model, which calculated the 73% figure for The Associated Press. And it seems the AP liked the implications of that 'estimate'. Somebody tell the Canadians. With varying degrees of relief and caution, many Americans are starting to return to their pre-pandemic lifestyles. Ironic, isn't it. The vaccine didn't stop Omicron, nature did. How long will folks get fired for refusing the vaccine? Posted by: Bobby 2022-02-19 |
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