Update on Omicron

Re:Update on Omicron by nicoburns on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:18PM (#29373651)

Aside from ethical concerns around shutting a subset of the population out of society to benefit others, that presumes that a selective approach would be effective, and that it is feasible to segregate the vulnerable and non-vulnerable populations. Do you have any practical suggestions as to how that might be implemented? As a I believe that’s why it hasn’t been attempted.

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Re:Update on Omicron by chiefalchemist on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:31PM (#29373783)

Again, I'm just the messenger. But the gist I get is this: locking down select subsets (of high risk individuals) is doable simply because locking down everyone is doable.

But speaking for myself, the fact that early on there were such a ridiculous number of deaths in retirement homes (primarily in NY, NJ, PA and CA) never smelled right to me. We had data - openly mentioned in the media - about Italy and the elderly and yet the same thing happened here? It's been all down hill since then.

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Re:Update on Omicron by JumpCrisscross on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:39PM (#29373882)

> locking down select subsets (of high risk individuals) is doable

We can’t convince an idiot minority to spend five minutes getting a shot. We’re supposed to trust them to confine themselves at home?

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Re:Update on Omicron by chiefalchemist on Sunday November 28, 2021 @06:10PM (#29374197)

You don't understand the problem, do you? Nor do you understand you're part of that problem.

It's - by definition - is a pandemic of everybody. Anyone who suggests otherwise is suspect. Those ppl fuel the discontent. The fact that they're allowed to furthers the divide.

The phrase that comes to mind is: "Divided we fall." An absolute truth if there ever was one.

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Re:Update on Omicron by rajin444 on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:43PM (#29373928)

It's shutting out a tiny elderly subset for the benefit of all vs shutting down all for the benefit of a tiny elderly subset. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but your ethical concern should be 2 sided.

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Re:Update on Omicron by maxerickson on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:59PM (#29374095)

What is the proposed method of actually isolating the most vulnerable parts of society? I don't see how you do it in any meaningful way (At the very most vulnerable end, they are dependent on lots of people that are less vulnerable...).

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Re:Update on Omicron by metamet on Sunday November 28, 2021 @06:38PM (#29374462)

To that point, my grandma's retirement home was as well locked down as possible.

But you know who didn't take it seriously? The staff who worked there and brought COVID in, which ended up killing her.

There's no way of isolating them without isolating their staff, their families, everyone they interact with. With a virus as contagious as COVID, there doesn't appear to be a way to target portions of the population effectively.

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Re:Update on Omicron by nicoburns on Monday November 29, 2021 @07:32AM (#29379074)

Indeed, and that's a retirement home which is really the easy case. I don't see how an elderly person that lives with their younger family members is supposed to be isolated.

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Re:Update on Omicron by DenisM on Sunday November 28, 2021 @11:52PM (#29376516)

The staff could work like oil rig workers - in month-long shifts. Get quarantined for a week on the way in, do your shift, go home to your family. Not pleasant, but doable and a lot simpler than placing everyone's life on hold.

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Re:Update on Omicron by chiefalchemist on Monday November 29, 2021 @07:42PM (#29387373)

An improvement in testing (accuracy + turnaround time + cost) would also help significantly. But there's been little talk in investing in such a tool. That strikes me as a red flag. Instead, we're betting on the jab, and apparently that's not working out well. At all.

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