DOOM: "Omicron Covid cases ‘doubling every two to three days’ in UK"

[ladymuck]

Do you feel lucky, ladyluck?

Yep!

I'm next out and about on Saturday with a couple of friends. Lunch, drinks, theatre. I won't be joining them if I test positive.

[AtW]

Yep!

I'm next out and about on Saturday with a couple of friends. Lunch, drinks, theatre. I won't be joining them if I test positive.

If I were you I'd cancel it - by Saturday Omicron will be everywhere, especially in a theatre.

[d000hg]

I'm still testing negative after Friday's shenanigans.

Will test again on Friday, give it a couple of days to fester.

From what I heard, having to get tested after a CUK meet-up is par for the course, irregardless of Covid.

[mattster]

If I were you I'd cancel it - by Saturday Omicron will be everywhere, especially in a theatre.

Yep - if you want to save Christmas then you probably don't want to leave the house for the next week. Conversely, if you don't want to schlep half way across the country on Christmas day to be with your in-laws, then now might be quite a good time to go the theatre in London.

[AtW]

"UK Omicron infections ‘could reach 1m a day by end of December’

Government’s top public health adviser issues warning amid growing calls to limit Christmas gatherings

Britain’s wave of Omicron infections could reach 1m a day by the end of December, the government’s most senior public health adviser has warned amid growing calls to limit Christmas gatherings.

Dr Susan Hopkins told MPs on Tuesday the Omicron Covid variant was initially doubling every two to three days in the UK but the pace appeared to have speeded up, driving a surge of disease that risked putting “significant” pressure on the NHS.

While confirmed cases of the variant are being tracked through genomic testing, the number of Omicron infections across the country is estimated to be far higher – at an estimated 200,000 daily infections on Monday – due to a time lag and because many cases are never picked up by the testing programme.

Hopkins said with so many people expected to contract the virus over the coming weeks, the NHS would come under significant pressure if only a fraction became ill enough to need hospital care."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ovid-christmas

[AtW]

Good news - https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...isease-omicron

"A pill manufactured by the prominent Covid-19 vaccine provider Pfizer is highly effective in protecting against severe disease from coronavirus, the company said on Tuesday.

The experimental antiviral pill Paxlovid is also effective against the Omicron variant that is spreading rapidly across the world, the company announced, citing laboratory testing.

In clinical trials, Paxlovid showed almost 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, Pfizer stated, replicating the results of a smaller-scale trial announced last month.

Those results prompted the company to seek authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the pill to become the first widely available oral medicine to combat coronavirus.

Regulators in the UK last month approved the twice-daily pill Molnupiravir, manufactured by Merck/Ridgeback, for use in elderly and at-risk patients, but its approval has stalled in the US amid safety concerns.

Pfizer hopes that Tuesday’s announcement will bolster its case with the FDA, allowing for an early US approval and infected Americans having access to the pill by early next year.

“Our oral antiviral candidate, if authorized or approved, could have a meaningful impact on the lives of many, as the data further support the efficacy of Paxlovid in reducing hospitalization and death and show a substantial decrease in viral load,” said Albert Bourla, the company’s chief executive, in a statement.

“This potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic.”

Pfizer’s latest study was an analysis of 2,246 unvaccinated, high-risk test subjects. None of those in the trial given Paxlovid died, compared with 12 placebo recipients.

The Pfizer pills are taken every 12 hours. They reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% within three days of symptom onset and 88% within five days."

Bad news - it will take a while before these are readily available...

[SueEllen]

Yep - if you want to save Christmas then you probably don't want to leave the house for the next week. Conversely, if you don't want to schlep half way across the country on Christmas day to be with your in-laws, then now might be quite a good time to go the theatre in London.

That's if the play is still on -

BBC News - Musicals, plays and pantos cancel shows after Covid-19 outbreaks https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59638954

[ladymuck]

That's if the play is still on -

BBC News - Musicals, plays and pantos cancel shows after Covid-19 outbreaks https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59638954

I did check this evening, as I thought I'd better find out what their cancellation policy is if my friends don't want to go. No sign of a cancellation yet.

[AtW]

I did check this evening, as I thought I'd better find out what their cancellation policy is if my friends don't want to go. No sign of a cancellation yet.

Your friends are waiting for you to cancel it...

[ladymuck]

Your friends are waiting for you to cancel it...

No they're not! I asked yesterday and they said they still want to go out and that they will be double masking (something I noticed Dr Fauci doing last year but it never took off here)