The Minnesota DOH finally caught up on processing cases, largely because the Omicorn wave has retreated to a ripple. I give up on predicting what lunacy will next emerge from governments, but I will say again, as we have seen in a number of European countries, it is time to end all restrictions. People have had enough and have finally come around to what was apparent all along–it’s here, it’s staying, we have to live with it, we will live with it and we can’t destroy ourselves taking some other course. I have been saying the same thing for two years, and while I could take pleasure in being right and now seeing everyone acknowledge this, I feel deflated that I was completely unable to get policymakers to be rational. I understand why, but so much damage was done because of these ineffective policies.
An interesting study that may help us identify sub-groups like unvaxed but prior infected. Around 800 unvaxed persons agreed to be tested for antibodies. There were subsets of prior confirmed CV-19 infection, prior suspected CV-19 infection and no likely history of prior infection. Almost all of the confirmed group had detectable antibodies at a significant level and with no indication of lessening due to time from infection. Among those who thought they had CV-19, a little over half had antibodies, with the median level being lower than among those with a confirmed infection. 11% of those who had no confirmed or likely infection had antibodies, with a yet lower median level. If the study population were representative, a very high percent of the unvaxed have adaptive immunity, well over half of them, and therefore are unlikely to be major sources of spread or transmission or serious disease. That this study even got published is a milestone in a better attitude toward the actual dynamics of the epidemic. (JAMA Study)
This study from Japan found absolutely no effect from closing schools in slowing the spread of CV-19. (Nature Med. Article)
And this study from the US found no difference in spread in areas with in-person school versus remote or hybrid, with the possible exception of the south but the confidence intervals are so wide that any inference is dubious. (Nat. Med. Article)
Research from Australia, home of the world’s most totalitarian CV-19 suppression policy, shows that lockdowns did extensive damage to the lives of young mothers in particular. Not that the fascist government there cares. (Medrxiv Paper)
This study suggests that CV-19 had an earlier than thought arrival in Europe and the US, likely driven by international travel, with presence in a number of areas by January 2020 and only one in four infections likely detected. (Nature Article)
These authors used rapid antigen tests in health care workers to assess a return to work after five days of isolation policy. They found a significant number of positive tests after five days, with a much higher rate among boosted workers than unboosted ones. No real assessment of whether the positives actually indicated infectiousness. (Medrxiv Paper)
If you were vaccinated and then had an Omicron infection, or if you had a prior infection and then an Omicron infection, then you had antibodies that appeared effective against all major variants, in contrast to persons who were neither vaxed nor prior infected, who after Omicron had antibodies largely reactive only to Omicron, according to this research. (Medrxiv Paper)
This study finds that vaccines, including boosters, were less effective at preventing Omicron infection compared to a Delta one, and that viral loads of the two variants were similar, regardless of vax status. (Medrxiv Paper)