A Covid-19 'viral blizzard' is about to hit the US, expert says, with 'millions' to be infected soon

[left-of-center2012]

Source: CNN

The coronavirus will hit millions of Americans in a "viral blizzard" within a few weeks as infections from the Omicron variant pile on top of Delta, an expert predicts. Already, hospitalizations are rising as the holiday season gets into full swing. Long lines for Covid-19 testing formed Thursday in metro areas, including New York, Boston and Miami.

The Delta variant remains a problem. And Omicron, with its high transmissibility, could strike millions more soon, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

"We're really just about to experience a viral blizzard," Osterholm told CNN's Erin Burnett on Thursday. "In the next three to eight weeks, we're going to see millions of Americans are going to be infected with this virus, and that will be overlaid on top of Delta, and we're not yet sure exactly how that's going to work out."

The Omicron variant has been identified in at least 40 states, in addition to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, according to public statements from hospital systems and state officials in their respective states. It's been just 17 days since the US detected its first case of Omicron.

Omicron will cause a serious strain on the health care system as more workers will likely get sick, Osterholm said, even though most cases from Omicron seem to be mild. "What you have here right now is a potential perfect storm," Osterholm said. "I've been very concerned about the fact that we could easily see a quarter or a third of our health care workers quickly becoming cases themselves."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/17/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html

---

"For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death," he said.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Keep your head down and let it fly overhead. We know the drill

The red hatters can acquire some semblance of herd immunity the hard way.

[Renew Deal]

2. It's happening

I know one person personally that has it. One more who knows someone that has it, and another who's relative died from it yesterday. The one I know is vaccinated. Not sure about the other two.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Ohio National Guard has been called on to assist their hospitals. . . . nt

[leftieNanner]

16. I took a "snack bag" donation for the staff to our local hospital the other day

And the front door had a Guard person stationed there.

Southern Oregon.

[TeamProg]

4. To be clear, it was Biden who said:".. looking at a winter of severe illness and death,"

Biden said Thursday that vaccinations and boosters are essential to keeping businesses and holiday gatherings safe.
"For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death," he said. "But there's good news if you're vaccinated and you have your booster shot, you're protected from severe illness and death."

[left-of-center2012]

5. To be clear, it was Michael Osterholm who said ...

"We're really just about to experience a viral blizzard"

"In the next three to eight weeks, we're going to see millions of Americans are going to be infected with this virus"

[IronLionZion]

12. It's coming for all of us

But I remain optimistic and hopeful that vaccinated liberals will fare better than unvaccinated conservatives. There will be election implications as the other side keeps losing voters.

[TeamProg]

35. Yep, I read all that.

[IronLionZion]

6. For the "not enough data" folks,

we'll have a blizzard of data real soon. At that time it would likely be too late to control it with mask mandates.

I never stopped masking. Everyone, vaccinated or not, would do well to keep masking around others indoors these holidays.

For vaccinated folks, we can still place hope that our T-cells can fight off breakthrough infections. Unvaccinated folks can have thoughts and prayers if they don't want to even wear a damn mask. They will be spreading it far and wide. One thing Americans love to share more than social media memes, are viral infections.

[NCjack]

7. RW nutter no-vaxxers, here is your last chance

to avoid the labels “dumb shit”, “stupid fuck”, and more unflattering but accurate descriptions.

[wnylib]

73. A bit late for unvaxxed to get caught up.

A month between initial shots and then 2 weeks for antibodies to build up. At least 3 months minimum wait for a booster.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Widespread with mix and mutants unknown

Maybe red states, hatred states will earn their just desserts

[Ford_Prefect]

9. This could lead to the collapse of our medical services as they are overwhelmed, along with

the extreme pressure on individual providers and team members as we pass the 2 year mark and slide into the abyss of mass infections.

[Aerator]

10. The CEO of SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

The CEO of Southwest Airlines just tested positive for Covid after testifying the week before Congress that it’s save to fly without masks.

[DENVERPOPS]

20. The CEO

would be safe anyway.......he certainly doesn't fly on his commercial flights, but on his own personal SW airline corporate GULF STREAM.

[LisaL]

47. Doesn't matter how he flies, he has covid.

He was coughing during his testimony. Spreading the good germ around.

[Skittles]

67. but he testified that masking in airplane cabins is not effective

he is a real piece of shit

[LisaL]

48. He testified on Wednesday, not a week before.

Already coughing during his testimony.

[Slammer]

71. CEO

The CEO of Southwest Airlines is just happy to not have Delta....

[barbtries]

11. i am tempted to go back into quarantine.

as it is I only rarely leave the house.

[fleabiscuit]

44. My house as well.

[IzzaNuDay]

69. I'm happy to quarantine!

My spouse can’t get a booster from our HCP until February so I am willing to stay home until he’s boosted. That’s what I do for love!

[OneCrazyDiamond]

13. Why are concerts, bars and movie theaters still open?

If we know its coming, shouldn't there be a call for non-essential business to be curtailed? We know where this leads.

[StarryNite]

17. And churches.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

18. Gun stores

Coin shops
Hair dressers
Nail Salons

all potential spread vectors

[former9thward]

56. Then what about grocery stores?

Far, far more people go there than anyplace you have mentioned. And what about public transportation? It has no ventilation and people are packed together in subways and buses.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

63. They were deemed essential.

As for public transit, Stay home. If you can't, hazmat suit is ideal. As close as you can practically get to the ideal should be what you wear, and only if essential. Assume you or someone you loved depended on it. The essentials should have boosters, and be payed for risking themselves, and their loved ones appropriately.

If magats don't like it, quarantine them in a state that demands freedumb (sorry to folks stuck in those places).

2 years ago this started, and it feels like it is ramping up again. We know what contains the spread. Do we wait for the rented trucks outside the morgue?

[former9thward]

64. So close places that might make up 5-10% of the cases

and leave the "essential" places open which cause most of the cases? That makes no sense from a public health view. If you are going to close the small folks then close everything. If not keep everything open.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

65. Yes, shut as much down as we can.

If we can do all of it, the better.

[Ace Rothstein]

68. Then when everything opens back up, COVID blows up again.

Lockdowns are not the answer.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

74. So far

The Netherlands disagree. Winter holidays are going to make this explode.

[Delphinus]

19. Amen!

[IronLionZion]

23. The GOP keeps claiming Dems will have lockdowns

and Biden/Dems repeatedly promised no more lockdowns. There is no political support for curtailing businesses now and there are tons of political opposition. That's why.

Each of us can choose not to go to these venues for a while and continue to wear masks. But good luck keeping people from holiday parties.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

25. It will be worse if this spreads so fast we have to anyway. n/t

[Random Boomer]

60. We may not need formal lockdowns

Businesses will start collapsing just sick and dying employees.

[IronLionZion]

61. If it's mostly GOP voters

we can pick up some seats in November

[Polybius]

45. Restaurants are the biggest problem

Can't eat with a mask on. People should stay home.

[Lonestarblue]

14. I'm glad I got my booster shot already.

I mask up everywhere, even at the gas station to fill the car because someone with the virus may have been there immediately before me. Hand sanitizer in the car and thorough hand wash as soon as I get home. That’s the routine for the foreseeable future.

[CottonBear]

50. That's my routine too. I never stopped masking.

Stay safe out there!

[Initech]

15. The anti-vaxxers did this to themselves.

They are literally a death cult at this point.

[Orrex]

22. Yes, but it won't affect only them

I've said from the beginning that if the virus could somehow affect only those assholes who refuse to wear masks or engage in basic preventative measures, then by all means let them all get infected. But we know that's not how it works.


The FAA should ground all non-commercial flights until after the new year, or at the very least require proof of vaccination, negative test results, and isolation for all passengers before and after all elective flights. Inconvenient for the travelers? Too fucking bad. Expensive for the travelers? Too fucking bad.

I'm sick of being held prisoner to others' stubborn ignorance, with no hope of escape until they all fucking die or until science saves us in spite of them.

At which point those fucking assholes will certainly say "See? It's over! What was the big deal?"

[IronLionZion]

24. They will get it and spread it

The only thing these people share are online misinformation and viral infections. Any other sharing is socialism.

[Initech]

26. The Facebook propaganda is as much of a virus as COVID is.

[rurallib]

29. get it, spread it and give it a place to mutate

[Orrex]

21. It would be nice to live in a developed nation during this crisis

Instead of in the balkanized, sectarian freak show in which we find ourselves.

A developed nation would institute mandatory mask use and lockdowns, but our fine nation has such a childish fetish for "freedom" that any responsible action to mitigate the pandemic is dead before it's proposed.


We're fucking doomed because we live among ignorant racist fuckheads who are happy to let hundreds of thousands die simply for the sake owning the libs, or whatever bullshit they come up with.

[Hortensis]

52. Ingratitude just a bit for the blessings that come to us as

residents of this fucking freak show? Merely asked during this emergency to accept vaccinations and infusions of cash? A society that many hustle long hours to keep running for us while we tippy tap on our keyboards?

Orrex, if fascism does come to America, many of us will be forced to discover what real despair and even doom feel like. Until and if then, though, those who've lived all their lives in a level of security so real that they don't even know it's there, like gravitation on a couch potato, won't ever have to.

[AZLD4Candidate]

27. Disease is nature's population control system

And when something as preventable as this comes, it's not herd immunity. It's thinning the herd.

Nature is a power mistress. We have overcome a lot of her curve balls. However, nature tend to kill the weak and stupid. Over the last two years, we've learned that kool-aid drinking conservative and followers of the Personalty Cult of Trump ARE the weak and stupid.

The leaders of that herd have all been vaccinated, then tell their minions not to for inane reasons.

[Random Boomer]

62. Just a tad human-centric in your perspective

Nature doesn't have any specific agenda in mind and isn't making any effort to control the numbers of humans. We're just a convenient host for viruses and they are taking advantage of numbers to engage in a little overpopulation themselves.

It's all about system equilibrium. Nature will find a new equilibrium eventually, for a short interval, until some other species takes its shot and then we're off to the races again.

[AZLD4Candidate]

66. Nope. all organisms have diseases, parasites, and pathogens

SIV, Dutch Elm Disease, Blight, etc.

Not human-centric at all.

[TheRickles]

28. Omicron started in South Africa, but their data isn't nearly as scary as these headlines make it.

Check out South Africa's stats on Worldometer: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/south-africa/

Scroll down and compare "Daily New Cases" (graph #2) with "Daily New Deaths" (graph #5), and you'll see that there hasn't been the spike in deaths that these headlines are predicting. Comparing this current omicron wave with the earlier waves, there should have been an obvious spike in deaths by now. So the situation may turn out to be as some are reporting - Omicron is extremely contagious, but not nearly as lethal as previous variants.

Time will tell, but I think it's too soon to panic.

[No Vested Interest]

30. Hoping for the best, but South Africa has a younger population, in general, than the USA.

[OAITW r.2.0]

32. I'm not panicing....

But if I were an anti-masker/anti-vaxxer, I'd be wondering if the game of virus roulette will finally catch up with me.

[pstokely]

38. But sometimes it's better to overreact

than to underreact

[LisaL]

39. This article explains why US might be very different from South Africa.

Bottom line, Omicron might appear to be less severe in South Africa because of high percentage of South Africans have been previously infected with covid.

"However, as many scientists have been pointing out, that evidence from South Africa could be misleading. The omicron variant may end up acting differently in the U.S."
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/17/1065315661/omicron-may-be-less-severe-in-south-africa-that-may-not-be-the-case-for-the-u-s

[NH Ethylene]

49. I think what is scaring people are the sheer numbers.

If the death rate of Omicron is half of Delta, let's say, but 10x more people get it - all in a short time span - it will be catastrophic for the healthcare systems and lot of people will die.

[TheRickles]

53. True, which is why the info coming out of South Africa in the next few weeks will be so important.

We'll find out whether their death totals, as opposed to death rate (percentage), remain as low as it's been so far. Fingers crossed....

[LisaL]

54. UK's data is what we should be looking at.

South Africa has a much younger population than us. There is also summer there. Whatever is happening in UK will happen in US in a matter of a few weeks.

[Pepsidog]

31. My 25 year old son studying for the LSAT said today he didn't believe all these deaths occurred and

if it was for the news we would never hear of the coronavirus. My other son, a graduating medical school and looks like will get an orthopedic-surgery residency, shot me a look in which I hand signaled “don’t get into it with your stupid ass brother”. It's all social media misinformation. Barstool and Twitter and a bunch of other “we own libs” sites that foster these beliefs. Oh, and tomorrow I am having a graduation party for my daughter who just graduated nursing school and will have to deal with my neighbor who is a neuro-surgeon and full-on Trumper who was invited. At least the neuro-surgeon is good for a nice gift.

[orangecrush]

33. This sucks.

And just now reading about Trump and comrades undermining the COVID prevention efforts.

[madamesilverspurs]

34. A holiday note for anti-vaxxers:

found on facebook



.

[crimycarny]

36. I don't care about cases as much as I do hospitalizations and deaths

If OMICRON is far more contagious but also far less lethal, then it doesn't make sense to panic. That's what I'm reading from preliminary data out of South Africa, which has low vaccination rates.

Link to tweet

?s=20

And even better data for those vaccinated. Breakthrough cases from the Delta variant seemed to be a bit more severe (more flu-ish like) whereas breakthrough cases from OMICRON seem more "bad cold" like.

I'm vax'd and boosted, never stopped wearing a mask, so just because I'm trying to be positive doesn't mean I'm "in denial". Like everyone I'm tired of this whole thing, want it to end, and don't want to start panicking over the number of cases IF the hospitalizations actually go down or are much lower than 2020.

[LisaL]

40. South Africans have very high levels of natural immunity, because a lot of them have been

infected with covid prior to omicron. The population in South Africa is also much younger than in the US. Thus the results could be very misleading.

[crimycarny]

41. could be--but that's speculation

Just as it's a bit of speculation at this point (early on) to assume Omicron is less lethal, it's also speculation to say it's not.

Meanwhile, an analysis Tuesday of data from South Africa, where omicron is driving a surge in infections, found the variant seems to not just spread more easily from person to person, but is better at evading vaccines while causing less serious illness.

The data also shows, however, that while case numbers are rising, hospitalizations are not increasing at the same rate, leading the scientists to believe that the risk of hospitalization from omicron may be lower than delta or earlier variants. Hospital admissions for adults diagnosed with COVID-19 are 29% lower compared to the wave that South Africa experienced in mid-2020, after adjusting for vaccination status, according to the analysis.

So even after adjusting for vaccination status the hospital admissions are 29% lower.

Initial findings in the midwest seem to indicate Omicron might be less lethal as well.

Only time will tell but I'm certainly going to look for the positive, it's about time.

[LisaL]

42. I don't know of any findings in the midwest indicating that omicron is less lethal.

It just started to spread in the midwest.

[crimycarny]

43. I believe I read it in the Chicago Tribune

From the Chicago Department of Health Director: Dr. Allison Arwady

Arwady said she's "feeling pretty confident" that the variant will lead to more breakthrough cases and reinfections in those who have already had COVID, but the severity of those cases remains unclear despite early breakthrough cases in the Midwest showing mild symptoms, if any.

She goes on to say it's far too early to assume cases will be milder than Delta merely based on the fact that the few cases so far have been.

For my part I'll continue masking but...dammit...I'm going to allow myself to HOPE versus assume the worst. What harm is there in holding out for hope? I'm so sick and tired of the "MORE CASES OF OMICRON IN "

Here's a perfect example. Recent headline in like 40 pt font: 900 CORNELL STUDENTS — MOST OF THEM VACCINATED — JUST CONTRACTED COVID. Then in such tiny print it's almost unnoticeable you see: "The good news is that all the cases appear to be minor." 900 students out of 25,600--about 3.5%--and 97% of those students are vaccinated. So of COURSE most cases would be in those vaccinated, 3.5% is totally in line with a vaccine that is ~95% effective, and--most importantly--ALL cases appear to be mild.

Go to the actual URL to see how large the font for that alarming headline is and how small the clarification that ALL--yes ALL--cases were mild. https://www.mic.com/life/omicron-covid-outbreak-cornell

[LisaL]

46. Severity remains unclear doesn't equal less lethal.

900 students (most likely in their twenties) who are vaccinated and boosted getting infected and then having mild symptoms also doesn't tell you anything of how lethal it is going to be for people who are not in their twenties, not vaccinated or boosted.
3.5% is not in line with vaccine being 95% effective because you incorrectly assume everybody has been exposed at the same time in the short period of time 900 students became infected.

[crimycarny]

75. Everything you are saying is speculation as well

Your points are assumptions as well, just you’re leaning towards the negative and I’m leaning towards the positive. I work for a hospital in NorCal. We aren’t seeing nearly the severity as last year. The numbers are way down. Now maybe they will creep up, we’ll see, but in the meantime I’m not going to be a Debby downer.

[Marthe48]

51. It doesn't seem to matter

I've been out more, vaccinated, boosted, masks, saniziting when I get home. I have done more laundry in the last month than I did in the last year, because any clothes I wear into a store, or on a ride with someone, go in the washer when I get home, and I go in the shower. I can't believe how busy it is all over. The people I am in regular contact with are all vaccinated, but the grandkids are in a school building, probably with people who aren't vaccinated or masking. I haven't gone in the building for 92 weeks.

I am still limiting going indoors, but can't help wondering if I should just go back to no in-door visits at all? I am covid tired, but trying to get prepared for the next wave, right on the heels of the last wave, and most likely just ahead of the next.

[LudwigPastorius]

55. This is what Omicron looks like in the UK (through yesterday)

The unvaxed, unmasked, and those not observing social distancing in the U.S. will either wise up or they will die.

[NickB79]

59. His fear of sick hospital workers is already occurring

"Hundreds off work ill at leading London hospital as Omicron cases surge"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/17/hundreds-off-work-ill-at-leading-london-hospital-as-omicron-cases-surge?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1639821814

[Brainfodder]

70. Where is the Pfizer pill that might save lives so this isn't such dire news?

[LisaL]

72. It needs to be approved first.

FDA has not approved it yet, I hope they hurry up.