I hope you don’t get Omicron! 
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You lost me at a “party where people are masked and socially distanced”.
Is that even happening anywhere anymore? If so, it’s not a party!
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I particularly enjoyed giving compmom the deadlier variant and me the common cold type. Sorry compmom!
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In order for one variant to outcompete another, the first one you’re infected with has to confer immunity to the others. Otherwise, you’d just get both.
In this case, lets say highly transmissible, low morbidity/mortality O blows through, creating generalized immunity in those previously vulnerable. It leaves too few hosts left for the less transmissible higher morbidity/mortality D to “get,” so it burns out.
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Isn’t it more like the immune response from prior infection with other variants or vaccination is weaker against Omicron, not that it is zero? If it were zero, we would need Omicron-targeted vaccines…
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I don’t think we have enough data to accurately answer those questions yet.
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I can take it!
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Pfizer says 3 doses neutralizes Omicron
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Losing track of recommendations. So teacher D has cold symptoms (fully vaxxed + booster). She took a Covid test that came back negative. Should that be it or should she do Covid test again in a few days?
What kind of test was done? Yes I would say another test.
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I do agree one more test will make everyone feel more confident. But I do think she can breathe a partial sigh of relief…it is my understanding that if she took the test (whether PCR or rapid) on a day that she already had symptoms, and it comes back negative, then it is likely not covid. If you take the test too soon, such as before symptoms appear, that is not sufficient. But really by the time you are showing (covid) symptoms, you ought to test positive. But I would find it very easy to purchase some rapid tests and just test daily for 3-5 more days to be super safe.
The cheapest place to buy rapid tests is walmart/walmart.com. They charge $14 for 2 BinaxNow tests, so $7 each. Most other retailers charge at least $22 for same thing. I just did a reorder on Walmart.com 3 days ago and they arrived today. I believe they struck a deal with the government to have this lower price. I am a CVS girl myself, usually, but the Walmart price is definitely the best on this one item! At those prices, it sure seems worth it to test daily after having either symptoms or a known exposure, just to make everyone feel better!
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She did the home test. She did another one today also negative. There has been a cold going around that several other teachers have had (and tested negative for Covid, not just assumption it was a cold). As a teacher she often had several colds, sinus infections, etc each year. But it has now been since 2019. Kind of strange feeling.
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If dry cough and/or fever, I would retest. Otherwise, no.
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- South Africa is seen fast spread, but less severity, from Omicron. Some hospitalized, but 50-70% lower share of hospitalized on a ventilator or in ICU.
- Antibody studies found that Pfizer x2 had much lower neutralization against Omicron than previous variants, but those with prior infection and vaccination (hybrid immunity) were much better protected. Pfizer says that Pfizer x3 produces neutralization against Omicron similar to Pfizer x2 versus ancestral variant.
- Outbreaks in New York and Oslo found generally mild cold-like symptoms, no hospitalization.
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As of 11/29, Delta was still 99% of COVID-19 in the US.
However, Omicron went from nothing on 10/18 in South Africa to 87% on 11/15 and 100% on 11/29 there.
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Our small town now has 90 cases, up from 78 last week. Post-Thanksgiving surge. For months most have not been wearing masks in stores or around town. Combination of cold weather, holiday and Delta. We still have Christmas and New Year’s to go.
Just saw a report that about 10% of Covid-positive samples processed by the UW Virology are coming back SGTF and are likely Omicron (pending confirmation by sequencing).
ETA: here is the article.
If Omicron confers immunity to all its predecessors, and it continues to be much less harmful, that’s actually a really good thing. 
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We’ve been watching Omicron musing about whether it’s a good one to actually get once one has been vaccinated with a booster. Time will tell. We’re certainly not ready to try to get it as of yet, but we also aren’t staying home like we used to.
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The benefit is that we’ll get to herd immunity faster, and with less morbidity and mortality, if the above is true.
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