So covid is no joke, even Omnicron.  The symptoms are a rollercoaster of coming and going.   The data certainly shows that the vaccines are the best way to protect yourself .... and it can help others as while you can transmit, the number of days you shed the virus is reduced.  

I personally think it's a no brainer to get vaccinated.  My friends in Iowa just texted me that the positivity rate in their county is 29%....this strain is finding just about everyone.  When a storm is coming you can decide to wear your rain coat, use an umbrella or just get wet.  And then shed that water from your body everywhere you walk for sometime, getting everything wet around you.

brianlux said:

RunIntoTheRain said:

Look at the difference in hospitalizations in 3 weeks in Texas. The number of people on vents has doubled, kids counts have quadrupled. Everyone wants to say how "mild" Omicron is, and it may be better than Delta but holy hell when only 57% of the state is fully vaccinated and of those only 30% boosted, this is what we get. And our surge isn't anywhere near peak.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here. Just......man this is going to get worse and people that need a hospital for other reasons are going to have a difficult time getting it.

Yeah, it's sad how overly optimistic some people are.  Omicron may be less virulent, but it's still lethal enough to be killing many people.  And despite odds of survival with the vaccine, people like my wife's extended family friend who was anti-vax, anti mask are dying the way he did- unprotected.

I sincerely hope everyone here is vaccinated.  Forget what the politicians say.  Forget whatever political party or faith you follow and do the logical thing by getting vaccinated and wear a mask in public or around strangers.  You can always argue the fine points later... but only if you are still breathing.

agreed...and keep in mind that even GOP politicians that appear to be anti-vax are most likely vaccinated and boosted themselves. They are parroting some fake dumbass party line to keep the hillbilly base in their corner.

Ledbetterman10 said:

Meltdown99 said:

Ontario woman with Stage 4 colon cancer has life-saving surgery postponed indefinitely

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-woman-with-stage-4-colon-cancer-has-life-saving-surgery-postponed-indefinitely-1.5739117

Socialized medicine for the WIN…

Pretty sad state the healthcare system is in…

This is awful. 

My mother passed from cancer in 2018, and the pandemic has made me think about how awful things must be right now for cancer patients. She had so many doctor's appointments, pain management appointments, chemotherapy, and a surgery. To think that people are having cancer procedures put on the backburner due to COVID patients is infuriating. 

Sorry about your mother, cancer sucks.  I lost my mother in 2014,  complications from a broken hip…she broke her hip and waited in an er 18 hours before surgery…you always miss your mother…This probably isn’t an isolated case either.  My brother in law, serious heart issues needs both hips repaired and has had surgery canceled multiple times…he’s a bigger human, he knows he needs to lose weight, his cardiologist wants him to lose weight through diet and exercise…hard to exercise with bad hips…it’s a a vicious circle.  

nicknyr15 said:

Meltdown99 said:

Ontario woman with Stage 4 colon cancer has life-saving surgery postponed indefinitely

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-woman-with-stage-4-colon-cancer-has-life-saving-surgery-postponed-indefinitely-1.5739117

Socialized medicine for the WIN…

Pretty sad state the healthcare system is in…

How is this possible?

One of my customers had a similar issue here in BC a few months ago.  He'd been diagnosed with cancer, but because of how jammed the medical system is they weren't going to start his treatment for months.  That's pretty scary because cancer multiplies and spreads, so it made me think this something that should get treated immediately? I ended up finding out he passed away a month later :(  bummed me out.

cincybearcat said:

So covid is no joke, even Omnicron.  The symptoms are a rollercoaster of coming and going.   The data certainly shows that the vaccines are the best way to protect yourself .... and it can help others as while you can transmit, the number of days you shed the virus is reduced.  

I personally think it's a no brainer to get vaccinated.  My friends in Iowa just texted me that the positivity rate in their county is 29%....this strain is finding just about everyone.  When a storm is coming you can decide to wear your rain coat, use an umbrella or just get wet.  And then shed that water from your body everywhere you walk for sometime, getting everything wet around you.

test positivity here is nearly 50%. our deputy health minister said, and I'm not kidding, "in the next few weeks, everyone in manitoba is going to get exposed to this virus". 

our premier stated publicly that their strategy has shifted from containing the virus to now worrying about "system load". and the schools will no longer be contacting families about close contacts. 

I predicted a year ago this would happen; that eventually public health would just basically throw their hands up. 

HughFreakingDillon said:

this a big deal, and one that many people have been wanting to know:

Health Minister Audrey Gordon says one-third of Manitoba's COVID-19 hospitalizations are because of the virus itself. The other 66% are people who are in hospital for other reasons, but also happen to have COVID-19. That would represent ~300 of the current 454 hospitalizations

so the true number of covid CAUSED hospitalizations is 2/3 lower than what the public has been getting told for the past two years. Not that this means it's not a serious disease (I'm personally terrified of it), but jesus, tell us the truth already. FINALLY. TWO YEARS IN. 

mickeyrat said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

this a big deal, and one that many people have been wanting to know:

Health Minister Audrey Gordon says one-third of Manitoba's COVID-19 hospitalizations are because of the virus itself. The other 66% are people who are in hospital for other reasons, but also happen to have COVID-19. That would represent ~300 of the current 454 hospitalizations

so the true number of covid CAUSED hospitalizations is 2/3 lower than what the public has been getting told for the past two years. Not that this means it's not a serious disease (I'm personally terrified of it), but jesus, tell us the truth already. FINALLY. TWO YEARS IN. 

journalism failure. 

capitalism success. Sell a different varient of fear.......

not a journalism failure. public health has been asked this specific question for months and either refused to answer or claimed they didn't know. 

HughFreakingDillon said:

this a big deal, and one that many people have been wanting to know:

Health Minister Audrey Gordon says one-third of Manitoba's COVID-19 hospitalizations are because of the virus itself. The other 66% are people who are in hospital for other reasons, but also happen to have COVID-19. That would represent ~300 of the current 454 hospitalizations

so the true number of covid CAUSED hospitalizations is 2/3 lower than what the public has been getting told for the past two years. Not that this means it's not a serious disease (I'm personally terrified of it), but jesus, tell us the truth already. FINALLY. TWO YEARS IN. 

Does this refer to current hospitalizations or to all hospitalizations over the covid pandemic? Because if it refers to the current situation then your first sentence in the second paragraph is likely incorrect. We may never get all of this data but given what appears to be the differential severity of the different variants, it is likely that the covid positive hospitalizations earlier in the pandemic were more related to illness due to infection. 

brianlux said:

RunIntoTheRain said:

Look at the difference in hospitalizations in 3 weeks in Texas. The number of people on vents has doubled, kids counts have quadrupled. Everyone wants to say how "mild" Omicron is, and it may be better than Delta but holy hell when only 57% of the state is fully vaccinated and of those only 30% boosted, this is what we get. And our surge isn't anywhere near peak.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here. Just......man this is going to get worse and people that need a hospital for other reasons are going to have a difficult time getting it.

Yeah, it's sad how overly optimistic some people are.  Omicron may be less virulent, but it's still lethal enough to be killing many people.  And despite odds of survival with the vaccine, people like my wife's extended family friend who was anti-vax, anti mask are dying the way he did- unprotected.

I sincerely hope everyone here is vaccinated.  Forget what the politicians say.  Forget whatever political party or faith you follow and do the logical thing by getting vaccinated and wear a mask in public or around strangers.  You can always argue the fine points later... but only if you are still breathing.

Very well said, Brian.

Be safe, everyone.

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

this a big deal, and one that many people have been wanting to know:

Health Minister Audrey Gordon says one-third of Manitoba's COVID-19 hospitalizations are because of the virus itself. The other 66% are people who are in hospital for other reasons, but also happen to have COVID-19. That would represent ~300 of the current 454 hospitalizations

so the true number of covid CAUSED hospitalizations is 2/3 lower than what the public has been getting told for the past two years. Not that this means it's not a serious disease (I'm personally terrified of it), but jesus, tell us the truth already. FINALLY. TWO YEARS IN. 

Does this refer to current hospitalizations or to all hospitalizations over the covid pandemic? Because if it refers to the current situation then your first sentence in the second paragraph is likely incorrect. We may never get all of this data but given what appears to be the differential severity of the different variants, it is likely that the covid positive hospitalizations earlier in the pandemic were more related to illness due to infection. 

I just meant it's 2/3 lower now, and the public has not been told the true number for the past two years. Sorry, bad wording. You're right, earlier on it could easily (and probably was) a lot closer, but it still would have been nice having the true numbers, instead of public health just brushing it off.