[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

This is why I’m going to travel the USA and see things I haven’t seen yet. Went to the Grand Canyon, will go to see Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, etc etc. There are plenty of things to see without leaving the US. I want to make sure I can get back home if I travel.

All I can think of right now is “what if I go overseas and I am stuck there?” I’ve gotten both Moderna vaccines plus the booster. Hard to make plans now, anyway.

It’s not just the national parks that are worth seeing (if you have a reservation and can get in). Last summer I drove from here to the Adirondacks near the Canadian border, west to Denver, then back to The Villages through southern Missouri and Tennessee. A few takeaways: I had never driven across Kansas in the summer, and I was surprised by how beautiful it is. I kept expecting to see buffalo or bands of Indians. I drove for a couple hundred miles on old U.S. highways away from the Interstate. Miles of farmland. Lots of small but thriving small towns I’d never heard of, generally neat and well kept up. Filled with real people, as contrasted with what the big city and coastal people think of them. I’d never driven in southern Missouri. Lots of forests and farms. (The view from the Interstate highways can be really beautiful, too, but it makes the country seem free of people and sort of meaningless. You will get a much different sense of the country if you avoid it and are willing to slow down and drive through a small town every fifteen minutes on some two lane highway.)

If you say you love your country, you owe it to yourself (and to your country) to actually see it, and not just the parks or some Broadway musical or Washington museum or Florida amusement park. If you say you served your country, go see what and who you served. Most of the problems our country faces are associated with big cities and the people who live there. The vast majority of America, though, is beautiful, hard-working, neat, clean, and safe. America the beautiful is still beautiful, and in those places, it’s friendly and not crowded. Consider skipping some of the great parks and great “destinations” and just open your eyes and see as you drive.

Back about forty years ago an English teacher named William Least Heat Moon (an American Indian) wrote a classic book called “Blue Line Highways” about a trip through part of America in an old Econoline van traveling only on the highways marked blue on his gas station maps—the lesser state highways. He ate in diners, stopped in tiny towns, noticed everything and tried to appreciate it. The book was an inspiration to me. You might enjoy it, too.

[Cliff Fr]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

What we need is for everyone to finally, possibly, maybe take this seriously. At the beginning it started with ONE case identified in Seattle 2020, 22 months later we’re still in this predicament.

Why is the vaccine still the solution when many people who have the new variant have been fully vaccinated. The doctor in Africa who identified the first cases also said that the unvaccinated who caught it show no symptoms whereas the vaccinated ones who caught it do show symptoms.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Probably never, nor should they. 100 million adult Americans are refusing to be vaccinated. That is simply a fact, nothing more, nothing less. Nothing political, nothing insulting, and therefore no reason to take the posts down.

How many of them have caught and recovered from Covid?

Problem is, no one knows, because they won't test for that...

[WesMan]

Originally Posted by Ecuadog

I got this from The Washington Post.

"The Biden administration is preparing stricter testing requirements for all travelers entering the United States, including returning Americans, to curb the spread of the potentially dangerous omicron variant, according to three federal health officials.

As part of an enhanced winter covid strategy Biden is expected to announce Thursday, U.S. officials would require everyone entering the country to be tested ​one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. Administration officials are also considering a requirement that all travelers get retested within three to five days of arrival.

In addition, they are debating a controversial proposal to require all travelers, including U.S. citizens, to self-quarantine for seven days, even if their test results are negative. Those who flout the requirements might be subject to fines and penalties, the first time such penalties would be linked to testing and quarantine measures for travelers in the United States.​"​

Is this for all entries??????? South, north, east, and west?????????????????

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Cliff Fr

Why is the vaccine still the solution when many people who have the new variant have been fully vaccinated. The doctor in Africa who identified the first cases also said that the unvaccinated who caught it show no symptoms whereas the vaccinated ones who caught it do show symptoms.

He can't be serious. No one should believe that garbage. Is it that doctor's contention that when encountering a serious, possibly deadly contagious disease, that you are better off if you were not vaccinated???? That doctor is either an idiot, has some twisted agenda, or graduated 146th in a class of 129 at the East Las Vegas school of medicine and bartending.

Please, NO ONE take that seriously, and btw posting it was NOT a community service.

[DeanFL]

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BTW - FLORIDA has been rated as the LOWEST Covid-infected state in the ENTIRE country. Based on infection rates per 100K population. Oh - remember the "DEATHSANTIS" rants by many in the country? now...crickets. We are SO happy to be in Florida - for many reasons.

CORONAVIRUS
Florida continues to see the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country, CDC data shows

According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida currently has the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country.

CDC: Florida has the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country | wtsp.com.
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[Bonnevie]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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BTW - FLORIDA has been rated as the LOWEST Covid-infected state in the ENTIRE country. Based on infection rates per 100K population. Oh - remember the "DEATHSANTIS" rants by many in the country? now...crickets. We are SO happy to be in Florida - for many reasons.

CORONAVIRUS
Florida continues to see the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country, CDC data shows

According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida currently has the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country.

CDC: Florida has the lowest rate of COVID cases in the country | wtsp.com.
.

talk about selective reading. if you read the whole article it says that between surges Florida does ok, like now, but with the influx of international travelers we get, there's a high chance of it becoming worse.

[billethkid]

Omicron = convenient front and center distraction.

[DeanFL]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

talk about selective reading. if you read the whole article it says that between surges Florida does ok, like now, but with the influx of international travelers we get, there's a high chance of it becoming worse.

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'the sky is falling!' Can't give credit where it's due? C'mon, really?

Selective reading? How about Selective Bias?
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[ex34449]

Wait a week, it'll change to suit someone's agenda somewhere.

[Bonnevie]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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'the sky is falling!' Can't give credit where it's due? C'mon, really?

Selective reading? How about Selective Bias?
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sorry if I actually decided to read the citation you posted and discovered there's more to it than the headline.

is it selective bias to point out Florida is 10th out of 50 in deaths?

• U.S. COVID-19 death rate by state | Statista

[Bonnevie]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

My thought is that the info. from Doc is a bit more reliable. With all due respect, he's not retired. His information may be a bit more current.

I would argue that golfing eagle is probably more current on information due to the fact he has more time to keep up with it. primary care docs are swamped seeing more and more patients to make up for medicare cut backs to reimbursement, insurance problems, following up on labs, etc. not a lot of time to read all the journals they get.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

I would argue that golfing eagle is probably more current on information due to the fact he has more time to keep up with it. primary care docs are swamped seeing more and more patients to make up for medicare cut backs to reimbursement, insurance problems, following up on labs, etc. not a lot of time to read all the journals they get.

Actually, read much more and kept up much more when I was working. There is a CME(Continuing Medical Education) requirement in NY as well as from the ABIM(American Board of Internal Medicine). However, I had to keep up with a large number of subjects, now, only a few. And I talk with my friend who is an infectious disease specialist frequently.

[Two Bills]

This is the latest update regarding the Omicron variant on BBC news in UK.
Seems to suggest that people with natural immunity from previous infection, and those vaccinated are all just as vulnerable to latest variant.

First data points to Omicron re-infection risk
James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

The first real world data showing the coronavirus variant Omicron may evade some of our immunity has been reported by scientists in South Africa.

Scientists have detected a surge in the number of people catching Covid multiple times.

It is a rapid analysis and not definitive, but fits with concern about the mutations the variant possesses.

It is also not clear what this means for the protection given by vaccines.

Scientists have analysed nearly 36,000 suspected re-infections in South Africa to look for any changes to re-infection rates (catching it twice or more) throughout the pandemic.

They showed there was no surge in the risk of re-infection during either the Beta or Delta waves. This is despite laboratory studies suggesting those variants had the potential to evade some immunity.

However, they are now detecting a spike in re-infections. They have not tested each patient to prove it is Omicron, but they say the timing suggests the variant is the driving force.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

This is the latest update regarding the Omicron variant on BBC news in UK.
Seems to suggest that people with natural immunity from previous infection, and those vaccinated are all just as vulnerable to latest variant.

First data points to Omicron re-infection risk
James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

The first real world data showing the coronavirus variant Omicron may evade some of our immunity has been reported by scientists in South Africa.

Scientists have detected a surge in the number of people catching Covid multiple times.

It is a rapid analysis and not definitive, but fits with concern about the mutations the variant possesses.

It is also not clear what this means for the protection given by vaccines.

Scientists have analysed nearly 36,000 suspected re-infections in South Africa to look for any changes to re-infection rates (catching it twice or more) throughout the pandemic.

They showed there was no surge in the risk of re-infection during either the Beta or Delta waves. This is despite laboratory studies suggesting those variants had the potential to evade some immunity.

However, they are now detecting a spike in re-infections. They have not tested each patient to prove it is Omicron, but they say the timing suggests the variant is the driving force.

And I have highlighted the relevant flaws in that press release.