[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Wyseguy

Some sign on to CNN daily to be told what to think. Usually those who use the term murika. So childish.

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by Robbie0723

Interesting point, the varients seem to surge and burn out once the next more infectious varient takes hold.

Do these mutations have any effect on the accuracy/sensitivity of the COVID tests?

Anecdotally, I'm seeing more vaccinated family/friends getting and recovering upper respiratory symptoms but are COVID negative.

As has been said above, viruses tend to mutate towards more contagious and less deadly. If they go the other way, they will either stop spreading or kill their hosts too fast. Whichever variant infects more wins the game. You infect more by being more contagious and letting your host live longer.

The Spanish Flu of 1918 is around today and if you ever got a seasonal flu shot, chances are you got a vaccine to prevent it. It is no where near as deadly as it was back then.

At this time, there have only been slight variations in the genome. A few proteins have changed, like the aforementioned proline to arginine. These minor variations do not affect the accuracy of the test.

If you've heard of the PCR test, this is a polymearse chain reaction test. It works by amplifying the sample and comparing it. If it doesn't find a match, it amplifies it again. This is called the cycle threshold. Typical PCR tests should stop looking at around 30, maybe 32 cycles. Beyond that, you're probably amplifying viral fragments rather than a viable virus. One of the complaints is how far out they are running the CT(I read 40 in Canada!) because it's not very meaningful, specially if a patient is not symptomatic. I.e. lower CT, means that there is less amplification and more virus to detect.

So to answer the question, does the variant affect the accuracy? Well, I can tell you that on positive delta variant PCRs the CTs are 4-8 cycles lower. While not "accuracy", it's certainly a better indication of a case because the viral load is much, much greater. That said, even with the higher viral load, the actual disease presentation, in general, is not as bad. This is not to make light of it, people will still die, but not nearly to the same degree as the original.

[Boomer]

Those who are unvaccinated (for no good reason) and who seem to spend their days awash in their “Pick Your Own Poison” sources of dysinformation really should simplify their “search for truth” by taking a look at Vermont’s stats.

Vermont has more than 80% vaccinated, resulting in a 7-day-average infection rate of 1.6%, and only 5 hospitalizations, as of Monday’s report — with none of those in the ICU.

Those stats are based on having tested 412,975 people.

Vermont’s Covid deaths = 259.

Vermont’s state motto is. . .Freedom and Unity.

Way to work that motto, Vermont!

Boomer

[Jaydancer]

The Perfect Quote!

[camaguey48]

Originally Posted by VApeople

We don't care what the CDC says. We will see what our esteemed leader, Gov. DeSantis, decides.



Yeah, we are ready. We don't mind wearing a mask in Publix. We don't eat at indoor food places. We don't get close to other people. Life is good.

The other people's life is even better. Their life is good. As for usted, yo no sé.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Bucco

The Gateway Pundit is known as a source of viral falsehoods and hoaxes.[9][36][37] It has been described by the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology as one of the websites that "primarily propagate fake news",[11] by Newsweek as a fake news website,[38] and by CNN as a website "prone to peddling conspiracy theories".[39] In August 2019, journalism professors Erik P. Bucy and John E. Newhagen observed that "The most aggressive fake news sites and associated YouTube channels, such as InfoWars, The Gateway Pundit, and The Daily Stormer, are routinely sued by victims of these published reports for libel and defamation."[10] As a result of a number of lawsuits against The Gateway Pundit over its false stories, it was reported in March 2018 that Jim Hoft had told his writers to be more careful: "I don't want any more lawsuits so we have to be really careful with what we put up."[40] Hoft stated that he believes the lawsuits "are part of a multi-pronged effort to attack media outlets on the right."[40]

In 2019, The Gateway Pundit, along with One America News Network and The Daily Caller, were deprecated by the Wikipedia community for publishing false information relating to American politics.[41”

The Gateway Pundit - Wikipedia

The originator, Jim Hoft proudly proclaims them as a Fake news site. Having been banned from just about ALL social media, it has earned its reputation.

Anyone who knowingly read this stuff, or quotes that crap should be ignored, and certainly never turn your back on them. They represent the ultimate in “trolls” and actually even give trolls a bad name

I'm not familiar with that site, and have no idea what it is all about, but it sounds like it probably promotes "fake news" On the other hand getting called that by CNN and Newsweek proves nothing

[Vikingjunior]

Panera already has their mask sign back up. Of course no one had a mask on inside.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Wyseguy

Do you hear what you are saying. We can not make policy for 99.5% of the population for a small minority? We are supposed to protect the rights of the minority. Too many people are forgetting what this country was founded on. My business partner came from a communist country. He points out how the way the government is acting is exactly what he experiences in the Soviet Union. From my experience, I recall the stories of how a certain group were blamed for all of the wrongs of a society. Some of us need to take a deep breath and really do some soul searching.

Yes, I hear EXACTLY what I am saying, even if you do not understand it. As a nation, as any nation, we cannot make sweeping policy based on the special needs of a very small number of people. That doesn't mean we don't support their rights and it doesn't mean we discriminate against them. It means we do not require 330 million people to wear a mask to theoretically "protect" a few hundred thousand. We do however help those few hundred thousand to protect themselves in other ways. So you may now go ahead and take that "deep breath and search your soul"

[drducat]

Originally Posted by Malsua

As has been said above, viruses tend to mutate towards more contagious and less deadly. If they go the other way, they will either stop spreading or kill their hosts too fast. Whichever variant infects more wins the game. You infect more by being more contagious and letting your host live longer.

The Spanish Flu of 1918 is around today and if you ever got a seasonal flu shot, chances are you got a vaccine to prevent it. It is no where near as deadly as it was back then.

At this time, there have only been slight variations in the genome. A few proteins have changed, like the aforementioned proline to arginine. These minor variations do not affect the accuracy of the test.

If you've heard of the PCR test, this is a polymearse chain reaction test. It works by amplifying the sample and comparing it. If it doesn't find a match, it amplifies it again. This is called the cycle threshold. Typical PCR tests should stop looking at around 30, maybe 32 cycles. Beyond that, you're probably amplifying viral fragments rather than a viable virus. One of the complaints is how far out they are running the CT(I read 40 in Canada!) because it's not very meaningful, specially if a patient is not symptomatic. I.e. lower CT, means that there is less amplification and more virus to detect.

So to answer the question, does the variant affect the accuracy? Well, I can tell you that on positive delta variant PCRs the CTs are 4-8 cycles lower. While not "accuracy", it's certainly a better indication of a case because the viral load is much, much greater. That said, even with the higher viral load, the actual disease presentation, in general, is not as bad. This is not to make light of it, people will still die, but not nearly to the same degree as the original.

Pretty sure the CDC tossed out the PCR test just yesterday.....also the test shows any virus, so who knows what if it is covid or not. The flu triggers the same. The numbers from the beginning are absolutely no good. The total number of covid 19 infections and deaths are a guess.

[Number 10 GI]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Using a political website to prove that something isn't political is the alt-right's modus operandi.

Gateway Pundit...is an alt-right fake news website. That's what they're famous for - creating FICTION and weaving bits and pieces of facts into the stories, so that the easily-swayed far-right dupes will actually believe it.

They publish hoaxes, conspiracy theories - they're sort of like if Breitbart and Stormfront had a baby, and raised the baby to become the new KKK White Evangelical Prince of The United White States of Murika..

that's Gateway Pundit.

Just like CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSN, and all the lesser media outlets.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

I'm not familiar with that site, and have no idea what it is all about, but it sounds like it probably promotes "fake news" On the other hand getting called that by CNN and Newsweek proves nothing

There are 77 different sources in on that wiki article. If you were to check out any 20 of them, you'd see they're not just CNN and Newsweek. You'd see quotes made by the pundit owner himself, proclaiming boastfully that his is a fake news website.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Vikingjunior

Panera already has their mask sign back up. Of course no one had a mask on inside.

Of course not. They don't have any respect for rules, unless the rules benefit them personally. Wearing masks is inconvenient, so they won't wear them and no one can make them. If you try and tell them they have to leave, they become Karens and Chads, disrupting the entire establishment and making the PAYING customers want to leave. Not because of Panera, but because Karen and Chad won't just STFU and wear their damned mask.

[billethkid]

GAteway Pundit is not a serious source of anything but lies, wanna be and BS!

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by drducat

Pretty sure the CDC tossed out the PCR test just yesterday.....also the test shows any virus, so who knows what if it is covid or not. The flu triggers the same. The numbers from the beginning are absolutely no good. The total number of covid 19 infections and deaths are a guess.

Well, they announced it a while back that they were going to phase it out. I think the actual date was last week. Running the CTs up to 36 or more is simply looking for a positive case. Not my monkey, not my circus though.

A PCR test with ground glass opacities in the lung and a lung disease that presents like an organizing pneumonia and you probably have a Covid case. Declaring someone died of it without a genuine doctor examining the patient? That's just BS and it happened a lot. The numbers were juiced, no doubt.

[camaguey48]

Originally Posted by Malsua

Well, they announced it a while back that they were going to phase it out. I think the actual date was last week. Running the CTs up to 36 or more is simply looking for a positive case. Not my monkey, not my circus though.

A PCR test with ground glass opacities in the lung and a lung disease that presents like an organizing pneumonia and you probably have a Covid case. Declaring someone died of it without a genuine doctor examining the patient? That's just BS and it happened a lot. The numbers were juiced, no doubt.

If the government wants to boost vaccine rates, then all attention should be focused on proper science-based messaging to convince the unvaccinated. You cannot do that when you a) fearmonger, b) shame, and c) offer contradictory advice. The vaccinated should be viewed as an example of what awaits, which is a return to normalcy. "Get the shot, but still mask up and remain in the bunker" give no incentive whatsoever to those on the fence. It doesn’t take a scientist to know why vaccination rates have stalled. It’s the experts’ continued failure to message about the vaccine properly since they decided to go that route. The jobs reports are bad. Inflation is rising. No major bills seem poised for passage from the * administration, so rehash the panic over Delta to keep the nation’s attention away from a presidency that is rather braindead.