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The doubling rate for Omicron appears to be 2-3 days. That is incredibly fast - 70% faster than Delta. It will be the dominant strain within the month. Let us hope that it proves to be less deadly, because the inoculation rater to reach herd immunity will be >95%. What's worse, is that the level of reinfection is so high.
"The new study from Discovery Health shows that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which provided more than 90% protection against the original virus, is only 33% protective against omicron infection.
Full vaccination continues to provide 70% protection against severe disease, which seemed to hold up across high-risk groups, though it declined somewhat in people over 60 and even more in those over 70. .... "Seventy percent is definitely a dropdown. It isn't great," he said. "It was 95% effective severe disease when it was delta variant and then about 85% after six months of waning," he said. ... Other research from Pfizer-BioNTech suggests that a third, booster dose can restore the original levels of protection at least for some period of time. .... People infected in South Africa's first wave early last year, have a 73% chance of reinfection, while those infected with the beta variant have a 60% chance of reinfection and those infected in its most recent delta wave face a 40% risk of reinfection with omicron, the new study showed.
That blows the "natural immunity" claim out of the water.
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
