Coronavirus

It seems many governments are determined to expose as many of their citizens to the Omicron variant as possible on the assumption that Omicron is mild.   As states and countries rush to drop #COVID19 mitigation measures such as masking and social distancing against CDC and WHO guidance, it is more important than ever for the elderly and the immunocompromised to learn how to fend for themselves (in consultation with their doctors).   1.      Vaccines and boosters are still the #1 method to protect against #COVID19 but a second booster may be recommended as the first booster wanes after 4 months.  Not enough elderly in the USA are vaccinated .   2.      For the 10M Americans who are immunocompromised or at high risk, it could be helpful to get Evusheld monoclonal antibody treatment pre-infection as a prophylactic.  Prescription necessary.  3.      Test using at-home rapid antigen test kits , and rapid PCR test facilities at the first sign of symptoms or suspicion of exposure 4.

Living with COVID-19 has become the catchphrase of the Pandemic recently even though the WHO warns that it is too early to relax our vigilance.   Pandemic weariness has taken hold and many people just want to resume “normal” life.   Moreover, some countries that have experienced the more contagious but milder Omicron variant and survived its strain on their hospital systems have encouraged others to think that they might also be able to manage the crisis just as well.   What are reasonable benchmarks to use to mark the transition of a pandemic to endemic phase that society can live with?  One benchmark is seasonal flu which can kill 20k-30k Americans, and 300k-600k globally each year.  Countries have built enough hospitals and have enough healthcare resources to handle such outbreaks each year without shutting down their economies.  In the US 30M Americans develop symptoms of seasonal flu each year and 30k die so a case fatality rate (CFR = deaths/cases = 0.1%) seems to be acceptab