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kayako wrote:It seems like pause announcements are being made on twitter every 2 minutes. Can't say I'm surprised by this, but I am surprised by the sudden flood of positive covid cases. Season mostly ok for over a month then overnight 30 teams are paused?

impossible to know because genetic variants aren't tested majority of the time, but I suspect the spread of omicron is playing a role in surging positive test rates. A more infectious but less deadly variant that is likely to be the final form of covid as it becomes endemic around the world.

marquette wrote:I'm guessing the case explosion has more to do with Thanksgiving than Omicron at this point.

Thanksgiving 3 weeks ago now so that would have been more late last week at the latest. Had a few there for sure.

hortle wrote:

kayako wrote:It seems like pause announcements are being made on twitter every 2 minutes. Can't say I'm surprised by this, but I am surprised by the sudden flood of positive covid cases. Season mostly ok for over a month then overnight 30 teams are paused?

impossible to know because genetic variants aren't tested majority of the time, but I suspect the spread of omicron is playing a role in surging positive test rates. A more infectious but less deadly variant that is likely to be the final form of covid as it becomes endemic around the world.

I agree with your assessment that the Omicron variant is playing a role in surges. That seems likely when we are talking vaccinated populations. In terms of it being less deadly, though, we are still at the state of cautious optimism. Evidence is mixed as to whether it's less severe, particularly since the group that has reportedly had the new variant longest skews younger. Also, if it starts spreading like wildfire, whether it's less severe won't matter that much to hospitals as they get overwhelmed.

stever20 wrote:

marquette wrote:I'm guessing the case explosion has more to do with Thanksgiving than Omicron at this point.

Thanksgiving 3 weeks ago now so that would have been more late last week at the latest. Had a few there for sure.

Yep, just enough time for secondary on-campus infections to circulate/emerge.

XUFan09 wrote:

hortle wrote:

kayako wrote:It seems like pause announcements are being made on twitter every 2 minutes. Can't say I'm surprised by this, but I am surprised by the sudden flood of positive covid cases. Season mostly ok for over a month then overnight 30 teams are paused?

impossible to know because genetic variants aren't tested majority of the time, but I suspect the spread of omicron is playing a role in surging positive test rates. A more infectious but less deadly variant that is likely to be the final form of covid as it becomes endemic around the world.

I agree with your assessment that the Omicron variant is playing a role in surges. That seems likely when we are talking vaccinated populations. In terms of it being less deadly, though, we are still at the state of cautious optimism. Evidence is mixed as to whether it's less severe, particularly since the group that has reportedly had the new variant longest skews younger. Also, if it starts spreading like wildfire, whether it's less severe won't matter that much to hospitals as they get overwhelmed.

the numbers I've seen indicate a much lower rate of hospitalization per positive test in SA than prior surges. And the variant is much less efficient at reproducing in the lungs, which is one of the main pathways to severe covid. But you're right in the sense that optimism should be cautious at this point.

Monday DePaul/Creighton game cancelled.

hortle wrote:
the numbers I've seen indicate a much lower rate of hospitalization per positive test in SA than prior surges. And the variant is much less efficient at reproducing in the lungs, which is one of the main pathways to severe covid. But you're right in the sense that optimism should be cautious at this point.

Yeah, that's why I mentioned that group skewing younger. It makes it harder to assess hospitalization rates. Even if you adjust for age, you still have certain age groups not well-represented in the sample in the first place. Gun to my head, I'd predict it's less severe, but in a more measured space, I'd want to wait and see a few more weeks. I'm also curious as to the prevalence of Long COVID among vaccinated individuals, but that will have to wait another month or two for us to have any idea.

So DePaul forfeits the league game.? DePaul forfeits the Dep v Jays game next Monday.

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The BIG EAST has announced that the Creighton at DePaul game on December 20 has been canceled due to COVID issues in the DePaul program.

Per BIG EAST policy, DePaul has forfeited the game and a loss will be assigned in the conference standings. Creighton will be assigned a win.
3:47 PM · Dec 18, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

Its been brutal in New York state the past week. Record Covid rates in NYS. I have covid, my wife also (she is a resident doctor), and so do two family members. Crazy fever and body ache over the past two days. Just glad we got vaccinated at least to counter the worst effects.

it seems like covid is just gonna be a part of our lives for the next few years. Nothing we can do about it. When I recover I will try to get the booster

ecasadoSBU wrote:Its been brutal in New York state the past week. Record Covid rates in NYS. I have covid, my wife also (she is a resident doctor), and so do two family members. Crazy fever and body ache over the past two days. Just glad we got vaccinated at least to counter the worst effects.

it seems like covid is just gonna be a part of our lives for the next few years. Nothing we can do about it. When I recover I will try to get the booster

I'm sorry to hear that! I encourage everyone to get the booster. I have just been reading studies that demonstrate noticeable differences in efficacy against Omicron between double-dosed individuals vs. double-dosed-plus-boosted individuals. Like everything else, these are still preliminary studies, but the help from the booster (even if previously infected) is promising.