That was fast, what vaccine?

I had AstraZenica with 10 weeks between shots as opposed to the twelve which is the normal in this country. (Had planned on travelling to NZ, but I didn't win the house and in any case the bubble closed)

Australia together with NZ lag behind many countries. see https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

In Australia 54.3% have at least one jab with 33.5% having both.

I got the Pfizer vaccine.
Was told that it would be prudent to take a three week interval instead of the more usual six weeks so I did....

Well things are about to go bad here in Australia, Covid wise. New South Wales has been our pariah state with slack rules all along, they currently have thousands of active cases and many deaths. The virus has jumped the border into Victoria and the situation there is even worse, despite many lockdowns and strict rules. Melbourne recently became the longest lockdown city in the world.

But it's going to get worse, the very laissez-faire premier of NSW was recently forced to resign (due to a corruption enquiry) and her replacement, Dominic Perrottet, is completely crazy. He's more Trumpian than Donald Trump, announcing today that NSW borders will be opened to the rest of the world without either home or hotel quarantine as from the 1st November. We need tourists, he said.

All this despite there being thousands of active cases at the moment. The only thing they have going for them is that 91% of over 16year olds have had at at least one jab and 77% have had two.

Up here in Queensland we are OK at the moment, but our hospitals are stretched. All it will take is for the virus to jump the border from NSW, and we'll be in a real jam.

Here in the wilds of western Kansas, my county has had zero cases for the past 60 days with a total of 318 cases and 7 deaths since it all began.
To be fair, my 1,000 square mile county only has about 2,200 people living in it so it's obvious social distancing is a way of life here.
Our state's governor, a Democrat, did issue mask mandates but included an opt-out provision. Our county commissioners opted out immediately. Very few people bothered to wear masks except in the two businesses that requested us to wear them. The schools started on schedule in both 2020 and 2021 with masks required only on the buses.
There has been no push to get vaccinated, although a few of the people I know have.
I don't know why it works for us while the media and the feds insist that if we do not wear masks and get vaccinated, we're all going to die.

The world laughed when we locked down at one case of delta v.
However yesterday we posted 90 cases in the community All in the upper north island where I live.
We had a national "Vaxathon" to get the tardy and reticent their jabs, 130002 in a single day was a good result but we are a long way behind our 95% target..

The total number of cases and especially of deaths from covid-19 are frightening on their face but I think there is some perspective missing.
Yes, the US has the most deaths reported but the US also has the third largest population on the planet, behind India and China whose reporting is suspect.
According to the CDC:
The United States has a total population of 333,511,317
The United States has a covid-19 case total of 44,615,528
Total covid-19 deaths: 752,859
Percentages:
Cases per population: 1.33%
Deaths per cases: .01%
So people in the US have a 99.7% chance of NOT getting covid and that if they do, they have a 99% chance of surviving it.
I looked at the population/cases/deaths numbers for Australia and it looks to me they will work out to similar percentages.
I realize the US government seems to prefer expressing the cases and deaths "per 100,000" but I think "cases per population" and "deaths per cases" give a more accurate picture on which to base personal risk/reward choices about distancing, masking and vaccination.

My feeling of smug safety is rapidly evaporating due to the Covid spread. we were getting a smattering of cases but over the last eight days an average of one hundred per day is the new normal. Hoping for better things but getting anxious none the less.

Just had my Covid Booster jab, this time Pfizer, just in time cause they've opened the State Borders, and the infected herds from NSW are flooding in. Daily cases are going thru the roof.

How's everyone else?

I am able to get my booster on the 22 January same date as my 8 yo granddaughters first jab.

Here in Queensland the New (and wet behind the ears) Chief Health Officer, scummed to the pressure to permit the borders to open and this is the result.
see https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nat...27-p59kbk.html
So much for the experts.

To avoid Covid-19, I think I'm getting tested at SydPath from now on :thumbsup:

Here in 'murica, shots are available to anyone over 5 yrs. old now.

Yes, magic, guaranteed Negative result. They've got the game sown up.
see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-...rain/100726990

Some interesting and positive info about Omicron.

That's all well and good, but as the speaker concedes, the study has not been peer reviewed. However the thing that all those speakers offering positive views on Omicron seem to be neglecting is the vast numbers who are becoming infected, and as we've seen with the other mutations (variants) of the virus, the more people who are infected the more chance there is of a new mutation (variant) occurring.

And while Omicron does not seem to be as serious as Delta, there is no guarantee that any new mutation will be less serious, it may well be far more serious. (Even more serious than Delta)

So governments opening up and reducing restrictions could well lead to far more infections, leading to a new serious variant, which could have fatal consequences for many.

In short, I believe it very short sighted to dismiss the seriousness of the disease, lift restrictions and delude ourselves that Covid is on the way out.

Don't know. Give me the number of infections South Africa has it should be overwhelmed with hospitalizations and deaths, which it isn't.