4 ms·

Are people getting sicker with it?

by op00to 5y ago

tastroder 5y ago
We don't know yet, the number of cases this variant has been confirmed in is far too low at this point. You'll likely get a better idea of what that mix of mutations means in terms of clinical aspects and transmissions in a few weeks, most of the current takes are educated guesses based on what this variant has in common with the previous ones.
bmakdbd 5y ago
> However, Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and a practising GP based in Pretoria, said it was “premature” to make predictions of a health crisis. “It’s all speculation at this stage. It may be it’s highly transmissible, but so far the cases we are seeing are extremely mild,” she said. “Maybe two weeks from now I will have a different opinion, but this is what we are seeing. So are we seriously worried? No. We are concerned and we watch what’s happening. But for now we’re saying, ‘OK: there’s a whole hype out there. [We’re] not sure why.’” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/26/south-africa-b11529-covid-variant-vaccination https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/26/south-africa-b...
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  "the cases we are seeing are extremely mild" So, like most COVID infections?
  - setpatchaddress 5y ago
    “Mild” in this case means you don’t go to the hospital (and/or the morgue). It doesn’t rule out long COVID or extremely severe (from a layman’s perspective) symptoms. And that’s the same as other “mild” COVID infections, yep. The ones where you don’t die. You ignorant dipshit.
    - jjulius 5y ago
      Well that last bit sure came out of left field.
      - op00to 5y ago
        Dude was being an ignorant dipshit. Deserved it.
        snakeboy 5y ago
        How did he deserve it exactly? They were being snarky, sure, but population-wide infection hospitalization rate is estimated around 2-3%, so yes, the vast majority of Covid cases were mild. That's not even a controversial statement.
    - dham 5y ago
      Have you never had a severe cold when you were young or did you get one of those stupid attendance trophies in school? Geez. I'm starting to wonder if anyone on Hacker news has ever gone through any hardship.
    - chrisjs95 5y ago
      Let me guess. You're single, have no kids and wear a mask in the car. You're deathly afraid of this virus because you watch CNN everyday. You have 2 doses of vaccine and 5 boosters? You talk about long Covid but haven't been sick in 10 years. The term post viral syndrome is foreign to you?
      - dang 5y ago
        Attacking another user like that will get you banned here, regardless of how wrong they are or you feel they are, and regardless of how bad any other comment is. If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.
        5y ago
  - tamaharbor 5y ago
    I heard the minor symptoms are muscle aches and tiredness.. Like most days for the elderly.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  Best case scenario: A virus that causes only mild symptoms, spreads quickly, and causes immunity against the original (more harmful) variants. Just lift measures and let it do its work...
  - crate_barre 5y ago
    COVID has been weaponized politically. Any politician that doesn’t take part in counter-measure theatrics risks losing an election where they will be attacked for not doing enough.
  - bhouser 5y ago
    This would be incredible
    - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
      Unfortunately, right now, it seems unlikely :( There are already reports of (vaccinated) young people getting seriously ill. Unlike with other viruses, there is little selective pressure towards being less deadly, because illness/death mostly happen after transmission. And while I'm not a virologist, it doesn't seem far-fetched that "breeds higher viral loads more quickly" would be correlated not only with transmissivity, but also with "kills more".

Are people getting sicker with it?

by op00to 5y ago

Are people getting sicker with it?

We don't know yet, the number of cases this variant has been confirmed in is far too low at this point. You'll likely get a better idea of what that mix of mutations means in terms of clinical aspects and transmissions in a few weeks, most of the current takes are educated guesses based on what this variant has in common with the previous ones.

bmakdbd 5y ago

> However, Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and a practising GP based in Pretoria, said it was “premature” to make predictions of a health crisis. “It’s all speculation at this stage. It may be it’s highly transmissible, but so far the cases we are seeing are extremely mild,” she said. “Maybe two weeks from now I will have a different opinion, but this is what we are seeing. So are we seriously worried? No. We are concerned and we watch what’s happening. But for now we’re saying, ‘OK: there’s a whole hype out there. [We’re] not sure why.’” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/26/south-africa-b11529-covid-variant-vaccination https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/26/south-africa-b...

throwawayboise 5y ago
"the cases we are seeing are extremely mild" So, like most COVID infections?
- setpatchaddress 5y ago
  “Mild” in this case means you don’t go to the hospital (and/or the morgue). It doesn’t rule out long COVID or extremely severe (from a layman’s perspective) symptoms. And that’s the same as other “mild” COVID infections, yep. The ones where you don’t die. You ignorant dipshit.
  - jjulius 5y ago
    Well that last bit sure came out of left field.
    - op00to 5y ago
      Dude was being an ignorant dipshit. Deserved it.
      - snakeboy 5y ago
        How did he deserve it exactly? They were being snarky, sure, but population-wide infection hospitalization rate is estimated around 2-3%, so yes, the vast majority of Covid cases were mild. That's not even a controversial statement.
  - dham 5y ago
    Have you never had a severe cold when you were young or did you get one of those stupid attendance trophies in school? Geez. I'm starting to wonder if anyone on Hacker news has ever gone through any hardship.
  - chrisjs95 5y ago
    Let me guess. You're single, have no kids and wear a mask in the car. You're deathly afraid of this virus because you watch CNN everyday. You have 2 doses of vaccine and 5 boosters? You talk about long Covid but haven't been sick in 10 years. The term post viral syndrome is foreign to you?
    - dang 5y ago
      Attacking another user like that will get you banned here, regardless of how wrong they are or you feel they are, and regardless of how bad any other comment is. If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.
      - 5y ago
- tamaharbor 5y ago
  I heard the minor symptoms are muscle aches and tiredness.. Like most days for the elderly.
tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
Best case scenario: A virus that causes only mild symptoms, spreads quickly, and causes immunity against the original (more harmful) variants. Just lift measures and let it do its work...
- crate_barre 5y ago
  COVID has been weaponized politically. Any politician that doesn’t take part in counter-measure theatrics risks losing an election where they will be attacked for not doing enough.
- bhouser 5y ago
  This would be incredible
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
    Unfortunately, right now, it seems unlikely :( There are already reports of (vaccinated) young people getting seriously ill. Unlike with other viruses, there is little selective pressure towards being less deadly, because illness/death mostly happen after transmission. And while I'm not a virologist, it doesn't seem far-fetched that "breeds higher viral loads more quickly" would be correlated not only with transmissivity, but also with "kills more".