4 ms·

I still know no one in Germany who ever had covid, only one person in the US and one in South Africa (who also died from it), so I’m not sure about that.

bsaul 5y ago
died from omikron ?
- Semaphor 5y ago
  Nah, covid in general. Clarified. edit: Please don’t downvote the user, it was a relevant question and I only clarified my comment afterwards.
NicoJuicy 5y ago
- albertzeyer 5y ago
  I also live in Germany, and similar experience. I rarely know people who have been infected with Covid, and none with Omicron. Omicron is also a bit delayed in Germany (which is good).
  - reitoei 5y ago
    I live in Ireland and I know at least 100 people who have had covid, including my wife, father, mother and 2 sisters. Omicron is prevalent here right now.
    - lostlogin 5y ago
      I think you know more people who have had it than I know in total.
      - reitoei 5y ago
        Everyone knows everyone in Ireland. It's a blessing and a curse.
    - sdze 5y ago
      Germans are notoriously „under-tested“
      - reitoei 5y ago
        I didn't know that. Is that because of access to PCR testing services or a "head in the sand" attitude? We're in a situation now where our PCR test system has pretty much fallen apart.
      - Semaphor 5y ago
        My sister recently had her PCR anniversary of 100 tests. OTOH, I’m at 2 quick tests and one PCR, but I work from home and only leave for stores. Not sure about the under-tested in general, all the public testing stations were always super busy.
        gjs278 5y ago
- Semaphor 5y ago
  I live here and know many ;) But in the north, we generally made it through it better (recent club openings with mass infections notwithstanding, I do not know people who go to mega-clubs during a pandemic).
  - NicoJuicy 5y ago
    If I compare it with Belgium it's cases are better but deaths is relatively worse to the other stat, which is kinda weird. Unless they don't test much. But Belgium also overcounts deaths ( should be /2 when I checked in 2020), which means any untested death is counted as COVID. Most people don't seem to be aware of that. https://www.dw.com/en/belgiums-coronavirus-overcounting-controversy/a-53660975 https://www.dw.com/en/belgiums-coronavirus-overcounting-cont... https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/841005901/why-belgiums-death-rate-is-so-high-it-counts-lots-of-suspected-covid-19-cases https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/0...
- _Microft 5y ago
  This is a very disingenious take, don't you think? I am also German with an average social circle as I would say. Until the end of last year, I just knew of one case of Covid among all of them. Since then, a few families got it - most of them via kindergarten. Say what you want about our Covid response but from my point of view we made it fairly well through the pandemic so far.
tsywke44 5y ago
Yes, it’s called a filter bubble. Covid was extremely easy to avoid pre-Omicron even without vaccines if you don’t go to nightclubs and don’t work in an office and have no kids.
- dragontamer 5y ago
  But what about weddings? Church? Hospitals? Even during the lockdown, a family friend of mine needed to go to a hospital for an unrelated issue, and that's when a nurse from there passed COVID19 to him. Then he passed COVID19 to his father. He was 35, no kids, didn't work in an office. Still got COVID19 and spread it with deadly results. Etc. etc. Church, Weddings, Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Years, Birthday parties and other social events? Choir practice? Indoor sports like basketball or racketball? Gyms? Restaurants? -------- There's a lot of social interactions between people when you start counting them up.
  - ryandrake 5y ago
    Hospitals can be unavoidable if you're unlucky and get hurt. Grocery stores, too, but you can minimize your trips. But the other ones? Totally voluntary and avoidable. The public health guidance around COVID has been atrocious, even as scientists learn more about how the disease spreads indoors. We're going to probably need to change our "indoor event" focused culture if we want to have any hope of getting this behind us, but it's unlikely to happen because it's inconvenient to people and there's seemingly no way to enforce a mandate. And heaven forbid people temporarily inconvenience themselves to stop a deadly pandemic!
    - dragontamer 5y ago
      > inconvenient to people Certainly. But why is it inconvenient to people? We don't really discuss personal issues in the public space, so I'm forced to use my own examples. My grandma is in her late 80s and soon will be 90. She's had brain cancer decades ago, recovered, but maybe that's finally catching up to her. Our family pretty much murmurs about it behind her back, but her sharp mind simply isn't as sharp as it used to be. Every year is a diminishing of her memory, her ability to focus, her ability to hold discussions and interact with us. To the point where she's pretty much locked herself inside her own house (we're worried about her but she refuses to live with any of her children) in most situations. So what does this have to do with parties? Well, parties are one of the only ways we can manage to draw her out of her house and interact with us. --------- I can't imagine that I'm the only one who is dealing with the diminishing mental abilities of an elderly grandparent (or parent). But my grandma's extreme stubbornness and pride makes this entire exercise more difficult. Now sure, maybe we do have to worry about COVID19 killing her. But on the other hand, her lack of socialization and isolationism is another issue that our family struggles to find a balance with. That certainly can't be healthy either, and arguably the social part takes priority at this point. Furthermore: COVID19 has vaccines and booster-vaccines to mitigate that particular disease. But we don't really have a "Treatment" for the social isolation she's put herself into, or general aging issues as her mental state deteriorates over the near future. Frankly, this is probably signs that she's on her last legs. Its something we will have to come to terms with as a family, but hosting parties where she can still see us (even in this state, before she gets worse) is a priority. --------- Yes. Its "inconvenient" to cut out the yearly parties out of our life. And I'm sure other people have similar stories about why _THIS_ Thanksgiving / Christmas was like no other, and why it was very important to meet up again. ---------- Don't get me wrong. I'm largely pro-lockdown, and pro-mask, pro-vaccine. But you cannot underestimate the importance of social interactions or family, especially since we all are in different circumstances. Sickness and health changes the calculus in many ways. I didn't share this story last year, because I felt like the lockdowns were a needed step (pre-vaccine). But this year, I'm speaking towards opening up again and relying upon the vaccine to keep us safe. Perhaps its two-faced for me to take different stances just one year apart, but things really have changed and pushed my calculus towards the other way. After losing Thanksgiving/Christmas 2020, people are aching to see family again. And 2021 has vaccines, dexamethasone, monoclonal antibodies and the Pfizer pill. We've cut the death rate by 80%+ on treatment alone and vaccines can cut it by 90%+. 2021 is just not the same year as 2020.

bsaul 5y ago

died from omikron ?

Semaphor 5y ago
Nah, covid in general. Clarified. edit: Please don’t downvote the user, it was a relevant question and I only clarified my comment afterwards.

NicoJuicy 5y ago

albertzeyer 5y ago
I also live in Germany, and similar experience. I rarely know people who have been infected with Covid, and none with Omicron. Omicron is also a bit delayed in Germany (which is good).
- reitoei 5y ago
  I live in Ireland and I know at least 100 people who have had covid, including my wife, father, mother and 2 sisters. Omicron is prevalent here right now.
  - lostlogin 5y ago
    I think you know more people who have had it than I know in total.
    - reitoei 5y ago
      Everyone knows everyone in Ireland. It's a blessing and a curse.
  - sdze 5y ago
    Germans are notoriously „under-tested“
    - reitoei 5y ago
      I didn't know that. Is that because of access to PCR testing services or a "head in the sand" attitude? We're in a situation now where our PCR test system has pretty much fallen apart.
    - Semaphor 5y ago
      My sister recently had her PCR anniversary of 100 tests. OTOH, I’m at 2 quick tests and one PCR, but I work from home and only leave for stores. Not sure about the under-tested in general, all the public testing stations were always super busy.
      - gjs278 5y ago
Semaphor 5y ago
I live here and know many ;) But in the north, we generally made it through it better (recent club openings with mass infections notwithstanding, I do not know people who go to mega-clubs during a pandemic).
- NicoJuicy 5y ago
  If I compare it with Belgium it's cases are better but deaths is relatively worse to the other stat, which is kinda weird. Unless they don't test much. But Belgium also overcounts deaths ( should be /2 when I checked in 2020), which means any untested death is counted as COVID. Most people don't seem to be aware of that. https://www.dw.com/en/belgiums-coronavirus-overcounting-controversy/a-53660975 https://www.dw.com/en/belgiums-coronavirus-overcounting-cont... https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/841005901/why-belgiums-death-rate-is-so-high-it-counts-lots-of-suspected-covid-19-cases https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/0...
_Microft 5y ago
This is a very disingenious take, don't you think? I am also German with an average social circle as I would say. Until the end of last year, I just knew of one case of Covid among all of them. Since then, a few families got it - most of them via kindergarten. Say what you want about our Covid response but from my point of view we made it fairly well through the pandemic so far.

tsywke44 5y ago

Yes, it’s called a filter bubble. Covid was extremely easy to avoid pre-Omicron even without vaccines if you don’t go to nightclubs and don’t work in an office and have no kids.

dragontamer 5y ago
But what about weddings? Church? Hospitals? Even during the lockdown, a family friend of mine needed to go to a hospital for an unrelated issue, and that's when a nurse from there passed COVID19 to him. Then he passed COVID19 to his father. He was 35, no kids, didn't work in an office. Still got COVID19 and spread it with deadly results. Etc. etc. Church, Weddings, Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Years, Birthday parties and other social events? Choir practice? Indoor sports like basketball or racketball? Gyms? Restaurants? -------- There's a lot of social interactions between people when you start counting them up.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  Hospitals can be unavoidable if you're unlucky and get hurt. Grocery stores, too, but you can minimize your trips. But the other ones? Totally voluntary and avoidable. The public health guidance around COVID has been atrocious, even as scientists learn more about how the disease spreads indoors. We're going to probably need to change our "indoor event" focused culture if we want to have any hope of getting this behind us, but it's unlikely to happen because it's inconvenient to people and there's seemingly no way to enforce a mandate. And heaven forbid people temporarily inconvenience themselves to stop a deadly pandemic!
  - dragontamer 5y ago
    > inconvenient to people Certainly. But why is it inconvenient to people? We don't really discuss personal issues in the public space, so I'm forced to use my own examples. My grandma is in her late 80s and soon will be 90. She's had brain cancer decades ago, recovered, but maybe that's finally catching up to her. Our family pretty much murmurs about it behind her back, but her sharp mind simply isn't as sharp as it used to be. Every year is a diminishing of her memory, her ability to focus, her ability to hold discussions and interact with us. To the point where she's pretty much locked herself inside her own house (we're worried about her but she refuses to live with any of her children) in most situations. So what does this have to do with parties? Well, parties are one of the only ways we can manage to draw her out of her house and interact with us. --------- I can't imagine that I'm the only one who is dealing with the diminishing mental abilities of an elderly grandparent (or parent). But my grandma's extreme stubbornness and pride makes this entire exercise more difficult. Now sure, maybe we do have to worry about COVID19 killing her. But on the other hand, her lack of socialization and isolationism is another issue that our family struggles to find a balance with. That certainly can't be healthy either, and arguably the social part takes priority at this point. Furthermore: COVID19 has vaccines and booster-vaccines to mitigate that particular disease. But we don't really have a "Treatment" for the social isolation she's put herself into, or general aging issues as her mental state deteriorates over the near future. Frankly, this is probably signs that she's on her last legs. Its something we will have to come to terms with as a family, but hosting parties where she can still see us (even in this state, before she gets worse) is a priority. --------- Yes. Its "inconvenient" to cut out the yearly parties out of our life. And I'm sure other people have similar stories about why _THIS_ Thanksgiving / Christmas was like no other, and why it was very important to meet up again. ---------- Don't get me wrong. I'm largely pro-lockdown, and pro-mask, pro-vaccine. But you cannot underestimate the importance of social interactions or family, especially since we all are in different circumstances. Sickness and health changes the calculus in many ways. I didn't share this story last year, because I felt like the lockdowns were a needed step (pre-vaccine). But this year, I'm speaking towards opening up again and relying upon the vaccine to keep us safe. Perhaps its two-faced for me to take different stances just one year apart, but things really have changed and pushed my calculus towards the other way. After losing Thanksgiving/Christmas 2020, people are aching to see family again. And 2021 has vaccines, dexamethasone, monoclonal antibodies and the Pfizer pill. We've cut the death rate by 80%+ on treatment alone and vaccines can cut it by 90%+. 2021 is just not the same year as 2020.