Herd Immunity is bullshit, and here's the MS Gov to explain why...

[Althea]

After running cover for Trump for four months, it's weird that Republicans are now belatedly begging people to wear masks and take this pandemic seriously.

Last I checked in with rightwing blogs, this virus was no worse than the common cold and would probably dissapear like a miracle by April.

Hey...I called them patriots when we were 'discussing' the Memorial Day beach/pool parties. I think it was admirable of them to act as guinea pigs in order to prove Fauci correct.

[LV426]

Wait what out? It's never going away, and there is no vaccine possibility. The fuck you think a few weeks is going to do?

I mean, it worked in NY...they dropped their case count significantly by imposing masks and the shut down. What they did works. What New Zealand did works. What Japan did works. What South Korea did works.

There are plenty of good examples from around the world, we just have to get over ourselves and accept that we aren't always the best.

[/MSG/]

Add to this the fact that the antibodies now seem to be temporary. Coupled with the fact that this virus is continually mutating, you'd be better off ignoring the morons, and focusing on avoiding infection.

And how do you avoid a unending infection?

[/MSG/]

I mean, it worked in NY...they dropped their case count significantly by imposing masks and the shut down. What they did works. What New Zealand did works. What Japan did works. What South Korea did works.

There are plenty of good examples from around the world, we just have to get over ourselves and accept that we aren't always the best.

Until their numbers explode again, because again, nobody is or ever will be immune.

[LV426]

The fuck you think a few weeks is going to do?

It will slow -or even stop- the transmission rate. Because this thing is transmitted via breathing and water droplets, social distancing and lockdowns are the only real way to combat it.

[LV426]

And how do you avoid a unending infection?

Well, it's not an unending infection, it's just highly transmissible.

So what you need to do is lock down so it can't spread.

[/MSG/]

You fucking clowns genuinely believe you'll outlive this plague don't you? That it won't be around in 5, or 10, or 100 years. How utterly foolish.

[/MSG/]

Well, it's not an unending infection, it's just highly transmissible.

So what you need to do is lock down so it can't spread.

And where will people get food? Who will run power plants? Who will work in hospitals? You cannot lock everyone down, so infections will still occur. Sure it'll be slower with fewer people, but that will change as soon as people aren't barricaded in their homes. So what then? Well you have to stay inside forever.

[LV426]

Until their numbers explode again, because again, nobody is or ever will be immune.

But that's kinda the point, isn't it? NY can't operate in a vaccuum, so the entire country needs to go along with it together. The patchwork of letting it up to individual states is dumb because people cross state borders, and the virus doesn't recognize state borders. There's not a NY-specific strain of COVID that only affects NYers, and there's not a TX-specific strain that only affects Texans.

It's basically the argument for single payer, universal health care; you don't get a different kind of breast cancer in Massachusetts than you do in Colorado. Same with COVID. Everyone has to work together. This is why I hate group projects.

[dukkha]

all virus mutates/ all virus antibodies subside post infection. how does a vaccine work?

Once the imitation infection goes away, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes, as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that disease in the future.

so it doesn't matter if the seroantibodies subside. you only need a small amount that "rebuild" if exposed to COVID again

[Althea]

He is assuming case numbers are an accurate reflection of how many individuals in the population have had COVID.

I don’t know of a single seroprevalence study that doesn’t conclude that the number of people with COVID antibodies exceeds the number of cases by a significant factor.

Go low and say it’s only a factor of X3. Multiply the number of cases picked up by swab tests X3 and you have a more accurate estimate of how many people in the population may be immune to COVID.

Go high, and it’s start to get interesting pretty quick. In fact, it’s entirely plausible that NYC has gone quiet because they are approaching herd immunity. Same with Sweden. Sweden was supposed to be a basket case by now, remember?

Well, their numbers have dropped off dramatically. It’s likely Sweden paid a hefty cost but they made it to herd immunity. I’ve been bitching for months about serum antibody testing. If we can get the same degree of caterwauling over antibody testing as we do masks and swab tests we might get an idea of how far we have to go.

Antibodies don't necessarily mean what we expect them to mean. Especially given that the tests were rushed to market, and aren't that accurate.

Uncertainty of Immunity

Even more importantly, there is currently no evidence to suggest that people are immune after recovering from coronavirus. Even if novel coronavirus infection imparted immunity, that immunity could be short-lived and last only a few weeks or months. This would leave people vulnerable to reinfection later.
Coronavirus Antibody Tests

Coronavirus antibody tests identify specific antibodies in a person's blood that indicate they have been infected with the virus. Antibody tests are different than the tests used to detect an active coronavirus infection.
Antibody Tests and Coronavirus Immunity
Antibody tests do not tell you whether you are immune to coronavirus. They simply indicate if you have or haven't been infected with the virus. If you have been infected, it doesn't necessarily mean you are immune.
A positive antibody test isn't an "immunity passport." It does not mean that you can stop practicing the prevention measures that keep you and others safe, such as:

[/MSG/]

We need a Wuhan-style 4-6 week shutdown of the entire country, pay people to stay home, cancel rent and mortgage payments, get Medicare for All, and wait this out.

Had we done that in February or March, we'd be in the clear today.

No we fucking wouldn't you idiot, we would be in the exact same spot. Wait 100 years and it will still be around.

[LV426]

You fucking clowns genuinely believe you'll outlive this plague don't you? That it won't be around in 5, or 10, or 100 years. How utterly foolish.

I don't think anyone thinks that...what we need to do is slow down the transmission rate.

NY was able to do that, but it came at the cost of masks and lockdowns, which are two things Trump made political.

[dukkha]

And where will people get food? Who will run power plants? Who will work in hospitals? You cannot lock everyone down, so infections will still occur. Sure it'll be slower with fewer people, but that will change as soon as people aren't barricaded in their homes. So what then? Well you have to stay inside forever.

hide in the basement with Biden

[/MSG/]

Antibodies don't necessarily mean what we expect them to mean. Especially given that the tests were rushed to market, and aren't that accurate.

Exactly. No vaccine. Not today. Not in the year 3000. Never.