# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 162
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3284 "2021-12-16T13:46:56Z")
In doing some digging, it does appear that they’ve done some surveys that were more randomly selected, and at least one, REACT 2, appears to have overcome a lot of the issues of other survey methods. I’m not sure I buy 95% without really diving into the REACT 2 methodology, but it certainly appears to have taken the necessary precautions to overcome the majority of my objections with methodology of most other seroprevalence studies. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3285 "2021-12-16T13:50:33Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > I highly doubt the UK has a clue as to its seroprevalence rate. I got that figure from the Guardian. They don’t give the source for it, but a quick search brought up [this page from the UK Office for National Statistics](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/antibodies): > The presence of antibodies to COVID-19 suggests that a person has previously had the infection or been vaccinated. In the week beginning 15 November 2021, the percentage of adults that would have tested positive for antibodies is estimated to be: > > - 95.3% in England > - 93.9% in Wales > - 91.6% in Northern Ireland > - 95.0% in Scotland They give further details about their data and sources. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3286 "2021-12-16T13:57:09Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > As for an older population, the current indications are that younger people are more affected by Omicron than older people. I think it’s that omicron is less biased towards the elderly, not that it’s biased towards the young. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3287 "2021-12-16T14:05:30Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > I’m not going to go into long arguments (in this thread, but will happily, and have done so in others), but I highly doubt the UK has a clue as to its seroprevalence rate. I’m not just being a home team player here but it is generally accepted that the UK is pretty solid on the data it collects on various pandemic metrics, seroprevalence included. The interconnected nature of the NHS and its associated data has been a big help in this, the same is true of [covid genome sequencing](https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/09/health/coronavirus-genomic-sequencing-intl-cmd/index.html) in which the UK is pretty much the world leader. > The UK stands out as the only country that has a high caseload and is still able to sequence a high proportion of its samples – 13% in the past month and on average during the pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3288 "2021-12-16T14:31:11Z")
[This site](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/antibodies) shows an estimated two dose vaccine rate of 91.8% in England, which seems high to me and isn’t even close to any official reporting, but if that is so, reaching seroprevalence of 95% would be easily feasible. I don’t know that I fully trust the numbers still (and they can’t seem to agree internally), but they are definitely attempting to do things right so I’ll drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3289 "2021-12-16T15:31:33Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > …headline reporting of the first omicron death in the UK. No details. It feels like scaremongering to me. Yes it’s a huge thing , but y’know, don’t treat me like an idiot. Give me the details. Underlying health issues? Today - three days after Boris Johnson reported the first UK omicron death, _but with absolutely no details_ - I found a couple of sites (not especially prominent, well established sources) reporting on it. It appears that someone rang in to the radio station LBC claiming to be the stepson of the deceased. [https://www.nokiamobilephonenews.co.uk/uk/he-was-the-unvaccinated-stepson-of-the-uks-first-omicron-victim/](https://www.nokiamobilephonenews.co.uk/uk/he-was-the-unvaccinated-stepson-of-the-uks-first-omicron-victim/) > According to his stepson, the first person in Britain to die from Omicron was an unvaccinated pensioner who refused to leave the house after being brainwashed online and believing the life-saving vaccine was part of a Government conspiracy to control the population… > > …Boris Johnson announced his death earlier this week, but the lack of transparency surrounding the UK’s first Omicron death sparked outrage, with critics including senior doctors urging the government to release more information to avoid ‘unnecessary alarm.’ > > Health officials have yet to provide any additional information four days later. I’m actually inclined to believe these reports. I won’t labor the point too much, but whilst talking up the ability of Omicron to kill/harm may be an effective way to frighten people and thus protect the health services in the immediate short term, keeping relevant information from the public will only further erode the government’s credibility and will be counterproductive in the longer run. j ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3290 "2021-12-16T15:44:36Z")
Here’s the original press release of that data, by the way: > **[HKUMed finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 can infect faster and better than Delta in...](https://www.med.hku.hk/en/news/press/20211215-omicron-sars-cov-2-infection)** > > A study led by researchers from HKUMed provides the first information on how the novel Variant of Concern of SARS-CoV-2, the Omicron SARS-CoV-2, infect human respiratory tract. The researchers caution that > ‘It is important to note that the severity of disease in humans is not determined only by virus replication but also by the host immune response to the infection, which may lead to dysregulation of the innate immune system, i.e. “cytokine storm”,’ said Dr Chan. ‘It is also noted that, by infecting many more people, a very infectious virus may cause more severe disease and death even though the virus itself may be less pathogenic. Therefore, taken together with our recent studies showing that the Omicron variant can partially escape immunity from vaccines and past infection, the overall threat from Omicron variant is likely to be very significant.’ Still, this is good news. It’s biological support for the notion that this might be a milder disease – after all, if it start out by growing rapidly in the upper airways, where it does little damage, that may give your immune system time to mount a good response before it gets into the lungs or other organs (like the blood vessels) where it does a great deal more damage. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3291 "2021-12-16T15:48:19Z")
How are UK hospitalizations trending? There still doesn’t seem to be a huge increase in hospitalizations in South Africa, which is promising. But South Africa has a young population and a high rate of prior infection. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3292 "2021-12-16T15:53:04Z")
A summary of yesterday’s stat’s are listed here: > **[Covid inquiry: The UK pandemic in numbers](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274)** > > Explore the data on how the coronavirus pandemic unfolded in the UK. Of note: > A further 78,610 confirmed cases were announced on Wednesday, the highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began. I think that’s up about 20 000 on the previous day (!) I’ll look out for today’s stats later and post them. j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3293 "2021-12-16T16:24:02Z")
BBC reports: > 1. A further 88,376 Covid cases have been confirmed in the UK - another record high as the Omicron variant drives a spike in infections That’s a 10 000 increase on yesterday. This is in a BBC rolling news feed - I’ll post the full story when available. j ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3294 "2021-12-16T16:38:41Z")
South Korea: > **[SKorea bans gatherings of 5 or more people amid virus surge](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-seoul-south-korea-f61ffef4536960b72aabd6fa1814ccf3)** > > SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will prohibit private social gatherings of five or more people nationwide and force restaurants to close at 9 p.m., rolling out the country's toughest coronavirus restrictions yet as hospitals grapple with the... ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3295 "2021-12-16T16:48:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But South Africa has a young population and a high rate of prior infection. You may have missed the info a few posts up that the UK has a higher rate of prior infection than SA. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3296 "2021-12-16T17:55:59Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > [This site](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/antibodies) shows an estimated two dose vaccine rate of 91.8% in England, which seems high to me and isn’t even close to any official reporting, but if that is so, reaching seroprevalence of 95% would be easily feasible. > > I don’t know that I fully trust the numbers still (and they can’t seem to agree internally), but they are definitely attempting to do things right so I’ll drop it. The 91.8% figure is for _adults_, not the population as a whole and it agrees fully with all official figures that I’ve ever seen. The UK may have buggered several things up but the figures are very trustworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3297 "2021-12-16T18:52:54Z")
Today’s stats for the UK. > **[Covid-19 in the UK](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274)** > > Explore the data on coronavirus in the UK. Yep, same page as upthread - it looks like they update the page each day rather than publishing something new. In any case, for the second day here has been a BIG increase in case numbers; and a modest drop in the number of people in hospital. I assume this is just the sort of lag we’ve seen before, and hospitalizations will start to rise in a week or two. j ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3298 "2021-12-16T19:40:27Z")
Potentially good news, everyone! > **[Pressure builds against doctors peddling false virus claims](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-texas-public-health-5854b2b02c7c9c406fa9277e625b46e8)** > > They have decried COVID-19 as a hoax, promoted unproven treatments and pushed bogus claims about the vaccine, including that the shots magnetize the human body. The purveyors of this misinformation are not shadowy figures operating in the dark... ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3299 "2021-12-16T20:26:09Z")
A handy visual almost-year-end synthesis of information in [Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03686-x?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=f5ce3c484a-briefing-dy-20211216&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-f5ce3c484a-43912509) relating to covid vaccines. Not breaking but useful context for many of the discussions in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3300 "2021-12-17T00:58:39Z")
The CDC (US Center for Disease Control) predicts that the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths will likely increase over the next 4 weeks, with 8,900 to 15,600 new deaths likely reported in the week ending January 8, 2022. The CDC recorded 8000 covid deaths in the prior 7 days. This could be about 2000 COVID-19 deaths per day. [COVID-19 Forecasts: Deaths | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/forecasting/forecasting-us.html#:~:text=Interpretation%20of%20Forecasts%20of%20New,week%20ending%20January%208%2C%202022). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3301 "2021-12-17T01:03:10Z")
Well, at least you didn’t start that post with a “Good news, everyone!” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3302 "2021-12-17T02:26:06Z")
273,218,485 total cases 5,352,581 dead 245,296,117 recovered In the US: 51,435,652 total cases 824,520 dead 40,406,796 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 272,469,550 total cases > 5,345,391 dead > 244,775,515 recovered > > In the US: > > 51,290,979 total cases > 823,390 dead > 40,343,561 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3303 "2021-12-17T13:28:04Z")
Denmark: > **[Denmark to shut down public venues as virus infections rise](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-travel-art-galleries-58f88e5635dc80fa56ad3a95343d904c)** > > COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark's prime minister announced Friday that theaters, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries across the country must close down under new restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=161) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=163)