It's being shown in some data that Omicron "appears" to infect those who have been vaccinated more than those who are unvaccinated. This could be due to statistics where the vaccinated engage in riskier social activities due to perceiving that they are safe, or other reasons. Being vaccinated offers little help in avoiding catching Omicron. But the unvaccinated, elderly, and those who have comorbidities are having worse medical outcomes/symptoms than the majority of vaccinated. I've been back in self-isolation mode again the past 2 weeks.

This variant also spreads (and peaks) much faster than other strains. Several countries (like South Africa) are seeing a rapid decline in cases now that it has swept through their population (I think the Peak Prosperity video in my last post goes into that). While the quickness of its spread along with its less lethal attributes may be a good thing, it doesn't guarantee yet another mutated variant wave won't come around in the future.

The Moderna trifecta was put into my arm, yet I've just come out of my 10-day covid isolation. That doesn't prove that Moderna isn't the most effective vaccine, but still....there are few certainties here. I had mild symptoms, a head cold essentially with temporary loss of taste/smell, and am going to thank the vaccine for that, but of course many of the unvaccinated got mild or even symptomless covid. It all comes down to what is best for everyone, not exclusively for oneself. I wouldn't have believed only a year ago that so many of the world's privileged people would refuse to do right by others.

I'm glad your symptoms have been mild, DWill. Mine were too. I did lose my sense of taste and smell for about 10 days and that certainly was weird.

I'm glad you guys had relatively mild symptoms. As far as I know, I've not had Covid yet, though my wife and I just went to Chicago for a family get together with our kids and grandkids. It would seem a mild miracle if none of us gets Covid. On the other hand, we're all being careful (wearing masks and social distancing).

Are you talking about symptoms from catching COVID or from the vaccine shot?

I personally had very a mild reaction to the vaccines. I believe I was a bit tired and weak, but quite frankly the reaction was so mild I don't even remember. I do know that I didn't change my daily routine after receiving the vaccines so I must have felt good.

Now that Omicron is spreading like wildfire I think we're going to start back up with wearing masks in stores and public places. Even though the odds are it won't hit us too hard we still don't want to get sick and feel horrible for a few weeks. And the potential long-term impacts from having Covid are always reason to want to stay clear of the virus.

Omicron going to infect most people in the upcoming weeks due to how contagious it is, holiday group festivities, and people going back to work and/or school.

Omicron vs Vaccines and Natural Immunity
By: Doctor Mike Hansen
Time: 2:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4EBXy3airU

Omicron science, good news
By: Dr. John Campbell
Time: 14:26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDBJBmlvXY

From covid, Robert. The shots had no side effects other than a bit of soreness.

Just thought I'd share some research from reading and videos...

The Bad/Ugly News (first): Covid antibodies don't work well against the Omicron variant.

The spike protein of Omicron has 36 mutations compared to the original Wuhan strain (which the vaccines are currently based on). Omicron's spike protein has mostly escaped antibody defenses. The antibodies are created by the effects of the various vaccines (teaching our immune cells how to create the antibodies against Covid-19's spike protein), or by "natural" immunity from having previous Covid strain(s) already.

This is why infused monoclonal antibody therapy is not working well against Omicron. And also why people getting "booster" shots are only showing up to 10 weeks of protection against Omicron.

Omicron is very contagious (about 3 times more than Delta) and effects young people more than previous strains. Few have died from it, but many are getting sick as it's a lot more contagious than the common flu.

Omicron symptoms:

• Runny nose

• Headache

• Fatigue (both mild or severe)

• Sneezing

• Sore throat

• Loss of appetite

• Brain fog

• Skin rash

• Covid fingers and toes, also referred to as chilblains, which are red and purple bumps on fingers and toes, which may feel sore

The Good News (last):

The (memory) T-cells in the vaccinated and those who have had Covid are able to fight Omicron in a second line of defense. This appears to offset acute symptoms in a majority of cases, especially when the person's immune system is healthy.

Omicron itself is milder that previous Covid-19 strains\variants, being confined to mostly the upper respiratory tract, with mainly cold-like symptoms (as listed above).

Ironically, and thankfully. it appears those who recover from Omicron have boosted immunity to the Delta variant.

Both of my daughters live out state (Minnesota) in communities that are reluctant to take precautions like vaccinations and masks. 100% of their families have had Covid, although we don't have data on which variant. I live in the Twin City area, and hubby, Dad and I have yet to have it. And yet, people are still not willing to get vaccines. 1/4 of the people I work with won't vaccinate, despite my companies efforts to bribe with $$ and also slightly more relaxed rules for exclusion. I hope that the Omicron variant DOES make us less vulnerable to the severe symptoms and this becomes a seasonal ailment like the flu and manageable for the population, but I'm not counting on it. we mask always around other people, don't go out, my dad has stage 4 kidney disease, and I live in fear of bringing it home to him although we are all vaccinated and he and hubby are boosted. (i will be too, I was ill when my turn came and so I have to wait a little bit longer.