Recently, I gave a ride to a family member from a train terminal. She just traveled internationally. Airline passengers are required to be tested by PCR 24 hours before boarding. She had the PCR test done, but the results were unavailable when she was about to board her flight. The delay is the result of the backlog resulting from the volume of PCR tests that need to be processed.
The airline did a rapid antigen test with a “certificate,” and she is negative. She is also asymptomatic. So she had the 16-hour flight across the Pacific. After that, she got another family member to drive her to the Amtrak station, where she stayed overnight until the train left.
Twelve hours after she got to her house, she received an email about her PCR results. Guess what? She is positive.
She’s asymptomatic, so she is probably a false positive. Still, she met some symptomatic, covid positive people before her flight, so it can be a true positive since the PCR test is more sensitive in picking up the SARS-CoV-2 molecules.
Rapid antigen tests detect proteins instead of molecules and are more reliable if asymptomatic. The problem is that people on vacation usually lack sleep and are tired from all their vacation stuff. Fatigue and tiredness can be interpreted as lack of sleep or just physically beat up, and that is why the definition of “asymptomatic” is different from person to person.
In summary, a PCR-positive person was talking about was on a large international plane with more than 300 capacity, the JFK terminal in New York, the Amtrak station, and a 9-hour train ride.
100% vaccinated Cruise ships have COVID too
Now imagine that scenario happening worldwide where hundreds of people board a plane, a ship, train, attend a concert, watch their team in a stadium based on a “certified” rapid antigen test. Here are examples:
- Royal Caribbean – 48 people test positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas ship
- Queen Mary Cruise Ship – 10 Fully Vaccinated Cruise Ship Passengers Test Positive For COVID-19 Despite Vaccine Mandate
- Symphony of the Seas – 48 people test positive for COVID aboard the Symphony of the Seas — the world’s biggest cruise ship.
- Celebrity Millenium – Celebrity Millennium Cruise Passengers Test Positive for COVID on Fully Vaccinated Ship
- Koningsdam Cruise Ship – Ship departs San Diego for a 7-day cruise after COVID cases prevented passengers from disembarking in Puerto Vallarta.
- Lastly – All 92 cruise ships sailing in the US have COVID cases onboard – but Americans are STILL booking trips: CDC probes liners for outbreaks among vaccinated passengers and crew.
Passengers on cruise ships get tested every day, which is why they can detect the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and that’s why they make the news. But what about the airline, train, and even subway passengers?
The cruise ship experience reminds me of this Christmas party where everyone was triple vaccinated and tested negative for COVID before attending. After the party, 22 out of 33 got the Omicron. I talked about them at the Omicron outbreak in triple-jabbed health care workers.
That’s because Omicron can evade antibodies from vaccinated and COVID convalescent people, and A study shows the absence of omicron neutralization with the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots.
It’s a good thing that the Omicron variant is mild. I presented that at
Higher number of COVID-19 cases but no change in death rates. The South African Omicron experience
Even Syrian golden hamsters say the Omicron produce mild disease
The reason can be explained by Omicron’s mutations. Multinational study shows why the Omicron variant has low fatality and high infectivity and the T cells. People who recovered from COVID-19 have effective T-cells against the Omicron.
The best thing about the Omicron is that Omicron infections elicit neutralizing antibodies against variants of concern.
If we are in a sane world, like pre-2021, people would go about their business, stay at home or get proper treatment if they are sick.
According to the life science website Stat News,
The overall infection fatality rate, the actual measure of deaths due to the overall rate of infection across the entire population obtained via genetic testing, is closer to 0.2%, or two deaths per every thousand people infected.
That 0.2% is pre-Omicron data. The Stat News article concluded,
So, according to the math, Omicron cases rising no longer automatically means impending doom and gloom, nor does it require apocalyptic language like we’re hearing from the media and political leaders implying mass waves of death with rapidly increasing case rates.
Let’s hope these statistics hold.
Parting thoughts
There are no quarantines, lockdowns, or testing to stop a highly infectious virus, and they are unnecessary, especially if the virus has low mortality. Furthermore, people should have free and easy access to effective medications for COVID-19 if they need them, which will further lower mortality and bring society back to normal.
Adults don’t need a nanny.
Related:
The effectiveness of home COVID-19 test kits.
Don’t Get Sick!
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