Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)

[Dom]

That person made no actual prediction.  New variants could be less or more transmissible.  Let's say it is more.  "Transmissibilty" is not a great health concern.  The Common Cold is highly transmissible virus but hospitals are not filled with Common Cold patients.  It USED to be pretty lethal way back when, but we have adapted to it (or more properly, IT has adapted to not killing us).

Do you think it's good planning to wait and see how transmissible and lethal new variants may be, and when they're over a certain threshold, only then start the process of procuring tests?

It's true that precise predictions can't be made, but you're using that as an excuse for Biden.

Delta showed us that variants that were pretty high on both the transmissibility and lethality fronts were possible. Nothing more was needed. A prudent administration would have started ordering tests, mask, etc. at that point.

The fact that laboratories develop tests for the various variants does not mean we know ahead of time how many tests of a specific type will be needed to be mass produced for the general public.

As for the current situation - unless testing can be mandatory at work places and schools, it is totally pointless. If you test and I test but our neighbors don't, we just satisfy our own curiosity, since the variant will spread anyway in the neighborhood. Unless testing is done systematically, it is pointless.

And, unfortunately, the political climate these days does not allow for systematic testing.