Coronavirus Archives - The Pickled Prepper Blog

Worth Reading: An Article About Moving Before it is Too Late

This article has some good statistics that illustrate the problem of living in the city, as well as reasons to move before it it too late. Yes, we’ve been repeating that message, but here’s someone else’s take.

Omicron Shows the Danger of our Fragile Society

Have you noticed it yet? In 2020 the government forced us to shut down. Today sick employees are causing slowdowns and backlogs.

I read an article from the Associated Press today which outlines how our system is collapsing because so many people are out sick with COVID-19. It’s not just hospitals and airlines that are overwhelmed but pharmacies, police, fire, EMS, and schools. Mass transit is reducing schedules, trash pickup is behind, the TSA is closing security lines, and plenty of restaurants and small business are getting hit as well.

Another article talked about the slowdown in meat-packing plants due to illness, shortages of food inspectors, fears that there will be an egg shortage, and the lack of employees on farms and at grocery stores to restock shelves.

Let me put this another way: The illness of 5 million people, not all of whom are in the workforce, is crippling our country.

Omicron: Its going to Get Worse

Airline delays and cruise ship cases are just the warning signs. As we move beyond the holidays, the damage and danger of Omicron will become clear.

Back in the early 2000s, we would fly to the relative’s house many states away for Christmas. I think it lasted three years before I stopped it because air travel is a miserable way to spend Christmas vacation.

This year, it’s even worse with thousands of flights canceled and many more delayed. The reason? COVID. And now that the holidays are over, the impact of COVID is going to be even worse.

Last week, it was a shortage of pilots and flight crews which resulted in massive inconvenience. What are you going to do when it is a shortage of truck drivers, grocery store workers, and teachers? Who’s going to work in hospitals when the double-vaccinated nurses are out sick?

COVID hits Close to Home

The omicron variant is sending COVID cases skyrocketing across the country, including our family members, so we decide to stay close to home.

My eldest daughter’s family was exposed to COVID-19 while visiting his relatives on Christmas day. No one realized it then. They just found out that their host tested positive yesterday. Now one of them has symptoms and they are waiting for test results. Looks like our second Christmas will be delayed.

Separately, and in another part of the country, my wife’s niece was diagnosed with COVID. She probably contracted it at a gathering of friends to celebrate her birthday in mid-December. Suddenly, those social things we have gradually allowed ourselves to do again are going back on the prohibited list. It makes me glad I am introverted enough I don’t depend on an active social calendar to keep me happy and well adjusted.

Have they learned nothing about COVID since 2020?

We are entering the third year of the COVID pandemic and the government is doubling down on the same tactics that didn’t stop COVID last time.

I continue to be amazed at all the doom and gloom about the new Omicron variation of COVID-19. Suddenly, the news is full of school closings, test kit shortages, overwhelmed hospitals, and dire forecasts of one million dead. Yet there still is little or no proof that this variation is any more dangerous than the flu. Hospitalization and COVID deaths are well below last year’s levels.

Later today, President Biden will address the nation, probably to encourage all of us to get vaccines and boosters. I doubt it will do any good. If people believe in the vaccine, they would have gotten it already. If people don’t want to, a presidential threat won’t change their mind.

Omicron Surge Will Lead to more Restrictions

Get ready for more government-mandated lockdowns, closures, and restrictions on your freedom as Omicron cases in the U.S. doubled between Friday and Saturday.

While the subject is not getting much national news coverage in the U.S., government officials are laying the groundwork for more closures and tighter restrictions. They are using the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 to set the stage for stricter rules to be implemented after Christmas. They will blame Omicron and tell us these rules are for our protection.

Think back to 2020, when restaurants and bars were shutdown and then had limited seating, theaters were closed, concerts canceled, and sports teams played in empty stadiums and arenas. I expect some states will re-impose similar restrictions. Omicron will also be an excuse to do more remote learning and to delay the timeframe in which people have to go back to the office. Get ready for more zoom calls and fewer face-to-face meetings.

Prepper News Update December 3

Oops! Media Caught in Another Lie

The idea that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have less of a backup, which has been reported in the media, turns out to be a clever lie which appears to make the Biden administration look like it is successfully addressing the supply chain problems. Instead of bunching up the ships in the immediate area, where they can be seen from shore, many ships are now waiting between 40 and 400 miles away from the ports. Just because they can’t be seen doesn’t mean they aren’t there, but it makes it more difficult to show pictures of the backlog.

Supply Chain SNAFUs in the News

Numerous articles of late showing that the supply chain problem not only continues but shows no sign of improving. First, we have this article on how much trouble GM has building and shipping vehicles, which states, “So many unknowns dog the supply chain that any semblance of normalcy remains far off.” Then we have a story on the bicycle industry which saw an increase in sales during the COVID-19 outbreak, but now is having trouble sourcing parts, from brake pads to handlebars. According to the article, “The average selling price of a new bicycle in the U.S. in September was $346, up 28% compared with 2020 and 54% higher than the average selling price of a bicycle in 2019”

Will Omicron Stop Inflation or Make it Worse?

Omicron has caused markets to drop. Are we seeing a repeat of March 2020, or is a slowing economy what we need to address rising prices?

Oil prices have dropped 12 percent since news about a new COVID variation broke. This reportedly reflects a belief by oil traders that international airline travel will halt again and that lockdowns could curtail domestic travel.

The stock markets experienced their worst day of the year after Omicron was announced and has fallen further since then. Apparently traders are concerned we may see another slowdown. They fear a repeat of March 2020 when COVID-19 was first announced and the entire world went into lockdown. Yesterday’s discovery of the first omicron case in the U.S. caused a recovering market to plunge again, the Dow losing 461.68 points Wednesday.

Traders are ignoring the vague reassurances from the Biden Administration. The smart money apparently thinks this new variant will cause a repeat of last year in which factories shut down, businesses closed, only essential workers could report to work, the travel industry shut down and the hospitality industry saw occupancy rates plunge.

COVID Omicron: Fear Mongering Reaches New Heights

It’s Big! It’s Bad! It’s a new variation of COVID-19 and the media, the politicians, and Big Pharma want you to be scared.

There are just a few hundred known cases of the new omicron COVID virus variation, but to hear the media talk about it, you would think we are all doomed.

Fear mongers are already using this new variation to urge people to get vaccinated or get boosters. But early reports show that many (or even most) of those infected with omicron are vaccinated. If the current vaccine is not effective against this mutation, then why bother to get vaccinated?

What makes this hullabaloo even more ironic are reports COVID cases caused by the omicron variation are milder than delta and other variations and no hospitalizations have resulted from it. One South African doctor reports he has not seen it bring the lack of smell or taste commonly associated with COVID. Some mutations in omicron may benefit patients when compared to the original illness or the delta variation.

Prepper News Update November 27

My house is still filled with family and friends after Thanksgiving, so we will only have prepper news update today instead of original contents. But of you missed yesterday’s article, take a look, it’s a good one.

A New COVID Mutant Could Spell Trouble

A new variation of the COVID virus with 32 mutations has been discovered in Africa. It could prove to be resistant to the various vaccine. Not only does this bear monitoring, but it points to the fact that we may have to live with COVID just like we live with the flu as new mutations form regularly. Fear of this new Variant, to be called Omicron, set the stock markets into a nose dive on Friday.

In my opinion, it’s too early and too little is known to over react. You should already be prepped. If not, then prep, don’t panic.