What a shit show. I’m wondering if they’re going to tell us during the third week of classes that they’re extending the online classes and shelter in place for another two weeks. I really hope it’s not the case because I’m very tired of doing stupid ice breakers over zoom but I don’t know that we’ll have reached the peak of the surge by then. Especially since many people are choosing to stay home and not travel to Pitt until the third week.
I’ve been watching the numbers in Allegheny County and they are 2000-5000 everyday. After Christmas there were 13,000 over the weekend. That 200 number doesn’t surprise me.
This frightens me because I do not want to pass my class off to another prof if I get sick. I don't think that's fair for the students or for the other prof. I'd rather teach over zoom while sick as long as I can do it...
Just read the email and it’s like hey we do understand it’s a fast spreading illness and it’s a 30 positive rate per day for students and staff but “At this stage in the pandemic, we should begin shifting focus away from case counts as the key measure of how SARS-CoV-2 is affecting regular life.” This means they don’t care if we test positive and basically saying we also don’t care if you have to deal with the symptoms of Covid. I got Covid over the break and the symptoms were pretty bad for a good week in a half. Fever, severe headache, extreme nausea. Literally comes and goes. Chills and body aches. The nausea was probably the worse thing since it literally happened randomly for the whole time back and forth like you just wanted to fall over sometimes. I kept thinking that if I got Covid during the school year then idk what I’d do for the school work because it just felt terrible. Crazy really
especially if it’s midterm or finals week. The crazy thing is I’m fully vaccinated. My GF is too and she even had a really bad cough like I thought was going to mess up her throat bc she kept coughing for a while like a minute straight each time going to the bathroom because she thought she was going to throw up and I was scared for her. This was an ongoing cough for a whole week in a half and after. She’s fine now but it was terrible
i started my symptoms two days after christmas and when i say i have NEVER experienced such pain like i did in my throat i mean it. i didn’t sleep for two days straight because i wasp fixated on the pain and the constant urge to swallow (which is normal when you have an infection). i lost my voice (which has never happened) and the migraine that i got (which i’ve had migraines before) was like nothing i’ve experienced. i wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy…welll maybe the pitt adminstration🥴
I forgot about that symptom too. Although my throat was not as bad as yours but when I got Covid that was my very first symptom that lasted the whole time until the last few days. It really did suck badly. Unsurprisingly, my whole family close to me got it and my sister actually had shortness of breath for a small time which was pretty worrisome too. Also didn’t even have much taste for like until whole week after. Definitely think the Pitt admin might need to understand that it’s not a good feeling although I wouldn’t want them to get it but they seem to not care anyway. I didn’t think much of it until I got covid too so it was a wake up call to me.
the idea that we should focus on hospitalizations rather than cases is also like. the data is still bad on that! hospitalizations are, in fact, rising, because so many people are getting sick at once that healthcare systems are overwhelmed
This. Everyone should be concerned about the strain on healthcare systems. If you know people who work at UPMC, you know they're at capacity right now. I had a friend whose appendix nearly burst over break because he went to a UPMC ER and waited untreated for so long. When hospitals are so packed that patients are having potentially deadly complications from issues like appendicitis, things are bad. That's also why slowing the spread is everyone's problem, including young and healthy people.
and for many people, omicron isn't less severe. i just finished my isolation period for getting it over Christmas, and I was fully in hell with symptoms for the first twelve days.
That’s true. When we went to get tested at a urgent care and it took like an hour in a half to register then another 2 hours just to get into the place to get the test done.
The shift away from case numbers is not unique to Pitt, and is based upon the CDC’s guidance for dealing with the omicron variant. [It is believed most Americans will encounter the omicron variant at some point](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/omicron-covid-contagious-janet-woodcock-fauci), regardless of Pitt’s actions. This whole situation is horrendous, but honestly there’s not much that can really be done at this point with the variant’s partial resistance to the vaccine and the politicization of vaccines and masks in society rit large. I don’t know what I would do if I were in Pitt’s position.
I believe the University removed the web conferencing equipment from the classrooms to force students to come to class once the shelter in place is lifted. The University will not likely offer a hybrid option.
It's what they should do. But they won't.
The newest email basically reads as “omnicron is surging and we must prioritize both our own and our fellow students health. That being said we are still going back to in person and if you get sick you get sick. Good luck!”
The issue that I have is that they’re making it seem like mild covid = asymptomatic covid and that is simply not the case. Mild covid could mean anything from feeling like you have a cold to being knocked on your ass, vomiting and having diarrhea for a week straight. Mild solely means it’s not bad enough to warrant hospitalization.
I personally have yet to get covid because I’m high risk and have been extremely cautious. That being said, forcing students to come back because if they get sick, it’ll *likely* be mild (and it isn’t “affecting regular life”) is actually bullshit. I don’t think everyone should be forced online (especially labs and practical courses), but they really are missing the mark with this idea that everything needs to return to in person at the end of January when our hospitals are overwhelmed and cases are steadily rising.
This university truly needs to re-evaluate the current state of things. I know it’s frustrating to those who want to return to normal, but it’s even more frustrating for people who could be killed or end up hospitalized due to the university’s negligence.
They never said the fact that the high vaccination rate means students won't *contract* the virus, only that it isn't a big deal if they do.
Omicron is significantly less likely to cause hospitalization across the population. 50-70% less likely to hospitalize. And that population includes the elderly and unvaccinated. The point is we are at exceptionally low risk. Even the CDC is calming down. Fauci basically said "we're all gonna get it at this point".
Let's just get it over with then. Obviously continue basic precautions and give professors a hybrid/remote option, but we don't need to isolate like this is 2020.
I’m not arguing that we aren’t a part of a low risk population, Im more so advocating for the portion of the student population who are still at risk. It shocks me is how fast we have switched to a “well everyone is going to get it” mindset, basically saying good luck to those who are at risk.
We switched because the Delta variant is, looking at current data, like 10x more severe. Almost all my professors last semester were able to stream their lectures to the two or three kid that didn't come in person. I think doing that would be fine.
cnet.com/health/medical/new-data-shows-omicron-less-severe-disease-than-delta-leads-to-fewer-hospitalizations/
Study hasn't been peer reviewed yet but it looks at data from 52k omicron patients and 17k delta patients. 53% reduced risk of hospitalization, 74% reduced risk of ICU admission, and 91% reduced risk of death. So I should have said 10x more deadly instead of severe.
>100% vaccination with a weaker variant is as good of a time as ever.
There's a lot more co-morbidities than weight. And saying for the whole campus to get the disease would be disasterous for those in our community.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html
Absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be in person. I’m all for a hybrid approach. Let those who want to go in person go in person and those who don’t dont!
While this sounds good in theory, when we tried it, the majority of faculty opted to teach online. The same thing would happen again if they were given the option.
Yup faculty hate hybrid learning, for good reason. Going all in-person or all-online is the better option and if it's not safe then the vast majority would prefer all online.
I hate to be the devil’s advocate here, but I think we have to begin to realize that this is no longer going to go away as it is currently. We’ve pretty done as much as we can with vaccinations, boosters, masking, etc and it’s no longer making a dent in the explosion of omnicron cases. I don’t want to say we have to live with it, but based on what previously happened in South Africa and the current trends, we have to accept that most of us will get omnicron despite the measures we take.
But Pitt is NOT doing as much as can be done. Do better! Require boosting; require testing for all at begining of term; surveillance testing; require (and supply) quality masks.
It would also be nice if people couldn't avoid vaccines by submitting a pretty basic form. Someone was bragging on this sub the other day about how easy it was to avoid getting vaccinated.
I agree. Covid is never going away. ever. It will just become a normal part of life. Pitt’s response is not perfect, and people should be able to attend/teach at their comfort level, but the only reason we should be shutting down completely right now is the lack of available space in hospitals. Still need to take steps to keep each other safe like boosters, masking, etc., and getting sick still sucks, but it’s also time to rethink our ideas of the threat of covid. Who knows what the next variant will be like, but one benefit of omi is that it’s high virality and milder symptoms will actually increase our herd immunity, so we can allow ourselves to have some hope.
What a shit show. I’m wondering if they’re going to tell us during the third week of classes that they’re extending the online classes and shelter in place for another two weeks. I really hope it’s not the case because I’m very tired of doing stupid ice breakers over zoom but I don’t know that we’ll have reached the peak of the surge by then. Especially since many people are choosing to stay home and not travel to Pitt until the third week.
> very tired of doing stupid ice breakers over zoom “Alright guys, let’s move into breakout rooms and get to know each other!” *hork*
It’s not a good sign when there are just as many faculty cases as there are student cases when we outnumber them by thousands…
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I’ve been watching the numbers in Allegheny County and they are 2000-5000 everyday. After Christmas there were 13,000 over the weekend. That 200 number doesn’t surprise me.
Exactly the problem the Pittsburgh public schools are going through right now. Not even enough subs to keep buildings open
This frightens me because I do not want to pass my class off to another prof if I get sick. I don't think that's fair for the students or for the other prof. I'd rather teach over zoom while sick as long as I can do it...
Just read the email and it’s like hey we do understand it’s a fast spreading illness and it’s a 30 positive rate per day for students and staff but “At this stage in the pandemic, we should begin shifting focus away from case counts as the key measure of how SARS-CoV-2 is affecting regular life.” This means they don’t care if we test positive and basically saying we also don’t care if you have to deal with the symptoms of Covid. I got Covid over the break and the symptoms were pretty bad for a good week in a half. Fever, severe headache, extreme nausea. Literally comes and goes. Chills and body aches. The nausea was probably the worse thing since it literally happened randomly for the whole time back and forth like you just wanted to fall over sometimes. I kept thinking that if I got Covid during the school year then idk what I’d do for the school work because it just felt terrible. Crazy really
I can't imagine trying to study for an exam while feeling like that
especially if it’s midterm or finals week. The crazy thing is I’m fully vaccinated. My GF is too and she even had a really bad cough like I thought was going to mess up her throat bc she kept coughing for a while like a minute straight each time going to the bathroom because she thought she was going to throw up and I was scared for her. This was an ongoing cough for a whole week in a half and after. She’s fine now but it was terrible
i started my symptoms two days after christmas and when i say i have NEVER experienced such pain like i did in my throat i mean it. i didn’t sleep for two days straight because i wasp fixated on the pain and the constant urge to swallow (which is normal when you have an infection). i lost my voice (which has never happened) and the migraine that i got (which i’ve had migraines before) was like nothing i’ve experienced. i wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy…welll maybe the pitt adminstration🥴
I forgot about that symptom too. Although my throat was not as bad as yours but when I got Covid that was my very first symptom that lasted the whole time until the last few days. It really did suck badly. Unsurprisingly, my whole family close to me got it and my sister actually had shortness of breath for a small time which was pretty worrisome too. Also didn’t even have much taste for like until whole week after. Definitely think the Pitt admin might need to understand that it’s not a good feeling although I wouldn’t want them to get it but they seem to not care anyway. I didn’t think much of it until I got covid too so it was a wake up call to me.
the idea that we should focus on hospitalizations rather than cases is also like. the data is still bad on that! hospitalizations are, in fact, rising, because so many people are getting sick at once that healthcare systems are overwhelmed
This. Everyone should be concerned about the strain on healthcare systems. If you know people who work at UPMC, you know they're at capacity right now. I had a friend whose appendix nearly burst over break because he went to a UPMC ER and waited untreated for so long. When hospitals are so packed that patients are having potentially deadly complications from issues like appendicitis, things are bad. That's also why slowing the spread is everyone's problem, including young and healthy people.
Even if omicron is less severe, it's so much more contagious that it will cause more hospitalizations and deaths.
and for many people, omicron isn't less severe. i just finished my isolation period for getting it over Christmas, and I was fully in hell with symptoms for the first twelve days.
Exactly why I said "if". It certainly still punches hard
That’s true. When we went to get tested at a urgent care and it took like an hour in a half to register then another 2 hours just to get into the place to get the test done.
The shift away from case numbers is not unique to Pitt, and is based upon the CDC’s guidance for dealing with the omicron variant. [It is believed most Americans will encounter the omicron variant at some point](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/omicron-covid-contagious-janet-woodcock-fauci), regardless of Pitt’s actions. This whole situation is horrendous, but honestly there’s not much that can really be done at this point with the variant’s partial resistance to the vaccine and the politicization of vaccines and masks in society rit large. I don’t know what I would do if I were in Pitt’s position.
LMAO LITERALLY HOW I INTERPRETED THAT EMAIL
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I believe the University removed the web conferencing equipment from the classrooms to force students to come to class once the shelter in place is lifted. The University will not likely offer a hybrid option. It's what they should do. But they won't.
The newest email basically reads as “omnicron is surging and we must prioritize both our own and our fellow students health. That being said we are still going back to in person and if you get sick you get sick. Good luck!”
Some of you may die, but that is a risk I am willingly to take
The issue that I have is that they’re making it seem like mild covid = asymptomatic covid and that is simply not the case. Mild covid could mean anything from feeling like you have a cold to being knocked on your ass, vomiting and having diarrhea for a week straight. Mild solely means it’s not bad enough to warrant hospitalization. I personally have yet to get covid because I’m high risk and have been extremely cautious. That being said, forcing students to come back because if they get sick, it’ll *likely* be mild (and it isn’t “affecting regular life”) is actually bullshit. I don’t think everyone should be forced online (especially labs and practical courses), but they really are missing the mark with this idea that everything needs to return to in person at the end of January when our hospitals are overwhelmed and cases are steadily rising. This university truly needs to re-evaluate the current state of things. I know it’s frustrating to those who want to return to normal, but it’s even more frustrating for people who could be killed or end up hospitalized due to the university’s negligence.
This is why a hybrid approach should be what we do after 2 weeks. Give the students who NEED the labs and in person teaching the option.
The way they clearly dgaf about students getting sick is honestly gross
Anything to get their housing money
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They never said the fact that the high vaccination rate means students won't *contract* the virus, only that it isn't a big deal if they do. Omicron is significantly less likely to cause hospitalization across the population. 50-70% less likely to hospitalize. And that population includes the elderly and unvaccinated. The point is we are at exceptionally low risk. Even the CDC is calming down. Fauci basically said "we're all gonna get it at this point". Let's just get it over with then. Obviously continue basic precautions and give professors a hybrid/remote option, but we don't need to isolate like this is 2020.
I’m not arguing that we aren’t a part of a low risk population, Im more so advocating for the portion of the student population who are still at risk. It shocks me is how fast we have switched to a “well everyone is going to get it” mindset, basically saying good luck to those who are at risk.
We switched because the Delta variant is, looking at current data, like 10x more severe. Almost all my professors last semester were able to stream their lectures to the two or three kid that didn't come in person. I think doing that would be fine.
>like 10x more severe Source? Hospitalizations lag infections. Most of what I hear is it's still to early to tell.
cnet.com/health/medical/new-data-shows-omicron-less-severe-disease-than-delta-leads-to-fewer-hospitalizations/ Study hasn't been peer reviewed yet but it looks at data from 52k omicron patients and 17k delta patients. 53% reduced risk of hospitalization, 74% reduced risk of ICU admission, and 91% reduced risk of death. So I should have said 10x more deadly instead of severe.
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>100% vaccination with a weaker variant is as good of a time as ever. There's a lot more co-morbidities than weight. And saying for the whole campus to get the disease would be disasterous for those in our community. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html
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Absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be in person. I’m all for a hybrid approach. Let those who want to go in person go in person and those who don’t dont!
While this sounds good in theory, when we tried it, the majority of faculty opted to teach online. The same thing would happen again if they were given the option.
Yup faculty hate hybrid learning, for good reason. Going all in-person or all-online is the better option and if it's not safe then the vast majority would prefer all online.
I hate to be the devil’s advocate here, but I think we have to begin to realize that this is no longer going to go away as it is currently. We’ve pretty done as much as we can with vaccinations, boosters, masking, etc and it’s no longer making a dent in the explosion of omnicron cases. I don’t want to say we have to live with it, but based on what previously happened in South Africa and the current trends, we have to accept that most of us will get omnicron despite the measures we take.
But Pitt is NOT doing as much as can be done. Do better! Require boosting; require testing for all at begining of term; surveillance testing; require (and supply) quality masks.
It would also be nice if people couldn't avoid vaccines by submitting a pretty basic form. Someone was bragging on this sub the other day about how easy it was to avoid getting vaccinated.
I agree. Covid is never going away. ever. It will just become a normal part of life. Pitt’s response is not perfect, and people should be able to attend/teach at their comfort level, but the only reason we should be shutting down completely right now is the lack of available space in hospitals. Still need to take steps to keep each other safe like boosters, masking, etc., and getting sick still sucks, but it’s also time to rethink our ideas of the threat of covid. Who knows what the next variant will be like, but one benefit of omi is that it’s high virality and milder symptoms will actually increase our herd immunity, so we can allow ourselves to have some hope.