Colorado says were are done!  No more mask mandates no more vaccine passports!!!i

That seems to be a growing trend, certainly in Europe.

Well the fear of covid is over anyway. Well for those that are reality based that is.

But hey if it makes anyone feel better, they can nail their doors shut from the inside and stay locked down. It's a personal choice. And I'm betting there are a few that will. They need to play this pandemic game. But for the rest of us life goes on!!!

I don't think so, just not yet.  Trends are still down and yes, I am hopeful.  We have a few more weeks to go and then by the end of the month if the positive rate is under 6 percent then yes I do think that could be on it's way out.

Just a look at [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/[/url] or  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/ - https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/  may answer that question...click on the "weekly case % change" ; 83 countries reporting an increase of cases.....

Covid will never be over.  It is here to stay. We have to learn to live with it as being endemic and I think countries in Europe are acting on that.  

Does anyone know what the criteria is to end a declared pandemic?  Is that up to WHO?

That being said, hold on to something because I think a few people will hit the floor:  I would like to see the U.S. do away with some select mandates.  I don't put a lot of credence in this one study about lockdowns did nothing, BTW, but at this point we do not need any more lockdowns. We need to start targeting care to protect the vulnerable.  

The courts will winnow out what vaccine mandates are needed.  I still believe there are certain situations where people need to be mandated to wear a mask.  But that's up to the individual venues to decide.  I don't think we'll be sans mask while flying anytime soon. And maybe we shouldn't be.  

LOL. As if that was the only study that concluded lockdowns were useless.

1. The Lancet, July

A  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30208-X/fulltext" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(235, 64, 50); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500; font-family: Montserrat !important; - study published on July 21 in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal founded in 1823, indicated that government lockdowns were ineffective.

Researchers collected data from the 50 countries with the most cases and found lockdowns were not associated with mortality reductions in critical COVID-19 cases, although factors such as obesity, smoking, and life expectancy were.

“...government actions such as border closures, full lockdowns, and a high rate of COVID-19 testing were not associated with statistically significant reductions in the number of critical cases or overall mortality,” the study concluded.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30208-X/fulltext

2. Frontiers in Public Health, November

Similarly, a  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.604339/full#SM6" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(235, 64, 50); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500; font-family: Montserrat !important; - study published by Frontiers in Public Health several months after The Lancet paper found neither lockdowns nor lockdown stringency were correlated with lower death rates. Researchers crunched data from 160 countries over the first 8 months of the pandemic, testing numerous factors—such as public health, demographics, government policy, economy, and environment—to determine how each correlated with COVID-19 mortality.

“Stringency of the measures settled to fight pandemia, including lockdown, did not appear to be linked with death rate,” the researchers concluded.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.604339/full#SM6 - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.604339/full#SM6

3. Tel Aviv University Study, October

Research from Tel Aviv University  https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.11.20128520v1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(235, 64, 50); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500; font-family: Montserrat !important; - published in October on the website medRxiv said that strict lockdowns may not save lives. Researchers analyzed mobility data collected from iPhones and found no statistical association between lockdown severity and the number of COVID-19 fatalities.

“We would have expected to see fewer Covid-19 fatalities in countries with a tighter lockdown, but the data reveals that this is not the case,” the researchers https://www.israel21c.org/distancing-not-lockdowns-prevents-covid-19-deaths-says-study/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(235, 64, 50); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 500; font-family: Montserrat !important; - explained .

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.11.20128520v1 - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.11.20128520v1

Weren’t we the ones in the beginning who said it just should be allowed to run through the population and over 65 may want to mask up and isolate.  I guess it means would not be any worse off and maybe our kids would have stronger  immunity ?

Josh like you I agree it is not over. I believe like HIV and Herpes, HPV, EBV and numerous viruses there is a real possibility it causes a biphasic course of disease, especially in those with initial apparent mild disease. 

 The emerging immunological and clinical evidence of long term silent damage from those infected in 2020 concerns me. Especially in the young.  

The Xeon scans in teenagers were an eye opener. Also it's ability to infect the brain is a worry. It has so many strange properties and sequences compared to other coronaviruses.

  Long covid patients with brain fog researxh showing Covid can bind and damage the same receptors that are destroyed in late Alzheimer's disease...and these are people in their 20s with mild infection leading months later to neurodegeneration that hasn't got better in 15 months post  infection.

The Chinese are experts in bat coronaviruses.  They are going to great lengths to protect their population from these early strains, maybe there is something they are wary of. 

Also we talk about getting stronger immunity, but maybe it's the immune response to it that's the problem.  Maybe that's why long covid is affecting the young disproportionately.   So no not over too many questions and to much to learn.

I appreciate most people accept getting the virus now especially in the inner cities where I am. I however won't be jumping in its path deliberately..not just yet. No harm in hanging back seeing what happens.

Hz x

LINK TO LUNG SCANS  dark patches are damage

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60154398 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60154398

 Alzheimer's-like changes in some COVID patients' brains

Small study finds Alzheimer's-like changes in some COVID patients' brains -- ScienceDaily

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203122947.htm - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203122947.htm

COVID-19 and neurological disorders: are neurodegenerative or neuroimmunological diseases more vulnerable

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7372546 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7372546

I agree, it's definitely not over. But at this stage nothing I can see will make this better.

The UK (and most of the world) is set on a course that they will not change. They don't want to see the numbers anymore. They don't want to isolate anymore. And the people seem to want this too.. A saying comes to mind 'be careful what you wish for'.