covid-19

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

7 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Joe,

Re:  We're on the 'back side' of this wave, but it's a long way from over.

I agree.  I was somewhat shocked to hear on my local news last nite that the Oregon Health Authority has said that come April they will eliminate all masking req'ments here in Oregon.

I'm sure that they have data to support that position; but, I'm not so sure, just yet.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Oregon Health Authority to lift indoor mask mandate by end of March - OPB

 

 

One of the 'funny' things they've discovered is that there's very little difference in mask use whether a mandate is in place or not.

Last summer, when Texas & Florida were the first to eliminate the mandates, many (including me) expected to see significant spikes* in cases. Those never occurred. 

It's been figured out that the mandates were never really strongly enforced. Many places refused to.
So lots of people weren't wearing them, even with the mandate in place. 
When the mandates were lifted, those that were wearing them continued to do so. 
Those that didn't hadn't been the whole time.

So nothing really changed much.

 

* - It should also be pointed out that Florida's numbers have been seriously under-reported for pretty much the entire pandemic. They simply ignore cases and deaths. Pretend that they aren't happening.

[Baksteen 84]

With the indications becoming clear that Omicron is less likely to send you to the ICU, our freshly appointed minister of health and public safety has said the new policy will be one of "keeping access to healthcare open for everyone, yet driven by socio-economic impulses" or something to that effect. Ironically this minister of health was the president of the association for Dutch ICUs until just before his appointment, and always advocating caution with regards to opening up the country.

On the plus side, COVID has never spread faster and further within the Netherlands than that it does at the moment. I'll remain cautious, thank you.
I'm fully vaccinated/boostered and therefore taking part in more activities than I used to, but things like skydiving (where I have no control who is breathing down my neck for twenty minutes) is at the bottom of my priority list right now. Just below "vacations abroad" (I do not drive) and "sitting shoulder to shoulder in restaurants". 

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

2 hours ago, Baksteen said:

... I'll remain cautious, thank you.
I'm fully vaccinated/boostered and therefore taking part in more activities than I used to, but things like skydiving (where I have no control who is breathing down my neck for twenty minutes) is at the bottom of my priority list right now. Just below "vacations abroad" (I do not drive) and "sitting shoulder to shoulder in restaurants". 

I stopped jumping last summer when the Delta variant started spiking.

Part of it was the 'stuffed into a little plane with people who may be contagious', but a bigger part of it was because the hospitals were filling up, wait times at emergency rooms were going through the roof and beds were becoming scarce.

The idea of having a reasonably minor accident (break an ankle on landing or something) and having to go to the hospital didn't appeal to me.

[brenthutch 444]

https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/ym6obt/south-park-you-can-t-force-me-to-wear-pajamas
 

South Park parodies Speakers Corner 

[brenthutch 444]

Masking, school closures, shutdowns?  Looks like it was all pain and no gain.

https://issuesinsights.com/2022/02/11/its-time-to-ask-were-any-of-the-covid-mandates-closures-lockdowns-worth-it/

[billeisele 130]

On 2/11/2022 at 9:26 AM, brenthutch said:

Masking, school closures, shutdowns?  Looks like it was all pain and no gain.

https://issuesinsights.com/2022/02/11/its-time-to-ask-were-any-of-the-covid-mandates-closures-lockdowns-worth-it/

Facts don't matter. Your source and those quoted in this excellent article are not acceptable to the indoctrinated.

[billvon 3,058]

1 hour ago, billeisele said:

Facts don't matter. Your source and those quoted in this excellent article are not acceptable to the indoctrinated.

Here are some facts for you to ignore - namely 49 different studies showing mask effectiveness. 

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/do-face-masks-work-here-are-49-scientific-studies-that-explain-why-they-do/

 

[brenthutch 444]

2 hours ago, billvon said:

Here are some facts for you to ignore - namely 49 different studies showing mask effectiveness. 

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/do-face-masks-work-here-are-49-scientific-studies-that-explain-why-they-do/

 

If they are as effective as those studies claim, there should be an obvious difference in COVID transmission in states with mask mandates and those with none.  

[brenthutch 444]

The new data is in the polls.

[brenthutch 444]

Has anyone gotten their “free” covid tests?

[JoeWeber 2,808]

27 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

Has anyone gotten their “free” covid tests?

Nope but I'm up to my 4th free vaccination. Still no tail or free 5G through my ears.

[Phil1111 1,149]

2 hours ago, brenthutch said:

If they are as effective as those studies claim, there should be an obvious difference in COVID transmission in states with mask mandates and those with none.  

Since masks, vaccines and social distancing are all wrong. I take it you've disavowed yourself of all such measures.

[brenthutch 444]

41 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

Since masks, vaccines and social distancing are all wrong. I take it you've disavowed yourself of all such measures.

I am in the vax and relax camp.  No masking no problem.

 

[airdvr 210]

We've reached a point in this fiasco where everyone knows what they personally need to do to lower the odds of contracting.  Time for the mandates to end.  Live your life however you'd like.  Wear dresses.

[JoeWeber 2,808]

22 minutes ago, airdvr said:

We've reached a point in this fiasco where everyone knows what they personally need to do to lower the odds of contracting.  Time for the mandates to end.  Live your life however you'd like.  Wear dresses.

What a crock of shit. You're all like you predicted every twist and turn, published a number of mask and distancing studies, and made the several vaccines that saved us.

You are the beneficiary of all of the science minded folks and cautious planners that made the hospital space you apparently didn't need available. And now your prescience guides you to announce it's time for mandates to end and for all to live their lives however they like. Well thanks for getting us here, Nostradamus.

[billvon 3,058]

31 minutes ago, airdvr said:

We've reached a point in this fiasco where everyone knows what they personally need to do to lower the odds of contracting.

Unfortunately some of those things are "not be 80 years old" or "not be immunocompromised."  That might be easy for you.  It's not easy for everyone.

[airdvr 210]

58 minutes ago, billvon said:

Unfortunately some of those things are "not be 80 years old" or "not be immunocompromised."  That might be easy for you.  It's not easy for everyone.

True.  But if you're 80 or compromised at this point you have a pretty good understanding of what steps you can take to minimize exposure.  And, I'm willing to bet that the 80 crowd might be tired of having their lives upended in the last 2 years.  They don't have that many left.

[airdvr 210]

1 hour ago, JoeWeber said:

What a crock of shit. You're all like you predicted every twist and turn, published a number of mask and distancing studies, and made the several vaccines that saved us.

You are the beneficiary of all of the science minded folks and cautious planners that made the hospital space you apparently didn't need available. And now your prescience guides you to announce it's time for mandates to end and for all to live their lives however they like. Well thanks for getting us here, Nostradamus.

Relax Nancy.  I didn't predict any of this.  I was way wrong in the beginning and admitted as much.

[brenthutch 444]

1 hour ago, billvon said:

Unfortunately some of those things are "not be 80 years old" or "not be immunocompromised."  That might be easy for you.  It's not easy for everyone.

If one is 80 years old or immunocompromised the onus is on them not the rest of society.  (I say that as a guy whose mother is 80 years old and has heart disease)

[headoverheels 333]

6 hours ago, brenthutch said:

Has anyone gotten their “free” covid tests?

Yes, weeks ago.

 

[billvon 3,058]

1 hour ago, airdvr said:

True.  But if you're 80 or compromised at this point you have a pretty good understanding of what steps you can take to minimize exposure.  And, I'm willing to bet that the 80 crowd might be tired of having their lives upended in the last 2 years.  They don't have that many left.

At least the ones that survived.  Death rate for 80+ years old was 15%.  That's one out of seven.

Fortunately we have reached a place where 1) we have vaccines, 2) we have better treatments, and 3) we have a less dangerous strain.

[kallend 2,101]

7 hours ago, airdvr said:

True.  But if you're 80 or compromised at this point you have a pretty good understanding of what steps you can take to minimize exposure.  And, I'm willing to bet that the 80 crowd might be tired of having their lives upended in the last 2 years.  They don't have that many left.

I'm not quite 80, but I don't consider getting vaccinated and boosted, and wearing a mask at the grocery store or in an airport, to have been a significant "upend" to my life.

[JoeWeber 2,808]

3 hours ago, kallend said:

I'm not quite 80, but I don't consider getting vaccinated and boosted, and wearing a mask at the grocery store or in an airport, to have been a significant "upend" to my life.

Nor do I but what chaps my ass most is it didn't need to be such an imposition on everyone. We should have ignored the squeals of the anti-vaxer, anti-masker, anti-social distance crowd long ago and required vaccination passports for entry to all public venues. We should have rewarded all who were doing what's was considered best and let the rest of them shop for groceries during special maskhole and anti-vaxer hours and stay out of the airports and off the trains and buses. That and let them go to tent city hospitals with Alan Alda in charge.

[billeisele 130]

20 hours ago, billvon said:

Here are some facts for you to ignore - namely 49 different studies showing mask effectiveness. 

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/do-face-masks-work-here-are-49-scientific-studies-that-explain-why-they-do/

 

I luv these articles that say "can" and "could." No doubt that masks help, just much less than most think. Plenty of cans and coulds in this world. Just like the word maybe, about as valuable as the phrase "maybe not."

The problem is people were led to believe that they were a magic shield. No, absolutely not. Hey, look at me, I have a mask! I can go to Wal Mart and breath the recirculated air from dozens of people with no risk.

One set of professionals screamed as loud as they could and were shut down. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene certifies Industrial Hygienists. This is the group that works 24/7 protecting the respiratory health of workers in some of the worst environments. They know how masks should be worn, how they work, how long they should be worn, how to handle them, and what type works for each environment. They clearly stated that the masks do not work the way the CDC and other talking heads stated, and they were much less effective than described. Having that expert data, did the CDC or Fauchi provide accurate information to the citizens?

Anyone can read the instructions for mask use and clearly see why they aren't effective as used by most people. They don't wear them or use them properly. There are some published studies on this topic and even those state that it's difficult to quantify how much less effective they are. Primarily due to the wide range of potential mask misuse. The studies note a 50% to 90% drop in stated effectiveness. They also clearly state that a simple cloth covering is the least effective.

Another group of medical experts, respiratory therapists and doctors treating respiratory ailments, have noted a big increase in patients. The primary issue is mask wearing. It's not difficult to understand that a warm moist mask provides the perfect collection and breeding ground for all kinds of bad things. When those high concentrations are inhaled the bugs go directly into the lungs. Do that for a few hours a day and bingo, respiratory ailment. Luckily, most can be treated with the common treatment protocols. People wear them too long, don't change them often enough and touch them with potentially contaminated hands.

Here is the real problem. COVID is a respiratory ailment. When the lungs are compromised you have a huge, potentially life ending, problem. Uhhh...Why risk contracting a lung ailment from mask wearing with the risk of contracting COVID during that time. The disservice on this issue is that folks aren't being provided accurate information.

I feel for the people that have been terrorized with the constant barrage of fear language. When I see an elderly person driving alone with a mask on, that's someone that is living in fear.

[gowlerk 2,244]

6 minutes ago, billeisele said:

Another group of medical experts, respiratory therapists and doctors treating respiratory ailments, have noted a big increase in patients. The primary issue is mask wearing.

Citation please. This is false news.