The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

[Blackhawk]

The fact that he's doing this isn't a big deal. Stupid, insane, delusional people doing stupid things is nothing new. Giving them serious attention is what is new, and what is confounding. We need to let them go back to being the guy that people try to avoid making eye contact with.

[The Meal]

Wow, that name is shared with a former member of OO’s administrative staff!

[Smoove_B]

Just the name, right? Please tell me it's just the name.

[The Meal]

Safe spaces. I’m not oouting anyone!

[Isgrimnur]

Is/was local to me, as I recall.

[Zaxxon]

Has apparently aged a bit.

[Smoove_B]

Some updated information about vaccination, illness and death, courtesy of the Kaiser Family Foundation after combing through CDC data:

Breakthrough deaths account for an increasing percentage of overall Covid mortality—but the CDC only resumed reporting this recently after removing this data from their website and spending the entire fall downplaying them. Now is not the time to drop layered protections.

In our latest, we discuss a new Kaiser Family Foundation report that uses CDC data to show 40% of US Covid deaths in January and February were breakthrough cases.

Also of note:

15% of US Covid deaths in February were people who were boosted. This is CDC data—it makes absolutely no sense that the very same agency that collected this information is still recommending 99% of the country not even mask to try to prevent infections from even happening

[LawBeefaroni]

I haven't looked at the data but as more people are vaccinated and boosted it would make sense that a higher % of COVID deaths are among the vaxed/boosted population.

In a perfect world we'd be at 100% vaxed/boosted and all deaths would be among the vaxed/boosted.

I mean looking at that misleading graph, it would make sense to be unvaxed because death rates among unvaxed are dropping dramatically. Vaccines appear to be killing people.

[Smoove_B]

I haven't looked at the data but as more people are vaccinated and boosted it would make sense that a higher % of COVID deaths are among the vaxed/boosted population.

That's true - but remember the message from Spring of 2021 that people are still clinging to - that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. There are millions of people that received one or two shots and think it's over now. And it was represented that overwhelmingly, the people dying were unvaccinated. However, in January and February of this year, 40% of the deaths were vaccinated people. Weird how that message never really had any traction - and that the push to unmask everywhere was louder.

[Unagi]

I've also found it to be remarkable that there would still be a lot of unvaccinated and vulnerable people that managed to stay alive in the last 2+ years that are only just now catching and dying of this weaker strain.

[Defiant]

I haven't looked at the data but as more people are vaccinated and boosted it would make sense that a higher % of COVID deaths are among the vaxed/boosted population.

In a perfect world we'd be at 100% vaxed/boosted and all deaths would be among the vaxed/boosted.

There's this, but also, people who are particularly vulnerable to covid (elderly, immunocompromised) are overwhelmingly vaccinated, but there's only so much the vaccine can do - it reduces, but doesn't eliminate, their chances of having a severe disease. Vaccinated, they're probably still more vulnerable than someone young and healthy who doesn't get vaccinated (but that young person should still should get vaccinated)

[Smoove_B]

Hilarious update last night from the CDC for parts of NY state:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now urging masks in 37 counties in New York state, all located in the Upstate New York region, due to high Covid-19 levels.

The CDC updated its Covid Community Levels map on Thursday showing areas where Covid is at a “high” (orange), “medium” (yellow) or “low” (green) risk. More than 90% of the U.S. is still in the green but 56 counties nationwide are at a high risk, up from 40 last week, and most of them are in the Empire State.

We have so completely lost the plot on all this. And mark my words - Fall/Winter 2022 is going to be worse. I hope I'm wrong, but I can't help but shake the feeling I'm not.

If only they were using their own Community Transmission maps instead of the Community Levels (the one that's mostly green, pictured in the article), maybe this would be easier to communicate.

EDIT: Compare the transmission map to what they're showing in the linked article.

[coopasonic]

Hilarious update last night from the CDC for parts of NY state:

That includes where my 73 year old mom with COPD lives. Masks have hardly ever existed in that area. Awesome.

[Defiant]

Honestly, I'd think it "funnier" with that map (Why is just upstate NY getting urged, when it's red in lots of places including the entire north-east?) than with the map that is mostly green apart from NY (though I would have picked red for high, rather than orange. Who picks orange for high alert?). Unless you just mean that it's silly of them to just focus on one area when lots ofplaces have high transmission (which I agree).

Of course, in a few weeks, when much more of the country turns, err, orange rather than one small section, my guess is we won't see as much urgency.

[Max Peck]

They aren't urging masking in upstate New York because of high rates of transmission. They're doing it because the healthcare infrastructure is already starting to be stressed.

The Community Levels map is driven by hospital admissions and inpatient staffed bed availability, with some input from new cases. The Community Transmission map is driven by new cases and test positivity.

[Smoove_B]

Just because I haven't posted here in a while - and I know we have a few Mass OOers

Most of MA is now in the high COVID “Community Level” zone, since we have hit the (lagging indicator) hospitalization threshold. CDC guidelines say to now wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, including in schools. I expect no response or even acknowledgment. #DontLookUp

[Kraken]

I'd say that mask wearing at the grocery store today approached 10%, which is noticeably more than recently. That ought to do it!

Honestly, I don't think anybody's paying attention anymore.

[Blackhawk]

I'd say that mask wearing at the grocery store today approached 10%, which is noticeably more than recently. That ought to do it!

Honestly, I don't think anybody's paying attention anymore.

Mask wearing at the grocery store today was exactly whatever percentage me, Michelle, and Ian were of the total headcount.

And that applied to all three stores we were in.

[LawBeefaroni]

I'm seeing around 40-50% in grocery stores here. Varies by community though. In the more diverse neighborhood by work it's higher.

Also noticing that most employees are masked. The people who can't work from home and can't really afford a 2 week COVID "vacation" , let alone serious illness.


I'll admit, I'm inclined to not wear a mask until I see the workers masked. So I still mask

[El Guapo]

Just because I haven't posted here in a while - and I know we have a few Mass OOers

Most of MA is now in the high COVID “Community Level” zone, since we have hit the (lagging indicator) hospitalization threshold. CDC guidelines say to now wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, including in schools. I expect no response or even acknowledgment. #DontLookUp

Anecdotally I am also aware of a lot of new infections in my social network.

[malchior]

Anecdotally I am also aware of a lot of new infections in my social network.

Same.

And I've had a few close contacts personally in the last two weeks. The weekend before last we had dinner with some folks to meet their COVID babies finally. One of the attendees was positive days later. She had attended a Broadway show and didn't tell any of us.

I also reffed a game mostly masked with electronic whistle and one of the players was Positive. That was 8 days ago and I tested negative this morning. I keep dodging it but it's coming.

[stimpy]

Yeah, a few employees tested positive this week along with various spouses, children etc.

[Enough]

We are also seeing a bunch of new cases in my circles as well.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

[Isgrimnur]

Back home after my trip. Masking was an afterthought for just about everyone in Columbus, Ohio. Certainly not much difference than my experience running pre-trip errands in the metroplex.

Start the clock.

[Zaxxon]

Somehow received my first-ever COVID exposure notification through the Bluetooth thingy on my phone. From 6 days ago, so... Thanks?

[Smoove_B]

How quickly things change during these pandemic times. I mentioned it elsewhere, but now there's an article on the looming vaccine rationing that is coming for the Fall / Winter season.

Among the sacrifices being weighed are limiting access to its next generation of vaccines to only the highest-risk Americans — a rationing that would have been unthinkable just a year ago, when the White House touted the development and widespread availability of vaccines as the clearest way out of the pandemic.

Given that we've hit a wall with vaccine uptake (initial series) and completely fallen off a cliff with the number of people that have received a 3rd shot, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. But I'm going to repeat myself - between this and waning immunity, the Fall/Winter season this year has a real potential to be...nutty.

It's almost like...downplaying the state of the pandemic and the importance of continuing to proactively limit spread is allowing the GOP to get away with this.

So much more I could say, but this pretty much summarizes it for me

I’m losing my God damn mind

[malchior]

It's almost like...downplaying the state of the pandemic and the importance of continuing to proactively limit spread is allowing the GOP to get away with this.

Unfortunately, The GOP isn't the only ones trying to get away with it. The Biden administration has been pretty incoherent/incompetent now too. It is another indicator of a lack of competent leadership in this country.

[Smoove_B]

Err, yeah. Sorry that wasn't clear. The Biden administration's floundering and the continued mealy-mouthed response by (D) politicians nationwide has allowed the GOP to vote against funding without any type of push back or repercussions. Well, other than more people getting sick and dying.

[malchior]

Err, yeah. Sorry that wasn't clear. The Biden administration's floundering and the continued mealy-mouthed response by (D) politicians nationwide has allowed the GOP to vote against funding without any type of push back or repercussions. Well, other than more people getting sick and dying.

Indeed. That makes sense. It's very unfortunate that everyone is seemingly working against even a semblance of achieving a common good.

[El Guapo]

So my kids school sent out an e-mail yesterday, noting that currently about 5% of students are out with covid. As a result the school is now strongly encouraging (bold in their e-mail) that students, faculty, and staff wear masks indoors.

Are they requiring masks again? No, just strongly encouraging them. Will they require them if 10% of students are out with covid? Who knows. I don't even understand the logical framework behind the idea of feeling that the situation is bad enough to strongly encourage but not to require masking.

[Isgrimnur]

We all knew that kids are plague rats.

[LordMortis]

We all knew that kids are plague rats.

So much this and in MTG fashion they become much more potent when you have 30 of them in play at once. This is the original reason you put 4 card cap on how many you could have in a deck.

[Zaxxon]

Will they require them if 10% of students are out with covid?

Narrator: They will not.

[El Guapo]

Will they require them if 10% of students are out with covid?

Narrator: They will not.

I don't get it. And this is the Boston area. I assume that by now in Nashville they're spraying kids with covid every morning as they walk into school.

[Smoove_B]

I don't even understand the logical framework behind the idea of feeling that the situation is bad enough to strongly encourage but not to require masking.

Sure you do. We strongly encourage people not to smoke crack cocaine or inject heroin and then drive a car. We strongly encourage restaurants to acquire their ingredients from licensed, approve supplies before preparing your meal. We strongly encourage manufacturing businesses to minimize the release of pollutants into the air, water and soil in their local communities.

But seriously, "strongly encourage" still gives parents that personal freedom feeling. As soon as you say "require" or "mandate", that is an outrage and we will not tolerate it.

[stessier]

So my kids school sent out an e-mail yesterday, noting that currently about 5% of students are out with covid. As a result the school is now strongly encouraging (bold in their e-mail) that students, faculty, and staff wear masks indoors.

Are they requiring masks again? No, just strongly encouraging them. Will they require them if 10% of students are out with covid? Who knows. I don't even understand the logical framework behind the idea of feeling that the situation is bad enough to strongly encourage but not to require masking.

Our school has started reporting positive cases in the 7th grade, but because they are below the 10% limit, they don't have to do contact tracing and are just recommending people stay home if they are sick. So yeah - pretty much misting with COVID. My daughter was boosted in March with her 2 weeks up the first week of April, so here's hoping she keeps up with her saving throws.

[LawBeefaroni]

How quickly things change during these pandemic times. I mentioned it elsewhere, but now there's an article on the looming vaccine rationing that is coming for the Fall / Winter season.

Among the sacrifices being weighed are limiting access to its next generation of vaccines to only the highest-risk Americans — a rationing that would have been unthinkable just a year ago, when the White House touted the development and widespread availability of vaccines as the clearest way out of the pandemic.

Given that we've hit a wall with vaccine uptake (initial series) and completely fallen off a cliff with the number of people that have received a 3rd shot, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. But I'm going to repeat myself - between this and waning immunity, the Fall/Winter season this year has a real potential to be...nutty.

It's almost like...downplaying the state of the pandemic and the importance of continuing to proactively limit spread is allowing the GOP to get away with this.

So much more I could say, but this pretty much summarizes it for me

I’m losing my God damn mind

People aren't interested. They have been hearing about the GlobalPandemicOMG™ for 2 years now and the vast majority haven't been more than inconvenienced by it. The fear approach isn't going to work anymore. The average human understands risk about as well as they understand virology. To them if it ain't got them in 2 years it ain't gonna get them.

[YellowKing]

Plus you couldn't get people to get vaxxed and mask up *while* hospitals were at capacity. There's not a chance in hell they're going to do it because we *might* have a surge several months from now.

In all fairness to the general public, though, you have Fauci saying the pandemic is over. You're not seeing Covid in the news much anymore. Hospitals have greatly reduced their Covid protocols and special measures. States have eliminated mask mandates. It would be asking too much, I think, to expect the only averagely-informed person to still be on high alert.

[gbasden]

We all knew that kids are plague rats.

So much this and in MTG fashion they become much more potent when you have 30 of them in play at once. This is the original reason you put 4 card cap on how many you could have in a deck.

I just realized that this totally works whether you read MTG as Magic the Gathering or Marjorie Taylor Greene.

[Blackhawk]

Thank god we only have four of her.