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

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

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Defiant wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 6:35 pm
The survey of 1,561 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 11 to 13, found that in the week immediately prior to Thursday’s announcement, nearly two-thirds of Americans were still saying they wore a mask outside in public “always” (39 percent) or “most of the time” (24 percent) — and the numbers among vaccinated Americans were even higher, at 42 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Now that moment has arrived, and frequent mask wearers say it is significantly more likely than any other milestone — such as “waiting until more people in my community are fully vaccinated” (25 percent) or “waiting until there are no COVID-19 cases in my community” (21 percent) — to convince them to lower their face coverings. A full 45 percent of Democrats who wear masks all or most of the time, for instance, said they would stop whenever the CDC gave them permission to do so.
https://news.yahoo.com/poll-vaccinated- ... 11328.html
That matches with what I saw here. 80+ percent masked outside prior, now total flip. Maybe 30%?
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Holman »

I'm now fully vaxxed, and I've started wearing a small carabiner on my belt with a mask clipped to it when I walk the dog. It signals to others that I take the virus seriously, but also signals (I assume) that I no longer have to wear a mask outside. And of course I can put it on when I step into a store.

This solution doesn't go with more formal clothes, but then I haven't worn a tie in several years.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by YellowKing »

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really give a crap what other people think. I know I'm vaccinated, I can back it up with proof, and if someone wants to challenge me on it then I say come at me bro. I just bristle at the thought of changing my behavior so as not to look like someone cheating the system. Vaccinated people shouldn't be the ones feeling persecuted.

I don't say that to mean I'm looking for a fight; I'm not entering any business without a mask unless it has been clearly communicated that I am allowed to do so either by the business or the lifting of state mask mandates. But I'm not going to feel guilty about doing it when I'm allowed to.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kurth »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 8:36 pm
Defiant wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 6:35 pm
The survey of 1,561 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 11 to 13, found that in the week immediately prior to Thursday’s announcement, nearly two-thirds of Americans were still saying they wore a mask outside in public “always” (39 percent) or “most of the time” (24 percent) — and the numbers among vaccinated Americans were even higher, at 42 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Now that moment has arrived, and frequent mask wearers say it is significantly more likely than any other milestone — such as “waiting until more people in my community are fully vaccinated” (25 percent) or “waiting until there are no COVID-19 cases in my community” (21 percent) — to convince them to lower their face coverings. A full 45 percent of Democrats who wear masks all or most of the time, for instance, said they would stop whenever the CDC gave them permission to do so.
https://news.yahoo.com/poll-vaccinated- ... 11328.html
That matches with what I saw here. 80+ percent masked outside prior, now total flip. Maybe 30%?
Is there a problem with that? I’m not sure I understand what you all are saying. The truth is, as I understand it, the vast majority of outdoor mask wearing (non-close quarters) was kind of silly to begin with. Am I wrong here?

To be clear, not bullying and not judging others for wearing masks unnecessarily. Everyone can do their own risk calculus based on their own circumstances. Just happy not to get the stink eye for not wearing mine outside, and somewhat relieved that the CDC has my back on that.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kurth »

Smoove_B wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:47 am An opinion piece by public health experts on why they're going to continue to wear masks:
People should have complete information and be empowered to make their own decisions about how to address this small risk after being fully vaccinated, perhaps with the additional second layer of protection that masks afford. With the new announcement, every breakthrough infection that occurs will undermine CDC's message that if you are vaccinated, it is completely safe to remove your mask. The new guidance was too certain and too declarative to be a public health message we can take to the bank.
Wait. Hold on here a minute. I must have missed the ZERO RISK announcement from the CDC. Or maybe it was Dr. Fauci? Please tell me who issued a ZERO RISK GUARANTEE.

Can’t believe I missed that.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

If you want to contact and argue with two PhD scientists over their phrasing, all I ask is you keep me in the loop. :wink:

Also: health communication is hard. Many of my peers are taking the CDC director to task online for suggesting our individual health is in our own hands (by way of getting vaccinated). Public health 101 - it's not. Your health - the health you experience - is made up of a number of different factors. Your choices are part of them (of course), but they're not the only thing that affects your health status.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kurth »

Smoove_B wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 10:28 pm If you want to contact and argue with two PhD scientists over their phrasing, all I ask is you keep me in the loop. :wink:

Also: health communication is hard. Many of my peers are taking the CDC director to task online for suggesting our individual health is in our own hands (by way of getting vaccinated). Public health 101 - it's not. Your health - the health you experience - is made up of a number of different factors. Your choices are part of them (of course), but they're not the only thing that affects your health status.
Seriously, Smoove, did the CDC really say there was ZERO risk? When I saw that in the quoted piece, I really tried to find a place where they said that, and I struck out and wasn’t surprised. It just sounds so wrong to me. ZERO risk is just stupid. It’s like, we shouldn’t ever even mention ZERO risk, because that’s not the real world.

For what it’s worth, this is the updated CDC guidance I found:
Currently authorized vaccines in the United States are highly effective at protecting vaccinated people against symptomatic and severe COVID-19. Additionally, a growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection or transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. How long vaccine protection lasts and how much vaccines protect against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are still under investigation.

For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson [J&J]/Janssen)±; there is currently no post-vaccination time limit on fully vaccinated status. Unvaccinated people refers to individuals of all ages, including children, that have not completed a vaccination series or received a single-dose vaccine.

At this time, there are limited data on vaccine protection in people who are immunocompromised. People with immunocompromising conditions, including those taking immunosuppressive medications (for instance drugs, such as mycophenolate and rituximab, to suppress rejection of transplanted organs or to treat rheumatologic conditions), should discuss the need for personal protective measures with their healthcare provider after vaccination.
For non-immunecompromised, vaccinated people, it certainly suggests that the risk isn’t significant. But I still haven’t seen a CDC announcement that the risk is zero.

If I missed it, sorry for the unmerited outrage. :)
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

No, it's a fair point. Sometimes scientists/researchers argue over whether or not you can say no risk when you really mean 'the risk is so low as to be considered no risk for most". It feeds into the whole being outdoors and maskless and the lack of data supporting actual transmission. Models suggest its possible, but in practice, not documented.

I really think this set of communications is key:
What We Know

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of people spreading COVID-19.

What We’re Still Learning

How effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
How well the vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications.
How long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.

As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Now, distill all that down to a catchy sentence that sounds fun when Dr. Fauci says it; that's what's nearly impossible. People want to know, "Should I still be wearing a mask?" The real answer is "It depends", but no one likes that answer.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kurth »

Smoove_B wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:29 pm No, it's a fair point. Sometimes scientists/researchers argue over whether or not you can say no risk when you really mean 'the risk is so low as to be considered no risk for most". It feeds into the whole being outdoors and maskless and the lack of data supporting actual transmission. Models suggest its possible, but in practice, not documented.

I really think this set of communications is key:
What We Know

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of people spreading COVID-19.

What We’re Still Learning

How effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
How well the vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications.
How long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.

As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Now, distill all that down to a catchy sentence that sounds fun when Dr. Fauci says it; that's what's nearly impossible. People want to know, "Should I still be wearing a mask?" The real answer is "It depends", but no one likes that answer.
Ok. But my issue is, by the authors of the piece you quoted misstating the CDC’s guidance about “Zero Risk,” it suggests that that is, in fact, what we need to hear before we can stop wearing masks or stop doing whatever it was we were doing before this whole COVID pandemic screwed life up so royally.

But taking reasonable precautions to prevent COVID and its spread has never been about zero risk, yet there are now vast numbers of people in this country that now seem to think that’s the new goal post. It’s not, and it never should be.

Also, as far as Fauci, this seemed pretty on point and a little catchy:
“If you are going into a completely crowded situation, where people are essentially falling all over each other, then you wear a mask. But at any other time, if you’re vaccinated and you’re outside, put aside your mask. You don’t have to wear it,” he said in a television interview on Thursday morning.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Kurth wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 10:11 pm
LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 8:36 pm
Defiant wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 6:35 pm
The survey of 1,561 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 11 to 13, found that in the week immediately prior to Thursday’s announcement, nearly two-thirds of Americans were still saying they wore a mask outside in public “always” (39 percent) or “most of the time” (24 percent) — and the numbers among vaccinated Americans were even higher, at 42 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Now that moment has arrived, and frequent mask wearers say it is significantly more likely than any other milestone — such as “waiting until more people in my community are fully vaccinated” (25 percent) or “waiting until there are no COVID-19 cases in my community” (21 percent) — to convince them to lower their face coverings. A full 45 percent of Democrats who wear masks all or most of the time, for instance, said they would stop whenever the CDC gave them permission to do so.
https://news.yahoo.com/poll-vaccinated- ... 11328.html
That matches with what I saw here. 80+ percent masked outside prior, now total flip. Maybe 30%?
Is there a problem with that? I’m not sure I understand what you all are saying. The truth is, as I understand it, the vast majority of outdoor mask wearing (non-close quarters) was kind of silly to begin with. Am I wrong here?

To be clear, not bullying and not judging others for wearing masks unnecessarily. Everyone can do their own risk calculus based on their own circumstances. Just happy not to get the stink eye for not wearing mine outside, and somewhat relieved that the CDC has my back on that.
Nothing wrong with it, just that my observation matches the survey.

I've been vaccinated since January so I'm happy to finally not to wear a mask outside unnecessarily. Didn't mind wearing it unnecessarily to support the cause for 5 months but glad to not be required to do so anymore.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kraken »

Smoove_B wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:29 pm Now, distill all that down to a catchy sentence that sounds fun when Dr. Fauci says it;
"These guidelines are only for fully vaccinated people. Get the vax, Jack. (something something Roy, something something Lee)"

We aren't vaxxed enough yet to drop our guard. The virus's seasonality will make it look like that's so. If take advantage of that lull to keep vaccinating, and the virus doesn't evolve an end-run against our science, then we have a shot at taming it. If Americans instead hang the Mission Accomplished banner and stop cooperating, then the CDC is going to have to backpedal next November.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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Kurth wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:42 pm Ok. But my issue is, by the authors of the piece you quoted misstating the CDC’s guidance about “Zero Risk,” it suggests that...
Boy, the way you use quotes is different than how I was taught to use quotes. I did not find the terms zero and risk next to each other in any of the CDC guidance.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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The Meal wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 9:37 am
Kurth wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:42 pm Ok. But my issue is, by the authors of the piece you quoted misstating the CDC’s guidance about “Zero Risk,” it suggests that...
Boy, the way you use quotes is different than how I was taught to use quotes. I did not find the terms zero and risk next to each other in any of the CDC guidance.
It's possible he was using them mockingly rather than as a cite.
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That said, the first couple of times "zero risk" was used in this thread, it was without quotes, and it probably happened unintended to go from one to the other as the conversation continued.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

Note the change in tone this morning:


"This was a first step. It was foundational guidance," @CDCDirector says. "We are not saying that everybody has to take off their mask if they’re vaccinated…every community is not the same.…these decisions have to be made at the community level."
:doh:

This is part of the message that should have come on Thursday. No one yet has been able to get a straight answer on what specific metrics the CDC was using to come up with their new recommendations either. Again, they were/are in a crap position. This might have been their best move overall, but it doesn't mean it was a good one.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Smoove_B wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 11:35 am Note the change in tone this morning:


"This was a first step. It was foundational guidance," @CDCDirector says. "We are not saying that everybody has to take off their mask if they’re vaccinated…every community is not the same.…these decisions have to be made at the community level."
:doh:

This is part of the message that should have come on Thursday. No one yet has been able to get a straight answer on what specific metrics the CDC was using to come up with their new recommendations either. Again, they were/are in a crap position. This might have been their best move overall, but it doesn't mean it was a good one.
It's seen as a backtrack, or a revision at best. The war they're fighting isn't just against the virus, it's against misinformation and political agendas and every time fuck up the messaging they lose a battle. Corrections are the right thing to do, of course, but they don't get the horse back in the barn.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by malchior »

I was reminded of this conversation so dug up the quote. I think the CDC kept hearing whining about the masks outside and overcorrected. Maybe the science was right but the politics were all wrong. If they had tapered the guidance over a month it would have been digested better but the way they announced this came off in a way that exacerbated the political tensions around masks.
malchior wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:30 pm I thought the infographic was reasonably clear. I did have a *lovely* conversation that missed all the risk signaling in it to say that only 'two scenarios' are better for people (better = no masks natch) with vaccines. I was like...see all that red and yellow on the unvaccinated side. That's all the risk even with masks. See how the right side is green all the way down. :grund:
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

This is about as perfect as I've seen it described.


I fear that we are reverting to viewing COVID-19 as an INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL CARE issue

instead of understanding that it remains a COLLECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH issue

and demands continued comprehensive public health responses.

Our narrow focus on the individual continues to harm us.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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Defiant wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 9:58 am [T]he first couple of times "zero risk" was used in this thread, it was without quotes, and it probably happened unintended to go from one to the other as the conversation continued.
Exactly.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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If nothing else, I hope that science learns that when dealing with the public, the conduit between them and the public becomes as important as the science itself. There is a real, genuine need for a new role - people who understand the science behind what's going on, but are primarily experts in communicating with the public. I did not say a scientist that can communicate! I said a communicator that can science. It needs to be a specialized professional field, not a role that is filled as an afterthought.

And the public facing policy needs to be filtered through a committee built around psychologists, behaviorists, PR people, and advertising specialists before it ever reaches that point.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Blackhawk wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 5:50 pm If nothing else, I hope that science learns that when dealing with the public, the conduit between them and the public becomes as important as the science itself. There is a real, genuine need for a new role - people who understand the science behind what's going on, but are primarily experts in communicating with the public. I did not say a scientist that can communicate! I said a communicator that can science. It needs to be a specialized professional field, not a role that is filled as an afterthought.

It already is a field, kind of. It's just not used enough.
Science Communication (SC), published bi-monthly, is an international, interdisciplinary social science journal that examines the nature of expertise, the diffusion of knowledge, and the communication of science and technology among professionals and to the public. SC addresses theoretical and pragmatic questions central to some of today's most vigorous political and social debates. This discourse crosses national, cultural, and economic boundaries on issues such as health care policy, educational reform, international development, and environmental risk.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kurth »

The Meal wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 9:37 am
Kurth wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:42 pm Ok. But my issue is, by the authors of the piece you quoted misstating the CDC’s guidance about “Zero Risk,” it suggests that...
Boy, the way you use quotes is different than how I was taught to use quotes. I did not find the terms zero and risk next to each other in any of the CDC guidance.
I think you’re commenting here without reading the prior threads. And I’m guessing we both learned how quotations are supposed to be used from the same grammar books. 😀

I was being critical of the piece Smoove quoted because the authors of that piece were criticizing the CDC’s new mask guidance and were alleging that the CDC said there is “zero risk” to going unmasked outside.

My complaint was that the CDC never said there was zero risk. Zero risk is stupid and misleading and counterproductive and unattainable. Yet there are many people who seem to think that’s what we should be shooting for these days with respect to COVID.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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Oh, okay. You're right that I was mistaken about where your critical analysis was finding fault.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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The Meal wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 9:09 pm Oh, okay. You're right that I was mistaken about where your critical analysis was finding fault.
Umm . . . Ok. So, we good?
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »



Unsurprising data are unsurprising. But note that the NH data is clearly messed up. Further down the thread I think he states it should be around 45%.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Jaymon »

Blackhawk wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 5:50 pm If nothing else, I hope that science learns that when dealing with the public, the conduit between them and the public becomes as important as the science itself. There is a real, genuine need for a new role - people who understand the science behind what's going on, but are primarily experts in communicating with the public. I did not say a scientist that can communicate! I said a communicator that can science. It needs to be a specialized professional field, not a role that is filled as an afterthought.

And the public facing policy needs to be filtered through a committee built around psychologists, behaviorists, PR people, and advertising specialists before it ever reaches that point.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

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Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:25 am

Unsurprising data are unsurprising. But note that the NH data is clearly messed up. Further down the thread I think he states it should be around 45%.
I wonder what a chart by population density would look like. It's gotta be harder to get everyone vaccinated when they are spread out all over the place. Maybe one by income as well.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »


I love being told that I have an irrational fear of a deadly virus by people who are afraid of immigrants, LGBTQ, brown & black people, working women, windmills, vaccines, electric cars, voting by mail, universal health care, environmental protections, higher wages & face masks.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by malchior »

Yup. I'm really put off by the very serious people talking about people being 'addicted to the pandemic'. How about many, many people in NY/NJ and elsewhere know *multiple people* killed by this virus within the last 6-12 months. One of my referee community was in a coma for 5 months (and was on tv with his wife who plays derby), was on ECMO, they had prayer circles going for him for weeks, and he ultimately lost a leg. We saw this first hand. My FIL had multiple co-workers *die*. Some early this year. My wife has former and current co-workers *die* last year. This was real.

This pandemic showed me that Americans have a sickness that can only be described as a narcissistic lack of empathy. They didn't have such a bad experience. Great. It doesn't mean people are addicted to the pandemic. Anyone saying that can go eat a bag of dicks.
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Defiant »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:25 am Unsurprising data are unsurprising. But note that the NH data is clearly messed up. Further down the thread I think he states it should be around 45%.
That would explain why the Vaccine Tracker has NH using 120+% of the supplies they've received, although one other possibility is that the numbers are inflated because they started allowing people from out of state to vaccinate some time ago, so some of those numbers are from neighboring states. (I don't know if there would have been enough cross-state vaccinations to account for that, though.)
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Kraken »

Mass. has decided that the pandemic will end on May 29, just in time for Memday. While I do believe that better-informed-than-I people made a careful decision, and our commonwealth is in a good place, I'm still not dropping my guard entirely. I want to see where the numbers are a month from now before I'll consider dining in, for example, and I'm still nervous about going bare-faced in the grocery store. But I AM fully vaxxed, and in most common situations that amounts to immunity, so my masking practices are going to become situational.
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hepcat
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by hepcat »

Coworker was complaining that someone in our building was walking around without a mask. I agreed it might be premature, but then she brought up Trader Joes and other companies dropping the mask mandate. I then pointed out that the CDC had released that statement that if you were fully vaccinated you didn't need to wear one. She got agitated over that statement, but when I asked her if she'd been fully vaccinated, she replied "I don't think I'm going to. My body, my choice!".

God, the hypocrisy is astounding to me. She also refuses to get a flu shot every year because she thinks they do more harm than good. But she swears she's not an anti vax nutjob. :x
Covfefe!
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Isgrimnur
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Isgrimnur »

Start spraying the air with Lysol when she approaches.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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YellowKing
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by YellowKing »

Yeah I've got a co-worker who *wants* to be pro-science, do the right thing, but is constantly giving equal weight to conspiracy theories. She's always reaching out to me with stuff like this: "My doctor and employer says that the vaccine is safe, effective, and that it has been researched and tested extensively....but on the other hand, my friend on Facebook said there might be microchip trackers in them. What do I do?"

It's a bit maddening.
malchior
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by malchior »

One of my former co-workers is like that and is getting increasingly snappy at people in his life urging him to get the vaccine. Public shaming used to be a viable option but I think people like this just find some internet dungeon that reassures them everyone else is wrong.
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Smoove_B
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

Really good piece on the the CDC's recent change in policy, coming from a trusted voice:
While this is good news, it also is one of the biggest causes of concern around lifting this guidance now. These national averages can disguise the fact that prevalence and immunization rates vary substantially by region and community. Many are worried that communities with low vaccination rates are vulnerable to resurgence, especially where new cases have plateaued and are not continuing to decline. The CDC’s new mask guidance makes more sense in San Francisco, where COVID prevalence is extremely low and the majority of residents have been fully vaccinated, compared with Sacramento, where prevalence is about three times higher and only about 35 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated. If the CDC had waited, or linked this guidance to benchmarks at the county or state level, it could have avoided shifting the burden to the behavior of individual people. Because it released this blanket guidance now, without accounting for the local discrepancies in community risk, the most crucial question then becomes not whether the guidelines are evidence-based, but whether or not people will comply with them.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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YellowKing
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by YellowKing »

That's been a problem this entire pandemic. Trying to propose blanket guidelines over a large country where regional threat level varies wildly.
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Smoove_B
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

Once again, Texas:


New: Abbott bans TX governmental entities — like counties & cities — from requiring masks

Public schools can continue w/ current guidelines thru June 4, but after that, "no student, teacher, parent, or other staff member or visitor can be required to wear a mask while on campus"
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Isgrimnur
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Isgrimnur »

And he killed the extra UI funds. Game on.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Smoove_B
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Smoove_B »

Here's all the House GOP members that were fined over refusal to wear a mask. Penalty needs to be much higher - not just financial because I'm sure money is magically appearing to address any fines they accrue.
Reps. Brian Mast of Florida, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Beth Van Duyne of Texas all received $500 fines for second offenses of the mask mandate, the official said. Additional offenses of the mandate would result in $2,500 fines.

Additional Republican lawmakers received first offense warnings, the official told CNN, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Mary Miller of Illinois and Louie Gohmert of Texas.
First offense warnings are bullshit; these turds will wear them like a badge of honor - but not on their faces (of course).
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Jaymann
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Re: The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

Post by Jaymann »

My daughter saw all these videos about people claiming that magnets stick to your arm where you were vaccinated, because they are attracted to the nanobot-injected chip. So she kept putting magnets on my arm to see if they would stick. Sometimes they would hold on for a second or two, just from general stickiness. I suggested to her a far more likely explanation is that many people are idiots.
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