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

[stessier]

Tucker Carlson should be held accountable for selling propaganda. He’s sold his soul for influence.

That's giving him too much credit - early videos of him suggest he would be saying the same things with or without the influence.

[Smoove_B]

CDC updates outdoor masking recommendations:

People who are fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus don’t need to wear face masks when walking, hiking, biking, running alone or gathering in small groups outside, federal health officials said, taking a major step to ease pandemic restrictions while encouraging more people to get shots.

The same applies to dining at a restaurant outside, and to small outdoor gatherings that include some unvaccinated people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Yet vaccinated people should still wear masks in public settings indoors and outdoors where there is a substantial risk of Covid-19 transmission, such as concerts, sporting events and other crowded gatherings, the CDC said.

The fully vaccinated should also wear masks at indoor gatherings with unvaccinated people, visits to a barber, hair salon, shopping mall, museum, movie theater or crowded house of worship. Vaccinated people should also wear masks if singing in an indoor chorus, the CDC said.

Also, F Tucker Carlson. The idea that he has a national platform is disgusting.

Double EDIT: If you're looking for a better article to share (that isn't paywalled), here is USA Today.

[Kurth]

Great! Maybe now I’ll stop getting the stink eye on my runs!

[Smoove_B]

Great! Maybe now I’ll stop getting the stink eye on my runs!

Well, your state might continue to VIOLATE your FREEDOM and require masks in public. These are only recommendations; each state is going to do their own thing, based on local conditions.

[Zaxxon]

Great! Maybe now I’ll stop getting the stink eye on my runs!

Very much looking forward to not wearing the neck gaiter along on every run, esp as the weather warms.

Edit - Did not expect to see movie theaters move all the way to green (for vaccinated, with masks). I guess it makes sense, but still seems skeery to me.

[Kurth]

Great! Maybe now I’ll stop getting the stink eye on my runs!

Well, your state might continue to VIOLATE your FREEDOM and require masks in public. These are only recommendations; each state is going to do their own thing, based on local conditions.

Well, you’re probably right and I should put my celebratory FREEDOM FRIES away and continue to stick to wide open roads where I have plenty of room to give others a wide berth. I live outside of Portland, OR, and my county is apparently moving to EXTREME RISK today.

That kind of sucks.

[Smoove_B]

Living under tyranny is the new normal.

In Florida related news, I can't even believe this is real:

A private school in the fashionable Design District of Miami sent its faculty and staff a letter last week about getting vaccinated against Covid-19. But unlike institutions that have encouraged and even facilitated vaccination for teachers, the school, Centner Academy, did the opposite: One of its co-founders, Leila Centner, informed employees “with a very heavy heart” that if they chose to get a shot, they would have to stay away from students.

In an example of how misinformation threatens the nation’s effort to vaccinate enough Americans to get the coronavirus under control, Ms. Centner, who has frequently shared anti-vaccine posts on Facebook, claimed in the letter that “reports have surfaced recently of non-vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated.”

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,” she wrote, repeating a false claim that vaccinated people can somehow pass the vaccine to others and thereby affect their reproductive systems. (They can do neither.)

In the letter, Ms. Centner gave employees three options:

Inform the school if they had already been vaccinated, so they could be kept physically distanced from students;

Let the school know if they get the vaccine before the end of the school year, “as we cannot allow recently vaccinated people to be near our students until more information is known”;

Wait until the school year is over to get vaccinated.

Can we start a GoFundMe to help relocate people that need to move to somewhere that isn't crazy?

[Daehawk]

Governor declares COVID-19 a ‘managed public health issue,’ removes restrictions in 89 counties

Glad to see my state has fully solved COVID. The rest of you are so primitive.

“COVID-19 is now a managed public health issue in Tennessee and no longer a statewide public health emergency,” Lee said. “As Tennesseans continue to get vaccinated, it’s time to lift remaining local restrictions, focus on economic recovery and get back to business in Tennessee.”

Gotta make that money.

[Isgrimnur]

In Florida related news, I can't even believe this is real:

A private school in the fashionable Design District of Miami sent its faculty and staff a letter last week about getting vaccinated against Covid-19. But unlike institutions that have encouraged and even facilitated vaccination for teachers, the school, Centner Academy, did the opposite: One of its co-founders, Leila Centner, informed employees “with a very heavy heart” that if they chose to get a shot, they would have to stay away from students.

[Octavious]

Wow that's actually worse than my company. That's impressive.

[malchior]

I can't even fathom the rationale involved there.

[hitbyambulance]

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,”

actually believing this claim is a symptom of mental illness, i feel

[Zaxxon]

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,”

actually believing this claim is a symptom of mental illness, i feel

It's certainly not a sign that one should be running a school.

[malchior]

This is a pretty good infographic! Also good news even if I suspect people are going to abuse it because ... it's America.

[Isgrimnur]

When the parents are paying $15-30k per kid, you think what they want you to think.

[Smoove_B]

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,”

actually believing this claim is a symptom of mental illness, i feel

As a side note, there's been a crowdsourced (legit) study that was started by two scientists that started hearing anecdotal commentary from numerous women about how the COVID-19 vaccination seemingly impacted their menstrual cycles. After doing some research, they (the researchers) determined that no one conducting any of the official studies related to safety had included questions about changes in menstrual cycles as part of their overall analysis (which seems like a HUGE oversight).

Anyway, I'm pretty confident that's how this idea started, however the idea that a vaccinated person standing near an unvaccinated person would somehow impact menstrual patterns is...insane, yes.

If you want to read more about the legit study, go here.

[Skinypupy]

Sigh...

Spotify’s Joe Rogan encourages "healthy" young people not to get a coronavirus vaccine. His show is Spotify's most popular podcast.

“If you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I'll go no.”

I know it's easy to just roll our eyes at "Doctor Rogan". However, he is Spotify's highest rated podcast with millions of listeners who - for some reason that I can't understand at all - hang on his every word.

[malchior]

I know it's easy to just roll our eyes at "Doctor Rogan". However, he is Spotify's highest rated podcast with millions of listeners who - for some reason that I can't understand at all - hang on his every word.

I think of this tweet often in these moments.

[stessier]

Well, I mean, both his kids got it and it was nothing, so I don't see what the problem is.

[Remus West]

I swear one of these days I'm going to end up in a viral video over masks. For the second time in the last few weeks I have been in a store and encountered a maskless person. Not someone improperly wearing a mask (see those idiots all the time), not someone wearing their mask around their neck or carrying it in a pocket, but someone seemingly not in possession of a mask while shopping. This last time I was in Home Depot and looked away from the shelf I had been perusing for, well, shelves right at some guy walking down the aisle toward me completely unmasked right next to his wife/girlfriend who was masked. Before I could stop them the words "What the FUCK" came out as I stared at him. His lady grabbed his arm and took him back the way they had come and I didn't see them again.

If I do end up getting jumped in one of those videos will you guys do a go fund me for my medical? I'm a crap fighter and out of shape to boot.

[LordMortis]

Reporter to Biden:

Why were you wearing a mask outside when you just said it was OK to not wear masks outside? What message is that sending?

[El Guapo]

When the parents are paying $15-30k per kid, you think what they want you to think.

I assume that this school was founded as an educational community for people who believe hippie nonsense, it's just that the hippie nonsense hasn't previously interacted with an issue of national importance before.

[Smoove_B]

I swear one of these days I'm going to end up in a viral video over masks.

That might be a subconscious reason I've been avoiding going anywhere myself, Remus. I am afraid I'm going to randomly get mouthy because my levels of disgust for people that can't be bothered at this point is off the charts.

Also, I recently saw someone refer to Joe Rogan as Goop but marketed for men and I'm pretty sure that's how I think of him now.

[Zaxxon]

Also, I recently saw someone refer to Joe Rogan as Goop but marketed for men and I'm pretty sure that's how I think of him now.

[malchior]

Reporter to Biden:

Why were you wearing a mask outside when you just said it was OK to not wear masks outside? What message is that sending?

It's pretty obvious that the WH press corps severely misses Trump and is being pushed by editorial forces to manufacture click bait. At least it isn't the Murdoch-sphere style where they manufacture stories about migrant children being handed books by Harris (NY Post) or Biden saying that people shouldn't eat red meat (Fox News).

[Skinypupy]

Also, I recently saw someone refer to Joe Rogan as Goop but marketed for men and I'm pretty sure that's how I think of him now.

Very true.

I have a couple dudebro co-workers who think everything that flies out of Rogan's piehole is gospel truth. We finally came to an understanding that if they begin any sentence with "Joe Rogan said...", I'm allowed to immediately leave the conversation.

[Daehawk]

Shame COVID and the like doesn't simply target stupid and instantly kill. Maybe it could be modified for evil, bully, asshole too. Maybe political parties.

[Alefroth]

I swear one of these days I'm going to end up in a viral video over masks.

That might be a subconscious reason I've been avoiding going anywhere myself, Remus. I am afraid I'm going to randomly get mouthy because my levels of disgust for people that can't be bothered at this point is off the charts.

Also, I recently saw someone refer to Joe Rogan as Goop but marketed for men and I'm pretty sure that's how I think of him now.

When will we get a candle that smells like his nut sack?

[malchior]

I just saw a video of the Fox people mocking Biden for this behavior. Guess they pine for the days of the President pondering about the benefits of bleach as a COVID-19 therapy.

[malchior]

When will we get a candle that smells like his nut sack?

Here you go

[Daehawk]

Joe Rogaine. Grow hair on your brain.

[LordMortis]

And now an interview with a casino owner/restaurateur owner of the Huston Rockets complaining people don't want to work for him when they can get unemployment and that at +300 a week. Says his casinos are overflowing but people won't work at the slaughterhouses so he's going to have to charge more and we're going to have runaway inflation.

Funny thing I don't doubt him. What I doubt is his insinuation that the root problem is that we people need to work for less.

[Isgrimnur]

"Why should I change? They're the ones who suck!"

[Smoove_B]

Funny thing I don't doubt him. What I doubt is his insinuation that the root problem is that we people need to work for less.

I raised this issue in the Viral Economy thread. I think some type of "they're too lazy to work" memo went out last week as it seems to be a talking point now.

[malchior]

Funny thing I don't doubt him. What I doubt is his insinuation that the root problem is that we people need to work for less.

I raised this issue in the Viral Economy thread. I think some type of "they're too lazy to work" memo went out last week as it seems to be a talking point now.

Some business owners put up signs about people not wanting to work because they heard that in the derp-o-sphere. As far as I can tell we still haven't seen any *actual* evidence of it in the jobs data. Also the idea that people are living their full lives on a $1400 check and some unemployment seems...dubious but we're not a serious society that you know thinks about things anymore. Long story short - it's probably bullshit.

[Smoove_B]

Long story short - it's probably bullshit.

No, it all makes sense. First, you pay workers to stay home. Then you ban hamburgers and turn everyone into a soy boy. Just wait until you see step 3!

[malchior]

Long story short - it's probably bullshit.

No, it all makes sense. First, you pay workers to stay home. Then you ban hamburgers and turn everyone into a soy boy. Just wait until you see step 3!

Yup - all playing their PS5s...wait no...they can't get those...um...some doodads. And the soy boys are changing their pronouns because of the powerful course of female hormones. Which of course means they go to the "wrong" bathroom and that forces beleaguered public servants to throw beer at tables where children are seated. That feels like a sound theory.

[El Guapo]

Has Fauci gone on Rogan's show? I see clips of Fauci on a million different random shows. Seems like a good way to reach some fraction of Rogan's audience.

[Smoove_B]

I do not have my finger on the pulse of Joe Rogan's schedule, but my guess is that no, he's not a target right now for an interview. Maybe that'll change, but I'm guessing it would likely be more hostile than anything.

In other news, confusion persists (as predicted) in NJ because despite what CDC recommends, our rules aren't changing:

Yet those guidelines also are at odds with recommendations from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who said Wednesday the state is not updating its masking rules. Murphy said all residents still will be asked to wear masks at all times indoors unless they’re eating, as well as outdoors, unless people can maintain social distance.

“The only wrinkle between what we’ve been saying from Day One and as I understood the feds saying yesterday is they’ve added that you need to be vaccinated to (go maskless outdoors),” Murphy said during his daily news briefing. “We’ve not had that as a requirement, and I don’t expect that we will.”

More to the point (and to reiterate complaints I've seen here):

The rollout of any new CDC guidelines often has caused “initial confusion,” said Stephanie Silvera, an infectious disease expert and professor at Montclair State University. The government needs to work on finding methods to “translate this complicated information into ways that are more easily understood,” she said.

“These issues are complicated and nuanced, and most people just want to know, ‘Can I take my mask off, yes or no?’” said Silvera. “And the answer is sometimes yes. It’s not an A or B situation.”

[malchior]

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.