Conavirus......

I thought that swipe about a partner you don't live with was a direct attack on me. Although I don't use the term pod but just call it seeing my bf/partner.

And let's think rationally for a moment, even though the powers that be here said people who live alone should have had no human contact from March to October maybe, and insanely made no distinction between indoor and outdoor socializing even, and trust me very few people were paying them much mind, there is no ACTUAL difference in exposure to see someone you live with and don't with whatever exposures they and you have. The virus does not care about real estate, the authorities might say that because they know you have no choice to see those you live with, but again the virus doesn't care about real estate, you can get the virus from a partner you live with or one you don't (in and out of wedlock) or from a roommate, exposure is exposure and it all carries some risk and the more people you see inside unmasked the greater on average.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

There are other places without a statewide mask mandate in which the majority of the state is under local mandates. Tennessee is one example. A state mandate is not the only way for maskers to impose their will on other people.

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Exactly.

Wear a mask in populated areas when you are around other people.

Dont bother to wear a mask when you are working in your own garden or in community gardens when others are not nearby., when you are hiking in the woods, when you are bicycling through town, etc.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

I have written probably almost a year ago about how difficult I find it to wear masks, that I have never been one who can wear a turtleneck, can't stand things around my face, and later about a very itchy painful rash I got starting in the area under my mask that kept me up at night. I was told to suck it up.

Yesterday I saw on the news special masks developed with autistic children in mind because they too cannot stand to have anything on their face. It has a bigger pocket of air. (Guess what, you don't outgrow sensory sensitivity, adults can have it too, hence all the hypoallergenic products out there.)

Anyways, who here thinks this is unnecessary and children should just suck it up, don't complain, if they do they're being vain and don't care about others' health?

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As you said in your own post, they have developed special masks for children and hypoallergenic products for adults. And, any parent worth their salt would be protecting their children at all costs - special needs or not. I've seen plenty of young children out with their parents WITH MASKS! And not whining about wearing them.

Edited to add: Giving it serious thought, I haven't see ANY children whining about having to wear their masks.

So I went to a singles dining group for the first time last night. It was a great mix of mostly professional people ranging in age from 55-80. Some have had their vaccines and some not. The guy started it 6 years ago after a divorce because he didn’t want to eat out alone. As this illustrates everyone’s comfort level is different as far as dining out and other activities.

The only kid I have seen whining about their mask was one who said "Mommy, my mask is wet." to which she replied "so stop licking it."

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Originally Posted by happystuff

As you said in your own post, they have developed special masks for children and hypoallergenic products for adults. And, any parent worth their salt would be protecting their children at all costs - special needs or not. I've seen plenty of young children out with their parents WITH MASKS! And not whining about wearing them.

Edited to add: Giving it serious thought, I haven't see ANY children whining about having to wear their masks.

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There are 8 kids in my wife's Autism unit and none of them wear masks in the classroom, they become the entire focus of the kids emotions and attention making normal classroom activities impossible. She says it's nearly impossible to keep several of them in their clothes due to sensory issues, masks are even worse.

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Originally Posted by Alan

There are 8 kids in my wife's Autism unit and none of them wear masks in the classroom, they become the entire focus of the kids emotions and attention making normal classroom activities impossible. She says it's nearly impossible to keep several of them in their clothes due to sensory issues, masks are even worse.

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Kudos to your wife for the work she is doing. If these children are in the classroom - or for any children in the classrooms - what is being done as far as COVID protections? I see what is being done in my area, but know that different schools are doing different things.

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

So I went to a singles dining group for the first time last night. It was a great mix of mostly professional people ranging in age from 55-80. Some have had their vaccines and some not. The guy started it 6 years ago after a divorce because he didn’t want to eat out alone. As this illustrates everyone’s comfort level is different as far as dining out and other activities.

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Even with a vaccine two weeks behind me I wouldn’t be doing this. Dining out with a bunch of people in an enclosed room? Nope nope nope.


Doesn’t Fauci and Company say we need to be masking up and socially distancing for a while yet? Isn’t this “denying the science?”

Medical consensus seems to be that we need to follow established guidelines until the majority of the population is vaccinated, which sounds like it will be this summer.

They are making judgement calls and assumptions, some of it really doesn't fall in the category of follow the science or not, as there are things we just don't know, like transmission in vaccinated people. Almost no vaccines for anything are totally sterilizing is my understanding, but it's likely vaccination reduces transmission.

What we have more data on it is seems is that you don't have anything close to full protection from anything in a couple of weeks after the first vaccine, you just don't. However you do eventually in more 4 weeks or so develop pretty good immunity with some of them (there have been some articles on Pfizer) from just one shot, 75% from getting it, 85% from a symptomatic case. If that was the most effective vaccine we had you bet we'd be using it, glad for it, and moving back to normal when vaccination was widespread (we aren't however at the widespread point at all). However the vaccines have been better than that. A second shot of Pfizer or Moderna will of course take you into extremely high immunity, 95%. But yes it must be plenty annoying if restaurant staff have not been vaccinated yet having to serve customers for who are like: "what pandemic?" just because they have been lucky enough to land a shot.