Conavirus......

I saw on the news today there is no reason for vaccinated people to wear masks but the Feds and many state governments will not ease mandates because they do not trust people to be honest about whether they were vaccinated if mandates are modified to only apply to the unvaccinated. We could use vaccine passports but they aren't doing anything on that front. But they are at least saying no need for non vaccinated non elderly people with no comorbidities to wear masks at family gatherings where the high risk people are vaccinated. We need more of this thinking, that we don't infringe on the rights of healthy people unnecessarily.

Of course people won’t be honest. We’ve all likely read stories about known positives getting on planes and such. There was a story about gyms being super spreader places because lots of people don’t wear masks and of the limited number of situations studied where they were spreading the virus there were multiple cases where people who had either tested positive or had obvious covid symptoms had still showed up to workout.

If most people in the US actually had concern for others our infection stats would look more like countries like Australia.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

I saw on the news today there is no reason for vaccinated people to wear masks ....

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Well, gosh, I guess you know more than the CDC's just-released guidelines on the topic for vaccinated individuals.

It's like you only read the headlines of articles that reinforce your beliefs, and even then misrepresent things.

до свидания

My parents are scheduled to get their second shots today. In a couple weeks I will be able to hug them for the first time in over a year which the CDC says is safe even though I am not vaccinated. As I said in another thread, vaccines work, and I trust this vaccine to keep them from getting the virus or giving it to me. People who love to cower in fear and gloom need to look at the data coming out of Israel.

My mother has really declined over the year. It has been hard seeing that, being apart, and not knowing when we could be together again or know how much time we will have.

I have also felt very isolated living with and only seeing socially a mentally ill person who does not want me to get things done and can't get himself together to get them done though he thinks he can. Last night I had a meltdown and said I am going to start calling repair people today, I cannot be patient anymore. I also think with the decline in infection rates it is okay to bring a contractor in the house. The water is getting rustier and I am worried a pipe could burst.

Chicago is up in arms that the appts at the big vaccine center set up at the United Center stadium have been going mostly to whites, Asians, and suburban Cook County residents, not the older people of color who had been the intended recipients at this location. The mayor is danged near on a rampage about this.

Well, perhaps you have to enable people to make appts by phone and staff any phone lines accordingly so people can get through.

Tradd the same thing happened in NYC maybe a month ago. They set up a site in Washington heights, a largely Hispanic neighborhood that was having high infection rates at the time but appointments were only available online at an English only website and if I remember correctly they didn’t even make an effort to have sufficient Spanish speaking people on-site to help.

A friend of mine had an appointment last Saturday at the Jacob javits convention center. She got there and the line was incredibly long. With no idea where, or even if, there was a disabled line (she’s a long hauler who simply would not have been able to wait in the line for any length of time) she had to tell the Uber driver to just take her home.

My son's bil in Philadelphia is severely immuno compromised and has had two organ transplants. He made his appointment and went to get the shot and they had given his shot to someone else.

Not okay.

We’ve had an interesting time at my church with people showing up for services who’ve not signed up. We have a capacity for 40. You have to sign up ahead of time. Priest emails out a Google forms thing and you sign up that way. Even our seniors can handle that. But with it getting close to the beginning of Lent, people are showing up for services out of the blue. They’ve been very strict so they can do contact tracing if needed. There’s talk about putting up signs on the church doors in all the languages of people who might drop in (lots of local Slavs) indicating no one to attend without signup. People dropping in also puts us over our capacity of 40. We have chairs spaced out with bits of tape on the floor marking 6ft between. Really the only way they can keep people out is to lock the doors when the service has started. That might be a bit drastic.

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Originally Posted by Tradd

We’ve had an interesting time at my church with people showing up for services who’ve not signed up. We have a capacity for 40. You have to sign up ahead of time. Priest emails out a Google forms thing and you sign up that way. Even our seniors can handle that. But with it getting close to the beginning of Lent, people are showing up for services out of the blue. They’ve been very strict so they can do contact tracing if needed. There’s talk about putting up signs on the church doors in all the languages of people who might drop in (lots of local Slavs) indicating no one to attend without signup. People dropping in also puts us over our capacity of 40. We have chairs spaced out with bits of tape on the floor marking 6ft between. Really the only way they can keep people out is to lock the doors when the service has started. That might be a bit drastic.

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Your church is exhibiting responsible behavior and protecting its adherents. Wish they were all that careful.

A week ago I had back to back rescue dog emergencies that required I spend 10 hours total in a car with someone who isn’t particularly careful with social distancing. In fact she doesn’t mask up and does not socially distance purposely because she’s had the Rona virus twice she says. She has been tested and she has antibodies. Anyway –

Not only did I ride hours in a car, one of the events required that I be with a group of people for quite a while as they dealt with a mama dog giving birth. They were all unmasked, so I,stood back as far ss I could. These events also necessitated eating out in restaurant one time.

I wasn’t happy about it but I had to do it.

So here I am five days later and I’m still healthy, so I guess I’m OK. I got lucky. And I did have Pfizer shot number one under my belt.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

So here I am five days later and I’m still healthy, so I guess I’m OK. I got lucky. And I did have Pfizer shot number one under my belt.

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Just a single dose gives you a significant improvement in odds after just a few days, so breath easy!

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Originally Posted by bae

Just a single dose gives you a significant improvement in odds after just a few days, so breath easy!

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In theory this is like figuring any other odds: What are the odds that you'll be in the airspace of someone who has Covid and is in the infectious stage? What are the odds that your mask will filter out enough of whatever virus is in the air from that person to prevent you becoming infected? What are the odds of the first Pfizer shot having generated enough immunity already to kill any Covid virus that does end up in your respiratory system? Multiply it all together, and you end up with pretty good odds that you won't get Covid.

Wrap up and open the car window
. Maybe she will get the point. It is all playing the odds. I am fully vaccinated but am aware I do not have a big V on my forehead so I wear a mask, in addition to all the other reasons, so people who are afraid can relax a little.

One thing that confuses me is use of masks in outdoor spaces. I/we don't wear ours when walking around the neighborhood or in the park. About half of people do and half don't outdoors. From what I have read, the odds of inhaling enough virus outdoors is minimal and trying to take a brisk walk or run with a mask on makes it especially hard to breathe. I wouldn't go to a crowded event outdoors without one but otherwise...

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Originally Posted by pinkytoe

One thing that confuses me is use of masks in outdoor spaces. I/we don't wear ours when walking around the neighborhood or in the park. About half of people do and half don't outdoors. From what I have read, the odds of inhaling enough virus outdoors is minimal and trying to take a brisk walk or run with a mask on makes it especially hard to breathe. I wouldn't go to a crowded event outdoors without one but otherwise...

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I'm very cautious, but I agree with your reasoning. In fact I figure if I'm outside and more than 10 feet from the nearest person I'm pretty safe if there are only a few scattered people around. The problem is there is always some maskless butthead who will walk right up to you, often from behind or from one side, and start talking to you. So I always wear a mask if I'm in a public place. The only exception is when I'm riding my motorcycle. I feel safe then because most cars turn on their heat or air-conditioning and keep their windows closed.

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Originally Posted by pinkytoe

One thing that confuses me is use of masks in outdoor spaces. I/we don't wear ours when walking around the neighborhood or in the park. About half of people do and half don't outdoors. From what I have read, the odds of inhaling enough virus outdoors is minimal and trying to take a brisk walk or run with a mask on makes it especially hard to breathe. I wouldn't go to a crowded event outdoors without one but otherwise...

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Yes, I agree!

I regularly go outside but do not carry a mask because I don’t intend to talk to anyone. If I do end up seeing a neighbor I want to talk to, I stand far far away and we kind of shout at each other.

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Originally Posted by jp1

If most people in the US actually had concern for others our infection stats would look more like countries like Australia.

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If most people in the US actually had concern for others 75%-90% of all our social, legal, environmental, housing, food supply, energy, transportation, and other problems would have been solved a long time ago. And I don't see it happening.

I carry a mask when doing things outdoors, in case for some reason I have to get close to someone. I try to arrange things so that this doesn't happen. I did this pre-pandemic as well though :-)

I can't think of any rational support for me wearing a mask when hiking on the 80 miles of empty trails on the mountain I live on. I mean, when the weather is bad, I wear something over my face to avoid freezing, but that's a different issue.

So the CDC says students can now be 3 not 6 feet apart because masks will protect them. If masks really protected them then they could sit shoulder to shoulder. Obviously masks do not stop covid transmission or given all the masks being worn the disease would have gone away by now.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

So the CDC says students can now be 3 not 6 feet apart because masks will protect them. If masks really protected them then they could sit shoulder to shoulder. Obviously masks do not stop covid transmission or given all the masks being worn the disease would have gone away by now.

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Playing your "if" game... IF EVERYONE wore masks, especially from the onset of this, then YES, they could probably sit shoulder to shoulder NOW!

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Originally Posted by Yppej

More trollish things. Troll troll troll..

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Troll.

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Originally Posted by bae

I carry a mask when doing things outdoors, in case for some reason I have to get close to someone.

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I also carry a mask pretty much all the time and probably will from here on out. So simple to help keep me safe and others safe.

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Originally Posted by bae

Troll. Wow! Look how easy it is to to make it look like someone Originally Posted something they did not. A great trick of Bae's. He's so smart!

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'Nough said?

I hugged my parents for the first time in over a year. So glad they are both vaccinated since my mom fell and broke her back and it would not be easy for her to come outdoors to visit with me.

My brother and I stayed six feet away from each other since neither of us is vaccinated.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

I hugged my parents for the first time in over a year. So glad they are both vaccinated since my mom fell and broke her back and it would not be easy for her to come outdoors to visit with me.

My brother and I stayed six feet away from each other since neither of us is vaccinated.

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Glad you got to hug your parents, but you realize the vaccine won't necessarily PREVENT them from getting sick, just hopefully keep them from dying - (edited to add) should they get some strain of COVID-19 after being vaccinated. So you not being vaccinated still means you can definitely be a carrier and make them sick.

Edited to add again - Them being vaccinated made it safer for YOU.

I'll probably carry a mask for the foreseeable future, especially as the threats from variants develops. If nothing else, it will be handy for flu season, even if I haven't contracted a case of the flu literally for decades now.

Being vaccinated also means that the chance of getting sick from the virus is slim although possible. Before my kids were vaccinated or my friends I was comfortable being around them because I was vaccinated. Nothing is 100% so I think Yppej is fine to be around her parents. I am happy to have my life back. I still wear masks going into stores, etc.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

I hugged my parents for the first time in over a year. So glad they are both vaccinated since my mom fell and broke her back and it would not be easy for her to come outdoors to visit with me.

My brother and I stayed six feet away from each other since neither of us is vaccinated.

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I am so sorry to hear that your poor mom broke her back! That is terrible, and it is so difficult dealing with health issues now. I am glad you got to hug her. When I got to hug my dad after a year, we both cried for about five minutes. I am really glad you can be there for and with your mom and that she has been vaccinated. Thank God for small mercies.

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

Being vaccinated also means that the chance of getting sick from the virus is slim although possible. Before my kids were vaccinated or my friends I was comfortable being around them because I was vaccinated. Nothing is 100% so I think Yppej is fine to be around her parents. I am happy to have my life back. I still wear masks going into stores, etc.

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My point was that since YOU are vaccinated, YOU are comfortable, but you - however slim - could still carry a variant and pass it along to someone who is NOT vaccinated, and someone who is NOT vaccinated can still potentially carry and give you a variant that you are not vaccinated against. Granted these scenarios may be very slim, but when it comes to the health and safety of my family, I will still practice safety until even more is learned about the vaccines, the variant strains and the various rates of spreading between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people.

I think of it like the flu shot. I get the shot and I'm protected against SOME flu strains - not all. Someone who doesn't get the flu shot can still give me a variety of the flu and/or I have the potential of carrying a variety and passing it on to them.

Again, it seems to all come down to the level of risk a person is willing to expose themselves and others to - personal choice. For me personally, the information is still not definitive enough with regards to these scenarios for me to feel "back to normal" after I get my 2nd vaccine.

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Originally Posted by happystuff

...Again, it seems to all come down to the level of risk a person is willing to expose themselves and others to - personal choice. For me personally, the information is still not definitive enough with regards to these scenarios for me to feel "back to normal" after I get my 2nd vaccine.

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Yes, we will all take a different path of risk.

For me, stepping out into the world of normalcy is a step, or two, or three, masked up and conscious of space between me and others.

I can’t envision the time when I will willingly go into an enclosed interior space shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of people again! But I suppose that time will return.

Happy, you are working in a warehouse which is definitely a risky thing to do. Locally the virus has spread through some of ours. If I was doing that I would avoid elderly people also. I joined a singles dining group and am comfortable being with up to 20 people at these events. A year was long enough to be in isolation. I wouldn’t go without the vaccine but there’s some seniors in the group that are just getting it.

I am going to restaurants twice a week. I feel very comfortable as do my friends that are vaccinated. I can finally shop again versus ordering online for groceries. My kids were very paranoid and also felt safe once vaccinated. My DIL went back to work in a casino 2 weeks after the first dose. Yppej, it’s sad your mom broke her back but I say enjoy your parents while you have them.

The Spanish flu was the leading cause of death in 1918. Announced in today's news - in 2020 covid was the third leading cause of death in the US. Keep this in mind the next time you see something on social media about how bad covid is compared to other disasters, when those posts don't take into account differences in population over time among other things.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

The Spanish flu was the leading cause of death in 1918. Announced in today's news - in 2020 covid was the third leading cause of death in the US. Keep this in mind the next time you see something on social media about how bad covid is compared to other disasters, when those posts don't take into account differences in population over time among other things.

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#1. Heart Disease-not contagious 690,882

#2. Cancer-dozens of kinds. Also, not contagious. 598,932

#3. Covid. Contagious.....PREVENTABLE to a significant degree 8 months 345,323 deaths . Extrapolate to 1 year (at that low starting death rate) 460,431

2021 death rate on track for 822,708. Total for 12 months: 551,000. Fabulous don't ya think?

Assuming Suicide at a measly 44k is totally not worthy of attention whatsoever?

Really....you think no biggie? >:(

Wow, those numbers are really interesting. Those first two, while not contagious, have a certain degree of preventability, I think, so it makes me think of what I need to do going forward if I wish to remain around and not succumb to one of them. Interesting!

Big increase in cases in both Chicago and the surrounding area. 18-30 somethings are the culprit. The Chicago positivity rate has gone from 3 to 4% in the past week. The mayor is threatening to roll back 20% at the ball parks and bar/restaurant capacity increases.

Just wondering....is this our record for thread length?

And, in the middle of it all, lame, housebound, unvaccinated Jane just got a jury summons.
After a bit of a search, I managed to get hold of a helpful staff person who excused me permanently.
I wouldn't have minded serving if the conditions were different, but really...

The last time I was summoned, I had just moved to Bellevue when Washington County, Oregon sent me a notice. A couple of lucky defendants dodged bullets.

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Originally Posted by KayLR

Just wondering....is this our record for thread length?

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Not sure if it #1 or #2. The other thread in the running would be the trump thread that Williamsmith started back in 2016.

Things are getting bad in Cook County (where Chicago is). I’m on the far edge of suburban Cook. Looking like indoor dining will be going away. Frankly, I think recreational air travel needs to go away.

But reason behind the spread here is the 18-30 something age group.

I agree with you on the air travel Tradd. Now we have a new possibly doubly dangerous from India here because it was never shut down.