Conavirus......

[Yppej]

I have also noticed many public health officials, front-line medical workers, and first responders moving on to different jobs and professions, burned out from the pandemic and now the recent public misbehaviour by a small but significant portion of our population.

Several local organizations I have data on are down nearly 40% in staff as of last week, compared to 2 years ago.

Don't worry, those who still are in the public sector will get extra pay from the American Recovery Act, which those of us in the private sector won't although we too worked through the pandemic, dealt with trying to enforce unpopular policies, etc. My former manager almost got into two fist fights trying to get customers to wear masks because the government passed it but left it up to the businesses to enforce instead of providing police or other personnel to do so. No surprise he retired.

I wish businesses could just put a sign "Enter at your own risk, curbside service available". The mandates are stupid.

And while the government is working on giving these public sector employees extra money, they aren't even getting vaccinated. Only half the police officers in my city are vaccinated, firefighters (who also run the EMS) 75%. But yeah, they are the heroes.

ETA: I never harass the front line staff charged with enforcing mandates. I am going before the Board of Health who make the stupid decisions everyone else must follow.

[Yppej]

This is how people respond to covid in the absence of an adequate social safety net including paid leave for those working for employers of any size, or self-employed:

https://www.atholdailynews.com/an-a1...sHigh-42750121

Excerpts:

I’ve had a dozen people who got the (home) test and told me themselves, ‘It’s positive. I’m going to stay home in my own bedroom but I’m not going to go through contract tracing because I don’t want my (spouse) to stay home. We can’t afford that.’

contract tracing can’t trace the kids the parents are keeping home because they did a CVS test, and they don’t want to tell anybody.”

people are refusing to talk to the contract tracers and give out any information.”

Hamlett added that some people are buying a two-step test and using it incorrectly.

“In order for that test to work, you have to take one test and three days later take the second test,” she said. “The results are conclusive after both tests.

“So, people take that one test — it’s negative, they’re fine. They never do the second test.

[Yppej]

Half of Vermont public schools have not had a single covid case this year. After all, this is the state with the best per capita vaccination rate in the country.

What is the response of public health authorities? Celebration? Oh no. We must start testing every child every day, never mind that the school nurses don't have the time. There must be some covid somewhere. If only we could find it!

ETA Source New England Cable News

[catherine]

Half of Vermont public schools have not had a single covid case this year. After all, this is the state with the best per capita vaccination rate in the country.

What is the response of public health authorities? Celebration? Oh no. We must start testing every child every day, never mind that the school nurses don't have the time. There must be some covid somewhere. If only we could find it!

ETA Source New England Cable News

You could argue that the reason we have had such a great record with low COVID cases and high vaccination is because of the outstanding leadership, strategies and tactics that have been put in place over the past 2 years. Phil Scott and his advisors earned a lot of credibility. He rightfully admits it will be a staffing nightmare, but I trust that if it's going to keep COVID from gaining ground, we should do it.

My seasonal next door neighbors here are a husband and wife team in the facilities department of one of the schools that have experienced a few cases, and it turned the school upside down. They are exhausted. The virus has caused problems of its own. Testing should at least have predictable challenges to overcome.

[Yppej]

Like covid the flu can be tested for, is spread through the respiratory system, and kills quite a few mainly elderly or feeble people every year. Imagine how much our society would have been turned upside down if we had all these years treated it like covid - all the testing, the quarantining, the shutdowns, the mask and vaccine mandates and other restrictions. But we don't. And with vaccines available covid should also be treated as an endemic and not a pandemic disease, but I am afraid it never will be. Too many people have amassed too much power and too much self-importance for that.

But if covid does ever go away, watch and the public health authorities will start doing the same with the flu. The coercive models are already in place, and "even one death is too many".

I'm afraid this will be a permanent erosion of our liberties, vs letting people make their own decisions about the health precautions they want to take.

[Teacher Terry]

Flu has killed nowhere near the number of people that Covid has.

[Yppej]

Flu has killed nowhere near the number of people that Covid has.

Multiply flu's average annual deaths by the number of years it has been around to compare the toll of each.

[bae]

A Colorado-based health system says it is denying organ transplants to patients not vaccinated against the coronavirus in “almost all situations,” citing studies that show these patients are much more likely to die if they get COVID-19.

The policy illustrates the growing costs of being unvaccinated and wades into deeply controversial territory — the use of immunization status to decide who gets limited medical care. The mere idea of prioritizing the vaccinated for rationed health resources has drawn intense backlash, as overwhelmingly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients push some hospitals to adopt “crisis standards of care,” in which health systems can prioritize patients for scarce resources based largely on their likelihood of survival.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-...ll-situations/

[Teacher Terry]

Bae, I am not surprised because there’s always been strict rules for organ transplants. I know 2 people that have received them.

[flowerseverywhere]

Here in Florida our cases are continuing to go down and ICU's emptying a little. Still way too full.
Our death rate is 2,600 per million people. 56,000 dead. Of course, many more were sick or have long covid or other side effects. Our surge was not until after vaccines were readily available so many Deaths were needless.
I'm sad so many people died and so many healthcare workers were forced to work so hard. I imagine the next big story will be lack of medical professionals. Our nursing homes in particular, as well hospitals are already very short staffed.