Why do so many people act like Covid has gone away?
It’s not over and people are still dying – wear a mask guys!
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Because people want to think it’s over and the president said something along those lines.
You wouldn’t want to damage our economy, cause more political division, and risk local leaders going too far with mandates would you? I’m being sarcastic there, but the truth is the government, including health agencies look at the total health of the population and that includes psychological health.
Moreover, the news basically stopped reporting on covid. For most people that means it doesn’t exist anymore. Most people don’t know close to 400 people a day are still dying in the US, they don’t know that’s about 3–4 times the amount that typically die from flu and pneumonia prior to covid. They believe the vaccine is protecting people, but really the vaccinated elderly are still winding up in hospitals at a fairly high rate.
I really had hoped for a cultural shift in the US to be willing to take small measures to prevent spread of respiratory infectious diseases, but no such luck.
Covid isn’t going away but it’s at a point where people have to live their lives. People wear masks voluntarily now. I don’t. Of course, if I get sick, I have nobody to blame but myself and I am aware of that.
Fortunately, the newest strains are like a bad cold for the majority of people. It’s a gamble, so some may end up in the hospital or dead, especially those with comorbidities, but it’s a chance people take.
It got to a point on social media, at the height of the pandemic, where people were in hysterics about mask wearing, people going in certain directions in supermarkets, people staying six feet apart, and stuff like that. Customers screeching at cashiers, customers screeching at each other, people having total meltdowns. Then when the kids had to go back to school, the government made the six foot distance into a three foot distance. It made many people cynical, even though the experts were learning and adjusting things as they went because it’s a new disease and everyone was learning as they went.
I no longer participate in mask debates and stuff on social media, and thankfully, there are not many any more and often, those discussions get shut down by group adminis because they go nowhere and just cause dissent.
There are three reasons to wear a mask, COVID-19, RSV and Flu.
Welcome to Fluther @Madison264 !
I saw Fauci recently say in an interview that the “stay at home” more extreme orders were put in place temporarily because hospitals were filling up and the healthcare needed time to get adequate quantities of PPE. I interpreted, or maybe I extrapolated, what he said as also being able to criticize governors who went far too strict for too long. Plus, a lot of people did get too hysterical about the people who refused to comply when it wasn’t very many people being so defiant.
Typical that when something gets too extreme, then there is an opposite and equal reaction to the other extreme.
It did and does matter when you get sick. People who criticize the more extreme measures in places that had high infection rates in the first year aren’t paying attention. Getting sick the first year is very different from getting sick now. Now, we have vaccines, treatments, and what seems to be a less dangerous strain causing most of the cases.
I still wear a mask in a lot of situations.
Edit: I wish there would be more emphasis on mask wearing on public transportation.
Because psychologically we push bad and negative things out of their minds as soon as they can. Also there is the NIMBY (Not me or not in my backyard) approach.
Don’t ever forget or let your guard down on some things. Stay protected and vigilant. Don’t kid yourself.
Covid
9/11
Mass Shootings
Jan 6
Dec 7
Because while bad, it’s not the death bringer that it we feared it could be. Society/Life has to go on and most people are psychologically ok with some amount of collateral damage if it means they get to live under the illusion of relative comfort and normalcy. In the end we can’t stop this thing and a balance has to be maintained of taking precautions without damaging the economy and by extension the supply chain that we rely on to live.
Covid is no longer a pandemic. It’s endemic. Everyone who wants to be (at least in my country) is vaccinated. Our therepeutic responses are quite good now. Not wearing a mask is fine at this point. When there is a particularly large spike and health care capacity is being threatened, mask use will return, but if you try to force it when it’s not needed (as it was in many places during the pandemic) all you’re going to do is erode the public’s willingness to cooperate when you really need it. Life has to return to normal sometime.
There is an independent streak many Americans that sometimes just revolts when they asked/told/recommended/required to do something. Also the CDC got some messaging wrong early on which diminished trust. That being said they also were criticized for changing messaging as the pandemic evolved so they were kind of in a no win situation.
The mask thing is a problem. It takes about half a brain to understand that early on, people were told not to wear them out of fear front-line workers would not have them. That fear is 100% correct, they would have been hoarded…and they were by many. Of course they help a little, that’s basic reasoning but it was astounding to see just how poor people’s logic was regarding how effective or ineffective they are. The CDC really screwed up when they told people not to bother with them at first. They also screwed up by not only reversing their position but amplifying that reversal. Suddenly it’s a political conspiracy and not a prudent precaution. Bunch of asshats if you asked me. It was easy to foresee in this clickbait environment we live in. They should have spent more time getting people to just wash/sanitize their hands. I don’t even know where to begin about the vaccines. I hope people are more pragmatic when this eventually happens again.
By the way there have been school closures this flu season. Here’s one article from a month ago https://www.care.com/c/rsv-and-flu-outbreaks-causing-school-closures/
Mostly southern states mentioned in the article, which makes sense since the flu map was red in the Deep South early in the season. Maybe now some of those people who said, “we’ve never closed schools before,” will have a bit of a memory check that school districts around the country for many years even before covid have used temporary closures to try to cut off the spread of an illness racing through a school.
Here’s the flu map. You can go back several weeks and see how the South was the hot spot. Now, the flu has moved all around (Thanksgiving) and the South is actually doing slightly better, but still widespread. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm
IF I have to be in a crowd I wear a mask, that is if a can’t keep a social distance.
I wear a mask to go grocery shopping, go to airports, get on a public transportation. Our area is 10% positive for Covid, plus RSV and Flu. I have no desire to get any of them.
I wore my mask for 2 years!!! Yes, Covid is still a thing. I’ve had EVERY vaccine available for it up to this point. I’m still VERY careful when I “have to” be around others. When I can’t social distance, I wear my mask. IF I can be a safe distance from others, I forego my mask. I’m retired & I stay home by myself most of my day. Most of my family have passed, so I don’t have anybody to take it to. Where I live, we don’t have many deaths from the virus. The few deaths that we do have are from the unvaccinated. I pay attention to what others have to say & I pretty much know who hasn’t been vaccinated & I stay away from them. Yes, I can catch it elsewhere, but most passing it on are the unvaccinated.
There is so much that we don’t know about Covid, so I’m choosing to use my common sense. I’ve managed to live 72 years avoiding the worst of the Flu going around & other various illnesses that popped up over the years. Since you feel it is important to wear a mask, please feel free to do so as you feel the need. I will do the same although I probably won’t wear my mask as often as you wear yours!!! I still plan to keep myself Covid free. Even when I’m not wearing my mask, it does NOT mean that I don’t have it with me. I also do my best to stay away from others & ALL of my friends are aware of my line of thinking & they know that I won’t get insulted IF they choose to not be around me & they don’t get offended when I decline attending one of their parties.
I can’t figure out why the CDC hasn’t switched to estimating covid cases like they do for flu. A lot of people just test at home for covid and it’s never reported.
“If I were king of the forest….”
@Blackwater_Park Don’t forget the major detrimental influence our…ahem…“leader” had in nay-saying covid. It wasn’t all CDC. I remember the CDC was following orders basically against its will.
@smudges Which leader? Trump? The one who said probably we should close stores when covid first hit? The one who wants some credit for the vaccines that were developed? The one who actually had Covid while in office? The one who blames China for the virus? Trump talks out of both sides of his mouth and everyone picks and chooses what they want to hear.
Ego depletion is a new term that I am thinking of.
The people recognized the detrimental actions that the government pushed. They recognized many of the lies that were pushed. They realized the damage to society and our nation that the government caused with their responses to Covid. People are fed up. The continued claims that it was a pandemic had worn themselves out. Biden and the Dems had no option politically other than to declare the pandemic was over. And people recognized that was merely a political ploy to make it look like they were doing something about a problem they had helped cause. At this point more vaccinated people are catching Covid than unvaccinated people. Vaccines failed on every claim they made about them and people recognize that. They have seen the research that shows how bogus wearing masks is. They know that Covid is here and unlikely to go away any time soon, but it isn’t worth destroying your life over to take actions that are political in nature. It isn’t that people feel Covid is gone, it’s that they aren’t playing the panic game that was pushed onto us any longer.
. . . and 400,000 people in the USA died because of the Tangerine Turd was running contrary to Medical advice ( ‘cause he be smarter . . . . . . NOT! His daddy bought DJT’s diploma) they didn’t need to die but Tangerine Turd wanted to make points with his followers because, they have a fourth grade education, and he wanted them to continue to follow him for 2020 election.for second term
@seawulf575 Are lives destroyed by wearing a mask on an airplane? I will never understand why people are so extreme about covid at this point. It doesn’t have to be all or none. People can be careful when warranted and take risks when it’s worth the risk. Being careful about covid also helps with protecting yourself and others from flu and colds and bacterial sinus infections and strep, and all the crap going around right now in such large numbers.
Catching covid the first year was vastly different than catching it now. Just like catching AIDS in 1985 was vastly different than catching it now. Understanding of the disease and treatments are better now.
^^ Not counting the ones that were covid deaths but were attributed to something else.
@JLeslie Yeah, people don’t understand that covid actually takes time to go away and people who catch it once are bound to have a harsher reaction the second time. There are also people who may not die directly of covid but did because they caught something that normally wouldn’t have killed them but their body was still in need of being in full recovery. My sister caught covid and was on the tail end of recovering before she caught a flu and she has been up and down with the flu symptoms for 2 months now. So when people like her pass away, they will say it was the flu and not count her as a covid victim. Covid has long-lasting effects internally and one of it worst is that it knocks down your immune system. But if a test says you don’t have covid they don’t count it in their numbers. Bet a lot of people dying from the current flu right who previously had covid would’ve survived if their immune system wasn’t still busy trying to recover.
@Madison264 Yes people are still being foolish. My sister went on a trip in Sept by plane and 3 days later came down with covid. People are dumb.
I recently had a conversation about how idiotic our nation is over this whole mask thing. When I lived in Japan some decades back I admired how citizens would mask up when they were unwell so as not to pass on their germs so easily to others. It’s what a society should do. Work to protect fellow citizens from becoming ill and spreading it around. They all claim they want a normal life and yet if we had all masked up and gotten our shots we may not be so in need to mask up still.
Hospitals in Maryland are getting filled with children who are catching covid because it’s spreading in schools, but they want to keep that hush-hush. Do not panic anyone.
Then there are the morons who think I haven’t gotten it so I must be naturally immune. They haven’t gotten sick but I bet that bad cold they had in the past was covid they either never bother to get tested or tested too soon or did a home test improperly, and happily spread it to friends and family and co-workers. Telling everyone it’s just allergies or a cold.
@Pandora Oh yes. I’m right with you. How many people do I know who say it’s just a cold, and they insist it can’t be covid, and then they finally do a test and it is covid. Or, they never test and don’t think people need to be cautious when they have a cold.
Did your sister wear a mask on the plane?
My parents always wear masks indoors and they recently caught covid. My dad initially thought it was allergies, because they are so careful. He said he did feel like he had a mild fever for a day though, but mostly it was like a typical cold. I told my dad to test and he dismissed me. Long story short my mom caught it. I told her to test and she didn’t want to but I badgered her and she did and it was positive. So, my dad tested too and positive of course. My parents are in MoCo Maryland.
I have a friend here in FL who thinks she might be immune because she hasn’t caught. I told her to stop it. Lol. She wears her mask in high risk situations.
Right now there is a lot of strep throat in Florida too.
Many are tired. It can be a mental marathon and some have tapped out.
Wearing a mask is admitting that things have changed. Change is scary.
That said, I still wear a mask in crowded public spaces. Outside of the Bay Area, that usually puts me in the minority.
@raum I don’t think you would be in the majority anywhere in the US. I figure people who still wear masks fairly regularly are maybe 10% of the population. That’s how it seems here. Maybe it’s different where you are. When I go shopping late at night I see more masked people in the stores.
The majority of people still wear a mask where I live. (San Francisco Bay Area) Definitely not as stringently as they used to. But I’d say the majority still carry a mask with them and use as needed.
@raum That’s great. Probably they feel more vulnerable people are around them and for themselves. The people where I live should feel that way, but here it’s a mix of Republicans who always leaned towards the covid thing being overblown, and also old people who I think feel like screw it, who knows how long I have left anyway let me have my fun.
It’s the predicted Covid fatigue. The Chinese zero Covid policy is causing mayhem for their citizens, as well.
My inlaws both tested positive yesterday, in their 80’s. And cases are at 49 a day here.
So what is the answer ,pretend it’s over and just hope you don’t get it?
And for preventative measures just scream it’s affecting my freedom and ignore those as well?
@KNOWITALL I hope they both have very mild cases. Elderly people have enough to worry about without getting covid.
@JLeslie “Are lives destroyed by wearing a mask on an airplane?” Nope. If you want to wear a mask, wear it. But the reverse is also true? Are lives destroyed by NOT wearing a mask on an airplane? The answer is again, by scientific studies, Nope. So why demand that people do something that is uncomfortable for no gain? And you statement that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing is absolutely correct. Tell that to the people pushing the useless and potentially damaging “protective actions”. If you have to wear a mask for a couple hours on an airplane, that may be no big deal. To make children at important development times in their lives wear masks all day every day takes away their ability to learn how to interact normally with others. They don’t get to see smiles or frowns. Understanding subtle clues that they will need later in life IS damaging. Making them fearful of being around other people IS damaging.
Teaching people ways to minimize spreading diseases is a far cry from demanding useless actions from them and then ostracizing them if they don’t comply.
@seawulf575 Not wearing masks on planes might kill a few people, but setting that aside, it does screw up a lot of vacations (I see it in my Disney Facebook group) and causes people to miss work, and some wind up at the urgent care or ER.
Woman just yesterday her kid tested positive flu A 105° fever, supposed to leave for Disney Wednesday. Her kid probably will be much better by Wednesday, but if someone else caught it from the kid yesterday, gets sick tomorrow, they would still be feeling pretty crappy on Wednesday.
Other people at Disney get sick around day 3 at Disney messing up the rest of their vacation. Their $6,000 vacation they waited 2 years to plan and might not be back for 5 years or ever. It’s true they might be careful and still get sick, but less chance if they do take some precautions.
Too many people aren’t future oriented.
My point is even if officials strongly encouraged mask wearing when it really matters to the individual to stay healthy, or when flu or covid is widespread in your state, most of Americans can’t self evaluate when it is important. They think the odds are they won’t get sick, and actually the odds are they won’t get sick. It’s true. The problem is if they get sick it will really suck.
@JLeslie Actually the air on airplanes is cleaner than most places. It is filtered significantly at a high rate. So no, not wearing masks does not kill people on airplanes. Not to mention the REAL tests (The RCTs) have all shown masks do nothing towards stopping even bacteriological infections. Viruses are tiny compared to bacteria so they would be stopped even less.
But here is the problem with the entire thing: we, as humans, have been getting sick since the beginning of our time. We pass along illnesses, some hurt us or kill us, others do not. You can do absolutely NOTHING to avoid spreading diseases outside of banning people from being near each other which isn’t realistic. Look what happened in China when they tried. When diseases come around, you can follow the science to get the best controls…and masks aren’t that. OR, you can realize there is no way to stop it and just keep moving on with your life. Here’s a clue: you die in the end of that life, and you have no idea when that will be.
@seawulf575 There you go with that all or nothing crap again. There really is an in-between.
That airplane bullshit is part of the problem. Just be skeptical for a second, don’t you think the government doesn’t want the air economy to fall apart? It costs society a ton if the government would have to subsidize air travel or if people stop vacationing. It’s extremely hard financially on the country for people to abstain from flying.
While you are on the plane waiting at the gate, the big air rotation isn’t happening on the plane. Try it in Florida in the summer. The plane starts to get hot while people board, because the AC is not on.
Moreover, if someone is one foot from your face talking to you for two hours, no amount of air filter is going to help you. Being outside in that situation doesn’t help you either.
Lastly, I’ve flown several times the last six months and the majority of people in the airport aren’t wearing masks. Not wearing masks standing in a crowd waiting for the queue to move to board, not wearing masks waiting in the TSA line, not when they go into the crowded bathrooms (and we know covid virus is in waste material) and the bathroom is a tight space, people with covid are coughing in the smaller space too.
I know plenty of people who got sick “flying.” Don’t kid yourself. People are expanding the “air in planes is safer” to the air during my entire flying experience is safer.
Obviously, do what you want. I’m not trying to make you wear a mask, I’m just frustrated with your extremism on the topic.
@JLeslie and there you go again ignoring science. I’ve shown numerous studies over the past few years that show mask really don’t do anything. The only one they showed that MIGHT make a difference is the N95 masks that are properly fitted for you. Most people don’t have those. And even those only showed minimal protection.
And I’m not really all or nothing as I believe there are some things you can do to protect yourself and others. Isolate if you have symptoms. Wash your hands frequently. Things like that. But even those are not perfect…nothing is.
As for the MIT study, it is not an RCT. It is effectively anecdotal. And even their conclusions show that airplanes do have a lower incident rate these days. Not sure how you explain that. But their conclusions claim the vaccines are likely the cause. However right now vaccinated people are the majority of cases. Kinda iffy to claim credit for something that has been demonstrated to not do what you are claiming
@seawulf575 I’m not sure what “vaccinated people are the majority of cases” means? The majority of people in America are vaccinated. I think it is something like 79% of people are vaccinated, so if 79% are catching covid then it doesn’t mean that vaccinated people are more vulnerable if that is what you are implying.
Masks do help to prevent transmission, Why do you think the CDC and other health agencies and officials recommend them? Just to harrass Americans?
@JLeslie Some people don’t believe in science or proven evidence; just what TRUMP VOMITED and lied about COVID-19 ! ! !
Are the masks a 100% effective nope but they are a good line of defence for protecting your self and others, same as social distancing, and vaccinations but people scream they are infringing on their freedoms so they won’t do it, but shock they are first in line for medical help when they contract COVID 19.
@JLeslie but the vaccines were supposed to keep you from getting the disease until that claim was proven to be false. Then it was supposed to keep you from being able to spread it and that was quickly nixed as it was being spread like crazy by vaxxed people that believed the hype. The list of claims that the government has put out about these vaxxes that have fallen through. Now we have about 68% of the population that is fully vaxxed and that group is making up 56% of all new cases.
That’s what I mean by the majority of new cases are in vaxxed people. It is no longer a pandemic of the unvaxxed as Biden once claimed.
Again, you are trying to dodge the science when it comes to masks. Why does the CDC claim they work? That is a VERY good question. If you remember, when this first started Fauci said repeatedly not to waste time with masks because the don’t work. That’s because he read the same studies I have cited repeatedly that all came from either the CDC or the NIHS. Then suddenly his story changed. Why? It was likely some test to see how much of your rights the government could trample and still have people going along with it.
So when there are verified RCT studies that so masks to be ineffective, why DOES the government push them so hard? They aren’t following the science and are convincing you that it doesn’t matter…only what they tell you matters
@seawulf575 If you go back you will see I was one of the few jellies who questioned the efficacy rate of preventing catching covid, I did repeat the stats of 94% effective, but I always really questioned how that number was derived, it didn’t make sense to me.
So, I’m pretty much on your side about the initial promotion of the efficacy by the media, but the scientists were saying things like “J&J might have shown less efficacy because it was tested in some markets with more disease already among the population.” That means the statistics will be influenced by how prevalent the disease is during trial testing, but no jellies thought I was right about it. As far as I’m concerned the science backed my assessment of the situation. I also said from the start J&J would need a second shot, but people didn’t want to hear that either. It was obvious.
It sucks that the vaccines didn’t prevent catching covid better, but they seem to help with the severity of the disease. It’s hard to tell if it’s solely that or if the news strains are less deadly. Covid is still killing at a fairly high rate. About triple what we see with flu and other pneumonia causing illnesses, or double what would be a really bad flu year.
As far as masks, masks work best when the sick person wears one. Even better if both the sick and healthy person wears them, especially if it is not a KN95.
Some data on mask efficacy. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014564118
^^ RCT plus double blind is even better, but I get what you’re saying.
So what is the answer, just wash your hands try to social distance and if ya get it or die from it, I guess oh well?
^^ Pretty much! Just like any other disease – you do what you can and either get it or not.
But isn’t wearing masks, social distancing, and getting the vaccines a good defence on not contracting it?
I know nothing is a 100% but because they are not 100% people seem to think it’s better to just do nothing.
@SQUEEKY2 I just showed numerous studies that say wearing masks don’t do anything. Social distancing MAY do something, but maybe not as MIT found out. And Vaccines have been shown to do, well, nothing. They don’t keep you from getting it or spreading, they don’t really protect at all. But they do come with a wealth of adverse side effects so, well, there is that.
In the end, yes. Take basic precautions of isolating when you are sick, wash your hands frequently, wipe down surfaces more regularly in your home (especially door knobs and/or phones), but in the end, if you get it you get it and if you die from it you die from it. And just for the record, I have it right now. And I STILL feel this way.
Well @seawulf575 I totally disagree with you on the vaccines while they may not keep you from getting covid, they do lessen the severity of the virus if you do come down with it.
For the record I have had my vaccines and have never contracted the virus,isn’t this round 2 for you?
@seawulf575 So, I agree with you about the hand washing. A lot of people have stopped with worrying about what they touch and washing hands, because they’ve decided you can’t get covid that way. Which in my opinion is ridiculous, and ridiculous regarding cold and flu.
That’s another example of Americans being all or none. They can’t see that if you are in a busy public bathroom, one person after the other touching the door, if the person before you had covid hands, then touching the door 9 seconds later you probably have enough virus on your hands to possibly get infected. Same for plenty of other viruses and bacterias. People need to gauge and be prudent but not OCD, but most people can’t.
Friday I was with someone, not very close except when she “had to” hug me hello, because we hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks. She texted me, today, Sunday, that she has a sore throughly and chills. Hopefully, she wasn’t contagious when I was with her.
I just want people who I don’t know, or people I see all the time to just stop. Stop being literally in my face, stop touching me, new people to stop wanting to shake hands, stop acting like there is no chance of getting sick when this has been one of the worst October, November, Decembers, for flu that I have ever seen. They don’t care if they get sick, but a lot of people do.
The “covid is over” mantra combined with people not giving a damn about getting sick in general has always pissed me off, and this year it’s worse than ever.
@seawulf575 Just for kicks I actually read the abstract of:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/2/08-1167.
It says in the last couple of sentences: Adherence to mask use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of ILI-associated infection. We concluded that household use of masks is associated with low adherence and is ineffective in controlling seasonal ILI. If adherence were greater, mask use might reduce transmission during a severe influenza pandemic. (ILI = influenza-like illness)
I’m not going to argue with you. You inundate people with so many claims that it would be impossible in the course of a normal day to fact-check them.
My point regarding this study is that it does not prove your claim that masks are ineffective. The only reason they say it is ineffective is because there was a low adherence to wearing the masks. I might also add that this study was conducted in households, not in public.
@smudges I saw that too. But it doesn’t say masks work either. It says there was no difference between the test and control groups. The fact that the test group didn’t do their part in the test speaks to the controls of the test. Not to mention it was a very small population to test.
As for me innundating people with claims (and presumably citations) you can thank the many Wulf-haters on these pages. This topic is a perfect example. I read some of the studies done on masks before I made the claim here that they are useless. I was met with a whole lot of derision and “prove it!”. So I cited a study that proved it. Then all I heard was “that’s only one test!” and “That test is old!”. Mind you they aren’t rushing to find proof I’m wrong, they just claim I am. So then I crank out test after test that says basically the same thing. Finally they give up, call me a Russian bot or a Nazi or some such thing and move on. But when this topic is raised again, those same people act the exact same way, like I never posted any citations the first time, and we repeat the process.
And that is how all these citations come to be. And what no one seems to understand is that when I post a citation I welcome challenge to it as you did with this one. It allows us to have an intelligent discourse on the merits of my claims.
And if you now call me a Russian bot I will likely fall out of bed laughing.
Interesting anyone that disagrees with ya wulfie is a hater, how come hospitals still push masks when you visit is that just propaganda?
Masks are just one line of defence, and no they are not 100%
But the way you make them out the entire world should have had covid at least once by now.
@seawulf575 But the final sentence in the abstract is: If adherence were greater, mask use might reduce transmission during a severe influenza pandemic.
The reason there was no difference between the groups is because the test group had low adherence rates.
We found that adherence to mask use significantly reduced the risk for ILI-associated infection, but <50% of participants wore masks most of the time. We concluded that household use of face masks is associated with low adherence and is ineffective for controlling seasonal respiratory disease. However, during a severe pandemic when use of face masks might be greater, pandemic transmission in households could be reduced.
Interestingly, the medical community in my city only requires masks at actual hospitals, not clinics, of which there are many.
I’m 75 years old and I don’t wear a mask unless I have to. I find the masks inhibit my breathing, are very uncomfortable. and make it hard to hear people that wear them. It’s kind of funny that when in a store and the cashier is wearing a mask I have to lean in to hear them defeating the whole point of wearing a mask.
Covid will be with us for the rest of our lives, much like the flu. Wear a mask if you like them but I won’t. If that means you don’t want to talk with me, that’s fine, I probably don’t want to talk with you either.
And that’s why masks have a problem^^ not enough adherence.
And for a breathing problem I found the same thing the thing I wasn’t changing it for a new one when I should, also most places will give you a mask they will even give extrasso cost isn’t an excuse.
I agree @Jaxk. It’s here to stay.
@smudges I saw the last sentence. And please note that it says the key word “might”. They have no proof one way or the other to say it would make a difference. And it said <50% wore the masks in the test group. I would have thought that if 40% wore them and they really worked, they would have seen a noticable result. But they didn’t.
In the end, they have nothing showing masks work.
My view on masks, and especially cloth masks, is very simple. They are too porous to be effective at all. Viruses are so small the would go through the mesh like a sardine through a tuna net. And everyone be honest: when you are breathing in a mask, does you breath go through the mask or around the sides or out the top? All that breath bypassing the mask is unfiltered and would contain the virus if you had it.
I will agree with ya on cloth masks,do little to protect the wearer from breathing in the virus, but even cloth masks slow down the exhaust speed of droplets thus even marginal do protect the people a bit.
But again with your view of the virus and how bad masks are why hasn’t everyone on earth had covid19 at least once?
It’s again with the view of vaccines,they don’t stop you from getting covid so why bother,your right but they do decrease the severity of the virus if you do contract it, yourself this is round 2 for you how can you get it again if you already have had it?
I am wondering are you Americans that scoff at masks, and vaccines proud to have the highest death toll due to the pandemic?
Is that due to not wanting to take precautions saying that they affect my freedom type thing?
And saying the government was inflating the death numbers, what advantage does it do to inflate the numbers?
@SQUEEKY2 The cloth masks redirect the exhaust of your breath. Some goes forward through the mask and some goes around the sides. So instead of breathing out right in front of you, you are breathing it out in all directions, effectively creating a cloud you spread as you move about. Either way, you are spreading it about. And the other thing is that when people wear masks they believe they are protected. That is likely a fallacy. But with that sense of security they begin carrying on as normal, getting closer to people, going to crowded places, etc. They take away many protections that COULD help them because they trust the one that doesn’t.
Why hasn’t everyone on Earth had Covid-19? I’m sure there are a certain percentage that have a natural immunity. Combine that with the FACT that not every case is a life or death thing. Many people were asymptomatic. They had it and didn’t even know it.
As for the vaccines helping minimize the effects, let me point out that in August the vaccinated led the way in cases, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid. Yes there are more vaccinated (at least one dose) than unvaxxed, but it shows that it doesn’t protect you from the harsh reality of the disease.
As for the vaccines and me having Covid twice, they are unrelated things. Vaccinated people have had Covid multiple times as well. Again, the Vax isn’t the answer. But as for my reluctance to go for a vaccination, it is very simple…I don’t trust them. They have played with the numbers fast and loose too many times to try making them look safe. They refuse to consider any “surprise” death that occurs more than a week or two after the shot to be related. When VAERS started showing too many adverse reactions and deaths, they just got rid of a bunch of reports to make it look better. They have suppressed everything about the vaccines and still tell you to “trust them”. I summed it up for my doctor when he was pushing the vax at one of my visits. I said I didn’t trust the mRNA technology. He pointed out that it had been around for a long time. I said I understood that…it was found around 1989 or 1990. I read that it was supposed to be used for numerous things from vaccines to cures for cancer. But what I couldn’t find is anything it HAD ever been used for. What I couldn’t find is where it ever made it past animal trials. Yet suddenly it was released while they were doing animal trials. It didn’t seem right that humans were being “treated” with it before testing was verified. So I asked him point blank to tell me one thing mRNA had ever been used for. He couldn’t do it, looked confused, and never asked me about Covid vaccines again. Now combine that there are unexplained increases in mortality across the globe and I believe we need to look closer. This is an interesting article. Not a scientific study, but a report on unexplained deaths. One last thing that bothers me about the “vaccines” is the number of boosters that are needed in such a short period. I have NEVER seen this with a vaccine in my life, and I have been vaccinated to quite a few things. Most things need a booster every few years, not every couple months.
Me having Covid twice is much easier to explain. It has been almost 3 years since I first had it. The virus could have mutated some in that time or I may have a different strain. Nothing new with this…we see it in flu all the time. Just because you have the flu once, does that mean you can’t get it again?
@seawulf575 I’ve noticed that we both emphasize the words that support our own position, which is natural. Overall, I think masks and vaccinations help, but aren’t the be-all and end-all.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. *<:@ (santa??) lol
A new flu vaccine comes out every year, depending on their guesses as to which strains are predicted to circulate that year. To me, I prefer getting resistance through inoculation with pieces of dead virus than with live, multiplying viruses.
@smudges I’ve done that emphasis thing to try adding a little more umph to certain words in my writing so it sounds more like I talk. Old habit. It is a natural sort of thing. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. Hope the reindeer don’t leave unwanted presents on your roof.
@RocketGuy That is true. But the new flu vaccines are different for the 2 difference you pointed out. 1. they are for new strains. Covid vaccines were pushing boosters before there were new variants and even after there were variants, they were still pushing the boosters when the manufacturers were even saying they weren’t effective against the new variants. and 2. flu vaccines are based on dead or dying viruses that are designed to let your immune system figure out how to react to the real thing. Covid vaccines are based on mRNA technology that actually doesn’t help your immune system at all. It, in fact, makes it weaker.
@seawulf575 – you have been watching too much Faux News. mRNA vaccines cause the body to manufacture spike proteins, which would stimulate the immune system the same way as Covid spike proteins. Kind of like luring car thieves with aftermarket BMW rims, instead of BMW rims from smashed BMWs. Same response.
Flu vaccine is attenuated virus or inactivated vaccine. I think both are available, although maybe currently it is just one form, I would have to look it up.
mRNA covid vaccine is targeting a protein as stated by @RocketGuy, and there is no reason to believe it weakens your immune system.
I remember reading something about a nasal spray vaccine being tested with an attenuated virus for covid, but I don’t know what came of it.
I don’t know if any countries are using an attenuated or inactivated virus for covid. It’s possible. J&J is inactivated virus.
@RocketGuy some people don’t like COVID-19 vaccines, masks, Democrats, liberals, Biden, Harris, Planned Parenthood, Antifa and Freedom ! ! !
Oh I forgot @RocketGuy . . and they like getting COVID-19 once – - twice – - maybe three or four times !
@RocketGuy no, actually I don’t watch Fox News. I understand how the vaccines work. And as with most things, that’s all most people know or care to ask about. The vaccines dictate a response by your body when it detects COVID. But you have to think about a couple more pieces.
The first is how your immune system works naturally. One big piece is that it develops cell memory so that the next time that disease that it fought off (or one like it) shows up it knows what antibodies to create to fight off the invader. The COVID vaccines, the mRNA technology bypasses that piece. Your immune system relies solely on the vaccine to tell it what to do when COVID shows up. And as we all know, the vaccine fades rather quickly. Which is why they keep pushing the boosters. Your immune system doesn’t have to do its job so it gets lazy. That’s what I mean when I say it makes your immune system weaker.
@jca2 Yes, but the vaccines were supposed to keep you from getting the disease, and then were supposed to keep you from spreading it and then were supposed to keep you from getting sick and then were supposed to keep you from dying. So which of those claims were actually true?
@seawulf575 The vaccines never worked great in much older people. Older people are less likely to get immunity from vaccines. The study I used to quote was after the first two Pfizer shots 30% of people over age 80 had no antibodies. We can assume people over 70 probably also had a fairly high rate too. So, that subgroup it’s like they were never vaccinated. Maybe after the third they saw some reaction.
The death rate is way down from where it was. Probably partly mutation and partly the vaccines.
@seawulf575 Your answer is an example of forgetfulness. Go read about the death rates from 2 years ago. Now imagine that everyday since and still to continue.
Forget much?
Two years ago in NYC (where I watch my nightly news from), t here were refrigerated tractor trailers outside hospitals, because the morgues couldn’t handle all of the deceased. How quickly some of us forget.
@jca2 I remember that, too vividly, and I have reminded people around me about that. They really seem to have forgotten how bad it was.
Not just NYC. It happened in several US cities.
^True, but at the time, it seems the governor of New York was the most vocal.
Gruesome months before lockdowns and vaccines!
@Forever_Free While you are discussing my forgetfulness, go back and review all the claims about the vaccines that were experimental. None of which have proven to be true. Forget much?
I would like to know the us has the highest death count due to covid 19 on the planet, even higher than China or India , is that maybe due mainly to conservatives not wanting to take the health measures, calling them an infringement on their freedoms?
Or science says they don’t work a 100% so why bother doing any of them?
Als wondering if masks, and vaccines are so bad why are other countries death counts not high like the states?
And don’t go into it’s a population thing the states have 10 times the population that we have in Canada but even if you take our death toll and times it by 10 you still don’t get near the death count in the states.
@SQUEEKY2 some people don’t do math problems.
Actually, @SQUEEKY2, a true measure is done per a given number per population to even the playing field, for instance, deaths/million people.
Out of 221 countried listed:
Peru #1 6,400/mil
U.S. #19 3,216/mil
Canada #83 1,270/mil
India #139 374/mil
China #213 3/mil China’s got to be lying
So yes, the U.S. has more deaths than Canada, but Canada is way up on the list, too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country
Updated Dec 21, 2022.
That could be a fair evaluation @smudges but each country had somewhat different health measures in place, up here in Canada we heard non stop bitching from the us about the vaccines and masks.
Plus the conspiracies around them one lady told me it was nano technology and the Government will be able to take control of your mind I told yeah that’s what they want a middle aged over weight truck driver with bad knees ,yeah I am a real prize she left in a huff.
@seawulf575 Please provide a few references. Why would I research this? Development of new drugs does involve experimentation. Is there something specific you are referring to? Else I take it as a reflective diversion to my statement.
@Forever_Free Sure. I am specifically pointing out that as experimental drugs, made of a technology that never made it past animal trials successfully, these “vaccines” were presented as a way to protect yourself from ever getting Covid-19. So a bunch of people got it. Then some of them started getting Covid-19 and you heard that, well, breakthrough cases were not unheard of. Then more people were getting it. And the story changed to say that you could still catch the disease but the vaccines prevented you from spreading it. Then they found the same viral load in the nasal passages of vaccinated people was present in unvaccinated people. Then they said it didn’t really keep you from getting the disease or spreading it, but it could help minimize the illness and keep you out of the hospital. Then vaccinated people started getting hospitalized and dying. Then they said you needed a booster because it was always designed to need a booster. And the booster would do all the wonderful things the vaccine was supposed to do. Except it didn’t. Then came the variants. They pushed another booster for Omicron with the government saying it was highly effective while the manufacturers were saying there was no evidence it would even work.
All these claims were lies. They were not true, had nothing backing them up as facts when the statements were being made, and they were ALL proven to be false. So help us out…do remember reality or are you really that forgetful?
^Source? And who are “they”?
@chyna I believe “they” are anti-Biden, anti-Fauci, anti-Democracy – - -might be Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, MAGA followers and American Nazi Party members.
The covid vaccines went through animal trials.
There is currently an mRNA vaccine for Melanoma that just cleared animal trials.
@JLeslie The vaccines were NOT through animal trials when humans started getting shot.
Animal trials were done though. They did phases simultaneously.
@seawulf575 All i asked for was some references, not rhetoric.
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