2020 CoronaVirus Outbreak - That began in Wuhan, China and is spreading

[lovemachine97(Version 2)]

If they can make you wear pants during normal times, they can make your wear a mask during a pandemic.

I wouldn't mind if it became customary or recommended to wear a mask in public if you are sick and out and about, but I don't see how it is necessary to require it in public after we leave pandemic status.

What people are rightfully afraid of is not how the rules work during this time, but how the rules are applied later on. The Patriot Act comes up, and it really isn't about the security theater at the airport, which doesn't do a whole lot, but that's a minor inconvenience. The concern with the Patriot Act is how exceptions to rights were put in there for terrorism and are now used rarely for terrorism and almost exclusively elsewhere. Only 0.5% of all sneak and peak warrants, where the government can break and enter your property and even take it without notifying you, are now used in terrorism cases, the purpose for which it was written. 99.5% are issued in every day police cases. The police can get a warrant like this, follow you to a restaurant, take your car, stage it is a theft, and not tell you.

Sure, masks aren't nearly apples to apples, but the above is also one of countless examples of how doing something in the name of emergency, like 9-11, becomes routine in aspects of our lives it was never meant to cover, a slow erosion.

[ziggysmalls]

I am sorry that I don't like wearing a mask. I find it stifling when I have to ear it for 30 minutes or more. Its uncomfortable. Now will I wear it? sure. Just like I would wear a helmet on my head riding a bike but should I need to ear one while driving a car? it probably would help with head injuries. How about wearing a helmet when jogging? Likely would help prevent an injury should I stumble. I used to roller blade. I mean at some point common sense has to come into effect. That's all.

I just hate wearing it. Sorry. Its not as bad as rationing. I get that but I also think I have a right to think at some point we can get back to normal.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

If we are still required to wear masks after everybody has been vaccinated, then it may just be a conspiracy by the "less attractive" to level the playing field ...

[MF5150]

Just like I would wear a helmet on my head riding a bike but should I need to wear one while driving a car?

You dont have to wear a helmet driving your car. And if you were to wear a helmet in your car to prevent a head injury it would affect absolutely nobody else.

Wearing a mask not only protects you, but it protects others.

[jimmy812]

My dad, who I haven't seen since December 13th because that's when he went to the hospital with internal bleeding, beat that, then went to rehab to walk again, caught pneumonia there, was sent back to the ER, it was real bad, he has COPD, somehow in a week he beat the pneumonia, then was sent to another rehab on January 7th to walk again before coming home..got the 1st shot of the vaccine on January 27th...
Walked from 6 steps a day...to 20 steps...was on his way...got second shot...and then got coronavirus...they say he probably contracted it days before but no one knew...

So now he's left rehab for ER...in ICU since Sunday...fighting the virus...

Quite the ride for an ex paratrooper who never landed in a plane in his life.

They're hoping he has enough antibodies from 1st shot to get him thru it, plus the medicine they're giving him...

Helluva fighter.

Wow, sorry to hear that, James. I hope he gets out of ICU real soon and back on the road to recovery.

[fudd]

My dad, who I haven't seen since December 13th because that's when he went to the hospital with internal bleeding, beat that, then went to rehab to walk again, caught pneumonia there, was sent back to the ER, it was real bad, he has COPD, somehow in a week he beat the pneumonia, then was sent to another rehab on January 7th to walk again before coming home..got the 1st shot of the vaccine on January 27th...
Walked from 6 steps a day...to 20 steps...was on his way...got second shot...and then got coronavirus...they say he probably contracted it days before but no one knew...

So now he's left rehab for ER...in ICU since Sunday...fighting the virus...

Quite the ride for an ex paratrooper who never landed in a plane in his life.

They're hoping he has enough antibodies from 1st shot to get him thru it, plus the medicine they're giving him...

Helluva fighter.

We’re with you James. We are hoping for the best and we’re here if you need us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lovemachine97(Version 2)]

The guy I knew who had been hospitalized for over a month died over the weekend.

We weren't "friends," but I've known him since 1997. He was older, and worked at the big local grocery store in my hometown. He loved our alma mater, went to all the sports games. He was the nicest guy in the world, and remembered everyone. That last part isn't a joke. He knew everyone from all the years, who their friends and family were. He'd ask about my best friend when I'd see him. He'd ask my dad about me. When my sister in law came back from New York, he still remembered her by name (they weren't friends) and knew my wife was her sister. Crazy memory.

For an idea of how well-liked he was, his Go Fund Me raised 10k in a day and when it was posted in the alumni facebook group, exceeded 20k.

He was overweight, I don't know what preexisting conditions he may have had, but he was only in his 40s. His mother died not long ago, and they were the income for the family, so there are siblings who are going to have a rough go of it.

Anyway, it really isn't my loss, but I'm a tad bummed.

[bsbll4]

Here's an interesting article exploring the reasons why certain countries have been hit harder than others. The short answer is we don't know, but they suspect it's a range of factors. What I found striking is that we have this perception that other countries have done a better job of putting in restrictions while here in the US we're the only ones struggling to figure out when to close things down, when to open them up, and how to handle the Karens who refuse to wear a mask in public or follow any of the guidelines. It turns out some of the least hardest hit places are the ones that haven't been following any of the guidelines.

One particular anecdote talks about how people were sharing a single mask to enter a building because it was required and they would just hand it off to the next person as they left. The long answer as to why this is happening is because of the general age of the population, the number of connections people will have outside their inner circle, the medical attention they receive, the reliability on the number of reported cases/deaths, and perhaps most importantly the immune response that has been built up from a previous but unrelated infection. It would explain why places that are normally "clean" and generally have fewer communicable disease outbreaks are suddenly finding themselves getting hit the worst.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...er-than-others

[I Coulda Hada VH]

The guy I knew who had been hospitalized for over a month died over the weekend.

We weren't "friends," but I've known him since 1997. He was older, and worked at the big local grocery store in my hometown. He loved our alma mater, went to all the sports games. He was the nicest guy in the world, and remembered everyone. That last part isn't a joke. He knew everyone from all the years, who their friends and family were. He'd ask about my best friend when I'd see him. He'd ask my dad about me. When my sister in law came back from New York, he still remembered her by name (they weren't friends) and knew my wife was her sister. Crazy memory.

For an idea of how well-liked he was, his Go Fund Me raised 10k in a day and when it was posted in the alumni facebook group, exceeded 20k.

He was overweight, I don't know what preexisting conditions he may have had, but he was only in his 40s. His mother died not long ago, and they were the income for the family, so there are siblings who are going to have a rough go of it.

Anyway, it really isn't my loss, but I'm a tad bummed.

Wow. That really sucks.

[James in New York]

Wow, sorry to hear that, James. I hope he gets out of ICU real soon and back on the road to recovery.

Thanks, Jimmy!

We’re with you James. We are hoping for the best and we’re here if you need us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you, Fudd!

[track 5]

I'm mask guy any time I roll into a town or stupid city. I dislike the fuck out of it, but I do, and have. I don't get the not rocking one esp if it's on the fucking door of a place you are rolling into. I'd rather spend my time fucking with cattle or burning some meat and NOT have to fuck with people. But, sometimes I have to. Pays the dumb bills etc. Give me rattlesnakes, hogs and cold beer all day long. Fuck people. LOL. Out.

[bsbll4]

I think Dave's Dreidel mentioned it in this thread already, but all of this nonsense just makes me want to move out into the middle of nowhere The less I have to deal with the public the better. And that sucks because I didn't used to feel that way, and it really has nothing to do with safety, it's just that people are revealing themselves to be assholes and I just don't want to deal with it.

Then again, the vast majority of people wear the masks, don't cause trouble, obey the social distancing, etc., so maybe I shouldn't be so down on the public. If 90% of the people are doing what they are supposed to, I shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[lovemachine97(Version 2)]

Looks like this Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a good example of reporters reporting on things that they don't quite understand. Apparently, part of the lower efficacy rate is the fact that the trials were much different than the Pfizer and Moderna trials, done at different times and places (South Africa, Brazil), and if you look at the data and adjust for that, the efficacy starts to look more like the other US vaccines.

Focusing on that lower efficacy number is causing people to want the other vaccines, but you really should get whichever one is offered to you. And it is, like the others, 100% effective against hospitalization and death.

But once again, South Africa is already rolling it out, the FDA says it is safe and effective, and approval comes "in the next few days."

What in the fuck are we waiting for?

[bsbll4]

I'll happily take the J&J vaccine. It's a one and done shot which is way more attractive to me than one that needs two shots (meaning multiple appointments) and a lag time of a couple of weeks after the second shot before it hits full effectiveness. So basically I can get statistically similar results in less time and only need to make one appointment.

[bsbll4]

Looks like this Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a good example of reporters reporting on things that they don't quite understand. Apparently, part of the lower efficacy rate is the fact that the trials were much different than the Pfizer and Moderna trials, done at different times and places (South Africa, Brazil), and if you look at the data and adjust for that, the efficacy starts to look more like the other US vaccines.

Focusing on that lower efficacy number is causing people to want the other vaccines, but you really should get whichever one is offered to you. And it is, like the others, 100% effective against hospitalization and death.

But once again, South Africa is already rolling it out, the FDA says it is safe and effective, and approval comes "in the next few days."

What in the fuck are we waiting for?

You would imagine they could clear their schedule of any other pressing matters given urgency of all this, right? I don't know who is specifically holding the red tape at the moment, but it's basically a moral imperative for them to be working 18 hour days considering the circumstances.