Coronavirus General Discussion

[pp4me]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medica ... d=msedgdhp

CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Gather Privately Without Masks

Has anyone here been to any private gatherings during COVID where people were wearing masks?

I haven't and I've been to a good number of private gatherings since the whole thing started.

So is this just me or is the CDC completely out of touch with reality?

[Tortoise]

So is this just me or is the CDC completely out of touch with reality?

Believe it or not, many Americans still hang on every word out of the mouths of our federal health authorities.

The other day I came across the Twitter account of someone I knew back in college. She's a writing lecturer at a prominent university now. Apparently both she and her parents have been fully vaccinated. One of her most recent tweets was in response to a video clip of Fauci a few days ago where he said that people who have been fully vaccinated can gather together without masks -- apparently echoing the CDC's new guidance you mentioned.

My acquaintance's comment on Fauci's video clip was, to paraphrase, "I sent this to my parents today with tears of joy!"

You see, the fact that both she and her parents have been fully vaccinated wasn't enough to make her decide it was okay to meet up with her parents without a mask. She needed Fauci's approval. And now she has it!

[Mountaineer]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medica ... d=msedgdhp

CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Gather Privately Without Masks

Has anyone here been to any private gatherings during COVID where people were wearing masks?

I haven't and I've been to a good number of private gatherings since the whole thing started.

So is this just me or is the CDC completely out of touch with reality?

A1 - Yes, pretty much all my wife and/or I have attended.

A2 - I don’t know. I tend not to think there is an abundance of truth in most government or media reports.

[pp4me]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medica ... d=msedgdhp

CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Gather Privately Without Masks

Has anyone here been to any private gatherings during COVID where people were wearing masks?

I haven't and I've been to a good number of private gatherings since the whole thing started.

So is this just me or is the CDC completely out of touch with reality?

A1 - Yes, pretty much all my wife and/or I have attended.

A2 - I don’t know. I tend not to think there is an abundance of truth in most government or media reports.

I think it was around last June when my wife's niece came to visit us along with her young son and, unbeknownst to us beforehand, she brought 4 other people with her. Not only did nobody wear a mask but they brought a feast of crabs with them and everyone was dipping into one shared butter dish. I was thinking this is really f**king crazy but what was I going to do - kick them all out of the house? Then they all went out to the Hard Rock casino and returned around 3 AM. The whole thing kind of pissed me off actually but I survived and I even shared the butter dish before I realized what I was doing.

Also stayed in a cabin in Georgia and in a condo in Orlando with groups of people with nobody wearing masks at all.

[Kriegsspiel]

I think it was around last June when my wife's niece came to visit us along with her young son and, . . . they all went out to the Hard Rock casino and returned around 3 AM.

So when you say young son...

BTW, crabs are covid-preventative. Chow down!

[jalanlong]

So is this just me or is the CDC completely out of touch with reality?

Believe it or not, many Americans still hang on every word out of the mouths of our federal health authorities.

The other day I came across the Twitter account of someone I knew back in college. She's a writing lecturer at a prominent university now. Apparently both she and her parents have been fully vaccinated. One of her most recent tweets was in response to a video clip of Fauci a few days ago where he said that people who have been fully vaccinated can gather together without masks -- apparently echoing the CDC's new guidance you mentioned.

My acquaintance's comment on Fauci's video clip was, to paraphrase, "I sent this to my parents today with tears of joy!"

You see, the fact that both she and her parents have been fully vaccinated wasn't enough to make her decide it was okay to meet up with her parents without a mask. She needed Fauci's approval. And now she has it!

It is fascinating isn't it? I grew up in Texas and my parents, while not saying so directly, always looked at things with a critical eye and had no fear of having beliefs that went against the mainstream. However, about 5 years ago my wife met her biological mother/family who all live in California. They are very nice people and certainly intelligent. But it is amazing how they will buy any sort of news as long as it is on one of the major network news outlets. Overall I cannot think of one topic over the last few years on which they haven't agreed with the mainstream narrative and gone with whatever the "authorities" said. They just don't do any sort of deeper thinking about anything really.

[Mark Leavy]

It is fascinating isn't it? I grew up in Texas and my parents, while not saying so directly, always looked at things with a critical eye and had no fear of having beliefs that went against the mainstream. However, about 5 years ago my wife met her biological mother/family who all live in California. They are very nice people and certainly intelligent. But it is amazing how they will buy any sort of news as long as it is on one of the major network news outlets. Overall I cannot think of one topic over the last few years on which they haven't agreed with the mainstream narrative and gone with whatever the "authorities" said. They just don't do any sort of deeper thinking about anything really.

I've been able to make some progress, by not directly challenging the narrative.

When a relative or friend quotes Fauci, I'll say, "Well Fauci is a medical guy and Fauci gotta do what Fauci gotta do. He can't really say 'Let the old and sick die, and let's get on with it.' "

I'm surprised at how amenable a lot of people are in private. Willing to at least think in those terms and agreeing that public officials don't have the freedom to think about those kinds of options.

[WiseOne]

A study I would like to see but that will never, ever happen:

A head to head comparison of vitamin D supplementation (aiming for a D3 blood level of 40-60) and one of the COVID vaccines. Your vote on which will be more effective?

My money is on the vitamin D.

[Cortopassi]

But it is amazing how they will buy any sort of news as long as it is on one of the major network news outlets. Overall I cannot think of one topic over the last few years on which they haven't agreed with the mainstream narrative and gone with whatever the "authorities" said. They just don't do any sort of deeper thinking about anything really.

Since you didn't name the news source, I assume you realize the "narrative" works on both conservatives and liberals!

[pp4me]

I think it was around last June when my wife's niece came to visit us along with her young son and, . . . they all went out to the Hard Rock casino and returned around 3 AM.

So when you say young son...

BTW, crabs are covid-preventative. Chow down!

He stayed home with us. He was only 8.

Didn't know that about crabs. I love Alaskan Kings but the blue crabs we have here, not so much.

[WiseOne]

Great video from Ivor Cummins that somehow escaped the censors:

https://thefatemperor.com/ep110-the-ori ... ral-issue/

It's 45 minutes long but hey, it's Sunday. Watch it. Amazing info.

There is a long clip with a very detailed explanation of the molecular basis between severe COVID disease (cytokine storm) and the pro-inflammatory effects of metabolic syndrome, which basically everyone who follows USDA diet instructions has to some degree. The papers cited are from highly respected journals (eLife, PNAS) - I've published in them myself and there is a high bar for quality.

Along the way, they start discussing potential origins of the virus. Certain people on the forum are going to have a field day with this. And, the discussion of the protective effect of antigens to a particular strain of staphylococcus aureus is seriously interesting - it could explain why (contrary to popular belief) health care workers are at lower risk for severe effects of the virus than the general population. Those of us who hang around hospitals a lot are colonized with every strain of S. aureus out there.

They then go on to discuss the role of vitamin D. Video after my own heart!

[Mark Leavy]

Good News!

Fauci says that recent CDC studies show 3' of social distancing may be just as effective as 6' of social distancing.

They don't seem to have yet studied 3' versus no social distancing. I can't wait.

[Mark Leavy]

Umm, 3 ft is almost none.

I assume that none, 3' and 6' will all have the same results.

But all will be more deadly than an isolation chamber.

[mathjak107]

It is not likely going to be the same with no mask as science has proven covid is droplet spread and masks reduce droplets ...until we have herd immunity and we have very little viral load being spewed

[Mountaineer]

Best story ever: friend of a friend on ventilator for 21 weeks. Now off for 72 hours and on way to recovery.

[Mark Leavy]

It is not likely going to be the same with no mask as science has proven covid is droplet spread and masks reduce droplets ...until we have herd immunity and we have very little viral load being spewed

We have that study already.

The fact that people are pulling out the micrometers and arguing on nightly news as to whether Florida is doing better than New York or New York is doing better than Florida tells you everything you need to know. Virus gonna virus.

[Tortoise]

I met up with my wife's family yesterday, and one of the guys is a radiology technician at a large hospital. He interacts with dozens of patients every day.

At one point, he asked me, "Can you guess how many times the hospital has tested me for Covid over the past year?"

"A lot?" I guessed.

He corrected me: "Zero. They haven't tested me once."

"That's surprising," I replied, "because don't they test every incoming patient for Covid?"

"Yes, they do," he confirmed.

"Presumably because they're financially incentivized, right? The hospital receives more government subsidy for each patient that tests positive for Covid?" I inquired.

He smiled. "Yes, that's exactly right."

"So why doesn't the hospital test all of their front-line workers like you for Covid on a regular basis?" I asked.

"Because if they did, a certain portion of the workers would test positive, and those workers would be sent home for a couple of weeks to isolate. During that time, those workers wouldn't be able to come to work. They determined that that would place too large of a financial burden on the hospital, so they don't do that. And it's not just my hospital; many other hospitals do the same thing."

Interesting, no?

[mathjak107]

My ex wife works for a large nyc hospital...she got covid there

[mathjak107]

She did , but has permanent lung damage..
I am hoping we don’t have permanent damage ...so far no running ability back yet

[SomeDude]

I met up with my wife's family yesterday, and one of the guys is a radiology technician at a large hospital. He interacts with dozens of patients every day.

At one point, he asked me, "Can you guess how many times the hospital has tested me for Covid over the past year?"

"A lot?" I guessed.

He corrected me: "Zero. They haven't tested me once."

"That's surprising," I replied, "because don't they test every incoming patient for Covid?"

"Yes, they do," he confirmed.

"Presumably because they're financially incentivized, right? The hospital receives more government subsidy for each patient that tests positive for Covid?" I inquired.

He smiled. "Yes, that's exactly right."

"So why doesn't the hospital test all of their front-line workers like you for Covid on a regular basis?" I asked.

"Because if they did, a certain portion of the workers would test positive, and those workers would be sent home for a couple of weeks to isolate. During that time, those workers wouldn't be able to come to work. They determined that that would place too large of a financial burden on the hospital, so they don't do that. And it's not just my hospital; many other hospitals do the same thing."

Interesting, no?

I spent 84 days in a NICU with my daughter from aug - nov last year. Not only were nurses NOT tested, neither were parents who were streaming in and out to visit over 100 kiddos daily. And we are talking infants, many under 4 and 3 lbs.

Zero covid. Zero. They didn't even bother to take temps because what a waste of time. Not a single time did we even have a temp taken in 150+ visits. They did initially only allow one parent in at a time for some bizarre reason unless the parents were saying a final goodbye . Other family and friends were denied entry which i can tell you was Hell for many families.

It was a full month before my wife and daughter and i could be together at the same time. All for something that there was zero evidence of (at least where we live).

[Mark Leavy]

It is not likely going to be the same with no mask as science has proven covid is droplet spread and masks reduce droplets ...until we have herd immunity and we have very little viral load being spewed

We have that study already.

The fact that people are pulling out the micrometers and arguing on nightly news as to whether Florida is doing better than New York or New York is doing better than Florida tells you everything you need to know. Virus gonna virus.

The AP has a pretty reasonable discussion of this - showing that different policies of masks and social distancing have had no correlation with state results.

Despite their differing approaches, California and Florida have experienced almost identical outcomes in COVID-19 case rates.

California and Florida both have a COVID-19 case rate of around 8,900 per 100,000 residents since the pandemic began, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And both rank in the middle among states for COVID-19 death rates — Florida was 27th as of Friday; California was 28th.

Connecticut and South Dakota are another example. Both rank among the 10 worst states for COVID-19 death rates. Yet Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, imposed numerous statewide restrictions over the past year after an early surge in deaths, while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, issued no mandates as virus deaths soared in the fall.

[pp4me]

My guess is that the practice of public masking, defined as throwing one of those cheap cloth things on your face every time you go to a public place, has close to zero effect on the spread of the virus. What it does do is remind you every time you go out in public that there is a virus in the air and I think that has become the main reason for making people wear them.

[mathjak107]

Masks have been shown to cut viral loads that are spewed ....they reduce what you may get as well as the drops you spew.

How much viral load we get is one of the primary factors in how bad we get covid. Super spreaders tend to have a lot more virus material contained in their droplets as well. No question masks reduce what is expelled

[Tortoise]

I spent 84 days in a NICU with my daughter from aug - nov last year. Not only were nurses NOT tested, neither were parents who were streaming in and out to visit over 100 kiddos daily. And we are talking infants, many under 4 and 3 lbs.

Zero covid. Zero. They didn't even bother to take temps because what a waste of time. Not a single time did we even have a temp taken in 150+ visits. They did initially only allow one parent in at a time for some bizarre reason unless the parents were saying a final goodbye . Other family and friends were denied entry which i can tell you was Hell for many families.

It was a full month before my wife and daughter and i could be together at the same time. All for something that there was zero evidence of (at least where we live).

That must have been really frustrating.

When my wife gave birth to our daughter last July, fortunately it went well so we didn't have to deal with a NICU. But my wife and I were isolated to her room for her 2-day stay. We couldn't have any visitors and weren't allowed to leave the room for anything -- even the vending machine across the hall -- and we had to put masks on whenever a doctor, nurse, or other staff member entered our room (which was dozens of times a day).

They tested my wife for Covid when she was admitted, but they didn't test me -- even though I shared the room with her for the entire duration of her stay.

That policy didn't make any sense to me until I had the conversation with the radiology technician yesterday. When viewed from the perspective of financial incentive, the policy suddenly makes sense. They tested my wife -- and all other incoming patients -- because the hospital gets government subsidy for all Covid-positive patients. But the hospital doesn't get any government subsidy for Covid-positive spouses/partners or workers, so they don't bother testing them.

But obviously it's all about the science. Financial incentives don't matter.

[yankees60]

I spent 84 days in a NICU with my daughter from aug - nov last year. Not only were nurses NOT tested, neither were parents who were streaming in and out to visit over 100 kiddos daily. And we are talking infants, many under 4 and 3 lbs.

Zero covid. Zero. They didn't even bother to take temps because what a waste of time. Not a single time did we even have a temp taken in 150+ visits. They did initially only allow one parent in at a time for some bizarre reason unless the parents were saying a final goodbye . Other family and friends were denied entry which i can tell you was Hell for many families.

It was a full month before my wife and daughter and i could be together at the same time. All for something that there was zero evidence of (at least where we live).

That must have been really frustrating.

When my wife gave birth to our daughter last July, fortunately it went well so we didn't have to deal with a NICU. But my wife and I were isolated to her room for her 2-day stay. We couldn't have any visitors and weren't allowed to leave the room for anything -- even the vending machine across the hall -- and we had to put masks on whenever a doctor, nurse, or other staff member entered our room (which was dozens of times a day).

They tested my wife for Covid when she was admitted, but they didn't test me -- even though I shared the room with her for the entire duration of her stay.

That policy didn't make any sense to me until I had the conversation with the radiology technician yesterday. When viewed from the perspective of financial incentive, the policy suddenly makes sense. They tested my wife -- and all other incoming patients -- because the hospital gets government subsidy for all Covid-positive patients. But the hospital doesn't get any government subsidy for Covid-positive spouses/partners or workers, so they don't bother testing them.

But obviously it's all about the science. Financial incentives don't matter.

So...here and in another post you had in another topic..... you are clearly saying "Follow the money"?