Coronavirus Thread VI: Are We Nearly There Yet? (READ OP)

[Shazbotdom]

So


Due to rising COVID Numbers within the State of Louisiana, the city of New Orleans has reinstituted its Mask Mandate, with the state looking at restarting theirs soon if numbers don't decrease.

Guess I have to pull mine out of the box I put them in and wash them with my Tide Pods Hygenic Clean.

[Washington Resistance Army]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

[Neanderthaland]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

I was glad I had mine today. Smoke from fires out West has been blowing over my state, blanketing us is toxic haze. It's like vacationing in Beijing.

[Sincluda]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

I was glad I had mine today. Smoke from fires out West has been blowing over my state, blanketing us is toxic haze. It's like vacationing in Beijing.

Similarly, the air is constantly toxic here, and it gets super bad in Winter. I should have always been wearing one.

[Omniabstracta]

Disney mandates vaccination for all employees, save hourly union members pending further negotiation. I imagine many other corporations will probably follow suit.

Edit: They’ve already been joined by Walmart.

[The Free Joy State]

There are also people who are allergic to the vaccines that are currently authorized. They're not all anti-vaxxers.

Well considering that the vaccine in question is made from mRNA it’s unlikely that people will be allergic to it.

That tends to only happen if it’s a live virus that’s grown in eggs.

While true that an egg allergy wasn't a problem for me getting the COVID vaccine (and I couldn't get a flu vaccine for years until my local NHS authority bought in cell-grown vaccines), I do seem to remember there being some allergies where you couldn't have a COVID vaccine. But I've put my info away now, and don't remember what.

I've only ever been to the Majestic, but I didn't think it was that bad.

On Broadway right? Yea now that you mention it; it wasn't that bad.

I have been to many others where I have to sit a weird angles to fit in. Note: I am 5'10'' Poor Mrs. Bumi is 6'2'' Going to the bathroom means climbing over everybody else as there is NO maneuver room. It's part of that "profit" lumen talks about.

I'm short, so leg-room has never been a problem (I'm talking about the decent-sized theatres near me that get the official touring companies), though you do have to climb over knees to get to the bathroom at the interval (generally, everyone jumps up, and presses their backs to their chair so people can squeeze by). But I do have to get a seat in the front rows to ensure I can see.

More on topic, those theatres are all mandating masking (with one specifically noting they are asking people to protect their staff, as well as patrons). I checked their websites. They're also using separate entrances for different seating areas and telling patrons not to come (making it easy to rebook) if they may have COVID.

[Kowani]

Minor crosspost, but: House adjourns without extending eviction moratorium

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) will sleep outside the U.S. Capitol building in an appeal to her colleagues in Congress to return to Washington and vote to extend the federal eviction moratorium

[North Washington Republic]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

I was glad I had mine today. Smoke from fires out West has been blowing over my state, blanketing us is toxic haze. It's like vacationing in Beijing.

I can’t even go out for my walk in the park, the air quality is just plain nasty in Minneapolis and all of Minnesota.

[Thermodolia]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

It’s going to stay in hospitals which in my opinion is the best thing ever. I’ll probably still wear it on planes because people are nasty

[Stellar Colonies]

Tbh I never stopped wearing my mask. Even if Covid does pass entirely I'm probably not gonna stop, I hated it at first but it's kinda nice not having to breath in everyones nastiness when I'm out and about.

It’s going to stay in hospitals which in my opinion is the best thing ever. I’ll probably still wear it on planes because people are nasty

Would be neat for them to remain in restaurant kitchens too, although maybe there are issues which I'm not foreseeing.

[The Alma Mater]

Well considering that the vaccine in question is made from mRNA it’s unlikely that people will be allergic to it.

That tends to only happen if it’s a live virus that’s grown in eggs.

While true that an egg allergy wasn't a problem for me getting the COVID vaccine (and I couldn't get a flu vaccine for years until my local NHS authority bought in cell-grown vaccines), I do seem to remember there being some allergies where you couldn't have a COVID vaccine. But I've put my info away now, and don't remember what.

None of them ? I mean, we have mRNA, vector and plain old "have some real but weakened covid injected in you" vaccines now; although admittedly the last one is not used in the west.

I can imagine being allergic to one of them; but all ?

[Ifreann]

And now it turns out that despite Lumen's edicts that it be considered impossible Broadway theaters are trying out mandatory masking for audience members.

How can I possibly enjoy a stage show if I can't see the faces of the other people in the audience?

---

Minor crosspost, but: House adjourns without extending eviction moratorium

Just a little housing crisis, as a treat.

[Esternial]

While true that an egg allergy wasn't a problem for me getting the COVID vaccine (and I couldn't get a flu vaccine for years until my local NHS authority bought in cell-grown vaccines), I do seem to remember there being some allergies where you couldn't have a COVID vaccine. But I've put my info away now, and don't remember what.

None of them ? I mean, we have mRNA, vector and plain old "have some real but weakened covid injected in you" vaccines now; although admittedly the last one is not used in the west.

I can imagine being allergic to one of them; but all ?

It can happen. Some people have a dysfunctional immune system that results in them developing more allergies than average.

Also, mRNA vaccines still result in foreign proteins being created in your body, which your immune system recognizes as foreign and responds. Allergy (and anaphylaxis) is when your immune system over-reacts or doesn't respond as intended.

[CoraSpia]

Apparently the people who shouldn't have the vaccine are people who have an allergy to some of the components in the vaccine. I would imagine it's a very small group though.

[Kannap]

CDC study shows 74% of people infected in Massachusetts outbreak are fully vaccinated

About three-fourths of people infected in a Massachusetts Covid-19 outbreak were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with four of them ending up in the hospital, according to new data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new data, published in the U.S. agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found that fully vaccinated people who get infected carry as much of the virus in their nose as unvaccinated people, and could spread it to other individuals.

“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones.”

On Tuesday, the CDC reversed course on its prior guidance and recommended fully vaccinated Americans who live in areas with high Covid infection rates resume wearing face masks indoors. The guidelines cover about two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to a CNBC analysis.

While the delta variant continues to hit unvaccinated people the hardest, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and are potentially transmitting it to others, Walensky told reporters on a call Tuesday. She added the variant behaves “uniquely differently from past strains of the virus.”

A CDC document that was reviewed by CNBC warned that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox, has a longer transmission window than the original Covid strain and may make older people sicker, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated.

Delta, now in at least 132 countries and already the dominant form of the disease in the United States, is more transmissible than the common cold, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, Ebola, MERS and SARS, according to the document. Only measles appears to spread faster than the variant.

The data published Friday was based on 469 cases of Covid associated with multiple summer events and large public gatherings held in July in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, which encompasses Cape Cod and is just outside Martha’s Vineyard. The events were held in Provincetown, according to NBC News. Approximately three-quarters, or 74%, of the cases occurred in fully vaccinated people who had completed a two-dose course of the mRNA vaccines or received a single shot of Johnson & Johnson’s.

Overall, 274 vaccinated patients with a breakthrough infection were symptomatic, according to the CDC. The most common side effects were cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and fever. Among five Covid patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated, according to the agency. No deaths were reported.

Testing identified the delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients.

While numerous studies have shown that the vaccines don’t work as well against the delta variant as they did against other strains, health officials say they are still highly effective, especially in protecting against severe illness and death. Roughly 97% of new hospitalizations and 99.5% of deaths in the U.S. are among unvaccinated individuals, U.S. health officials repeated this week.

The CDC also said the data has limitations. The agency noted that as population-level vaccination coverage increases, vaccinated persons are likely to represent a larger proportion of Covid cases. Additionally, asymptomatic breakthrough infections might be underrepresented because of detection bias, the agency said.

The CDC also said the report is “insufficient” to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the authorized vaccines against Covid, including the delta variant, during this outbreak.

[Grave_n_idle]

CDC study shows 74% of people infected in Massachusetts outbreak are fully vaccinated

About three-fourths of people infected in a Massachusetts Covid-19 outbreak were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with four of them ending up in the hospital, according to new data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new data, published in the U.S. agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found that fully vaccinated people who get infected carry as much of the virus in their nose as unvaccinated people, and could spread it to other individuals.

“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones.”

On Tuesday, the CDC reversed course on its prior guidance and recommended fully vaccinated Americans who live in areas with high Covid infection rates resume wearing face masks indoors. The guidelines cover about two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to a CNBC analysis.

While the delta variant continues to hit unvaccinated people the hardest, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and are potentially transmitting it to others, Walensky told reporters on a call Tuesday. She added the variant behaves “uniquely differently from past strains of the virus.”

A CDC document that was reviewed by CNBC warned that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox, has a longer transmission window than the original Covid strain and may make older people sicker, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated.

Delta, now in at least 132 countries and already the dominant form of the disease in the United States, is more transmissible than the common cold, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, Ebola, MERS and SARS, according to the document. Only measles appears to spread faster than the variant.

The data published Friday was based on 469 cases of Covid associated with multiple summer events and large public gatherings held in July in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, which encompasses Cape Cod and is just outside Martha’s Vineyard. The events were held in Provincetown, according to NBC News. Approximately three-quarters, or 74%, of the cases occurred in fully vaccinated people who had completed a two-dose course of the mRNA vaccines or received a single shot of Johnson & Johnson’s.

Overall, 274 vaccinated patients with a breakthrough infection were symptomatic, according to the CDC. The most common side effects were cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and fever. Among five Covid patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated, according to the agency. No deaths were reported.

Testing identified the delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients.

While numerous studies have shown that the vaccines don’t work as well against the delta variant as they did against other strains, health officials say they are still highly effective, especially in protecting against severe illness and death. Roughly 97% of new hospitalizations and 99.5% of deaths in the U.S. are among unvaccinated individuals, U.S. health officials repeated this week.

The CDC also said the data has limitations. The agency noted that as population-level vaccination coverage increases, vaccinated persons are likely to represent a larger proportion of Covid cases. Additionally, asymptomatic breakthrough infections might be underrepresented because of detection bias, the agency said.

The CDC also said the report is “insufficient” to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the authorized vaccines against Covid, including the delta variant, during this outbreak.

Massachusetts has about 65% full vaccination, so 75% of a group being vaccinated isn't unlikely - and more likely if you're looking at risk groups, like people gathering maskless. Only 4 were serious enough to need hospital care, though - that's where the vaccinations are really shining at the moment.

[Thermodolia]

CDC study shows 74% of people infected in Massachusetts outbreak are fully vaccinated

About three-fourths of people infected in a Massachusetts Covid-19 outbreak were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with four of them ending up in the hospital, according to new data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new data, published in the U.S. agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found that fully vaccinated people who get infected carry as much of the virus in their nose as unvaccinated people, and could spread it to other individuals.

“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones.”

On Tuesday, the CDC reversed course on its prior guidance and recommended fully vaccinated Americans who live in areas with high Covid infection rates resume wearing face masks indoors. The guidelines cover about two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to a CNBC analysis.

While the delta variant continues to hit unvaccinated people the hardest, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and are potentially transmitting it to others, Walensky told reporters on a call Tuesday. She added the variant behaves “uniquely differently from past strains of the virus.”

A CDC document that was reviewed by CNBC warned that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox, has a longer transmission window than the original Covid strain and may make older people sicker, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated.

Delta, now in at least 132 countries and already the dominant form of the disease in the United States, is more transmissible than the common cold, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, Ebola, MERS and SARS, according to the document. Only measles appears to spread faster than the variant.

The data published Friday was based on 469 cases of Covid associated with multiple summer events and large public gatherings held in July in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, which encompasses Cape Cod and is just outside Martha’s Vineyard. The events were held in Provincetown, according to NBC News. Approximately three-quarters, or 74%, of the cases occurred in fully vaccinated people who had completed a two-dose course of the mRNA vaccines or received a single shot of Johnson & Johnson’s.

Overall, 274 vaccinated patients with a breakthrough infection were symptomatic, according to the CDC. The most common side effects were cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and fever. Among five Covid patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated, according to the agency. No deaths were reported.

Testing identified the delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients.

While numerous studies have shown that the vaccines don’t work as well against the delta variant as they did against other strains, health officials say they are still highly effective, especially in protecting against severe illness and death. Roughly 97% of new hospitalizations and 99.5% of deaths in the U.S. are among unvaccinated individuals, U.S. health officials repeated this week.

The CDC also said the data has limitations. The agency noted that as population-level vaccination coverage increases, vaccinated persons are likely to represent a larger proportion of Covid cases. Additionally, asymptomatic breakthrough infections might be underrepresented because of detection bias, the agency said.

The CDC also said the report is “insufficient” to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the authorized vaccines against Covid, including the delta variant, during this outbreak.

Massachusetts has about 65% full vaccination, so 75% of a group being vaccinated isn't unlikely - and more likely if you're looking at risk groups, like people gathering maskless. Only 4 were serious enough to need hospital care, though - that's where the vaccinations are really shining at the moment.

Yup. We should be telling everyone that vaccines are like a life vest. Sure your going to hit the water but at least you won’t drown. And it’s better than holding onto a board (having immunity from COVID alone)

[Page]

Is anyone else kind of wishing that the people who can be safely vaccinated (but refuse because of bullshit reasons) get the virus? I don't mean that in a "I hope they die" way, I mean it more that it would be from a utilitarian perspective the best thing that could happen for the human race as a whole, because if enough of them get it and survive it and build up the antibodies, that might finally get us to a point where the virus only spreads in clusters rather than waves.

Of course, such wishes are purely hypothetical because there is no policy that can ensure it spreads among those who refuse to get vaccinated without affecting those who can't get vaccinated or have not yet had the opportunity. But in a hypothetical world where there is no one who can't get vaccinated, only those who refuse, then I do (about 70% facetiously) wonder if the best thing would be to encourage public coughing. I don't want anti-vaxxers to suffer, but I do think as many of them getting it as possible would net the least overall suffering for mankind.

[Maricarland]

I am now of the opinion that we should have a vaccine passport/ID to be allowed to enter public buildings (whether you are a worker, a customer, or anything else), and if you are not vaccinated you may not enter (with an exception for grocery stores, doctor offices, and other essentials, in which case all people vaccinated or not should be under a mask mandate). People's personal right not to have their health and safety threatened trumps other people's civil right to go out in public (not to mention this protects the unvaccinated as well).

We can lift the vaccine passport when we have 70% - 85% of the global population (total population, not adult population) vaccinated, and 70% - 85% of the local population vaccinated. It must be both, however, the global population and the local population must meet this threshold to lift the vaccine passport.

[Maricarland]

I find it disappointing that some friends of my family are refusing to get vaccinated telling me that they trust in God and that God is stronger than a virus. SERIOUSLY. I am mostly supportive of religion, but that is illogical. Why do they not consider that maybe the vaccine is part of God's plan?

I am reminded of a story that I heard at a Christian camp (which I resent having to have gone to because my mother thought I needed social interaction in a Christian environment after my father died).

The story is called the Drowning Man (here is a copy and paste of it for anyone who wants to read it)

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."

So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"

To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

In the same vein as this story, in God's plan the scientists were able to have the insights and technology to produce a vaccine and distribute it, what more did you expect from God.

[Major-Tom]

I am now of the opinion that we should have a vaccine passport/ID to be allowed to enter public buildings (whether you are a worker, a customer, or anything else), and if you are not vaccinated you may not enter (with an exception for grocery stores, doctor offices, and other essentials, in which case all people vaccinated or not should be under a mask mandate). People's personal right not to have their health and safety threatened trumps other people's civil right to go out in public (not to mention this protects the unvaccinated as well).

We can lift the vaccine passport when we have 70% - 85% of the global population (total population, not adult population) vaccinated, and 70% - 85% of the local population vaccinated. It must be both, however, the global population and the local population must meet this threshold to lift the vaccine passport.

I mean...some local businesses (bars & restaurants mostly) where I am are doing that currently. The only hassle for me is that I lost my vaccination card, and now have to show some grainy PDF demonstrating that I did, in fact, get my shots. I'm sure there are ways to incentivize businesses to make the choice on whether or not they only allow vaccinated customers. A mandate risks a litany of expensive lawsuits for business owners and the government alike, and could shut down small businesses in rural communities where they just don't have a vaccinated customer base.

[Maricarland]

I am now of the opinion that we should have a vaccine passport/ID to be allowed to enter public buildings (whether you are a worker, a customer, or anything else), and if you are not vaccinated you may not enter (with an exception for grocery stores, doctor offices, and other essentials, in which case all people vaccinated or not should be under a mask mandate). People's personal right not to have their health and safety threatened trumps other people's civil right to go out in public (not to mention this protects the unvaccinated as well).

We can lift the vaccine passport when we have 70% - 85% of the global population (total population, not adult population) vaccinated, and 70% - 85% of the local population vaccinated. It must be both, however, the global population and the local population must meet this threshold to lift the vaccine passport.

I mean...some local businesses (bars & restaurants mostly) where I am are doing that currently. The only hassle for me is that I lost my vaccination card, and now have to show some grainy PDF demonstrating that I did, in fact, get my shots.

They should make it easy to get a photo ID, and to replace such an ID, that proves you were vaccinated.

[Major-Tom]

I mean...some local businesses (bars & restaurants mostly) where I am are doing that currently. The only hassle for me is that I lost my vaccination card, and now have to show some grainy PDF demonstrating that I did, in fact, get my shots.

They should make it easy to get a photo ID, and to replace such an ID, that proves you were vaccinated.

Probably, yeah. Either way, it was my fuck up, so I pay a small price for it.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

God is stronger than a virus.

What if God commanded COVID19 to be created in his infinite omniscience and omnipotence?

[Maricarland]

God is stronger than a virus.

What if God commanded COVID19 to be created in his infinite omniscience and omnipotence?

I don't think that argument would be persuasive to get my friends of the family to take the vaccine. How do we convince people who buy into the argument that "God is stronger than a virus" to take the vaccine?