Top-rated comment, from a man in Brooklyn: "Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains. As cases rise, reach for your KN95 or N95 when leaving the house. It's an especially good idea when riding an elevator or in public transit. If anything, it protects you from the common cold and other bugs, and it's no longer a socially unusual thing to do."
August 3, 2023
"Infections have been trending upward for about four weeks now, according to data gathered from wastewater monitoring, test positivity rates and hospitalizations and emergency room visits."
"Taken together, the figures offer researchers and public health officials the first glimpse of the coronavirus as a post-pandemic, seasonal threat, a permanent fixture of the infectious disease landscape."
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The top-rated comment is from a man in Brooklyn. To someone living in a large city, every other human is a tiny point source of vulnerability. Any one of them could do something crazy at any, unpredictable, moment. While the probabilities of that are minuscule, the reality does occur somewhere every week. In smaller ways, every day. So the mask becomes a totem. It separates the wearer from everyone else. It may, in some small way, protect him very partially from some germs, but we do know that masking made little to no measurable difference in the covid pandemic. What he likes, I think, is the ability to separate himself and to create a private world in which he imagines he is less vulnerable. It's both a coping strategy and, at the same time, a visible vote against the very environment in which he has chosen to live. That his comment is the top-rated shows the widespread need for this declaration. And the confirmation it gives other mask wearers, who can "read" its highly visible presence as a comforting sign of sanity. We are in this together, we have all this in common, we are OK. We are the good part of this urban unpredictability. We are predictable.
In a small town, by contrast, the presence of someone with a mask is highly unusual. And I think most "read" it as a sign of questionable sanity or at least over-concern and misjudgment.
As long as it isn't a socially *required thing to do, great. Knock yourself out.
New day, new “shoulds” in the NYT.
"...experts are looking for clues to what living with the coronavirus will be like this winter and beyond."
For my wife and I that involves doing the same thing we've done since June of '20 which is taking vitamins D (6000 mg) and C (500 mg), zinc (50 mg) potassium (99mg), and magnesium (250 mg) daily. We also carry Ivermectin when traveling internationally but have yet to use it. We only wear masks when forced to, which has been almost never after we moved to Florida in July '20. Neither of us has had the Wuflu or even a cold during the "pandemic." I see no reason to change our regimen at this point, experts or no.
In September 20200, FactCheck.Org ran the scary headline
Trump’s Deceptive Comparison of the Coronavirus to the Flu
Google for "Trump COVID Flu" and you will find thousands of similar scary headlines.
That was then.
Now it's ...the virus is a post-pandemic, seasonal threat, a permanent fixture of the infectious disease landscape.
In other words, just like the flu. So Trump was right and all the wise and wonderful were wrong. No wonder they hate him so much.
"Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains."
Except with a virus, it is always raining, so keep the umbrella up at all times when outside during a rainy forecast so he won't get a drop hitting you if it starts.
What's the threshold for wearing the mask? Any uptick? You can't do it on an uptick.
As the downtick starts a the peak. Who's tracking and publishing the number?
Whenever I see a mask today (e.g., 1% to 3%), I say to myself: "That person is suffering from an anxiety disorder." The vast majority of deep blue city people have moved on from COVID.
Well, let's see, the government, the "experts ", and the lying shits in the media have shown themselves to be asinine turds. So, I will continue to do what I did before and during the Chinese lung rot, i.e. living my life ,laughing at the idiot simps cowering in fear, and telling those who demand that I comply to bugger off and kiss my ass. They are all a bunch of ignorant fascist twats.
As I recall, this was precisely what, back in the early days, most of the "experts" were saying about the expected progression of this coronavirus--as with all coronaviruses.
A lot of those experts were subsequently vilified, censored and cancelled; others adopted the politically favored "this time it's different and we all need to panic" line, and made lots of money.
Man from Chicago says,
Anyone who wants to wear a mask should wear a mask whenever he or she wants to.
I never want to wear a mask. They have been shown to be ineffective and perhaps harmful to the wearer.
Two of my neighbors got it from their visiting adult kids a couple of weeks ago. It was like a summer cold. But they stayed away from everyone. They were good after 3 days, though I gave them room for another few days.
Yes, it's with us forever now. And it'll keep evolving. But I'm more concerned about new diseases being worked on in unmarked warehouses in California these days. Biolab closed down
Lefties are not happy unless they have something to be mortally afraid of every minute of the day.
So basically what happened to a novel coronavirus that is suspected to have appeared in the late 19th century, killed millions, then mutated due to evolutionary pressures (killing the host is a dead end for a virus) to another strain of the common cold, just like conservatives, who look to history, believed.
The only curveball in this whole thing was that the virus was a man-made brew of bat virus and CRISPR sequence designed specifically to infect humans (it doesn't even infect bats anymore) so its course was impossible to predict with certainty, but in the end, it followed the course of other coronaviruses.
Fauci should still be hanged, BTW. There was a paper that came out in Nature, I think, that made the claim that it was unlikely that the virus came from a lab, and now it turns out that the guy who wrote it had a $9MM grant *pending* Fauci's approval, at the time he wrote it.
My mother is still dead, BTW, from something that she caught in early 2020 that gave her wicked pneumonia and caused her to lose her sense of taste, and then led soon after to the heart attack that killed her, IMHO, I hold Fauci as responsible for her death as I hold the Nazis responsible for the death of my great grandparents, who starved to death together in bed, because nobody was there to help them to get food under the travel restrictions imposed by the Nazi occupiers. Another lockdown.
Sister in small town in SoCal has informed the family she and her husband are back to wearing masks. Her neighbor got COVID recently. Interestingly, the rest of us yawned and privately admitted to each other we are not going back to wearing masks and pretty much think she’s nuts.
To be fair, Brooklyn guy is likely fully jabbed thus rocking a compromised immune system.
I visited my primary MD yesterday for a routine visit. She was going over my "shots" and noted that my file on the Covid "vaccine" showed three inoculations. I corrected it by saying I had two Modernas. She again, brought up the possibility of me getting boosters and I politely, but forcefully, replied, "I won't be getting any more shots associated with Covid." She accepted that but had to frame my decision by mentioning that the Covid was not so bad at this time, unlike a few years back. (Me: when I did not get sick. I have always had a decent immune system and rarely get the common cold and have never had the flu, "shots in the fall or not". I also, at least now, have no co-morbidities. And for all that, I am grateful and blessed.
Quite a few young people at my place of employment got it early last year but were back at work within a few days.
MarcusB. THEOLDMAN
Infections remain low, with only a "slight increase." So researchers are "bracing" for good news? Is this really where we are now? Wasn't this the dream endpoint of the "two weeks to flatten the curve" approach?
Baaaaa
Pro Tip for reading this kind of article: go directly to the graph and try to ignore the verbiage.
The authors want to tell a certain story and the verbiage, even when honest, shapes the data (if only subtly) to the narrative. By looking at the graph, you get a more direct story, and you get a lot of important context that the verbiage downplays. Usually, the trends the verbiage is emphasizing are much smaller than the verbiage suggests. In the worst case, when the article is actually dishonest, the graph can destroy the narrative.
When you look at the data underlying this story, the level of deaths is very, very, low now. Deaths are still in the tens of thousands per year, and that is not nothing, but it is very low by historical standards. Plus, the uptick is very, very small. Yes, the number of deaths is up a little bit and we should pay attention because maybe there will be another surge, but the uptick is very small now and if the upward trend stops, the uptick will have been barely noticeable.
Some people are so afraid of getting sick that they ignore any and all rational advice and glom onto the hyperbolic. Some of them even try to censure others from bringing up facts or even the idea that something is less than their fears.
Or, to quote a great statesman (Schwarzenegger): Fuck your freedom!
Re: Brooklyn comment. Baloney. Exactly what NYT addicts think they are supposed to think.
jaydub said...
"For my wife and I that involves doing the same thing we've done since June of '20 which is taking vitamins D (6000 mg) and C (500 mg), zinc (50 mg) potassium (99mg), and magnesium (250 mg) daily."
That is sort of what I take. I would only recommend addition of 1000 mg Quercetin, a zinc ionophore that assists entry of zinc into cells.
""Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains. As cases rise, reach for your KN95 or N95 when leaving the house. It's an especially good idea when riding an elevator or in public transit. If anything, it protects you from the common cold and other bugs, and it's no longer a socially unusual thing to do.""
I feel the same way about my safety. However, I do not grab a mask before leaving the house. I grab my carry pistol. If anything, it protects me from the common thugs and other physical risks.
"Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains."
Except with a virus, it is always raining, so keep the umbrella up at all times when outside during a rainy forecast so he won't get a drop hitting you if it starts.
What's the threshold for wearing the mask? Any uptick? You can't do it on an uptick.
As the downtick starts a the peak. Who's tracking and publishing the number?
An umbrella won't keep you 100% dry. You can still get Covid if you wear a mask.
Plus you're breathing in your own CO2 instead of oxygen. It's lose-lose.
I have absolutely no problem with anybody wearing a mask, even if they're driving alone or outside, hiking. I might be guilty of finding some absurdity in the situation, but I would never taunt a person for their choice.
What I find unforgivable is the continuing willingness from the medical professionals to silence scientific, evidence-based debate on the merits of treatments, the dangers of experimental vaccines, The unfortunate mischaracterized and downplayed adverse events, and the studied disinterest in promoting what are very safe, proven mitigants - vitamin D, C, Invermectin, so on.
We keep all of these mitigants in the house and take them daily, with Ivermectin on hand if needed (we don't take it prophylactically). If you don't have any of the documented comorbidities and you're healthy, and especially if you're under 60, your risk is low. A short study of the CDC mortality data makes for quick conclusions.
A few years before COVID it was commonly accepted that prohibiting Mulsim women from covering their faces in certain public situations was OK. There was the usual outcry of Islamophobia, which I dismissed. Given how the Left has embraced mask wearing, I now realize that this actually was a rare instance of the Left's anti-religious behavior targeting the one religion that normally escapes that.
A work friend, older gentleman, tested positive a couple of weeks ago. Got it from his daughter's family. Very few if any symptoms throughout. He never would have tested but for his grandchildren testing positive.
That's the danger of this virus. It's now indistinguishable from a host of other merely annoying bugs.
Top-rated comment, from a man in Brooklyn: "Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains. As cases rise, reach for your KN95 or N95 when leaving the house. It's an especially good idea when riding an elevator or in public transit. If anything, it protects you from the common cold and other bugs, and it's no longer a socially unusual thing to do."
Apparently subscribers to the NY Times are afraid to live normal sane lives.
Maybe they're compensating. They're not allowed to do anything about street violence, a very real threat to them, so instead, they don a useless mask and pretend it's protecting them against a deadly threat that's not really deadly, along with the minor threat of being inconvenienced with a cold.
In the real case of street violence threat, they'd be better off arming themselves with a concealed weapon- though then they'd be prosecuted for shooting a criminal in self defense.
In the case of viral threat- they'd be better off strengthening their immune system, losing weight and ensuring their Vitamin D blood levels were up to snuff.
Covering the face everywhere is unnatural. And throughout history has been a sign of submission. We saw it in the covidiocy practiced by the political and entertainment elite. Pictures abound of masked waiters, serving the unmasked elite diners. And then there's the pic, maybe more then one, of an unmasked politician with masked schoolchildren at a photo op.. Can you say child abuse? I can.
"...but we do know that masking made little to no measurable difference in the covid pandemic."
Do we know that?
I can say this: throughout my life I have reliably become infected with the common cold one to two times every year. I have not had even one cold since before the beginning of COVID season. I'm down from 1-2 colds per year to none in three years and counting. If nothing else, mask-wearing and distancing protocols seems to have protected me from the cold, a not-inconsiderable benefit.
(I did come down with a mysterious flu-like ailment in December 2019 which, in retrospect, was probably COVID. My ability to taste food was affected for a while, which puzzled me, as this was before that symptom was announced as a consequence of COVID. To my knowledge, I have not been infected--or re-infected--with COVID since that probable bout in late 2019.)
I wouldn't say a mask is 'useless' but it's the next best thing. Coming out of the covid-era as people got back to their daily lives, I got significantly ill three times in an 8 month period, at least one of which was covid (which was not as bad as people have made it out to be - although I'm 'vaccinated'). Since then, minor cough or other simple, non-debilitating 'off days'.
The isolation and non-contact with others allows germs to mutate and breed in isolation, then when exposed to a new host, has serious effects. War Of The Worlds doesn't seem to be as fictional as we believe.
Our immune systems only function by exposure to various pathogens. Overzealous masking will make people lose immunity to them or their related pathogens. This also relates to allergies. Does anyone here over 60 remember anyone allergic to peanuts in 1965? They used to be ubiquitous and everyone developed appropriate reactions to the airborne oils. Now you can't have communal food sources in public places so people are developing allergies to all sorts of food.
"Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains."
LOL! Dude, if that is the rationale for deciding when and when not to put on a face mask, here is the reality with regards to respiratory viruses- it is raining all the time, even in your apartment. I just about 30 in-breaths in the last minute. Every single one of them contained viruses. The next 30 in-breaths will also all contain viruses. We are swimming in them
Cases are only "down" this year because testing COVID has basically stopped everywhere in the United States except for the very large cities, and even then in only in a handful of states.
If we were still running 500K+ COVID pcr tests/day, the case/death trends of July/August of 2023 would probably look very similar to the trends from last year at the same time, and in all the states. Of course, only lunatics are running out for a COVID test at every sniffle today.
"If you’re experiencing cold symptoms, you may want to take a COVID-19 test. The most recent data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows the viral load entering the wastewater is on the way up."
Source: KSTP Eyewitness News, Aug 3, 2023
Conclusion: COVID. It's just like a cold.
The NY Slimes does not seem to be interested in the increase of leprosy in this country since the border was dismantled. Of course, they only notice it in hateful Florida.
In a small town, by contrast, the presence of someone with a mask is highly unusual. And I think most "read" it as a sign of questionable sanity or at least over-concern and misjudgment.
I still see a few of them in Whole Foods. I read it that way.
"Donning a face mask should now be like pulling out an umbrella when it rains.
I don't use umbrellas, either.
If you want to look like a fucking idiot wearing a useless mask, go for it. Don't expect me to join your charade.
"If you’re experiencing cold symptoms, you may want to take a COVID-19 test."
IOW... "We can't report scary numbers unless you keep getting tested."
"Who's tracking and publishing the number?"
Some very unreliable people.
I thought everyone knew that the mask you wear does not keep you from getting the virus it reduces your ability to spread the virus. Wearing a mask doesn't protect you from anything except being identfied or understood when speaking.
Conclusion: COVID. It's just like a cold.
Wrong conclusion. Correct Conclusion: COVID: It can present with cold- or flu-like symptoms.
"IOW... "We can't report scary numbers unless you keep getting tested.""
Excellent point! Thanks for that.
"Correct Conclusion: COVID: It can present with cold- or flu-like symptoms."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKcAYMb5uk4
Blogger Robert Cook said...
Conclusion: COVID. It's just like a cold.
Wrong conclusion. Correct Conclusion: COVID: It can present with cold- or flu-like symptoms.
Proof that the Covid thing was all about politics and leftist politics at that. Nobody is further left wing than Cook.
Masks don't protect the wearer so much as they mitigate transmission from the wearer to others. Here's a study from 2019, originally reported by JAMA, showing that in clinical use, surgical masks and N95 masks came up short - almost equally - in protecting the wearer.
N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel
"
Findings
In this pragmatic, cluster randomized clinical trial involving 2862 health care personnel, there was no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among health care personnel with the use of N95 respirators (8.2%) vs medical masks (7.2%).
Conclusions and Relevance
Among outpatient health care personnel, N95 respirators vs medical masks as worn by participants in this trial resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza."
Here's the thing about masks: those nasty little aerosol droplets don't just obediently land on the mask where they're filtered out (mostly). They land on your clothes, hair, skin, and - if they're open - your eyes, a quick gateway to your upper respiratory system. That explains why, when I was in the hospital with an opportunistic pneumonia as a consequence of COVID, some of the care providers wore what looked like a space helmet with an air filter backpack. Good protection if you're immunocompromised.
Downside of masks, especially in warm weather, is that it's hard to shed core heat. I feel sorry for people walking outside in hot weather with masks, especially if there's no one within 100 feet of them.
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