The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

[Kasey Chang]

Turns out those kids DeSantis bullied are HIGH SCHOOL kids. He was at University of South Florida, but he was using Middleton High School students as a backdrop. Their superintendent was "proud of the manner in which our students represented themselves and our school district".

[Defiant]

[Smoove_B]

I saw that yesterday about Senator Kaine and was curious to see how this all plays out. It's sad to think that it's going to take the health of a directly impacted legislator to somehow push for change.

Speaking of which, here's confirmation as to what public health is most concerned about right now as mask mandates are being lifted and everyone is being told things are fine. As we move forward with this nonsense, marginalized communities will continue to feel the brunt of our collective decisions. So yeah, no surprise at all as to why it's happening.

NEW: NYC Health Dept has released data on covid hospitalization rates, broken down by race.

Shows that inequality was *even worse* in the omicron wave than earlier in the pandemic. More the 2x for Black NYers vs. white NYers.

We can not turn away from this. So much work to do.

[Octavious]

Just got a text from the school saying that masks are optional starting Monday. FREEEEEEEDOOOOMMMMMMMMM

[stessier]

For Smoove - you are not alone!



and bonus funny

[LawBeefaroni]

Played soccer yesterday at the indoor dome for the first time since the indoor mandate was lifted. No one was wearing masks except the servers and clerks at the adjacent bar/commissary.

[malchior]

I just got an email from Prudential Center (where the NJ Devils play) saying they've dropped not only masks but vaccine and testing requirements. They went from some controls to none in one fell swoop. I can't help but think about the NYC Health Dept. data. The workers at Prudential largely come from similar background and they'll have to deal with it I guess. The spice must flow!

[LawBeefaroni]

The soccer dome requires vaccination but stopped checking on Monday. Presumably everyone currently in the leagues registered their vaccine cards. But realistically, you'll have dozens of subs/ringers that didn't register.



Going to an event on Saturday. It will be the first real party (more than 2 households) in what, 2 years? We had to email proof of vax.

[pr0ner]

Just got a text from the school saying that masks are optional starting Monday. FREEEEEEEDOOOOMMMMMMMMM

The federal government is going mask optional in public spaces in buildings in areas with low/medium transmission rates starting Monday, which will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

[LawBeefaroni]

Kid's private kindergarten is going mask optional 4/1. No word on the older kid's public school.

[Smoove_B]

For Smoove - you are not alone!

Yeah that first video is 100% accurate. Painful, but accurate.

[RunningMn9]

Just got a text from the school saying that masks are optional starting Monday. FREEEEEEEDOOOOMMMMMMMMM

The federal government is going mask optional in public spaces in buildings in areas with low/medium transmission rates starting Monday, which will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

Mask mandate got dropped today, effectively immediately, but still can’t have more than 40% of the workforce on site at the same time. No word on when that will change. We are encouraged to start coming in 1 to 2 days per week.

[pr0ner]

Just got a text from the school saying that masks are optional starting Monday. FREEEEEEEDOOOOMMMMMMMMM

The federal government is going mask optional in public spaces in buildings in areas with low/medium transmission rates starting Monday, which will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

Mask mandate got dropped today, effectively immediately, but still can’t have more than 40% of the workforce on site at the same time. No word on when that will change. We are encouraged to start coming in 1 to 2 days per week.

My agency is still very clear we're in "Phase 1" (max 25% capacity, but in reality way under that every day), and I have no idea when they'll make an announcement (with 60 days notice!) about reopening our offices in full.

The leases here in our main offices start expiring at the end of 2023, and it's going to be *very* interesting to see what the enhanced telework programs are going to do in terms of people actually on site if things ever get back to normal.

[Kraken]

Just made my weekly grocery run and people were about 25% masked, which is more than I expected to see in this day of the Great Unmasking.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Just made my weekly grocery run and people were about 25% masked, which is more than I expected to see in this day of the Great Unmasking.

I went yesterday and saw like five total customers masked. Of course, masking has been pretty laissez-faire here in SC for awhile, but this was a big drop from what I have been seeing the last couple of weeks.

[ImLawBoy]

Our microwave crapped out a couple of weeks ago, and the guys showed up to install the new one today (it's fancy!). They came to the door without masks on. I told them that we have a medically fragile kid in the house and they needed to mask up. Fortunately they did it without complaint, but that's the first time since this whole thing started that a delivery person or service person even tried to come to the house without masking.

[Kurth]

Our microwave crapped out a couple of weeks ago, and the guys showed up to install the new one today (it's fancy!). They came to the door without masks on. I told them that we have a medically fragile kid in the house and they needed to mask up. Fortunately they did it without complaint, but that's the first time since this whole thing started that a delivery person or service person even tried to come to the house without masking.

I’m glad they didn’t give you a hard time. It’s nice — for a change — to hear about people behaving normally and decently in the midst of all the COVID minimalist/maximalist tribal warfare.

[El Guapo]

Our microwave crapped out a couple of weeks ago, and the guys showed up to install the new one today (it's fancy!). They came to the door without masks on. I told them that we have a medically fragile kid in the house and they needed to mask up. Fortunately they did it without complaint, but that's the first time since this whole thing started that a delivery person or service person even tried to come to the house without masking.

I’m glad they didn’t give you a hard time. It’s nice — for a change — to hear about people behaving normally and decently in the midst of all the COVID minimalist/maximalist tribal warfare.

True, though at the same time they probably figured that in this case no masks = no money.

[Kurth]

Our microwave crapped out a couple of weeks ago, and the guys showed up to install the new one today (it's fancy!). They came to the door without masks on. I told them that we have a medically fragile kid in the house and they needed to mask up. Fortunately they did it without complaint, but that's the first time since this whole thing started that a delivery person or service person even tried to come to the house without masking.

I’m glad they didn’t give you a hard time. It’s nice — for a change — to hear about people behaving normally and decently in the midst of all the COVID minimalist/maximalist tribal warfare.

True, though at the same time they probably figured that in this case no masks = no money.

Yep, but I'm fine with that. I'll take rational, self-motivated action over tribal extremism any day of the week.

[ImLawBoy]

I suspect they've been instructed that they need to wear masks upon request. I bought from a reputable regional chain that surely knows the general feeling in this area and likes to be known for customer service. I also made sure to be respectful when asking and gave them a solid reason.

[Blackhawk]

I know that even now, when I've walked into a meeting masked, the person on the other side of the desk asks me if we'd like them to mask up, too. Given that it's usually in a small, open office with minimal ventilation and a dozen other people, I tell them not to bother. It's like putting one sandbag in front of a broken dam.

[Smoove_B]

I know that even now, when I've walked into a meeting masked, the person on the other side of the desk asks me if we'd like them to mask up, too. Given that it's usually in a small, open office with minimal ventilation and a dozen other people, I tell them not to bother. It's like putting one sandbag in front of a broken dam.

"Nah, I'm sure this cough I have will be stopped by my mask."

[Blackhawk]

I know that even now, when I've walked into a meeting masked, the person on the other side of the desk asks me if we'd like them to mask up, too. Given that it's usually in a small, open office with minimal ventilation and a dozen other people, I tell them not to bother. It's like putting one sandbag in front of a broken dam.

"Nah, I'm sure this cough I have will be stopped by my mask."

I don't have to fake it! I still have post-cancer/surgery/radiation throat. Thanks to that, I aspirate saliva all the damned time, causing me to hack and cough like a lung is wanting out. It certainly got me a few cleared grocery aisles early in the pandemic when people still cared!

[Kraken]

I know that even now, when I've walked into a meeting masked, the person on the other side of the desk asks me if we'd like them to mask up, too. Given that it's usually in a small, open office with minimal ventilation and a dozen other people, I tell them not to bother. It's like putting one sandbag in front of a broken dam.

"Nah, I'm sure this cough I have will be stopped by my mask."

I don't have to fake it! I still have post-cancer/surgery/radiation throat. Thanks to that, I aspirate saliva all the damned time, causing me to hack and cough like a lung is wanting out. It certainly got me a few cleared grocery aisles early in the pandemic when people still cared!

I achieve the same result by talking to the groceries. People give me a wide berth.

Today I had to go into a bank lobby because I needed to deposit a check and my ATM card was expired. Nobody there was masked except me.

[Formix]

Today I had to go into a bank lobby because I needed to deposit a check and my ATM card was expired. Nobody there was masked except me.

This is everywhere in WNC now. Mission Accomplished, we won!

[Unagi]

Where is WNC ?

[Daehawk]

Where is WNC ?

Western Nevada College?
Western North Carolina?

[wonderpug]

West North Central

[Blackhawk]

West North Central

But only the southeastern part.

[Kraken]

I’ve been in West Michigan (trump country) for like 3 hours now and entered two establishments, and not only is absolutely nobody wearing a mask, we got the stinkeye for wearing ours.

Back home, the positive test rate is 1.8% and 80% are fully vaxxed. Here, the vax rate is 58% and positivity is at 13%. Stinkeye or not, I’m clinging to my mask all week.

[stessier]

Worked dropped all restrictions today regardless of vaccination status. As a state, we are at ~58% vaccinated and given the data I've seen, work is probably a bit below that. Our county 7 day case average was 48/100k on Friday with a 4.8% positive rate.

I got my daughter boosted on Friday, so in two weeks I'll see where we're at before I make any changes.

[ImLawBoy]

On my grocery trips this weekend, masking was still at about 70% I'd guess, even though it's no longer required here. I'll continue wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, Chicago Public Schools is making noise that they will drop the mask mandate in the "very near future". We're going to tell the twins they need to keep wearing masks for the benefit of their brother (and likely me pending today's doctor appointment), but it'll be less than ideal for them if their friends aren't wearing masks.

[Smoove_B]

Masking in my red corner seems to have all but disappeared. Going to be an interesting few weeks to see what happens, especially with colleges getting ready for Spring Break.

Also, this is why we can't have nice things:

For suburban Connecticut moms like Amelia Fogarty and Caroline Montero, it's too little, too late. In recent months both women have become more engaged in politics than at any other point in their lives, pushing back against local mask mandates — primarily supported by Democratic elected officials — that until recently required their children to wear masks at school.

Born and raised a Democrat, Fogarty recently switched parties and plans to vote Republican this November over this issue. It's cost her friendships and strained some family ties.

More important:

They are part of the "mask choice" movement that would leave it up to parents to decide if their kids should wear a mask. That view went against the Centers for Disease Control for most of the past two years. Just last week, the CDC rolled back longstanding guidelines calling for universal masking in schools for children age 2 and older.

When they tried to talk to their local elected officials about possibly easing the mandate — armed with CDC data on the low risk COVID presents to children — they felt ignored by Democrats.

"Only the Republicans met with me," Montero said.

Guns? Forcing kids to endure active shooter drills? Nah, that's fine. But masks? That's an outrage that requires switching political parties to burn former associations to the ground.

We.Are.So.Broken.

[LordMortis]

I literally moved to WFH for the duration of my employment all but one day a week at the perfect time. My office just dropped mask requirements in accordance with CDC guidance today. Friday was my last day of mostly in office work. Sadly, I will have a shared workspace (with new guy) for my one day a week to make sure he's settling in. Seven more weeks and then I move to contractor status if I continue working.

[LawBeefaroni]

Unfortunately, Chicago Public Schools is making noise that they will drop the mask mandate in the "very near future". We're going to tell the twins they need to keep wearing masks for the benefit of their brother (and likely me pending today's doctor appointment), but it'll be less than ideal for them if their friends aren't wearing masks.

And it's highly dependent on the schools. Some kids are being sent into a 80% vax rate situation, others are being sent to a meat grinder.

Majority of schools at less than 50% vax rate.

Less than half of all students are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at nearly 75% of all Chicago public schools, with schools on the South and West sides continuing to post particularly low rates, new data shows.

And at nearly 50 schools, 10% of students or less are fully vaccinated as of Feb. 22, according to a WBEZ analysis of vaccination data for the district’s nearly 650 schools.

[Smoove_B]

It's pretty similar in NYC and NJ as well. The experiment continues.

[msteelers]

Why does every Republican in power have to be off the deep end?

Florida Department of Health to recommend against COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children

Speaking during a COVID-19 roundtable in West Palm Beach on Monday, Ladapo cited a recent study from the New York State Department of Health, which looked at Pfizer's coronavirus shot and found the vaccine's effectiveness against hospitalizations in children ages 5 to 11 dropped from 100% to 48% over the course of about six weeks between Dec. 13 through Jan. 24.

During that same time, the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing COVID-19 infections in children plummeted from 68% to 12%, the study found.

The study has not yet undergone peer review, which is considered the gold standard for medical research.

[LawBeefaroni]

They'll swear by carrying a firearm in the <1%chance they'll need to use it in self defense but a vaccine that they claim has a 50% chance of keeping kids out of the hospital is ineffective and shouldn't be used.

[Blackhawk]

Can someone report Florida to Child Protective Services for abuse?

[Smoove_B]

Thank god we're not like Cuba, am I right?

I asked my friend in Cuba today if they're still wearing masks. "Of course we are," she said. "Covid still exists."

Cuba has one of the highest triple-vaccinated rates in the world, 99% over age 2 are vaccinated.

Average 1 death per day.

Still masking, even outdoors. By law.

Follow up:

Spoiler:

This is how it works in a society that is not beholden to the fucking Koch brother(s) and dark billionaire fascist money. You mask until everyone is safe.

Everyone.

The US has fallen 100% to white supremacy and eugenecists, and no one cares. Incredible.