COVID-19

[Old Man Mike]

very big problems require very big efforts in their solutions. ... and almost always some sacrifice by all of us.

Americans are not very big on sacrifice or self-denial as a "culture". Fortunately, the healthcare and helping communities buck that trend. They are the heroes in this.

 

[irishtrooper]

very big problems require very big efforts in their solutions. ... and almost always some sacrifice by all of us.

Americans are not very big on sacrifice or self-denial as a "culture". Fortunately, the healthcare and helping communities buck that trend. They are the heroes in this.

I think this attitude isn’t correct. I believe a lot of people used this politically and that struck a lot of people as the rules being disingenuous. Seeing heroes of the left like Pelosi and Newsome flouting their own rules only added to the distrust in the flow of information.

The timing of the whole thing stunk as a lot of people on the left saw it as an opportunity to weaken Trump (it did, as it was quite a bumpy ride). The people supporting him refused to believe a lot of information that was actually correct and helpful due to the distrust they shared. Good people can disagree about whether Biden, Cuomo, Newsome, Wolf, Desantis or Trump had the better ideas - some REFUSE to debate and resort to belittling those that don’t agree. I have close friends that have lost their livelihood by sacrificing during this pandemic and following protocols. A lot of suffering has occurred by people due to the isolation during the pandemic. Resources and assistance being shifted/postponed/etc has caused a ton of sacrifice in our country.

The USA is filled with so many great people that would do almost anything for those in need. The problem here is that it wasn’t clear whether there was political calculation at play with some of the restrictions that some leaders had. The opposite ends of the political spectrum are so desirous to paint the other side as evil, that working together is almost impossible right now. The polarization is why the people in this country have pushed back imo. Not refusing to sacrifice.

I’m not saying that everyone is this way, but society as a whole right now is too fractured to all of the population to agree on anything.

I’m not a fan of how so many politicians said they wouldn’t trust any vaccine approved during the Trump administration, yet now those same pols act like they have always been on board and it’s a civic duty to be vaccinated.

I’m also not a fan of how Trump refused to support wearing a mask for so long and fed into some of the theories creating doubt in the best way forward.

I think a lot of people are doing the best they can and just trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m fortunate to have a secure job (for now), but many people I care about do not. It sucks and it sucks more if everyone gets lumped in as not sacrificing.

 

[IrishRazor82]

Around the world cruises are at an all-time low cost. Sunshine. No food restrictions. Stops in Rio and Capetownare on the itinerary. . If you act quickly, you may be able to get to Carnival. You should be fine. Bring friends and family.

We'll be in the Dominican with two other couples in March. Can't wait, you're right it is dirt cheap right now.

Hosting a superbowl party on Sunday too, I like to live dangerously.

 

[TorontoGold]

We'll be in the Dominican with two other couples in March. Can't wait, you're right it is dirt cheap right now.

Hosting a superbowl party on Sunday too, I like to live dangerously.

Ah, the inevitable sowing before reaping.

 

[Irish#1]

We'll be in the Dominican with two other couples in March. Can't wait, you're right it is dirt cheap right now.

Hosting a superbowl party on Sunday too, I like to live dangerously.

Dr. Fauci has a sad.

 

[IrishLax]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why is Canada so slow on vaccines? Or Germany? A lot of countries that did comparatively well in fighting the pandemic are very slow with their vaccine rollouts.<a href="https://t.co/MrxIwfCflC">https://t.co/MrxIwfCflC</a> <a href="https://t.co/cJ7nlJStD0">pic.twitter.com/cJ7nlJStD0</a></p>— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1357340924246781962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The United States is crushing vaccine distribution relative to almost all of the other first world countries.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Our country is remarkable in countless ways. No one has our infrastructure and technological power to support even gigantic efforts. We always just need to decide to use those powers. We are nearing a half million deaths from this nasty thing. Come on America; this is the biggest thing we've had to face since WWII.

 

[TorontoGold]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why is Canada so slow on vaccines? Or Germany? A lot of countries that did comparatively well in fighting the pandemic are very slow with their vaccine rollouts.<a href="https://t.co/MrxIwfCflC">https://t.co/MrxIwfCflC</a> <a href="https://t.co/cJ7nlJStD0">pic.twitter.com/cJ7nlJStD0</a></p>— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1357340924246781962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The United States is crushing vaccine distribution relative to almost all of the other first world countries.

Just absolutely clowning the rest of the world. It's so incredible to see. 10.65% getting a vaccine is great work.

 

[dublinirish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I live 10 minutes away from that grocery store, and it is absolutely astonishing to see the lack of Covid procedures everywhere in that store. No employees wear masks, they still sell Trump merchandise outside, and they have this sign when you first walk in. <a href="https://t.co/pJXzsaUC1x">pic.twitter.com/pJXzsaUC1x</a></p>— lulu (@laurafreyhof) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurafreyhof/status/1357066384946180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forever America's wang

 

[Greenore]

Just absolutely clowning the rest of the world. It's so incredible to see. 10.65% getting a vaccine is great work.

Largely, a purchasing/contract challenge(s) vs a distribution issue. I think that's accurate?

Cheers and Go Irish!!

 

[notredomer23]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I live 10 minutes away from that grocery store, and it is absolutely astonishing to see the lack of Covid procedures everywhere in that store. No employees wear masks, they still sell Trump merchandise outside, and they have this sign when you first walk in. <a href="https://t.co/pJXzsaUC1x">pic.twitter.com/pJXzsaUC1x</a></p>— lulu (@laurafreyhof) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurafreyhof/status/1357066384946180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forever America's wang

I don't get the media's fascination with Florida other than DeSantis likes to be a lightening rod. Florida's been like this for most the pandemic, but especially since the end of September. If you're trying to push precaution, lockdown, masking, whatever, I would think you'd want to not talk about Florida at all.

They are 26th in deaths/million in the US.
Hospitalizations are down 21% since January 14th and 35% since their peak
Florida's cases have decreased by 38% since their peak on January 12th.
Despite criticism for its rollout, they have vaccinated 1.1MM seniors so far., which would be about 25% of their population over 65.

Considering their demographics, they should have gotten crushed, yet they did no worse than any major state all the while they have been mostly open with extremely targeted protections. They do have a major advantage no other state besides Hawaii really has in that they can do pretty much everything outside/open air year around. Florida could definitely be doing more, but if anything they've proven that these arbitrary, one-size-fits-all closings don't work.

 

[TorontoGold]

Largely, a purchasing/contract challenge(s) vs a distribution issue. I think that's accurate?

Cheers and Go Irish!!

Yeah you're right - I think our issue is that we can't make anything domestically, so like most things we're waiting till Big Brother let's us buy some. We secured licensing to produce it ourselves in Montreal but won't really help till the end of 2021 (https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/americas/canada-coronavirus-vaccines/index.html).

 

[NDBoiler]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I live 10 minutes away from that grocery store, and it is absolutely astonishing to see the lack of Covid procedures everywhere in that store. No employees wear masks, they still sell Trump merchandise outside, and they have this sign when you first walk in. <a href="https://t.co/pJXzsaUC1x">pic.twitter.com/pJXzsaUC1x</a></p>— lulu (@laurafreyhof) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurafreyhof/status/1357066384946180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forever America's wang

I have not been to that Publix (looks pretty new, all the others in the area don’t look like that!), but I have been to multiple others in that area on Tamiami Tr (US 41, main drag through the area) while I was there over Christmas/New Years. The locations I went to were nothing like that, I’d say 90% masked. I will say that when I was in the area last May, it was more like 50%. I’m not saying Florida has been the best at mitigation by any means, but I think this is more of a one off example that you can’t just immediately extrapolate it to everywhere. Also did not see any of those cheesy signs at the door, perhaps this is an individual store operator thing.

 

[Legacy]

Seriously. If I told my two friends who've been working COVID ICU's watching people die in front of them for 11 months to "keep an open mind" they would tell me to go f*ck myself and be 100% in the right.

We in this society have some wonderful and dedicated healthcare workers who daily commit to saving lives no matter how critical so they can return to their lives and their families. They find reward in their work and joy in their lives fulfilling the mission to which they've committed. The physical and emotional toll as well as concerns for their families is driving them out of their professions. Not only have we lost thousands of those workers with skills that take years to acquire.

They've never experienced the number and frequency of deaths due to the pandemic despite all their efforts and skills. More and more are asking if it is worth the risk when they see colleagues die and worry about transmitting it. More are committing suicide or retiring early. Many are laid off due to the business of for-profit health care. Those that are essential to fighting the pandemic are being asked to work more because there is no one to replace them.

They then leave and see people who are taking no precautions, don't heed medical advice even disdaining those who made this advice. They know some will show up in the ER and be hospitalized.

I'm fine with telling those people when they show up at the ER to go f*ck themselves. Home care with oxygen and pills. Fill out your advanced directives. No excuses. We're full of those who took this seriously and evidenced personal responsibility for themselves and for others. That won't ever happen.

We'll have to see the shortage of HC workers when this is all over.

 

[irishff1014]

We in this society have some wonderful and dedicated healthcare workers who daily commit to saving lives no matter how critical so they can return to their lives and their families. They find reward in their work and joy in their lives fulfilling the mission to which they've committed. The physical and emotional toll as well as concerns for their families is driving them out of their professions. Not only have we lost thousands of those workers with skills that take years to acquire.

They've never experienced the number and frequency of deaths due to the pandemic despite all their efforts and skills. More and more are asking if it is worth the risk when they see colleagues die and worry about transmitting it. More are committing suicide or retiring early. Many are laid off due to the business of for-profit health care. Those that are essential to fighting the pandemic are being asked to work more because there is no one to replace them.

They then leave and see people who are taking no precautions, don't heed medical advice even disdaining those who made this advice. They know some will show up in the ER and be hospitalized.

I'm fine with telling those people when they show up at the ER to go f*ck themselves. Home care with oxygen and pills. Fill out your advanced directives. No excuses. We're full of those who took this seriously and evidenced personal responsibility for themselves and for others. That won't ever happen.

We'll have to see the shortage of HC workers when this is all over.

I am not sure of other areas but in our area this was already a problem. Will it get worse i think it will. Some will say its the pandemic, some will say its how their company/hospital/medical group handled the pandemic and some were looking to get out any so they'll keep looking until they find something to do.

 

[NorthDakota]

I don't get the media's fascination with Florida other than DeSantis likes to be a lightening rod. Florida's been like this for most the pandemic, but especially since the end of September. If you're trying to push precaution, lockdown, masking, whatever, I would think you'd want to not talk about Florida at all.

They are 26th in deaths/million in the US.
Hospitalizations are down 21% since January 14th and 35% since their peak
Florida's cases have decreased by 38% since their peak on January 12th.
Despite criticism for its rollout, they have vaccinated 1.1MM seniors so far., which would be about 25% of their population over 65.

Considering their demographics, they should have gotten crushed, yet they did no worse than any major state all the while they have been mostly open with extremely targeted protections. They do have a major advantage no other state besides Hawaii really has in that they can do pretty much everything outside/open air year around. Florida could definitely be doing more, but if anything they've proven that these arbitrary, one-size-fits-all closings don't work.

The "media" hates Florida for several reasons. They are a prominent swing state that Trump and Republicans have done very well in. They consistently "steal" wealthy residents from the Northeast. They couldn't handle that Florida pretty much took an opposite approach of their darling, Andrew Cuomo. They are probably still butthurt that Desantis beat Gillum too.

 

[SonofOahu]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I live 10 minutes away from that grocery store, and it is absolutely astonishing to see the lack of Covid procedures everywhere in that store. No employees wear masks, they still sell Trump merchandise outside, and they have this sign when you first walk in. <a href="https://t.co/pJXzsaUC1x">pic.twitter.com/pJXzsaUC1x</a></p>— lulu (@laurafreyhof) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurafreyhof/status/1357066384946180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forever America's wang

It's funny to see people throw around "HIPAA" when they have no idea what it really does or stand for.

 

[SonofOahu]

Anyone who has worked with/among physicians knows that they have their own "thin white-coated line" that they hardly cross. Trying to get a physician to reign in another physician is often a difficult task because they don't like to tread on each other's toes. It's a bit of professional respect that can be infuriating at times, because there are some really shitty doctors out there. Like, not just bad professionals, but bad human beings to go along with it.

That's why I was stunned to see this article. These two authors really go at that charlatan, Scott Atlas.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776293

 

[BleedBlueGold]

It's funny to see people throw around "HIPAA" when they have no idea what it really does or stand for.

HAHA. Yes! I made that exact comment to my wife a while back when she explained to me her school's "don't ask, don't tell" style Covid policies and said they're worried about HIPAA.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Anyone who has worked with/among physicians knows that they have their own "thin white-coated line" that they hardly cross. Trying to get a physician to reign in another physician is often a difficult task because they don't like to tread on each other's toes. It's a bit of professional respect that can be infuriating at times, because there are some really shitty doctors out there. Like, not just bad professionals, but bad human beings to go along with it.

That's why I was stunned to see this article. These two authors really go at that charlatan, Scott Atlas.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776293

Engineers are the same. I’ve seen some pretty terrible designs but I’d do everything in my power to not publicly call them out unless it was legit unsafe. I’d tend to help them save face if I could. I’d hope for the same if it was my design. Haha.

 

[Irish#1]

The wife and I are both over 65 and have appointments to receive the vaccine, but they're not until March 6.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

The wife and I are both over 65 and have appointments to receive the vaccine, but they're not until March 6.

Glad to hear it. I'm assuming you didn't pre-register through Meijer? In the greater Indy area, I'm seeing those who were pre-registered basically are getting in within a week. Those who didn't are seeing appointments out about a month.

Unrelated, our lone healthcare employee who was refusing the vaccine has now changed her mind. Unfortunately for her, she's in line with everyone 65+ now, which means she's late Feb/early March for shot #1. Insert eyeroll.

 

[Irishize]

The wife and I are both over 65 and have appointments to receive the vaccine, but they're not until March 6.

In general, I’ve been noticing folks on social media really showing their ignorance regarding the vaccine. Specifically, folks under the age of 65 who are not service workers posting pics of themselves getting the vaccine. Most have a friend or colleague call them out w/ a post like “I didn’t know you were 70 years old?”. They’re so wrapped up in themselves they don’t see the selfishness & ignorance their “status update” exhibits. Again, these are not service workers or medical personnel. They’re younger folks who are in good health and you would think would have no problem sitting back and waiting for the truly compromised to get their vaccine before signing up for one themselves.

 

[Irishize]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I live 10 minutes away from that grocery store, and it is absolutely astonishing to see the lack of Covid procedures everywhere in that store. No employees wear masks, they still sell Trump merchandise outside, and they have this sign when you first walk in. <a href="https://t.co/pJXzsaUC1x">pic.twitter.com/pJXzsaUC1x</a></p>— lulu (@laurafreyhof) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurafreyhof/status/1357066384946180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forever America's wang

An isolated grocery store making poor decisions vs a Governor of a state purposefully undercounting nursing home deaths? I know which one most folks would deem more critical and worthy of national outrage.

 

[NDohio]

I have not been to that Publix (looks pretty new, all the others in the area don’t look like that!), but I have been to multiple others in that area on Tamiami Tr (US 41, main drag through the area) while I was there over Christmas/New Years. The locations I went to were nothing like that, I’d say 90% masked. I will say that when I was in the area last May, it was more like 50%. I’m not saying Florida has been the best at mitigation by any means, but I think this is more of a one off example that you can’t just immediately extrapolate it to everywhere. Also did not see any of those cheesy signs at the door, perhaps this is an individual store operator thing.

It isn't a Publix. It is an independent grocer - Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in Collier County.

 

[Irish2155]

My GF got the second shot yesterday morning and felt fine the rest of the day. Today, however, she's feeling like crap and sleeping the day away to Golden Girl reruns...

 

[NDBoiler]

It isn't a Publix. It is an independent grocer - Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in Collier County.

Ah my bad, not sure where I got that it was Publix, thanks. Makes sense now that it’s an independent store.

 

[NDBoiler]

My GF got the second shot yesterday morning and felt fine the rest of the day. Today, however, she's feeling like crap and sleeping the day away to Golden Girl reruns...

Both of my parents got their 2nd Moderna dose on Wednesday. They felt fine that day, a little achy and tired Thursday, and today they feel good.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

In general, I’ve been noticing folks on social media really showing their ignorance regarding the vaccine. Specifically, folks under the age of 65 who are not service workers posting pics of themselves getting the vaccine. Most have a friend or colleague call them out w/ a post like “I didn’t know you were 70 years old?”. They’re so wrapped up in themselves they don’t see the selfishness & ignorance their “status update” exhibits. Again, these are not service workers or medical personnel. They’re younger folks who are in good health and you would think would have no problem sitting back and waiting for the truly compromised to get their vaccine before signing up for one themselves.

Just to play devil's advocate a little; is it possible some of these people are on reserve waiting lists? For example, in our area, every night there are multiple doses left over due to cancellations and no-shows. The facility will usually send out a notification to anyone on the list. "Be here in 30 minutes" sort of message. Otherwise they get dumped, if I understand correctly. So, better someone gets vaccinated than no one I guess.

 

[Irish#1]

Glad to hear it. I'm assuming you didn't pre-register through Meijer? In the greater Indy area, I'm seeing those who were pre-registered basically are getting in within a week. Those who didn't are seeing appointments out about a month.

Unrelated, our lone healthcare employee who was refusing the vaccine has now changed her mind. Unfortunately for her, she's in line with everyone 65+ now, which means she's late Feb/early March for shot #1. Insert eyeroll.

I did initially register with Meijer, but haven't heard from them. The wife said she wasn't sure she wanted to get it when I registered and told her I was doing it right then. A few days later, she asks when our appointments were. "Uh Dear, you said you weren't sure you wanted to get it and you didn't answer me when I was registering." Got her registered, but she's upset that were not getting our shots at the same time. lol

I saw the newest vaccine is shown to be about 65% effective which is much lower than the other two. Is that true? Will people get a choice? I'd rather have the 95% vaccine myself.