When is it time to panic

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Even if I told them to wear their safety glasses, there are dozens of different types. They need to make good decisions for each specific situation, and wear the appropriate ones. 
 

Same thing. 

Many people, in high population areas are NOT doing that. Unfortunately. I understand that is upsetting to people that are stuck in that kind of area. Fourtuinty I'm not stuck in one of those areas. I was traveling for work up till a year ago ( this is my first full time job since '94!) So last year I COULD have been stuck somewhere. 

barefootskater said:

 

1-say by some miracle an effective and safe vaccine is developed next week. How do we define effective? More effective than the flu vaccine? I should hope so. If that is the case, we need to still assume that 40% of the population will refuse, which will leave a large number of asymptomatic folks out there spreading the virus.

This virus is a bit different the the flu situation.  With the flu they are trying to guess what will be around in 6 months.  This one is known, so any vaccine should be far more effective.  If the virus mutates... well.

Good point about the likelihood of people not taking the vaccine, both for "it won't work" and "why, the virus doesn't exist" and a number of other reasons. 

If there is a good vaccine, and some choose not to take it?  I say F em!  They want to risk it, go for, the rest of use will take it.  It will, as noted, risk allowing it to spread, and more importantly to mutate, but a vaccine has the same heard immunity affect as people who have had it. I read this one may require 70%+ for heard immunity, so if we immunize that percent we should be good and it should die out on its own.

You are correct to be concerned though, the future is unlikely to be the same.

Regarding masks.  The concept works fine parts of Asia (I know, different), so it IS possible, at least in some way.

03Panther said:

ProDarwin said:

It does very much seem that it's very unlikley that you will get infected.  

It also sounds like you aren't going anywhere a mask would be required or appropriate anyway, so I'm not sure what the point of the discussion is?

This is my problem with peoples reaction to the mask issue. I'm still being told on here that I'm a horrible person, and that I don't "get" it. Maybe its not really me that doesn't get it. 

Here's the thing.  From what you seem to be saying, you don't go anywhere public where you or others might be in close contact or touching things like door handles, etc, etc, in which case it's a completely moot point, because you are not going anywhere that taking measures is needed. 

If, on the other hand you are going into places that are public, and where multiple people may contact surfaces or products, then we should all be wearing a mask, hand sanitizing before entry, and any time we touch our faces or mask, and upon leaving. 

You say that you have a low chance of having and therefore spreading the virus.  Thats good, but it's also exactly what the people who are doing nothing to avoid infection spread are saying. 

I hear a lot of talk about all these people that think the virus isn't real, or believe it's a hoax. The media in the early days took a few flippant comments (should not have been said, but that's for an entirely different discussion) ramped them up WAY out of proportion. I know, and see, folks that don't give a rip. But I personally have not had one person tell me its a hoax. Of the people that post here the VERY few that implied that don't last long. 

But we still hear about all these people that think its all fake...

If we only go by what someone said to us personally, not assuming by actions or what the media tells us "they" believe, are y'all really have huge % saying that?

While it's at least theoretically possible to contract this virus through a gas pump or by walking past somebody with COVID in the grocery store aisle, those aren't very likely. It seems pretty well established at this point that it takes some time and direct exposure in close proximity to really increase the likelihood of contracting COVID. The odds of coming into contact with enough of the virus to fall ill from a gas pump, or not washing your groceries are really very, very low. The odds probably increase a little if you're walking past somebody that's contagious, but still remain pretty low. I believe the CDC and the WHO both say that if you haven't been within close proximity of a contagious person for at least 10 minutes, you're not at significant risk.

You're still most likely to get COVID from the people and places where you spend the most time (Your home, and your workplace for most people). That's why nursing homes are extremely vulnerable (they're simultaneously home to vulnerable people while also being "work" for lots of others). It's why Jimmy Johnson, who was reportedly taking every precaution in public and at work, still got it from his wife.

Wearing masks really can't hurt. It's reasonably easy for most people to do. Better safe than sorry. I understand. If putting on gloves at the gas pump, or quarantining your groceries for a couple of days before they come into the house makes you feel better, then knock yourself out. At the same time, let's be transparent about the actual odds of contracting this virus in various situations. Grabbing the door handle of a business from a contagious person probably isn't going to lead to enough of the virus getting inside your body to make you sick. Jogging past somebody outdoors is much different than being 10ft from somebody on a treadmill for 20 minutes inside a gym. Passing within 6ft of somebody in the grocery store has lower odds than sitting in a concert hall for an hour while singers 50ft away belt out songs and spread the virus all over. Let's understand the odds to the best of our ability and act accordingly. Carry out is better than dine-in. Work from home is superior to working in an office. Avoid large gatherings, especially indoors. Wash your hands. 

In reply to STM317 :

That is why I have pointed out I'm 99.998 % sure I don't have it. But that gets folks kinda stirred up. Even telling me I don't care about my fellow man. And yes, I do consider that statement a personal attack. Or being told that I'm obviously not as smart as all the people (in the medical field) that post statistics ( we all know about statistics) on here.  Even though my conditions don't match the conditions they are referring to. 

People in overpopulated areas should be wearing masks when they have to be in close proximity to a lot of other folks. Lots are not, and they are in the wrong. But I'm blessed to not be exposed to that sceen. But I'm told I have to wear a mask in public ( not the same as being up close and personal) or am a horrible person. State things correctly, and keep the tempers down. 

I did get a few rational answers, and learned some food for thought.  And I do appreciate that. 

In reply to TheGloriousW :

Did you have a point?

Or showing a funny just for fun?

Or attempting to contribute to the confusion (and all the attached anger that seems to go with that) of when a mask will help, and when it is not needed (hint: "in public" is not the accurat answer)

Pretty sure he is essentially making a political related statement.

Apparently he is unaware of a rather well known rule around here: No Politics. That rule is for a very good reason.  If you have been around here any amount of time, you would be very aware of why it is there.  Apparently less than a year is not enough?

He may not consider it political (!), but either way it is not helpful or informative in any way and does not belong on this board, and certainly not in this thread.

It would be FAR more useful to hear from a an ardent anti mask wearer arguing their point then post some over generalization / assumption about a population of people (weird, that sounds a bit like when people generalize about people based on how they look).

It contributes nothing and can only serve to agitate.  

In reply to TheGloriousW :

No politics at all. Nope. I have no idea where people get that idea. Just pure comedy gold. Even the peepee poopoo hat is just plain funny. Hilarious. Oh and I agree. Berkeley you. 

Ok, this thread is getting quarantined for a bit. TheGloriousW, you have an email.

Stay safe everyone.

Ok, we are going to reopen this thread. I want to ask everyone to consider limiting your exposure to it. If you find yourself posting multiple times a day here, you might want to take a break and browse other threads for a while. If you are ready to post something, please take a moment to make sure that you are being respectful of the other board members in your post and that it does not contain anything political. Keep in mind that images and statements do not have to identify political figures or parties by name to be in fact, political. 

I, like many others here, enjoy the civil and diverse discussions that are so common on this forum. You have done a fantastic job of self-moderating in this thread as is evidenced by the very few times that a mod has had to step in over the course of 200+ pages of dialogue. Thank you for that. Keep calm, and carry on. 

In reply to EastCoastMojo (Forum Supporter) :

You guys do a great job as well, ECM!

Over here in my neck of the woods, we are still making bacon and sausage just as fast as we can. No confirmed cases at our little plant that I'm aware of, thankfully.

All five branches of the U.S. military are permanently disbarring entry to persons with any history of a positive COVID-19 test. Source: www.militarytimes.com. 

I wonder what will happen to the thousand of soldiers and sailors who tested positive already? Will they be discharged? Will it be on a medical?

In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :

There's a subhead to that article that says it's already outdated:

Editor’s note: In mid-May 2020, the Defense Department updated its accessions guidance, removing policy barriers to COVID-19 survivors joining the services. Read about the most current guidance here.

Jesse Ransom said:

In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :

There's a subhead to that article that says it's already outdated:

Editor’s note: In mid-May 2020, the Defense Department updated its accessions guidance, removing policy barriers to COVID-19 survivors joining the services. Read about the most current guidance here.

Good catch. Here is the line from that update that concerns me:

For the military’s purposes, whether it causes irreparable lung damage could figure heavily in terms of combat readiness. 

If COVID-19 is found to have that damage, a significant percentage of the force is going to be out of combat duties, and likely the service as a whole. What is that influx of medical discharges going to do to the already chronically understaffed VA?

I think some of these might be debatable, but overall it's a good list. Understand the risks involved and make educated choices in your actions.

So some one in my office is getting tested and as a result they are asking a bunch of others to get tested. This is exactly what I am worried about with a now 3 week old baby.

In reply to 93EXCivic :

While I try to limit my close interactions with people, I travel for work so I'm considering getting tested. It would seriously suck to be asymptomatic and potentially spread it. 

93EXCivic said:

So some one in my office is getting tested and as a result they are asking a bunch of others to get tested. This is exactly what I am worried about with a now 3 week old baby.

My next door neighbor has been shut down twice at his work because of a positive test. He's a locomotive electrician (like fixes trains) and works in a small group of like 20 guys. two different positive cases, like 6 weeks apart? each time the company gave everyone like a solid week off or something. 

He has a 1 week old at home and has obviously similar feelings to you. No covid at his place so far I'm happy to report. I think you'll both be ok. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

Well apparently he is positive so a lot of people who were in contact with him are out getting tested...

I have an antibody test scheduled- I swear my lungs haven't been quite right for months, so I'm pretty interested in the results.  I'm aware that the results of these tests aren't a clear indication of... anything, really, but I would still like to have some data on myself, however uncertain it may be.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Just got the results from my antibody test.  I'm negative.

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Just got the results from my antibody test.  I'm negative.

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

I thought the current talk was the antibodies only stay with you for 40-60 days, after that you can get it again?