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Animal-Mother
Feb 14, 2012

RABBIT RABBIT
RABBIT RABBIT

Bina posted:

I'm pretty sure I got it through the break room at work. A few weeks prior to my infection I had changed my eating habits and chose to sit in the break room because I had access to a microwave and a fridge. Not doing that again...

The break room at work:

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NecroBob
Jul 29, 2003

Elea posted:

I think being critical would be productive if another pandemic happened or we wanted to respond more effectively to the ongoing one. Why would you not be critical of the government after failing to prevent a million deaths?

And if we were being critical of the government two years ago, that tweet would be relevant.

Comfy Fleece Sweater
Apr 2, 2013

You see, but you do not observe.

NecroBob posted:

And if we were being critical of the government two years ago, that tweet would be relevant.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/whos-tedros-warns-against-over-reaction-to-omicron/ar-AARiQwP

Seth Pecksniff
May 27, 2004

can't believe shrek is fucking dead. rip to a real one.
Well first reliable data on Omicron transmissibility is in and......... it's not great folks!

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/1...ientists-report

quote:

Underscoring growing concerns about Omicron, scientists in South Africa said on Friday that the newest coronavirus variant appears to spread more than twice as quickly as Delta, until now the most contagious version of the virus.

Omicron’s rapid spread results from a combination of contagiousness and an ability to dodge the body’s immune defenses, the researchers said, but the contribution of each factor is not yet certain.

“We’re not sure what that mixture is,” said Carl Pearson, a mathematical modeler at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who led the analysis. “It’s possible that it might even be less transmissible than Delta.”

Some of the same researchers announced on Thursday that the new variant can partly dodge immunity gained from a previous infection. It’s still unclear whether or to what degree Omicron may evade protection conferred by the current vaccines.

The new research was posted on Twitter, and has not yet been peer-reviewed nor published in a scientific journal.

The Omicron variant has appeared in nearly two dozen countries. The United States has identified at least 10 cases in six states, and health officials say that community spread of the virus is inevitable. President Biden reiterated on Friday morning that his administration’s newest pandemic measures should be sufficient to deal with the spread of the new variant.

The variant was first identified in South Africa on Nov. 23 and has quickly come to account for about three-quarters of new cases in the country. The country reported 11,535 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, a 35 percent jump from the day before, and the proportion of positive test results increased to 22.4 percent from 16.5 percent.

Omicron cases are doubling roughly every three days, the researchers said on Friday.

“It is actually really striking how quickly it seems to have taken over,” said Juliet Pulliam, the director of an epidemiological modeling center at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, who led the earlier research on immunity.

Looking at confirmed cases in the country through late November, Dr. Pulliam and her colleagues saw an uptick in re-infections among people who had tested positive for the virus at least 90 days earlier. The increase coincided with Omicron’s spread in the country.

Dr. Pulliam and her colleagues estimated that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is roughly 2.4 times greater than the risk seen with the original version of the coronavirus.

Omicron may spread quickly if it is confirmed to be both more contagious and less vulnerable to the body’s immune defenses, experts said. The Gauteng province, home to South Africa’s densely populated economic hub, is now the epicenter of the country’s fourth wave of infections.

The week-over-week increase in hospital admissions is already higher than it was in previous waves, according to data from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. But it is not yet clear whether Omicron causes more severe disease than other versions of the coronavirus.

The percentage of new cases found in children younger than age 5 has also risen sharply in the country, but that may be because more adults are now immunized.

So if Delta was R 5-9, this is looking at an R 10-18. IIRC measles is R 12-18 so...

Welcome to hellworld

EDIT: I did just read that this was posted in twitter and not like, peer reviewed so I'm not sure why the NYT is running with this but here's something at least

Gio
Jun 20, 2005


wilderthanmild posted:

So I wear n95 kn95 pretty much exclusively, but man, the disposable procedure masks are really garbage in my experience unless you really go out of your way to modify them. That study posted above seems to confirm that with the unmodified, but otherwise properly worn one performing roughly on par with the bad cotton masks. They always seem to leave giant gaps and I don't think I've seen a single person wearing them any way other than the first unmodified, or an incorrect version of the second where they don't tuck the sides so the twist actually makes the gaps bigger.

yeah that’s why i’ve never worn one. i see some that wear them with a tight and snug fit, and i assume, “eh ok i guess.”

we’re lucky to see people wear A Mask so discussion of quality of mask, seal, proper usage etc. has never happened. so thats cool.

NecroBob
Jul 29, 2003

Yeah, see this is a much more relevant link than a 2 year old tweet.

I'm also not finding anything particularly controversial about the desire to "stick to 'rational, proportional' measures."

Pennywise the Frown
May 10, 2010

Upset Trowel
Is the WHO worth anything anymore? I haven't followed them on general health topics but regarding Covid-19 they kinda hosed up quite seriously. Do they gently caress up this bad with everything these days?

Comfy Fleece Sweater
Apr 2, 2013

You see, but you do not observe.

Pennywise the Frown posted:

Is the WHO worth anything anymore? I haven't followed them on general health topics but regarding Covid-19 they kinda hosed up quite seriously. Do they gently caress up this bad with everything these days?

From what I’ve seen, they don’t really have any power and past two years proved them to be as fallible as any govt institution; that was my point, but apparently we’re not supposed to criticize institutions

Pennywise the Frown
May 10, 2010

Upset Trowel
Show Me State governor hid data showing that masks work

quote:

As the delta wave rose in Missouri last summer, much of the state remained unmasked. Four jurisdictions, though, restored their mask mandates, creating a natural experiment that was studied by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. It confirmed that, in cities and counties with mandates, masks significantly reduced infections and deaths from COVID.

Yet Gov. Mike Parson’s office, which had requested the data, kept it hidden from the public, according to a new report from the Missouri Independent.

The data was initially requested by Alex Tuttle, Gov. Parson’s legislative liaison for DHSS, on November 1, 2021. “Can you provide examples of local mandates and how those mandates impacted the spread of COVID in those areas?” he wrote.

In just 48 hours, DHSS had an answer for him. “I think we can say with great confidence reviewing the public health literature and then looking at the results in your study that communities where masks were required had a lower positivity rate per 100,000 and experienced lower death rates,” DHSS Director Donald Kauerauf wrote.
The delta variant was first detected in wastewater in Branson by researchers from the University of Missouri. As the more transmissible variant began to spread, it fueled a wave of new infections that spurred the state to issue a hotspot advisory on July 19. A week later, St. Louis and St. Louis County both declared mask mandates, and Kansas City and Jackson County followed soon after.

Before the delta wave hit, COVID rates were about equal across the state. But the curves started to diverge after the mandates went into effect. The rate of increase in new cases began to taper off in masked jurisdictions while the rate in unmasked areas continued rising before finally peaking in mid-August.

The analysis spanned the end of April 2021, just before delta was detected in the state, to the end of October 2021, just before the governor’s office requested the data. In that time, the average case rate in masked jurisdictions was 27 percent lower—15.8 cases per day per 100,000 residents compared with 21.7 cases per day per 100,000 residents. Death rates were similarly lower, with 0.2 per 100,000 residents per day in masked communities versus 0.28 per 100,000 residents per day in unmasked communities.

Though the governor’s office has been in possession of the data for a month, it hasn’t released any of it to the public. The DHSS’s analysis and related emails came to light after a Sunshine Law request by the Missouri Independent and the Documenting COVID-19 project.

Gov. Parson has railed against masks in the past. And despite the new evidence, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is continuing his lawsuits against St. Louis, St. Louis County, Kansas City, and Jackson County over their mask mandates, which he called “arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, and unconstitutional.”
Kansas City’s mandate expired on November 5 for everywhere but schools and school buses, and Jackson County’s legislature voted to end its mandate three weeks ago. St. Louis and St. Louis County have maintained their mandates in the face of Schmitt’s lawsuits.

“More than anything, [the data] confirms for us what our public health experts have been saying,” a spokesperson for St. Louis Mayor Tishuara Jones told the Missouri Independent. “Masks are an effective tool for reducing community transmission.”

:thumbsup:

Dren
Jan 5, 2001

Pillbug

Another Bill posted:

Just settle down and wear a mask, Beavis. You're letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

This is not a perfect is the enemy of the good thing. This is a "read the mask research for like 10 minutes" thing. Cloth and surgical masks are not that good. N95 and better are both affordable and good. If you're going to wear a mask, wear the best mask. Heck, the best masks, elastomeric respirators with cartridge filters, are also the cheapest masks on a per-use basis. And a proper N95 or KN95 isn't exactly breaking the bank, they're $1-$2 a mask.

Facebook Aunt
Oct 4, 2008

wiggle wiggle




Dren posted:

This is not a perfect is the enemy of the good thing. This is a "read the mask research for like 10 minutes" thing. Cloth and surgical masks are not that good. N95 and better are both affordable and good. If you're going to wear a mask, wear the best mask. Heck, the best masks, elastomeric respirators with cartridge filters, are also the cheapest masks on a per-use basis. And a proper N95 or KN95 isn't exactly breaking the bank, they're $1-$2 a mask.

People claiming they can't breath with surgical masks are mostly being dramatic, but for anyone with lung issues breathing through an n95 can be a struggle. Yes people with lung issues are the ones who should avoid covid the hardest, but not everyone with asthma or COPD can stay home for 2+ years either.

Another Bill
Sep 27, 2018

Born on the bayou
died in a cave
bbq and posting
is all I crave

Dren posted:

This is not a perfect is the enemy of the good thing. This is a "read the mask research for like 10 minutes" thing. Cloth and surgical masks are not that good. N95 and better are both affordable and good. If you're going to wear a mask, wear the best mask. Heck, the best masks, elastomeric respirators with cartridge filters, are also the cheapest masks on a per-use basis. And a proper N95 or KN95 isn't exactly breaking the bank, they're $1-$2 a mask.

Posting "wear a respirator or nothing at all" like gio did is textbook 'letting the perfect be the enemy of the good' sorry not sorry.

e: It's simply not reasonable to expect every person to wear a fitted respirator everytime they leave their house. Have you not been paying attention for the last 2 years? A lot people can't even be bothered to wear anything, anywhere.

Another Bill fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Dec 3, 2021

Pennywise the Frown
May 10, 2010

Upset Trowel

Another Bill posted:

Posting "wear a respirator or nothing at all" like gio did is textbook 'letting the perfect be the enemy of the good' sorry not sorry

Beachcomber
May 21, 2007

Another day in paradise.


Slippery Tilde

Dren posted:

This is not a perfect is the enemy of the good thing. This is a "read the mask research for like 10 minutes" thing. Cloth and surgical masks are not that good. N95 and better are both affordable and good. If you're going to wear a mask, wear the best mask. Heck, the best masks, elastomeric respirators with cartridge filters, are also the cheapest masks on a per-use basis. And a proper N95 or KN95 isn't exactly breaking the bank, they're $1-$2 a mask.

We have proper respirators, but Stanford (hospital) makes everyone wear only surgical masks. Nothing over allowed.

Strategic Tea
Sep 1, 2012

I for one hope the pandemic goes on forever, feeling more responsible than other people had really done wonders for my mental health *spends months at a time alone in a three room apartment*

Dren
Jan 5, 2001

Pillbug

Another Bill posted:

Posting "wear a respirator or nothing at all" like gio did is textbook 'letting the perfect be the enemy of the good' sorry not sorry.

e: It's simply not reasonable to expect every person to wear a fitted respirator everytime they leave their house. Have you not been paying attention for the last 2 years? A lot people can't even be bothered to wear anything, anywhere.

I don't expect people to do it any more than I expect everyone to wear a seatbelt. I imagine the biggest hurdle is the decision to wear a mask at all. So for people who choose to wear a mask in the first place, it would be good if the common advice were "wear an N95 or better" since there is a massive increase in effectiveness for about the same cost and comfort.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

TheGreyGhost posted:


We still have essentially no idea:

- To what extent Omicron is neutralized by the current vaccines? Remember, Delta was expected to have a serious drop in efficacy from infection protection that the data shows can be offset with boosters to spike antibodies, and the old vaccine still kept people out of the hospitals because that's an easier threshold and likely more a function of T/B Cell immunity that's adaptive to different pathogens.

Every recorded case in the US as of last night (many more have surfaced since then) was double vaccinated

We don't know for sure yet but my hope that being double vaccinated provides 90% effacacy is a lot less dim than it was the day after Thanksgiving

It's not a definitive data set by any measure but it's been a week and not seeing any positive news so far except a lot of use of the word "mild" always being wrapped in quotes. The situation in South Africa is definitely not improving right now and it's not improving at a much faster rate than the first three waves recorded there

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS

Another Bill posted:

Yeah lets keep relitigating things that happened almost 2 years ago. It's very productive!

Yeah I agree.

We learned that COVID-19 is an ærosol-spread disease and we should adopt measures that stop ærosols, not return to droplet and facetouch theory.

Fritz the Horse
Dec 26, 2019

... of course!

Platystemon posted:

Yeah I agree.

We learned that COVID-19 is an ærosol-spread disease and we should adopt measures that stop ærosols, not return to droplet and facetouch theory.

did we ever get verification of covid spread by farts

Talorat
Sep 18, 2007

Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Seth Pecksniff posted:

So if Delta was R 5-9, this is looking at an R 10-18. IIRC measles is R 12-18 so...

If that's the case, and if the lethality is up, we are so hosed lol.

Elea
Oct 10, 2012

Fritz the Horse posted:

did we ever get verification of covid spread by farts

We need to do challenge trials with infected butts partially ensconced in air tight chambers continuously farting but the cowardly CDC is afraid of the results.

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS
Hamster fart study when

Fritz the Horse
Dec 26, 2019

... of course!
I'll do it. I'll huff the hamster farts for science.

Gio
Jun 20, 2005


Another Bill posted:

Posting "wear a respirator or nothing at all" like gio did is textbook 'letting the perfect be the enemy of the good' sorry not sorry.

e: It's simply not reasonable to expect every person to wear a fitted respirator everytime they leave their house. Have you not been paying attention for the last 2 years? A lot people can't even be bothered to wear anything, anywhere.
im not talking to everyone. im talking to the people itt.

but regardless, yeah we should and can expect everyone to wear respirators.

last year social media gave the impression that every store was filled with chuds throwing hissy fits, but guess what? state mandates (depending on the area) actually peer pressured most people to wear them that otherwise wouldn’t in a lot of areas. not everywhere, i know.

last fall and winter, i can personally attest to compliance being drat near 100% before the CDC’s Masks Off May and gov whitmer lifting all restrictions. mask compliance plummeted after the CDC’s announcement.

so yeah, it’s possible to expect something better than half or fewer people “masked” in indoor public settings. we havent even tried.

naem
May 29, 2011

Seth Pecksniff posted:

So if Delta was R 5-9, this is looking at an R 10-18. IIRC measles is R 12-18

Talorat posted:

If that's the case, and if the lethality is up, we are so hosed lol.

Naem posted:

*slow heavy metal music*

mr_jolly
Aug 20, 2003

Not so jolly now
At least it's not highly contagious if you're vacc...

https://mobile.twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1466891208081428486

Just over half of UK cases so far have been double vaccinated too.

Bad Purchase
Jun 17, 2019




mr_jolly posted:

At least it's not highly contagious if you're vacc...

https://mobile.twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1466891208081428486

Just over half of UK cases so far have been double vaccinated too.

you left out the most important tweet
https://twitter.com/theKentopolis/status/1466906706760318983?s=20

no_tears
Dec 20, 2020

Bing Bong
Couldn't be happier being able to work from home right now.

wilderthanmild
Jun 21, 2010

Posting shit




Grimey Drawer

Platystemon posted:

Yeah I agree.

We learned that COVID-19 is an ærosol-spread disease and we should adopt measures that stop ærosols, not return to droplet and facetouch theory.

May favorite part of that whole ordeal was that this wasn't like misunderstanding just covid, but like a thing they'd misunderstanding for years and being stubborn about admitting the same thing with chickenpox, flu, and a variety of other diseases. Basically the entire thing was all based on one wrong assumption that was treated as unassailable for 100 years.

Salt Fish
Sep 11, 2003

Cybernetic Crumb

Facebook Aunt posted:

People claiming they can't breath with surgical masks are mostly being dramatic, but for anyone with lung issues breathing through an n95 can be a struggle. Yes people with lung issues are the ones who should avoid covid the hardest, but not everyone with asthma or COPD can stay home for 2+ years either.

IMO a good n95s is way easier to breath through than cloth masks. I can't stand cloth masks, they're super uncomfortable. If the only factor were comfort and breathability I would say out of my mask collection it goes powecom kn95 > aura n95 > hf-803 p100 > surgical > cloth.

I think its a huge issue that most people haven't had a chance to try out the variety of masks available and the only reason they're still using gaiters or hand-sewns is because they haven't had a chance to learn about them / try them. I got my parents a selection and the first comment they had was that they couldn't believe how much easier a better mask is to breath through.

Snowglobe of Doom
Mar 30, 2012

sucks to be right

Dren posted:

I don't expect people to do it any more than I expect everyone to wear a seatbelt. I imagine the biggest hurdle is the decision to wear a mask at all. So for people who choose to wear a mask in the first place, it would be good if the common advice were "wear an N95 or better" since there is a massive increase in effectiveness for about the same cost and comfort.

It wasn't until August 13 this year that that CDC quietly updated their advice to say that some N95s are acceptable but their primary recommendation is still washable fabric masks: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html

Apparently some state health departments never got the memo are are still using the old CDC graphic:

https://twitter.com/scdhec/status/1465757828149387271
(Someone challenges them in the comments and they clarify that 'commercial' N95s masks are allowable)


Gio posted:

so yeah, it’s possible to expect something better than half or fewer people “masked” in indoor public settings. we havent even tried.
The Trump WH did the opposite of trying. :v:
https://twitter.com/donmoyn/status/1306614873502224385

Dren
Jan 5, 2001

Pillbug

Salt Fish posted:

IMO a good n95s is way easier to breath through than cloth masks. I can't stand cloth masks, they're super uncomfortable. If the only factor were comfort and breathability I would say out of my mask collection it goes powecom kn95 > aura n95 > hf-803 p100 > surgical > cloth.

I think its a huge issue that most people haven't had a chance to try out the variety of masks available and the only reason they're still using gaiters or hand-sewns is because they haven't had a chance to learn about them / try them. I got my parents a selection and the first comment they had was that they couldn't believe how much easier a better mask is to breath through.

The cloth masks I have used have a tendency to get wet from my breath, causing them to become more difficult to breathe in. To my understanding, once they are wet they become less effective as well. Respirators I have used (some KN95s and 3M Auras) do not have this issue.

Katamari Democracy
Jan 19, 2010

Guess what! :love:
Guess what this is? :love:
A Post, Just for you! :love:
Wedge Regret
I got my 3rd shot today thanks to my job and so far I am feeling fine. A little sore arm but I am ok. First two shots were Moderna and today was Pfizer.

What has me thrown for a loop is that someone at my job in my department was clearly anti vax and was saying how the whole Omnicron variant was a scare tactic to get people more scared to get the shot. I dont know how to respond to said person without causing conflict and I just hope that one day nature just takes its course and well. :sigh: I am in a higher position than he is but I have been trained to respect their decision.

PathAsc
Nov 15, 2011

Hail SS-18 Satan may he cleanse us with nuclear fire

PISS TAPE IS REAL


Parsons is a shitbird of the highest caliber, I hate that he runs anything here.

etalian
Mar 20, 2006

Dren posted:

The cloth masks I have used have a tendency to get wet from my breath, causing them to become more difficult to breathe in. To my understanding, once they are wet they become less effective as well. Respirators I have used (some KN95s and 3M Auras) do not have this issue.

Yeah I had similar experience with N95, I also found the head strap design to be more comfortable than ear straps for long days at work.

wilderthanmild
Jun 21, 2010

Posting shit




Grimey Drawer

etalian posted:

Yeah I had similar experience with N95, I also found the head strap design to be more comfortable than ear straps for long days at work.

Head loop masks are better in both seal and comfort. Once I started using those I never went back.

Pennywise the Frown
May 10, 2010

Upset Trowel

Katamari Democracy posted:

I got my 3rd shot today thanks to my job and so far I am feeling fine. A little sore arm but I am ok. First two shots were Moderna and today was Pfizer.

What has me thrown for a loop is that someone at my job in my department was clearly anti vax and was saying how the whole Omnicron variant was a scare tactic to get people more scared to get the shot. I dont know how to respond to said person without causing conflict and I just hope that one day nature just takes its course and well. :sigh: I am in a higher position than he is but I have been trained to respect their decision.

Yeah workplaces are very complicated/dangerous with that sort of thing. I'd ignore them.

Snowglobe of Doom
Mar 30, 2012

sucks to be right

Facebook Aunt posted:

Maybe in the US, this is new in Canada. It's a problem because if it was just one herd of deer or the deer in one geographic location that would be bad, but it's much worse if it is being found across the continent in many herds of deer. One herd infected could be they got it from a disney princess human who hangs out with wildlife, but if it's being found all over it is probably spreading between animals not from humans to animals. We've been told for ages that we don't need to mask up outdoors, but between deer it's obviously spreading outdoors.

It's a zootomic disease so it isn't really surprising that it is spreading between more species. It is just confirmation that we've missed our window to eradicate the disease.

Wastewater surveillance in NYC found some unexpected covid mutation combos which didn't match anything in the global database which they suspect might be due to a mystery zoonotic source, but nothing has come from that yet as far as I'm aware.

https://twitter.com/alykatzz/status/1420853190556323842

I hope they call it the TMNT variant

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

wilderthanmild posted:

Head loop masks are better in both seal and comfort. Once I started using those I never went back.

This is reason alone to switch to N95

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Lolie
Jun 4, 2010

AUSGBS Thread Mum
13 cases in NSW now and we have confirmed community transmission.

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