COVID-19: People on the internet are judging me for going outside. It used to be the reverse.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > COVID-19: People on the internet are judging me for going outside. It used to be the reverse.

«‹›414 »

Which horse film is your favorite? This poll is closed.
Black Beauty	2	1.06%
A Talking Pony!?!	4	2.13%
Mr. Hands 2x Apple Flavor	117	62.23%
War Horse	11	5.85%
Mr. Hands	54	28.72%
Total:	188 votes

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

Charlz Guybon posted:

H5N1 has a 53% fatality rate among humans though. That's literally on the level with the Black Death.

Yeah and Yersinia pestis got away with that because it had flea and rodent vectors to move it around even as the humans were bedridden.

Remember when people said that SARS‑CoV‑2 would naturally evolve to become no worse than the common cold, because viruses don�t benefit from killing their hosts? They were idiots because SARS‑CoV‑2 was never acutely severe enough to interfere with successful transmission, and also because this narrative didn�t square with the history of the endemic human coronaviruses.

Fifty‑three percent case fatality rate, though, now that probably is high enough to exert significant selective pressure in the other direction.

The influenza pandemics of 1918, 1957, and 1968 were not jokes, but they weren�t the Black Death II, III, and IV.

# ? Feb 8, 2023 10:07

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 26, 2024 02:15

Harold Fjord: Jan 3, 2004

Statistically one of these viruses is going to find the sweet spot sooner or later

# ? Feb 8, 2023 21:11

mastershakeman: Oct 28, 2008; by vyelkin

Charlz Guybon posted:

H5N1 has a 53% fatality rate among humans though. That's literally on the level with the Black Death.

is it skewed towards olds because if it is no one will care

# ? Feb 8, 2023 21:29

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

mastershakeman posted:

is it skewed towards olds because if it is no one will care

I may be wrong, but I think I saw that it targeted people in their prime like the Spanish flu

# ? Feb 10, 2023 07:14

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

Platystemon posted:

Yeah and Yersinia pestis got away with that because it had flea and rodent vectors to move it around even as the humans were bedridden.

Remember when people said that SARS‑CoV‑2 would naturally evolve to become no worse than the common cold, because viruses don�t benefit from killing their hosts? They were idiots because SARS‑CoV‑2 was never acutely severe enough to interfere with successful transmission, and also because this narrative didn�t square with the history of the endemic human coronaviruses.

Fifty‑three percent case fatality rate, though, now that probably is high enough to exert significant selective pressure in the other direction.

The influenza pandemics of 1918, 1957, and 1968 were not jokes, but they weren�t the Black Death II, III, and IV.

sars-cov-2 probably has reduced-lethality pressures but they're also probably more about its rodent reservoirs than its human circulation, to my understanding

any disease that kills mice/rats through basically the same mechanisms as it kills humans is going to evolve to be less lethal if it's reliant on mice, because they die way the poo poo faster from it

# ? Feb 10, 2023 08:35

Bald Stalin: Jul 11, 2004; Can't post for 5 hours!

The silver lining here is our systems of government are now extra vigilant and much better prepared for bird flu. Covid was the warmup round, now it's primetime and I am feeling very confident in the US and western nations abilities to rapidly respond to this far deadlier virus.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Feb 12, 2023 02:25

Sundae: Dec 1, 2005

Ranter posted:

The silver lining here is our systems of government are now extra vigilant and much better prepared for bird flu. Covid was the warmup round, now it's primetime and I am feeling very confident in the US and western nations abilities to rapidly respond to this far deadlier virus.

This poster's keyboard exploded shortly afterward from an overwhelming buildup of sarcasm-energy. :golfclap:

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Feb 12, 2023 08:04

Fritz the Horse: Dec 26, 2019; ... of course!

Charlz Guybon posted:

H5N1 has a 53% fatality rate among humans though. That's literally on the level with the Black Death.

If you're going to approach this conversation with this level of alarmism it is very helpful to provide references and some reasoning as to why "literally on the level of Black Death" is relevant.

# ? Feb 12, 2023 10:11

Lager: Mar 9, 2004; Give me the secret to the anti-puppet equation!

Fritz the Horse posted:

If you're going to approach this conversation with this level of alarmism it is very helpful to provide references and some reasoning as to why "literally on the level of Black Death" is relevant.

I won't speak to the Black Death comment as I'm not the op, but here's a source on the fatality rate of H5N1:

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20230106.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99_108

WHO posted:

As of 5 January 2023, a total of 240 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus have been
reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region since January 2003 (Table 1). Of these
cases, 135 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 56%.

Not a lot of deaths in total, because human infection has been very rare, but 56% fatality rate is pretty awful. That said, right now it's a purely theoretical "well this thing is showing some signs of concern" situation, rather than an alarm bell just yet. Still, it's been pretty funny to see Fox News already starting up the hoax claims, with Tucker Carlson insisting just last week that egg prices are up because of something wrong with the chicken feed, rather than bird flu killing the animals. It definitely feels like they're already trying to prepare their viewers to insist that bird flu isn't real, before it's even become transmissible between humans. Here's a link to the Tucker piece I'm referencing:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-why-paranoid-american-food-supply

poo poo for Brains posted:

But we noticed that some farmers who deal with chickens every day are not convinced. Some of them, some chicken farmers, have noticed something odd. Their chickens aren't laying eggs or as many eggs. And these chickens don't appear sick with avian flu. They're not dying. They're still alive. They're just not producing eggs.

Now healthy hens lay eggs on a regular basis, every 24 to 26 hours. But suddenly, chicken owners all over the country � not all of them, but a lot of them � are reporting they're not getting any eggs or as many. So what's causing that? Clearly, something is causing that. Some have concluded their chicken feed may be responsible. Watch.

# ? Feb 12, 2023 15:42

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

Lager posted:

I won't speak to the Black Death comment as I'm not the op, but here's a source on the fatality rate of H5N1:

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20230106.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99_108

Not a lot of deaths in total, because human infection has been very rare, but 56% fatality rate is pretty awful. That said, right now it's a purely theoretical "well this thing is showing some signs of concern" situation, rather than an alarm bell just yet. Still, it's been pretty funny to see Fox News already starting up the hoax claims, with Tucker Carlson insisting just last week that egg prices are up because of something wrong with the chicken feed, rather than bird flu killing the animals. It definitely feels like they're already trying to prepare their viewers to insist that bird flu isn't real, before it's even become transmissible between humans. Here's a link to the Tucker piece I'm referencing:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-why-paranoid-american-food-supply

As a cherry on top, "chickens aren't laying as many eggs" is actually the opposite of true. Eggs per chicken per day was actually higher in 2022 than in 2021, which somewhat blunted the full impact of the bird flu by decreasing egg production less than the actual flock losses would imply.

# ? Feb 12, 2023 17:42

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

Michael Osterholm has an interesting perspective on H5N1 as a veteran in the field.

I�ve smoothed over a few errors in the computer‐assisted transcript provided by CIDRAP, but I�m sure I left some.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-124-taking-long-covid-seriously posted:

Chris Dall: [00:43:58] Now it's time for our COVID query, which this week is not about COVID, but about avian influenza, specifically the H5N1 strain and the potential for it to cross over into humans. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, columnist Zeynep Tufekci wrote, quote, �As the world is just beginning to recover from the devastation of COVID-19, it is facing the possibility of a pandemic of a far more deadly pathogen,� unquote. She then went on to describe that potential for cross over into the human population and what might potentially be done about that problem. So listener Lee wrote to us, �I share the writer's concern about lessons incompletely learned from our collective experience with SARS-CoV-2. I am curious about your perspective on the threat posed by H5N1 avian influenza beyond the price of eggs and our preparedness or lack thereof, to tackle this and other emerging threats.� Your thoughts, Mike.

Michael Osterholm: [00:44:50] Well, Chris, this is a very interesting, what I would call generational issue. And I mean that in that there are some of us in this business who cut our teeth on H5N1 back in 1997 with Hong Kong and what happened there with an outbreak that occurred. This was really the first example of this virus emerging into humans with the potential for a person to person transmission. And remember, up until this time in 1997, we all focused on H1, H2 and H3. And suddenly now this new avian strain comes forward. Let me just set the tone for my response to this, because it's one that, again, is all about experience and time. And having dealt with this since it first appeared in Hong Kong and throughout parts of Asia, we have been tracking it and the W.H.O. has done a good job, I think, of overall keeping track of case numbers. And if you look at the experience of what the virus has done in humans, remember, what's critical is not just the fact that the virus can infect humans from a bird and other animal species, but then humans transmit to other humans. That's what is the defining moment in creating an influenza pandemic, and that's transmission has to be sustained. Well, let me just kind of share some numbers again.

He then goes over numbers for a few minutes, which I will omit for brevity. Point is, the recent numbers for H5N1 are no worse than have been seen repeatedly in years past.

quote:

Now, what's happened is the story comes along in The New York Times this past week. I think there's a lack of understanding of what has happened with H5N1 over time and what it means. I think the sentence in the article that says the world needs to act now before H5N1 has any chance of becoming a devastating pandemic. Well, we've had that since 1997. That's not new. And we don't really have better preparedness and we don't know if this is going to happen. There are many of us who are challenging that. And because mink on a farm in Spain got infected this last fall, that made people think, �oh my gosh, now it's starting to spread.� Well, in fact, it has now spread to a number of different animal species, which we see besides avian. But we, again, don't see evidence of the fact that it's actually creating a greater risk for humans. Now, it could tomorrow. It could tomorrow. The recommendation, the New York Times piece. I think were a bit naive. For example, talking about vaccines, you know, think about what happened in 2009. We had an H1N1 virus that was circulating in the world, had been for some time. We had a vaccine for it. And then along comes a new H1N1. And look what it did. It knocked out the previous H1N1. We had to get a whole new vaccine because our previous vaccines didn't work at all. Now we don't know with age five and one until we cross protection. If I have a vaccine I make on today's strain, if it were to actually become a pandemic strain, would there be any cross protection or would be like 2009? We don't know that. And so I think surely we have to consider a stockpile, but we're talking about stockpiles right now of a few million doses of vaccine.

This is not going to solve the world's problems with vaccine now. So from that perspective, I think this is important. We need to ask ourselves, what would we do if we had another pandemic? Remember, this pandemic we're in right now is not the big one. It is not. Think of two other alternatives. One. What if we had another COVID virus pandemic where instead of 1% or less case fatality rate with this high level of transmission, as we see with SARS-CoV-2, we actually have the anywhere from 15 to 35% case fatality rate, as we saw with SARS and MERS. Wouldn't that be a different picture? Or what if we had an influenza pandemic like 1918, where at that time we basically had less than one quarter of the population we have now and yet 100 million people died.

So, we do have to be better prepared. I don't want to minimize that, but it's not going to happen by basically just saying we need to get new H5N1 vaccine. I don't think anybody is going to actually do anything about that. And that's unfortunate that we don't have a system in place to quickly ramp up not only vaccines in general, but enough for the world. The other thing is animal vaccines. There are over 8 billion broilers in the United States. These are the chickens you use for chicken meat. There is no easy way to administer a vaccine to them, even though other countries use some vaccines. When we use vaccines in the United States right now, for example, a viral infection called Newcastle disease, these are vaccines that can either be literally put into the air or into the water of the birds. Well, that's not going to happen with an influenza vaccine. It would have to be changed often. It's not just as simple as saying go vaccinate all the birds.

The bottom line message I want to say is, yeah, I follow H5N1 very, very closely. Do I think that we're on the cusp of a pandemic because of new recent changes? And my answer is no. Do I stay awake at night thinking about it? No. But do I think about it? I do. And I haven't stopped thinking about it since 1997.

So let me offer an alternative view. That is, yesterday, there was a very thoughtful piece authored by Helen Branswell. I think one of the best reporters in the business on Stat news. The title of the article is called �Tracking the Bird Flu: Experts see a familiar threat and a virus whose course is hard to predict.� And I think if you look, there's a lot of the old timers in this article who have been working with this virus literally for 26 years. And I think it was a much more realistic perspective here. So in responding back to you, Lee, let me just say that I don't think it's imminent at all. I don't think that the changes we've seen recently mean that we're going to have a human pandemic. It's one we have to keep watching carefully. We need to be talking about the potential for the pandemic. I don't want to minimize that, but I don't think that these changes in the last few months mean suddenly that we're now closer to an H5N1 pandemic. And I think if you read Helen BRANSWELL piece, you'll find a very similar tone taken by a number of the, what I would call more senior and experienced researchers in influenza. But let me just conclude by saying there will be more influenza pandemics in the future and we are not prepared for them. It may not at all be H5N1, but we still have an absolute need to get prepared for the next pandemic in a way that we're not now.

# ? Feb 12, 2023 18:01

LifeLynx: Feb 27, 2001; Dang so this is like looking over his shoulder in real-time; Grimey Drawer

I'm going to a convention soon where masks are required, and I'd like something protective, easy to breathe in, easy to talk in, and available on Amazon so it gets here by this weekend. Any recommendations? I think KN95s are more comfortable last I checked, is that still the case?

# ? Feb 13, 2023 15:51

Barry Foster: Dec 24, 2007; What is going wrong with that one (face is longer than it should be)

LifeLynx posted:

I'm going to a convention soon where masks are required, and I'd like something protective, easy to breathe in, easy to talk in, and available on Amazon so it gets here by this weekend. Any recommendations? I think KN95s are more comfortable last I checked, is that still the case?

Pretty much, yep. See if you can get hold of 3M Aura 9322+ masks, they're a goon favourite and I can attest they're extremely comfortable

# ? Feb 13, 2023 15:59

WaitsUp: Sep 19, 2005; I used to be a deli sandwich

Barry Foster posted:

Pretty much, yep. See if you can get hold of 3M Aura 9322+ masks, they're a goon favourite and I can attest they're extremely comfortable

3M Aura�s are great, stay off your mouth, and have a nice foam nose piece that�s comfortable for long days.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 16:51

LifeLynx: Feb 27, 2001; Dang so this is like looking over his shoulder in real-time; Grimey Drawer

Barry Foster posted:

Pretty much, yep. See if you can get hold of 3M Aura 9322+ masks, they're a goon favourite and I can attest they're extremely comfortable

Looked these up and they have a vent. Aren't vents not cool because they spread your germs around, which doesn't protect anyone around you?

# ? Feb 13, 2023 17:08

WaitsUp: Sep 19, 2005; I used to be a deli sandwich

LifeLynx posted:

Looked these up and they have a vent. Aren't vents not cool because they spread your germs around, which doesn't protect anyone around you?

9205 has no vent

# ? Feb 13, 2023 17:09

Barry Foster: Dec 24, 2007; What is going wrong with that one (face is longer than it should be)

LifeLynx posted:

Looked these up and they have a vent. Aren't vents not cool because they spread your germs around, which doesn't protect anyone around you?

I mean, sure, but if everyone else has given up on protecting themselves why not make yourself a little more comfortable, especially when you're wearing it for the long haul? That might seem pretty callous but if other people cared about not catching covid they'd be wearing masks too. And even though it has a vent, it's still a lot better at preventing outward spread than no mask at all.

Plus if you're the kind of person who masks dilligently anyway then you're much more unlikely to have any germs in the first place.

It's personal choice, really, and as Waits says, the 9205 is available

# ? Feb 13, 2023 17:16

DominoKitten: Aug 7, 2012

Also they did some investigation and found a respirator with a vent source controls as well as or better than a surgical or cloth mask:

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2021-107/default.html

Which makes sense, neither of those seal well.

So I don�t think one even has to feel selfish about it.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 18:13

Kestral: Nov 24, 2000; Forum Veteran

If you're going to go to a convention during a pandemic, here's your evaluation method for masking:

1) To what extent do you care about making a positive impression on the people around you, versus your own safety? In this case, when two means of protection are equally good at blocking the virus (i.e., comparing high-quality N95s), comfort = safety because you will be less likely to disturb the seal on the mask. If you prioritize your safety over positive impressions, then get the mask that is the most protective and comfortable, which will mean one with a vent. If positive impressions are more important, do not get a vent, because people will remember that "vents are bad" and judge you for it, despite their attending a convention during a pandemic.

2) Are you going to take off your mask to eat and drink indoors at a crowded convention location, or go to a bar or room party/hang-out after-hours? Then none of this discussion matters, because that's where you're going to get infected, so wear whatever makes you feel good.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 19:50

Precambrian Video Games: Aug 19, 2002

There's also the 3M Aura 9210 (seemingly identical to the 9205 but with cloth straps instead of rubber), and the VFlex 9105(S), the non-S version of which supposedly fits larger faces better but I've seen reports of it failing at the seams, which I've never had happen with an Aura.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 20:14

smoobles: Sep 4, 2014

I live in a country without clear vaccine guidance (USA) so maybe this thread can help me: how often after my first bivalent booster should I be seeking a second one?

I expect I�ll get some comedy answers but real answers are appreciated too!

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:22

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

smoobles posted:

I live in a country without clear vaccine guidance (USA) so maybe this thread can help me: how often after my first bivalent booster should I be seeking a second one?

I expect I�ll get some comedy answers but real answers are appreciated too!

Every two months.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:27

spankmeister: Jun 15, 2008

Discendo Vox posted:

Every two months.

That's not what that says. It says to get the bivalent boost if it's been 2 months or more since completing your primary series. it's not saying to get a vaccine every two months good lord.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:30

Mellow Seas: Oct 9, 2012; Can't post for 10 years!

DV, I went to the same CDC page and I think it's a little misleading, the little applet that tells you two months is telling you if it's time yet for your first bivalent booster - i.e. if you have had your two primary series shots, and it's been at least two months, you can get the new booster.

CDC seems to not really have much data on the length of protection afforded by the bivalent booster, so as of right now they haven't recommended a second dose for anyone.

More info: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article272217158.html

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:32

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Jesus christ, :thejoke:

already

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:39

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

People pick up on jokes better when they have something in them that makes you laugh

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:41

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Discendo Vox posted:

Jesus christ, already

You're such a serious dude, everyone always takes you seriously.

Real answer is: you're probably not going to be any less protected through at least 6 months. The bivalent boosters ain't perfect, but getting another one with the same formulation is not likely to help anything at this point, so chill out.

# ? Feb 13, 2023 23:44

Professor Beetus: Apr 12, 2007; They can fight us
But they'll never Beetus

You should probably go to as many pharmacies as possible and try to load up as many vaccines as you can. We call this "vax maxxing" around here.

# ? Feb 14, 2023 00:38

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Professor Beetus posted:

You should probably go to as many pharmacies as possible and try to load up as many vaccines as you can. We call this "vax maxxing" around here.

Really, if your bloodstream is less than 1% vaccine, you're putting yourself at risk. Best to just wheel around an IV bag of vaccine at all times.

# ? Feb 14, 2023 00:41

smoobles: Sep 4, 2014

Alright thanks

# ? Feb 14, 2023 01:50

Deviant: Sep 26, 2003; i've forgotten all of your names.

LifeLynx posted:

I'm going to a convention soon where masks are required, and I'd like something protective, easy to breathe in, easy to talk in, and available on Amazon so it gets here by this weekend. Any recommendations? I think KN95s are more comfortable last I checked, is that still the case?

yeah, but what are you wearing to Katsucon?

# ? Feb 14, 2023 05:35

Henrik Zetterberg: Dec 7, 2007

Trying to get some clarification on my 3yo toddlers. I'm having a hard time finding the exact guidance and eligibility.

They had their first Pfizer shot in December, and was due for their second after Jan 21. Due to a combination of our family being busy as poo poo, and also non-Covid sick for the past couple weeks, we have yet to have a chance to bring them in for their second monovalent shot. Is there a point to where we have to start over again with shot 1, or can we get shot 2 whenever?

And Pfizer for toddlers is a 3-shot series and Moderna is 2? Kaiser told us that Moderna and Pfizer were both 2-shot series, so we just picked Pfizer. That kinda sucks if true.

And it also seems that there's no guidance for the bi-valent booster for toddlers who did Pfizer, only Moderna. Is that correct? Are we out of luck until the FDA/CDC decides on Pfizer?

# ? Feb 17, 2023 18:42

Oracle: Oct 9, 2004

Henrik Zetterberg posted:

Trying to get some clarification on my 3yo toddlers. I'm having a hard time finding the exact guidance and eligibility.

They had their first Pfizer shot in December, and was due for their second after Jan 21. Due to a combination of our family being busy as poo poo, and also non-Covid sick for the past couple weeks, we have yet to have a chance to bring them in for their second monovalent shot. Is there a point to where we have to start over again with shot 1, or can we get shot 2 whenever?

And Pfizer for toddlers is a 3-shot series and Moderna is 2? Kaiser told us that Moderna and Pfizer were both 2-shot series, so we just picked Pfizer. That kinda sucks if true.

And it also seems that there's no guidance for the bi-valent booster for toddlers who did Pfizer, only Moderna. Is that correct? Are we out of luck until the FDA/CDC decides on Pfizer?

Get shot 2 whenever, yes, the series doesn't 'expire' at some point.

Yes, Pfizer is 3, Moderna is 2, because in December they made the third shot the bivalent for Pfizer.

quote:

Following FDA action, today (Dec 9 2022) CDC expanded the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months through 5 years. Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a Moderna primary series are eligible to receive a Moderna bivalent booster 2 months after their final primary series dose. Children ages 6 months through 4 years who are currently completing a Pfizer primary series will receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.

# ? Feb 17, 2023 19:15

Henrik Zetterberg: Dec 7, 2007

Ohhhh ok, that's great news. Didn't realize Pfizer 3 for them is bivalent now. Excellent. Thank you!

Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Feb 17, 2023

# ? Feb 17, 2023 19:42

Fansy: Feb 26, 2013; I GAVE LOWTAX COOKIE MONEY TO CHANGE YOUR STUPID AVATAR GO FUCK YOURSELF DUDE; Grimey Drawer

it's good timing as there's still no bivalent booster (4th overall dose) for pfizer under-5s.

Anyone else with toddlers? What are you all doing about preschool?

We've just started to look at schools, everything is indoor of course. I've got the little one a flomask which she wears consistently, but I guess I need to start training her how to put it on by herself.

# ? Feb 17, 2023 20:19

Henrik Zetterberg: Dec 7, 2007

My twins are almost 4, so we have another year before kinder, but they'll obviously had their shots by then so it'll be a :shrug:

They've been in a small in-home daycare since day 1 of Covid since the wife and I work from home and we can't get poo poo done with them home. We only had 1 occurrence of Covid there, and that was before vaccines. I've gotten non-Covid sick 23 times from them bringing poo poo home with them, including this week, but that's par for the toddler/daycare course :v:

I have teenagers as well, and they're all up to date with their shots, and have been back to in-person schooling for like a year and a half now. Those first 6 months back required masks, but now they don't. It's been totally fine outside some exposure notifications that turned out to be a bunch of negative tests for them thankfully. Ironically, the last time (out of 2) we had Covid was last summer when they were home on break.

The way I see it, we're all up to date on our shots and boosters so we've done what we could reasonably do. My teens all have varying degrees of mental health issues that stem from being locked inside the house for a year and unable to see their friends or whatever before vaccines. At the worst, one was actually locked away for a bit for having depression and suicidal thoughts last year (think Sarah Connor poo poo). So no, I don't consider locking them in a bubble anymore. It appears there will never be 0 Covid, so getting fully vaccinated is "enough" in my eyes to go back to living a somewhat normal life.

None of us are immuno-compromised, but if so, that would definitely change things.

Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Feb 17, 2023

# ? Feb 17, 2023 22:30

Charles 2 of Spain: Nov 7, 2017

My 4 year old's been at daycare basically the entire time, got COVID without any dramas a year ago. He has a mask but never wears it properly so is functionally useless, from next month we'll probably do away with it.

# ? Feb 17, 2023 23:30

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

Lager posted:

I won't speak to the Black Death comment as I'm not the op, but here's a source on the fatality rate of H5N1:

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20230106.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99_108

Not a lot of deaths in total, because human infection has been very rare, but 56% fatality rate is pretty awful. That said, right now it's a purely theoretical "well this thing is showing some signs of concern" situation, rather than an alarm bell just yet. Still, it's been pretty funny to see Fox News already starting up the hoax claims, with Tucker Carlson insisting just last week that egg prices are up because of something wrong with the chicken feed, rather than bird flu killing the animals. It definitely feels like they're already trying to prepare their viewers to insist that bird flu isn't real, before it's even become transmissible between humans. Here's a link to the Tucker piece I'm referencing:

Perhaps not theoretical any longer

https://mobile.twitter.com/KrutikaKuppalli/status/1628795070097784835?s=20

# ? Feb 24, 2023 01:05

Lager: Mar 9, 2004; Give me the secret to the anti-puppet equation!

Charlz Guybon posted:

Perhaps not theoretical any longer

https://mobile.twitter.com/KrutikaKuppalli/status/1628795070097784835?s=20

The note about dead poultry in the home does make me wonder whether this was human transmission, or just a bunch of infections from the bird, which has happened before and will again. I certainly hope this isn't the start of human-to-human transmission, but something to watch.

# ? Feb 24, 2023 04:40

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 26, 2024 02:15

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

Charlz Guybon posted:

Perhaps not theoretical any longer

https://mobile.twitter.com/KrutikaKuppalli/status/1628795070097784835?s=20

The source for this claim appears to be a random person on an internet forum using Google Translate on an article written in a language they don't understand, and it's unclear whether it's accurate. Some people on Twitter are disputing the translation, though I have no idea whether there's anything to that:
https://twitter.com/jurreysi/status/1628816263295438849

It's also worth noting that the girl who died lived in a home where 22 chickens and 3 ducks had recently died of bird flu, and that her village was near a protected wildlife area whose bird population has been seeing a unusually high mortality rate lately. So there's still plenty of room for there to be bird-to-human transmission to other people in her household or contact network.

# ? Feb 24, 2023 05:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > COVID-19: People on the internet are judging me for going outside. It used to be the reverse.

«‹›414 »