Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #103

[anneg]

Hang in there, everyone! I just watched Dr. John Campbell's video from yesterday and you might like to watch it too. He made me feel calmer about what is coming with omicron. I'll be following him daily for a while.

 

[otto]

This terrifies me. My sister and I have had to fly three times to Florida since June. Our parents are nearly 90 and in poor health. They are both vaxed and boosted with Moderna, but at their age their immunity is still low.

The last time I was there Omicron was just beginning to take off in South Africa. I returned to NY on December 1st and was already worried about it. Your stats show how much worse it’s gotten since then.

My parents do wear masks but they have trouble adjusting them and their masks always slip off their noses. Which we have tried, time and again, to adjust for them but without us there it won’t work. And Florida has such lackadaisical rules. “Hey, what pandemic?” is the attitude I’ve seen.

I’m already thinking I’ll have to move there because they don’t want to come back to the cold weather in NY, but because of the deadly nonchalance to Covid, I really do not want to live in Florida.

I’m terrified for them and also furious.

Regarding masks, these might work. I use them because they have a clip at the back of the head for the elastics. The mask does not hang on ears and the nosepiece forms a tight seal.

Point 1 Nano Adult Mask

 

[margarita25]

Hang in there, everyone! I just watched Dr. John Campbell's video from yesterday and you might like to watch it too. He made me feel calmer about what is coming with omicron. I'll be following him daily for a while.

Lol been doing the same thing.

—

Sad to say,
“Viral blizzard”
Coming our way.


Former Biden COVID-19 adviser: 'Viral blizzard' about to hit the US

 

[Arkay]

Regarding masks, these might work. I use them because they have a clip at the back of the head for the elastics. The mask does not hang on ears and the nosepiece forms a tight seal.

Point 1 Nano Adult Mask

thank you, that looks interesting and I’m going to research it. We’ve already bought them those lanyard things to help them slip their masks up and down and let it dangle from their necks at home, but they just find it too troublesome.
Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

My latest lot of masks form into a little funnel on one side of my cheek, inline with my mouth. I've tried to spread it out more but
I think maybe they were made to fit someone with a much larger face.

I'm about to order some more like the last lot I had.

 

[BeckyF]

The is what happened with my heart cath and angiography. Delay after delay for months. It was sooooo frustrating. ugh

All I know is if they try to kick me out sooner than I’m ready to go, I’ll tell them. I refuse to give up my bed after major surgery to give it to an unvaccinated person who put other people in danger as well as themselves.

 

[beatrixpotter]

Merry Christmas, we thought that we could make plans this year. Nope. We are staying home, alone, again. Vaccinated x 3 for both of us, but that doesn't seem to matter much for people who are extreme high risk.

We have three close friends who currently have Covid, two were Vaccinated. One was not.

 

[Jfeets726]

Longtime lurker, but was glad to see that someone shared about Cornell and Tompkins County. I am a local in TC and this is insane. It has spread so quickly. I was at a booster clinic on 12/11 when the health department shared that Cornell had a spike (like 200 new cases) and that 2 cases of Omicron were found. Fast forward to now…or really yesterday as Cornell doesn’t update their dashboard on the weekends but they are now at 1,502 active student cases. This makes it very easy to see how fast this spreads.

I am not sure how many are still on campus, but it appears that Cornell was requesting everyone test before leaving. This may result in a continued increase in cases for the area. Thank goodness they did the testing, otherwise possibly 1,000 students who may be asymptomatic would have been sent back to their community for break to continue the spread.

COVID-19 Tracking Dashboard

Little speed demon.... 100% at Cornell University and 40% in the surrounding community are Omicron already.

County confirms at least 133 Omicron-variant cases, including "high rate" of transmission at Cornell - The Ithaca Voice

"A health department announcement stated that of 115 samples sequenced from positive tests among the Cornell University community, all were found to be the Omicron variant—and 18 of 44 positive tests that were sequenced after being found in the Tompkins County population outside of Cornell."

 

[CrimeAway]

Latest TWIV with Paul Offit ( Paul Offit - Wikipedia )

 

[BeckyF]

We are in this mess because of people who do not care about others!!
I am in disbelief that two years into this pandemic we are in some ways
worse than we were at the beginning of the pandemic--- I am angry and
frightened at the same time-- I am elderly and despite doing everything the right
way to avoid getting the virus, I could get it anyway

We are in this mess because of people who do not care about others!!
I am in disbelief that two years into this pandemic we are in some ways
worse than we were at the beginning of the pandemic--- I am angry and
frightened at the same time-- I am elderly and despite doing everything the right
way to avoid getting the virus, I could get it anyway

I am angry and frightened as well. I have an underlying lung disease and have received both Pfizer vaccines and a booster. I need the medical care that my doctors tell me I need for my condition and I will make sure I get it, just as all the unvaccinated people crowding the hospitals do.

 

[otto]

thank you, that looks interesting and I’m going to research it. We’ve already bought them those lanyard things to help them slip their masks up and down and let it dangle from their necks at home, but they just find it too troublesome.
Thanks for your suggestion.

I've seen older adults here too with a face mask clipped around the neck. Masks off outside, easy to hook around the ear when inside.

It's better to wear the mask when around other people. If it's safe to re-use a mask, have a place to keep it (near the keys). In cold temperatures, it's like a scarf - keeps your nose warm.

They can help each other clip the elastics in the back. I give one to everyone who enters my home.

 

[margarita25]

Dr. O: December 16, 2021
Episode 82: A Viral Blizzard

Osterholm Update: COVID-19
Episode 82: A Viral Blizzard
December 16, 2021
“In "A Viral Blizzard," Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the newest Omicron data, the crisis happening in hospitals across the US, the viral battle occurring between the Omicron and Delta variants, and the importance of booster doses.”

 

[margarita25]

This pandemic sucks jmo - I’m sure we can all agree - if there’s one thing we can ALL agree on is that this pandemic sucks

 

[Lilibet]

Although Websleuths is mainly about crime, I’ve always come here immediately when there is any kind of breaking news that is not crime-related…wildfires, floods, tornadoes, insurrection (OK, that was a crime, but you know what I mean), etc…and for almost two years now the pandemic. While we rarely “solve” crimes, we are absolutely phenomenal at crowd-sourcing news about important events from more sources than any of us could ever find on our own.

I’ve mentioned before that what we have done here during the pandemic should be studied by sociologists…or someone. It is totally unique in scope, intelligence, quality of sources and civility of members worldwide. Thanks to all of you, I have been able to learn about Covid-19, keep track of the path of the pandemic, prepare as much as possible and inform my friends. It’s been truly remarkable and amazing!

So a HUGE shout-out to you all and a GIGANTIC thank you for your research and hard work keeping all of us up to speed. It looks like we’ll be here for awhile, unfortunately, so please let’s give ourselves a group hug and keep up the good work for as long as necessary. I’m convinced that lives have been saved here thanks to our websleuthing.

 

[ilovewings]

This terrifies me. My sister and I have had to fly three times to Florida since June. Our parents are nearly 90 and in poor health. They are both vaxed and boosted with Moderna, but at their age their immunity is still low.

The last time I was there Omicron was just beginning to take off in South Africa. I returned to NY on December 1st and was already worried about it. Your stats show how much worse it’s gotten since then.

My parents do wear masks but they have trouble adjusting them and their masks always slip off their noses. Which we have tried, time and again, to adjust for them but without us there it won’t work. And Florida has such lackadaisical rules. “Hey, what pandemic?” is the attitude I’ve seen.

I’m already thinking I’ll have to move there because they don’t want to come back to the cold weather in NY, but because of the deadly nonchalance to Covid, I really do not want to live in Florida.

I’m terrified for them and also furious.

These days, in some instances, it is "pick your poison"-- We came from Michigan, which has been a hot spot for months now, to Florida, which now has an uptick in cases"-- Pretty soon the entire country will be a hot spot for Omicron. All one can do in this situation is take precautions as best you can. It is true about Florida: Went to Walmart yesterday here in Fort Myers: My husband and I were the only customers with masks on: I was kinda shocked actually. I prefer to be here in Florida in the warm weather vs the cold North: I can understand why your parents want to live in Florida: As I have gotten older I can hardly tolerate the cold- try not to be so terrified: it sounds like they are doing the right things to protect themselves. I understand your being furious- I am furious too: the unvaxxed selfish people among us have put us in this situation.

 

[Turkeytrot]

I just want to send a big virtual hug out to anyone and everyone reading this. I feel so incredibly burned out with the longevity of this pandemic and I know I'm not alone. I want everyone to stay safe and healthy and I know it's not possible.

 

[Cool Cats]

End the absurdity: My children are suffering from draconian COVID-19 rules at school

Two young children laying on the grass with their faces covered in a piles of face masks

I went to a concert last weekend with about 6,000 unmasked adults crammed into one of Washington, D.C.’s nicest music venues. Earlier in the week, my wife and I could not attend our oldest daughter’s holiday performance at school because no guests were allowed. This is the absurdity of today’s COVID-19 theater.

We are nearing the end of the second year where adults have imposed rules that hurt our children. But not all children. Most people who read this would be shocked at how Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where I live, and other large union-influenced districts, are still treating children.

They would be puzzled to hear how my daughter’s cafeteria has rows of TV trays set up next to tables so students all face one direction at lunch. I've seen it myself. Because school administrators apparently know a secret about air circulation.

People in open counties across America would be confused to read the email we received from our elementary school last month acknowledging that if it dips below 45 degrees or snows, they’ll allow my 3rd grader to eat lunch indoors.

 

[Niner]

snipped...

China and Russia are about to have a big problem.

"COVID-19 vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and China's Sinopharm, as well as the Russian-made Sputnik V, were found to provide little or no protection against the newly emerging Omicron variant, according to a study out this week."

snipped...
As for US, glad to see Moderna still does well, the best of the three vaccine we use (I had Moderna). But it still drops substantially.

That is the one I got - Moderna - 3 shots so far...

snipped...
So a HUGE shout-out to you all and a GIGANTIC thank you for your research and hard work keeping all of us up to speed. It looks like we’ll be here for awhile, unfortunately, so please let’s give ourselves a group hug and keep up the good work for as long as necessary. I’m convinced that lives have been saved here thanks to our websleuthing.

 

[Arkay]

Here's a further quote from the article cited by @Cool Cats


"But I also love our community and neighborhood that actually got us through the pandemic, with our support system and pods and friends. I don’t want to leave. And I do love our school, and my kids' teachers. I want them to succeed."

So, if I read this right, this author in Virginia has gotten "through the pandemic."

How courteous of Covid to leave Virginia alone!

I don't disagree that pandemic rules have been devastating for children. The anxiety, the impact on their mental health and their education has been atrocious in more ways than I can enumerate here.

I have three school-aged grandchildren and my heart breaks for them all day, every day. My youngest has a speech delay, needed the speech therapy she was provided in kindergarten, and lost that when schools were closed for months. And now that she has in-person school, being masked and her teacher being masked has rendered speech therapy useless, because the teacher cannot enunciate properly with a mask on.

I am miserable that my two youngest don't know much about school before masks and before this fear. My eldest in high school was an honors student who has lost her love for school due to closures and remote learning and restrictions and the lack of after-school activities.

Yet what should be done? There IS a pandemic which keeps swerving every time we think things are improving. I know several children whose mother or father or grandparent has died from Covid. I have friends who have died, some only in their 40s.

When I was a schoolchild we had to practice bomb fallout shelter drills and hide under our desks, which was a leftover from WWII. But in my parents' generation they had to do these things for real. And the rationing and all the sacrifices their generation had to make.

The author also alludes to some who "thankfully ignored the CDC's recommendations."

Covid is awful for all of us in all ways. But IMO that author, while justifiably concerned for his children, is not preparing them for the reality of what is STILL A PANDEMIC.

Yes, there are measures taken that have proved faulty. That's what happens when a NOVEL pandemic takes over the world. We learn as we go. But doctors and scientists are giving the best advice they know as this disease bobs and weaves.

All JMO.

 

[MimosaMornings]

End the absurdity: My children are suffering from draconian COVID-19 rules at school

View attachment 326933Two young children laying on the grass with their faces covered in a piles of face masks

I went to a concert last weekend with about 6,000 unmasked adults crammed into one of Washington, D.C.’s nicest music venues. Earlier in the week, my wife and I could not attend our oldest daughter’s holiday performance at school because no guests were allowed. This is the absurdity of today’s COVID-19 theater.

We are nearing the end of the second year where adults have imposed rules that hurt our children. But not all children. Most people who read this would be shocked at how Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where I live, and other large union-influenced districts, are still treating children.

They would be puzzled to hear how my daughter’s cafeteria has rows of TV trays set up next to tables so students all face one direction at lunch. I've seen it myself. Because school administrators apparently know a secret about air circulation.

People in open counties across America would be confused to read the email we received from our elementary school last month acknowledging that if it dips below 45 degrees or snows, they’ll allow my 3rd grader to eat lunch indoors.

I’m getting a big anti mask vibe.

Going to a extremely crowded unmasked concert with 6,000 people during a pandemic - vaccinated or not - sounds very risky. But to the author, it’s their life and they want to do whatever they want and who gives a flip if they get Covid, it will be a mild case and won’t spread it to anyone else.

Masking children far extends into other areas, multigenerational families, grandparents that now are the primary after school caregivers due to care centers that closed, if teachers don’t feel safe - they quit and schools have closed here because of not enough teachers or bus drivers.
The district can’t find teachers, bus drivers, resource officers, nurses, counselors.
JMO