Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #99

[Teche]

Delta Air Lines will make unvaccinated employees pay charge (clickondetroit.com)

Delta Air Lines will charge employees on the company health plan $200 a month if they fail to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a policy the airline's top executive says is necessary because the average hospital stay for the virus costs the airline $50,000.

CEO Ed Bastian said that all employees who have been hospitalized for the virus in recent weeks were not fully vaccinated.

The airline said Wednesday that it also will stop extending pay protection to unvaccinated workers who contract COVID-19 on Sept. 30, and will require unvaccinated workers to be tested weekly beginning Sept. 12, although Delta will cover the cost. They will have to wear masks in all indoor company settings...[/QUOTE
I have been waiting for this to happen. Maybe this will open the eyes of people. I'd like to see this occur to anyone receiving government benefits such as food stamps, rental assistance, and Medicaid. Many of the major oil companies are starting to put this in place. My son as an engineer on a drillship and there are hundreds of men and women working and living in close confines. He came home with Covid even though he is always masked around others and has a private room to sleep.

 

[ilovewings]

disgusting
my heart hurts

Mine too

 

[SouthAussie]

Looks like the approval of Pfizer has opened the door to US employers being able to require that their staff be vaccinated.



Goldman Sachs on Tuesday instituted a new requirement that all individuals who enter the bank's offices, including employees, be vaccinated.

Chevron said that it is requiring "workers in certain jobs" to be vaccinated against COVID-19. "Chevron is committed to protecting the health of our people, and vaccinations are the strongest safeguard against the COVID-19 virus"

CVS Health, which has administered more than 30 million COVID-19 vaccines across the U.S., will also now require employees who interact with patients, including nurses, pharmacists and care managers, as well as corporate employees to be vaccinated

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced that public school teachers and staff must be vaccinated.

"Now the walls have started to crumble," said attorney Barbara Binzak Blumenfeld of Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney, where she helps clients navigate matters involving FDA approval of medical products and practices. "I think they'll continue to crumble with respect to companies that have been hesitant to mandate."

Pfizer's FDA approval could open floodgates for corporate vaccine mandates

 

[ilovewings]

disgusting
my heart hurts

Mine too

 

[SouthAussie]

disgusting
my heart hurts

I think everybody's does. They are now facing potential animal cruelty charges. They were reported by their own workers, who are heartbroken. There is no excuse (or valid reason) for this unfathomable behaviour.

 

[ilovewings]

Looks like the approval of Pfizer has opened the door to US employers being able to require that their staff be vaccinated.



Goldman Sachs on Tuesday instituted a new requirement that all individuals who enter the bank's offices, including employees, be vaccinated.

Chevron said that it is requiring "workers in certain jobs" to be vaccinated against COVID-19. "Chevron is committed to protecting the health of our people, and vaccinations are the strongest safeguard against the COVID-19 virus"

CVS Health, which has administered more than 30 million COVID-19 vaccines across the U.S., will also now require employees who interact with patients, including nurses, pharmacists and care managers, as well as corporate employees to be vaccinated

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced that public school teachers and staff must be vaccinated.

"Now the walls have started to crumble," said attorney Barbara Binzak Blumenfeld of Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney, where she helps clients navigate matters involving FDA approval of medical products and practices. "I think they'll continue to crumble with respect to companies that have been hesitant to mandate."

Pfizer's FDA approval could open floodgates for corporate vaccine mandates

Good

 

[jjenny]

So I go to get my hair done: prior to today, I am usually the only client in the morning. Now I had assumed that all persons in the salon would be masked up--- Uh, nope. I was shocked. There is no mandate here in Michigan for masks now that the Republican legislature has cut Governor Whitmer off at the knees. My stylist always wears a mask as do I. Not all of his clients do though-- He was telling me one of his clients told him that he won't get the vaccine because he knows he can be traced through the injection (rolling eyes); another of his clients is a nurse- not vaccinated: Says, oh, it is just a virus like any other. (SMH)---Most clients and stylists in the salon were not masked. I guess most of these people are totally clueless regarding the transmissibility of Delta. Sigh. I am in Michigan -for now, it is not too bad here but it is getting worse by the day and I expect as long as people carry on like there is no pandemic, Michigan will get worse.

I am going to cut my own hair again. I went to the salon during low covid period a couple of months back, and nobody wore masks. That was after cdc said vaccinated people didn't need to wear masks.
Our covid numbers have dramatically increased since then. So I am not going to salons until numbers improve.

 

[nightowl1975]

N95s aren't even made for children. For them to really be that protective, they have to fit very well.

We have boxes of pediatric KN95’s at work, so I know they are manufactured. I’ve seen them with my own eyes. There’s no medical difference between N95’s and KN95’s as far as protection. Of course even these aren’t perfect or 100%, but they’re drastically better than surgical masks and not even in the same universe of counting on anti-maskers to mask up. YMMV.

 

[nightowl1975]

I wonder what the reality is of getting your children to keep their masks on at school, when other children don't have masks on and the school is not requiring it.

I would think the chances are pretty slim. Children don't like not being like the other kids. They don't like to be the ones who are set apart, and perhaps teased (or bullied) for their differences.

As I have stated before, a good thing about school uniforms is that they are a leveller. No rich kids in beautiful clothes, no poor kids in whatever their parents can afford, just all kids in the same school uniforms. I think the same will apply for masks.

I don’t disagree, however I’m more of a realist. The chances anyone is going to sway these rather stubborn, determined folks to mask up is just… slim. So I’m of the mindset that I will do what I can, when I can, that is under my own control. I can control what kind of situations myself/my family are in and the type of masks we wear. So I control what I can, when I can. If others prefer to protest and complain that there’s no mask mandate and wear a lesser quality mask in the meantime, that’s certainly an option as well.

 

[jjenny]

We have boxes of pediatric KN95’s at work, so I know they are manufactured. I’ve seen them with my own eyes. There’s no medical difference between N95’s and KN95’s as far as protection. Of course even these aren’t perfect or 100%, but they’re drastically better than surgical masks and not even in the same universe of counting on anti-maskers to mask up. YMMV.

KN95s are not N95s. I know there are KN95 marketed for children. I don't think you ever know what % those KN95s actually filter, unless you send them for testing.

 

[nightowl1975]

KN95s are not N95s. I know there are KN95 marketed for children. I don't think you ever know what % those KN95s actually filter, unless you send them for testing.

This is not true. I don’t have time to look through nearly 100 threads where it’s been discussed. Do you work in the medical field? Either way, if one feels a surgical mask is more protective than a KN95, rock on. We all make the choices we feel are best for our individual circumstances.

 

[jjenny]

This is not true. I don’t have time to look through nearly 100 threads where it’s been discussed. Do you work in the medical field? Either way, if one feels a surgical mask is more protective than a KN95, rock on. We all make the choices we feel are best for our individual circumstances.

I wear N95s-if they are authentic, they should be up to the standard. Regarding KN95, again, unless you test them, you don't know if they are filtering what they are supposed to.

""As a consumer in Canada right now, you can't be confident of going to a reputable vendor, buying a pack of masks with a stamp that says KN95 or N95 or KF94, and have really any confidence that those masks meet that standard, and that's a huge worry from me as an academic, but also as a consumer," said James Scott, a professor of occupational and environmental health who oversaw the testing."

Is your N95-style mask failing you? Lab tests show some falling way short of filtration standards | CBC News

 

[pocketaccent]

(Improved. But there will be some breakthrough cases. I wonder how many. Research should be done: How many breakthrough cases occur when the fully/partially vaccinated congregate outdoors, unmasked.)

US Tennis Association Reverses Course, Will Now Require Proof Of Vaccination For US Open Fans

Friday afternoon, the USTA announced proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will be required for all ticketholders over the age of 12.

Initially, it was announced that the tournament would be back to full capacity with no requirements for masks, vaccines or a recent COVID test.
...
The USTA says they decided to change their policy after they learned the mayor’s office would be mandating proof of vaccination for the entrance to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
...
The USTA says unvaccinated ticketholders can apply for a refund through their Ticketmaster account.

 

[IceIce9]

So I got my 3rd COVID vaccine this morning. As a front line healthcare worker I became eligible this week for my 3rd shot, and I took the first availability I could find, after searching available appointments within a 20 mile radius.

Has anyone here had their 3rd shot yet?

 

[jjenny]

So I got my 3rd COVID vaccine this morning. As a front line healthcare worker I became eligible this week for my 3rd shot, and I took the first availability I could find, after searching available appointments within a 20 mile radius.

Has anyone here had their 3rd shot yet?

I got my third shot already too-I qualify because of my health condition. I consulted with my doctor before I did it. I want to keep my antibodies in tip top shape. I had more of a reaction to the third shot than to second, which presumably means I made more antibodies this time.

 

[IceIce9]

I got my third shot already too-I qualify because of my health condition. I consulted with my doctor before I did it. I want to keep my antibodies in tip top shape.

We get daily updates on the number of “breakthrough” cases in the hospital system where I work. The breakthrough cases (where an employee gets COVID after being fully vaccinated) have really spiked in the past week, so I took the first opportunity I had to get my 3rd shot.

The breakthrough cases that are being tracked among our hospital employees seem to be happening 6 months or more after their 2nd vaccine.

I had my first in December and 2nd in January, so I was due.

 

[Cool Cats]

Why do we keep hearing this? Rhetorical question

Anti-’Covid tyranny’ campaigner in hospital with virus

In an update on his condition on Saturday, Jessica told the New York Times that her husband would be transferred to hospice at the hospital, and the family will share their final goodbyes.

Caleb Wallace, an anti-Covid restrictions campaigner, is now in hospital with the virus

The Huff Post reported that in July 2020, Wallace organized "The Freedom Rally" protests opposing the "government being in control of our lives."

He is also touted as a founder of San Angelo Freedom Defenders and orchestrated a rally "to end COVID tyranny," according to San Angelo LIVE! and the Standard-Times.

In addition, as the Standard-Times reported, Wallace wrote a letter to the San Angelo Independent School District asking them to overturn their COVID-related guidelines.

 

[jjenny]

We get daily updates on the number of “breakthrough” cases in the hospital system where I work. The breakthrough cases (where an employee gets COVID after being fully vaccinated) have really spiked in the past week, so I took the first opportunity I had to get my 3rd shot.

The breakthrough cases that are being tracked among our hospital employees seem to be happening 6 months or more after their 2nd vaccine.

I had my first in December and 2nd in January, so I was due.

I am glad health care workers are allowed a booster now-although it's probably individual hospitals allowing it? Or are you not in US? Breakthroughs are going up with delta and immunity waning.

 

[Lilibet]

This is not true. I don’t have time to look through nearly 100 threads where it’s been discussed. Do you work in the medical field? Either way, if one feels a surgical mask is more protective than a KN95, rock on. We all make the choices we feel are best for our individual circumstances.

I wear N95s-if they are authentic, they should be up to the standard. Regarding KN95, again, unless you test them, you don't know if they are filtering what they are supposed to.

""As a consumer in Canada right now, you can't be confident of going to a reputable vendor, buying a pack of masks with a stamp that says KN95 or N95 or KF94, and have really any confidence that those masks meet that standard, and that's a huge worry from me as an academic, but also as a consumer," said James Scott, a professor of occupational and environmental health who oversaw the testing."

Is your N95-style mask failing you? Lab tests show some falling way short of filtration standards | CBC News

This article is a comprehensive explanation of the N95 and KN95 masks that should clear up the confusion. I just ordered KN95 masks using this information. There are a couple of changes at the end, so be sure to read the whole thing. I’m satisfied with my research and I’m just providing this article for reference, not to discuss.

What medical experts recommend to anyone shopping for a KN95 face mask

 

[IceIce9]

I am glad health care workers are allowed a booster now-although it's probably individual hospitals allowing it? Or are you not in US? Breakthroughs are going up with delta and immunity waning.

There is plenty of vaccine available in the area where I live, so they are making it available to frontline healthcare workers as well as those who are immune compromised.

I have been taking care of patients with COVID every single day for the past several weeks.