Covid

[flowerbug]

Well said, thank You Zeedman.
My only worry that remains is the dang virus keeps mutating. And Doctors are no longer sure that we actually become immune after having it once, sadly there are cases of people getting it again!

i see no credible reports of of reinfections @Carol Dee.

there is a lot of confusion because of different tests detecting different things, but closer examination has not yet shown quick reinfection to be an issue - i think by now with the number of cases and this length of time that it would be a better known phenomena. not that immunity might fade in a year or two, but by then perhaps we'll have a vaccine or booster shot.

the mutations observed so far are not affecting things being targetted by most vaccines.

the rate of mutations is said to be normal for this kind of virus. this virus is not related to the flu. it has not yet mutated in a major way which causes me to worry. there are at present some claims about the virus mutating which make it more infectious, but i don't know if that has been proven - nor do i see anything which has happened to make the virus more deadly. i think if those things had happened it would be more apparent.

claims about the politics of this are from people who are more interested in party politics and ideology than actually dealing with the problem. i don't consider them worth listening to.

so far the people who've brought up this as a political topic here on this forum are people i consider very partisan and they'll vote and act contrary to other stated values they might have. how do you evaluate such people? i don't consider them rational.

 

[flowerbug]

...
Those who want to make their own decisions regarding whether to wear a mask or not, without government (or anyone else) forcing them one way or the other. As a people, we take our freedom seriously, so I get that. Some have just made a conscious decision not to live in fear, or wait for an effective vaccine that may or may not become available some time in the distant future. Plus, it's summer, and wearing a mask for an extended period is uncomfortable... and when there is a high heat index, probably unhealthy.
...

again this mischaracterisation that someone wearing a mask or accepting restrictions as being neccesary is living in fear.

 

[flowerbug]

Color me stupid.... please explain

Covid .04% death rate. That mainly kills people with other mitigating factors.
Flu. 1% death rate. Kills all ages. Affects healthy as well as immune depressed.
Both mutate. (Different strains)
Neither has an effective vaccine.

One we shut down USA, one we don’t. Why?

i will do this line by line (ignoring the obvious first line):

"Covid .04% death rate. That mainly kills people with other mitigating factors."

so far the death rate estimates have varied because of the different ways different countries have been reporting and testing. there's not much we can do about that other than continuing the studies of infection rate and death rates. this is helped by more testing that is scientifically valid (random tests or full population studies).

the "mainly kills" part is true, i give you that, so far. the bigger issues are:

the cost to society of the ICU stays
the ability of the health care system to cope
the putting of health care people at risk,
the long term damage
the many complications of this virus (liver, brain, kidneys, etc...)


"Flu. 1% death rate. Kills all ages. Affects healthy as well as immune depressed."

not as easily compared as you keep trying to do. the Covid virus also affects healthy and immune depressed and also kills all ages and does damage to all ages.

"Both mutate. (Different strains)"

both mutate, different viruses entirely (not different strains). not comparable. the meanings of mutations are quite different because they are different viruses.

"Neither has an effective vaccine."

different viruses, different reasons for lack of effective vaccine. also i'm sure that sometimes the flu vaccine is more effective than other times. the mutation issues will make it more likely that if they come up with effective vaccine for Covid it will be more likley to remain effective while the flu has a much different structure (it is a different virus and not only a different strain of the flu virus)

"One we shut down USA, one we don’t. Why?"

we did not shut down the USA, if we actually had shut down the USA we'd not be in the mess we're in right now.

the difference between an endemic disease (one that is already established and circulating in the whole population) and an emerging disease is that if you stop the emerging disease then you can eradicate it before it becomes endemic.

go back in recent history and look at the previous SARS and MERS outbreaks and what was done when those started out. those two were prevented from becoming endemic. look at the death rates of those. tell me if you want those to have become endemic. recently Ebola has had a few outbreaks in Africa too, they've managed to keep those mostly under control by using vaccines, contact tracing and getting people the care they need.

the failure in this time was not shutting down air travel quickly, not putting the whole nation on hold for a few weeks while the situation was evaluated. yes, this would have caused damage to the economy, but as you can see the lack of doing it right to begin with has kept this going a lot longer than it needs to be - i think the damage has been much worse than it had to be.

New Zealand has managed to keep this from becoming an endemic pandemic there in that country - it can be done. the lack of will and leadership has certainly made it harder here in comparison. yes, there are other factors too, but the claims that the USoA can't do something complicated isn't true. we've done a lot of good things that were complicated. we need effective leadership and we certainly don't have that.

 

[flowerbug]

As for me, not mad. Just respectfully disagree. Blame me all anyone wants but I’m negative passing no Covid on. I’m at risk but I place no one else at risk.
Side note, all scientists believe it will go on & on& on because it mutates. Just like the flu goes on & on & on. Different strain, same result.

you continually post misinformation and repeat the same mistakes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Well Crap, this is getting too close for comfort. DH went to a funeral visitation, I stayed away! He and everyone wore masks, after shaking hands he used the sanitizer he carries before driving home. Only to find out today the autopsy came back that he had Covid and his wife has tested positive. He did not see her, so she may have stayed home. His kids had not seen him for weeks , yet will get tested ASAP. So now we wait and hope they all are negative. Grrr .... I was going to leave on vacation with Sis in a few days. Thinking to post pone or cancel just to be safe.

Carol Dee, all you can do is your best. You can only control what you can control. We have to play the hand life gives us. Wishing you and your the best.

 

[flowerbug]

I don't understand this comment. Where did I show any hostility about people who exercise their right to wear masks? I guess I touched a tender spot.

The comment I made was not directed at you personally FB. It was a general statement.


Nailed it Seed. Apparently very few are paying attention to these stats.

you've repeatedly said your rights are being trampled or threatened, but as of yet you've not said what rights. you seem threatened by anything that speaks about trying to contain a publicly spread disease that could have been eradicated if people would have followed common sense guidelines. it might yet be eradicated. we'll see.

your comment made in general, if it were valid would have to include all people. since it didn't apply to me it isn't a valid general statement. and yes, it was directed at me since i do fit in the group of all people.

i do follow the science and statistics on this topic and have been all along. dragging it up as some partisan effort is BS and doesn't make me think you really give a crap about anyone else except the partisan politics. there are others here who've said similar. they also profess to be Christians, but from what i can tell they're not noticing the other obvious facts about the very non-Christian leader who exhibits few if any examples of Christian values or the love towards their fellow humans that Jesus was preaching about.

when faced with blatantly partisan people who don't even follow their own beliefs what would you conclude about them being worthy of following or emulating?

 

[Carol Dee]

Color me stupid.... please explain

Covid .04% death rate. That mainly kills people with other mitigating factors.
Flu. 1% death rate. Kills all ages. Affects healthy as well as immune depressed.
Both mutate. (Different strains)
Neither has an effective vaccine.

One we shut down USA, one we don’t. Why?

OK, what ever!

 

[aftermidnight]

We are still doing pretty good here on VI, but now have 4 active cases. Wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing is the norm for most of us. My daughter's along with her partners business is thriving (Marine). They made a plan, all staff are still employed with some working from home. At first they only took phone or online orders, if it was a pickup they were notified what time to come to pick it up. It was the placed on a table outside, no contact with staff. Now a few at a time are let in the store, hand sanitizer at the door, masks worn and 6ft distancing still in place as far as I know. So far this has been working very well for everyone. We've all got to pull together on this one or it's never going to go away
Annette

 

[baymule]

Can we stop arguing about this? People! This is a bad situation no matter what side of the fence you are on. We don’t need to be brow beating each other over this, it certainly won’t make anything any better. We are TEG family and like family, we don’t always agree. Let’s not let it get to the place I’ve seen families get to, where they get mad and never speak to each other again.

 

[Zeedman]

again this mischaracterisation that someone wearing a mask or accepting restrictions as being neccesary is living in fear.

Take a deep breath, my friend, you're getting worked up & seeing offense where none was intended.

You've misinterpreted what I posted. I was not referring to those who choose to wear masks as doing so out of fear - I said they want to feel safe, which is a reasonable attitude given the circumstances. The comment about "not living in fear" refers to what some have stated who choose not to wear a mask, and merely repeats comments I have actually heard from others - including some on this forum. It is a fairly common sentiment, which I interpret as push back to the constant fear mongering emanating from the media.

This has, obviously, become an emotional issue... with those wearing masks becoming angry at those who don't, and those who choose not to wear masks feeling they are being pushed/bossed around by those who do. I doubt that anyone is likely to change their point of view, and there is nothing to be gained by further discussion of this particular topic except bad feelings between good friends... perhaps the best thing is to just let that dead horse lay.