outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

if you can still carry and transmit, it does not

xp

trying to come to terms with how comfy i'll be around other fully vaccinated folks indoors tbh. this shit has been emotionally damaging and it's gonna take awhile to reorient.

I was going to say, the vaccine nurses who jabbed me told me to keep wearing a mask because there is no guarantee it prevents transmission.

I'll be more willing to let loose when the people in my little circle are fully vaccinated and vaccines are widely available to all. If there's still a sizeable chunk of people that just won't do it, that's their problem.

I think we are nowhere near the point of concern there yet, but that's an interesting point. How long do the vaccinated carry on masking for the sake of the refuseniks?

the thing is, when i go outside, nobody knows i'm vaccinated, so if i don't mask, I look like i'm not masking. and then five people next to me go "cool, I won't either".

rather just set the good example a while longer - even if it is determined I can't spread it.

The vaccinated carry on masking because it's good public policy; it doesn't benefit them or the unvaccinated around them. The vaccinated aren't going to die, get hospitalized, or even suffer serious COVID symptoms from the unmasked.

they could still transmit, so it does benefit people in general

Oh agreed, I'm not suggesting the vaccinated just stop wearing them now. I'm just playing out the near and longer term future and how things might evolve. I mean, in late 2022, should there be 30% of the population still unable to or unwilling to get vaccinated, are we all still going to remain masked? Some might, but I don't see large swaths of the population willing to do so.

could, yes. i think studies are showing that the mRNA vaccines do greatly reduce transmission (and that Novovax might outright be stopping it), but all of those studies are preliminary.

from the cursory data in Israel, I think it's a strong likelihood that transmission is greatly reduced for Moderna/Pfizer to where the vaccinated aren't a significant source of spread. but yes, it's important not to take studies that as of yet haven't been peer reviewed as gospel and just err on the side of caution.

once we reach herd immunity, masking shouldn't really *have* to continue (ie like a mandate), but I think people will start committing to the habit which will be at least good during flu seasons.

so far everything points to dramatically reduced chance of infection and transmission from vaccines, as well as death and hospitalization

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22291959/covid-vaccines-transmission-protect-spread-virus-moderna-pfizer

trying to come to terms with how comfy i'll be around other fully vaccinated folks indoors tbh. this shit has been emotionally damaging and it's gonna take awhile to reorient.

― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Friday, March 5, 2021 2:32 PM bookmarkflaglink

yeah, unfortunately the measures have been so severe and for so long, now masking is our default, so we're going to feel 'naked' not doing it. and feel a lack of 'trust' of the situation.

I have a weird dread - there's definitely a component of 'shaming' during the pandemic in a vocal minority of people that goes beyond what's acceptable. not shaming people who refuse to mask, who hold 50-people house parties (unmasked) in stuffy indoor buildings....but actually shaming people who dare to go outside their homes, even if masked and taking precautions. or 'judging' other people whose level of risk-taking, even if REALLY small, happens to be different than theirs.

I keep wondering if this loud group (which sadly, I know quite a few of) will keep shouting at people even as we near herd immunity and can realistically start removing restrictions for legitimate reasons (rather than appeasing covidiots). I mean, I WILL punch them in the nose and take a picture of it....but I really do think it's going to, as forks said, be an adjustment process to reacclimate ourselves to our pre-pandemic life, and that some people in my circle are going to be assholes about how I resume my life.

even as we near herd immunity

before pile-on , I know we're not near it yet, but I mean when we get near it.

the only argument I really see for a vaccinated person masking is that they won't have a giant "V" on their shirt so it might make others nervous to be indoors with them, plus it will avoid a lot of confusion when businesses are trying to enforce policies (and they don't have to take someone's word for it on vaccination). But if I'm vaccinated and I have vaccinated people in my home, I don't see a need for masks. In fact, when my fully vaccinated parents come to visit for the first time, I don't plan to wear a mask, esp since I won't be in any potential exposure situations in the 10 days leading up to their visit.

I think we've reached the point where if you want to have beers indoors or outdoors with your fellow vaccinated bros you can. You've earned it.

This is good on variant alarmism:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-has-a-covid-scariants-problem-heres-how-to-fix-it/

i'm going to wear a mask when i have a cold after this.

not wearing a mask in public in the middle of a pandemic (cases are higher now than they were in the summer wave!) is a great way to say "i'm a dangerous asshole to strangers, whether or not you've been vaccinated.

it seems likely the CDC is about to give the all clear on this

I think we've reached the point where if you want to have beers indoors or outdoors with your fellow vaccinated bros you can. You've earned it.

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, March 5, 2021 3:05 PM (thirty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Q: How soon is soon on #CDC guidance about fully vaccinated people?@CDCDirector Walensky: Coming soon. We know people interested. Want to ensure communication is crystal clear & can be easily adapted.#COVID19 #vaccines

— Donna Young (@DonnaYoungDC) March 5, 2021

i kinda wanna know if I need to get this again since I got mine so long ago and they don't know how long the protection lasts. they expect that it probably lasts beyond '3 months' for younger people, but no long term data yet (that's why they take blood each visit). AND....if that's even allowable per the terms of my study.

i suspect they'll get around to addressing that with us eventually

xxp

yep, yep and yep - well said caek.

CDC fucking up as per

BREAKING: CDC Director says that they are STILL not releasing guidance on what vaccinated people can do.

I understand being careful, but the longer they wait, the more people will take matters into their own hands & render eventual CDC advice irrelevant. https://t.co/35hBGojV5y

— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 5, 2021

not wearing a mask in public in the middle of a pandemic (cases are higher now than they were in the summer wave!) is a great way to say "i'm a dangerous asshole" to strangers, whether or not you've been vaccinated.

this 100%

Yep

Oh absolutely agreed, 100%. But I think it's safe to say that, unfortunately, there is a not insignificant percentage of Americans that might not "otm" this and I think those folks will have a short term memory wrt to masks in a few years' time. But let's worry about that when we get there.

Let's just say that most 65-y-olds -- the cohort getting vaccinated -- are not the ones packing Applebee's bars.

it's the people who like Smash Mouth and say things like "lit"

Let's just say that most 65-y-olds -- the cohort getting vaccinated -- are not the ones packing Applebee's bars.

I'm guessing maybe you haven't spent much time in Applebee's in the Midwest.

every time I see someone at the Piggly Wiggly without a mask I just automatically assume they're a chud asshole and avoid getting near them so yeah I'll be wearing a mask in public till the end of the year most likely

I'm guessing maybe you haven't spent much time in Applebee's in the Midwest.

― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0)

I plan to as soon as I get vaccinated.

lol if you are in the area post vaccine, I would even be willing to visit an Applebee's to share a drink.

More just a commentary that in all the times I've been to a Applebee's or Chili's, 65 seems to be about the average age.

my "wear a mask even if you've been vaccinated" was in response to

seems pretty reasonable to take off your mask once fully vaxed tbh

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, March 5, 2021 2:30 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm really hoping people get in the habit of wearing masks if they've got a cold or whatever but I can't see it happening.

Agree that I'm gonna have to have quite a big mental readjustment in a few months. I have no idea if/when I'll go back to indoor gym classes. But I don't have to decide now.

I'm not unmasking until the number of new cases is so low that the local news stops covering it.

Idk I just got a delivery of KN95s from a caek-recommended seller and they're so comfortable I might wear them forever.

My now-hopeless desire was for masking to be normalized and stick around forever because I hate colds and the flu.

Yes. No colds since 2019 and I like it.

the extreme drop off in the flu is pretty neat...cool to see direct evidence that masks & social distancing does in fact work extremely well

the KN95s are indeed dope, I get less of them for my money than I did surgical masks, but they offer better protection.

and as cool as my Iron Maiden mask is, it's not layered

horns up, mfer!

we should paint each individual mask we wear with our own designs and create a thread of custom ILX mask artwork

San Francisco update: a quarter of the eligible city population has received at least a first dose, two-thirds of the 65-and-over population have received a first dose. Second dose levels now into double-digits in general, almost a third of 65-and-over have a second dose. My sis got her first shot the other day; my folks have received their second shots. All good to see.

I think I'll just get a face tattoo that looks like a mask

congrats to your fam Ned. It's a great relief i'm sure.

Which part of SF are your folks in Ned?

Here's my more realistic San Francisco update:

https://i.imgur.com/izp4SIL.png

The death rate is pretty stagnant (~80% of peak COVID deaths) all things considered... which I know some of you guys have been promising it will go down for a month yet here we are.

Just walking around and seeing a surge of maskless people eating indoors makes me think this trend line ain't going down any time soon. Hope that arugula pizza was worth killing someone's grandmother over.

Also none of the teachers at my kids schools have received their codes to make them eligible for vaccines yet, our only partially-vaccinated friend is dancing tonight at the Crazy Horse strip club (which is now open).

Yikes! Hopefully it's just the peep show booths!?
My partner is a teacher and was able to get her first shot at Walgreens last week. She just had to show her faculty ID. Hopefully things move quickly for your kids teachers.

From a nextdoor email notification I got last week. Welcome to the neighborhood, lady!

Subj: Unstable racist man yelling on Stevenson

I was jarred at around 7:30 this morning to hear a presumably unstable and mentally ill man shouting heinous racist and violent remarks on Stevenson by the Skate Park. Needless to say, it was horrifying. Is this an ongoing issue? I just moved into the neighborhood last week. I was too scared to open... See more

Lol, sorry, meant for SF thread