The COVID-19 Wild West Thread (Read 601 times)

Hey! Are some people still thinking masks are to protect THEM?!

 

If they are operating under that illusion, I could see why they are so whiny. Ignorance creates a lot of false pretences by otherwise well-intentioned people.

Two examples: From CNBC (below), which mirrored the CBS evening news last night:

Face coverings are “the most powerful public health tool” the nation has against the coronavirus and might even provide better protection against it than a vaccine, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told lawmakers Wednesday (9/16/20). 

“We have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defense,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said. “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine.” 

Significant part of the problem is the general public has been conditioned for so long now to only get their information from headlines and soundbytes; absent any nuance and context. Typical result is reinforcement of existing opinion rather than sufficient information to form a reasoned based opinion. Read or hear these quotes above from a designated expert, and if one wishes, it is easy to interpret as "mask protect me".

FWIW, will make one more comment to clarify a subject I may have come across as rude and short on before (along with any necessary apologies to Ms.Teresadfp). Medical exemptions in every single county mask order I have read had nothing to do with science or a medical conditions; they were simply a "defined term". For example, the fact I carry an asthma inhaler would exempt me from our local order. Without posting a picture, you'll have to trust that I too look healthy. Do I use my exemption? No, I simply respect a private business' (or individual's) concerns about me covering my face in their presence and make a personal choice as to how important it is to me to acquire their products or services. If I encounter someone in that business without a mask, I first consider they have a local medical exemption, and secondly consider that they may simply be resisting compliance with the order. In either case, in a public places, it has never been necessary to be within their proximity. Beats walking around pissed all the time and helps to prevent stress on immune system at a time where it is needed the most.

 

Of course it does.

 

Based on nearly everything you post, you only see anything in black and white. On and off. Hot and cold. You only see things as opposing extremes. Zero or one.

 

But that is not how nature works. NOTHING is nature is black and white.

 

We manage health and wellness, like how so much of effective interventions in this world, iteratively. Masks protect well, but not perfectly. Social distancing protects well, but not perfectly. Being outside protects well, but not perfectly. Masks worn outside at a distance from other people protect better than any of the three do independently.

 

Likewise, vaccines are not all or none. Vaccines add one more layer of protection. Indeed, as I indicated above, an individual getting vaccinated portends some protection, and the entire community being vaccinated such that herd immunity is induced portends additional protection by reducing how much virus is circulating in that community. Until there is herd immunity and low circulating virus in the wild, being vaccinated will offer some protection, and masks, distancing, etc will add to that protection.

 

This adaptive approach is often referred to in science and medicine as "the swiss cheese model". One piece of swiss cheese has holes. Two stacked pieces together will cover some of the holes. Three pieces cover even more holes. If you want to close off all the holes, you need several pieces of cheese. To be clear, this is a metaphor and not a recommendation that stacking swiss cheese per se will protect you against COVID.

 

Or as DW said:

 

You're right.

I'm wrong.

swiss cheese it is.

EDIT: Can you next explain to me how I spread a virus if I test negative for it so I'm not a carrier. I'd love to as I also live in "trumper land' and I'm one of the racists here according to rlopez. How do the people who test negative for your virus factor into this swiss cheese model? Locally we have a 10% positive rate for test results. That means of the 750,000+ people who have been tested only 75,000 are positive for it. How do the other 725,000 people impact your swiss cheese model, or are they not the focus of it?

EDIT #2: also I'd love to hear how this swiss cheese approach layer of keeping some businesses closed is helping stop the spread of COVID 19. I'm honestly mindblown (have been since March) about what businesses can and can't be open to stop the spread of COVID 19. I know you don't get to pick and choose what businesses are open. You just seem to know a lot more about the spread than me so you're kind of the only place I can go to for this information at this point. In 12-18 months from now it will be impressive to look back and see how we handled the spread compared to how it is in what is currently "the future."

 

You're ignorant.

https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/separate-but-equal.html

Good to know no one can ever use the phrase separate but equal without it absolutely being racially motivated. I'm not ignorant. I'm just not going to factor in the race of someone to what I'm saying. I'll treat my online friends separate but equal to my real life friends. It has nothing to do with the color of their skin. It has more to do with their being online and harder to contact immediately than the ones I can call. Way to keep painting me as a racist.

Next you'll tell me how male and female labels are antiquated and show I'm sexist when I'm explaining internally and externally threaded pipe fittings.

EDIT: Oh yeah don't forget about making bathrooms for different genders. Either you make one giant hole in the ground we all share, or they're separate but equal for all genders. One might be offended the woman's bathroom is larger, provides more privacy, has better lighting, is located in a more convenient area, etc. than the males bathroom. ah shit....gender labels. Uh...bathroom 1 and bathroom 2 have to be separate but equal if we have two. If we all use one it is easier. because ignorant people will call them separate but equal and that is racist.

 You might have skated with the Oreo, that could have worked on its own. 

But I'm not sure that it is fair to say that Oreos exist in nature.

 

But I'm not sure that it is fair to say that Oreos exist in nature.

Glad I'm not the only one who got a chuckle from that.

I’m pretty sure just me putting up a photo of an Oreo was a rscist move in reference to a ‘bi-racial’ person.

 

A) truest thing you’ve written

 

B) dude, if only you could.

 

plus, you botched the zebra follow up. 1st, it didn’t need a follow up. Just replying ruined it. 2nd, the bird (a random flycatcher that no one has ever seen) was a giant flub. You might have skated with the Oreo, that could have worked on its own. But, like I wrote, you just can’t edit yourself. Diarrhea of the keyboard. It’s kinda gross.