The Covid Pandemic

[Stinky The Clown]

Watching the teevee nooz at 6.00 there were the lazy, repetitious, unimaginative stories about Black Friday shopping at brick and mortar retailers.

Huzzah! Huzzah!

Shoppers are back!!

Spending lots!

Happy people! Not a mask in sight.

Crowded stores! Happy Happy Retailers!!!

Crowds very close to pre-pandemic levels.

The pandemic is OO VV EE RR !!



But is it?


What do you think?

[PlutosHeart]

1. Not over.

I think something is wrong. Burnout? Yet people keep posting they have covid and covid again and "I am really sic with covid" and no talk of what this can actually do to people.

Someday soon I fear we will be seeing how this will devastate our health care system even more. Long term multitudes of covid effects physically or mentally.

I mask all of the time in public. I do not care that where I live I am pretty much the only one.

[Skittles]

3. yup

and those people getting it are the same people spreading it

[Ms. Toad]

8. Ditto.

I went to a family funeral today - in a family in which perhaps half of the people are at high risk for a severe COVID infection. I was one of two people masked (out of around 150 people).

I am nearly always the only one masked - in classes the only other people wearing masks are the ones who are within the post-COVID masking period (both instructors and two fellow students). In the musical production I'm taking part in, one other one has masked - when she had an active infection of some sort. Pretty sure she never tested for COVID, and another cast member is out with about the timing to have caught it from her. Since the first performance is a week from tomorrow, I'll be surprised if we don't have cast members out (since the second cast member was not feeling well and umasked the day before he stayed home due to a scratchy throat).

[Skittles]

2. so many stupid, selfish assholes

fuck the lot of them

[Ms. Toad]

4. The pandemic is not over. When it is over is a matter of science, not belief.

No matter how people act, the pandemic is still raging. Within the United States, more than 75% of communities are at substantial or high community transmission levels, even with the very minimal testing anyone is currently doing. Acting as if it is over and done with will only prolong it.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. I've tried to find those stats

Do you happen to hav a link?

My agency posts weekly local transmission levels for all localities where we have a facility, and for the last two months only one location has been medium, the rest have been low. But I can’t find it for the US at large .

[Ms. Toad]

9. Here you go.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk

[SickOfTheOnePct]

10. Thanks! N/t

[Just A Box Of Rain]

5. Not over.

[SheltieLover]

6. It's not over. Long-term effects on many are devastating.

I have only gone out to the grocery store sincd Feb. 2020 in 3M N-95 niosh, well fitted masks.

No plans to change my behavior anytime soon, despite what the idiot CDC reccommends or what other people choose to do.

I am always the only person in a mask.

Denying reality does't make one's delusions come true.

[LuckyCharms]

11. It's not over. And while I'm not a hermit, I do avoid indoor gatherings

that are not essential.

If I'm anywhere indoors, or even in a very densely packed outdoor situation, my N95 is on and fitted properly.

I miss going to concerts. However, I view them as being non-essential, so I don't go.

I like to go to Mass once in a blue moon, but I don't. Non-essential.

I'll go grocery shopping. I'll go to health appointments. I won't ride in a car with most of my friends because the majority of them are Covidiots. They're not republicans, they just have given up on masking, and vaxxing. And to be honest, some of them are either kind of stupid, or massively ill-informed.

[2naSalit]

12. So...

We're just winding up year three of a five+ year event. The result of a cultivated culture of short attention spans, curated by those with evil intent.

[BSdetect]

13. Ask the Chinese about it being over? We are fugged.

[sarcasmo]

14. China knows Covid is still going strong. Here in the U.S. the sheep flock.

[OhioChick]

15. Not at all over. n/t

[BannonsLiver]

16. All the stars are out tonight

[beaglelover]

44. LOL! I love your humor!

[Kennah]

17. 3 years ago, COVID was in China and we thought, "naw, we're good"

[barbtries]

18. Covid is endemic.

we'll see what the winter brings.

for myself, i'm still behaving for the most part as i did during the worst of it. I wear a mask in public and limit going out severely. i get my groceries delivered. i'm vaxxed to the max and ready to get the next jab at first recommendation.

it's a bad SICK season. Covid, flu, RSV - I haven't had a URI since 2019 and hoping it just stays that way. I can't bring myself to say the pandemic is over, but behavior far and wide has left it in the dust. I think this winter will tell.

What do you think?

[Stinky The Clown]

20. My answer is based on the practical . . . . . . .

. . . . . . so I will start by saying I do pretty much what you do. I mask when I'm in the grocery store. i am not acting like a hermit but neither am I careless. I have some issues that would make Covid potentially worse for me. So I exercise caution.

At this point it all seems kinda "normal". When we got our bivalent boosters we unmasked for a few days after the vax and its proper wait time. It didn't feel right.

And so we mask.




Is the pandemic over? I guess that depends on who's asking. Has it become endemic as scientists seem to say? I guess.

But as a practical matter, it's still here.

[barbtries]

29. yep. it's not going away.

i can hardly believe that my 2 sons, my DIL and I have not had it. only caveat to that is that the last time i got sick was in OCT2019, in CA. I got really sick too. but never will know if it was covid or not.

I am also of an age and with comordities that could make covid fatal for me.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

58. What you got against hermits? Us hermits ain't the ones spreadin' covid.

[Stinky The Clown]

59. Nor are we clowns

" o/~ I wish you seltzer from the storm . . . . . o/~ "

[Prairie_Seagull]

38. While not exactly in "lock down" we are still fallowing

procedures that commit to the idea there is much still to learn about covid. There are studies coming out that indicate that serious side effects of ever having had covid are possible. It may be that I suffered side effect/s of having had it a quite while back. There is much still to learn and we are not willing to "toss in the towel" yet on treating covid as dangerous illness.

I advise staying very aware of studies from here and abroad and respond accordingly.

Protect everyone, especially those that care about us.

Please stay safe.

[Greybnk48]

19. I've had 2 shots and 3 boosters, and I had COVID a week ago.

I had the omicron booster too. I was just finishing with my second illness since October, bronchitis and a sinus infection, and started feeling sick again. I had just finished a round of amoxicillin that didn't seem to do anything other than give me a yeast infection. I noticed a had a bit of a fever and so I tested and it was positive.

I was really shocked because we still mask, although I have been one or two places without one (stupid).

But it did not last long thankfully. Just 6 or 7 days. I will say I had the worst cough I've ever had with a lot of congestion. Just gobbled mucinex and used my albuterol.

I think people are in total denial and we're going to act accordingly. We're back to defensive precautions, mostly hand washing and masking everywhere.

[samplegirl]

21. I feel the same way.

Winter will be bad.

[secondwind]

22. NOT over! Ugh

[Tomconroy]

23. Dr. Jha on dying from covid:

Link to tweet

You may get covid but if you do what you're supposed to you won't die from it. The pandemic is over. Dying from it is essentially a matter of choice.

[mnhtnbb]

24. It is not dying from COVID that causes anxiety

for me, but having it turn into long COVID with serious long term, chronic health effects.

So I continue to mask anytime I go inside. I limit where I go and when. I did go to a ballet performance before Halloween. Masks were encouraged, but the audience might have been less than 10% masked. Turned out ok. I went to a movie last week. Only seven people in a theater of about 100 seats and half of us masked. I have no plans to fly anywhere until the end of February. I will mask.

I live about a mile from a major mall in the region. People are back shopping in person. I still don't go. I was in that mall once, a year ago, to get new batteries in my watches. Masked.

I go grocery shopping and always mask. I go to the hardware store and mask. I go to the library and mask.I do occasionally eat out at a restaurant, but never one that is crowded or has tables right next to others.

My hair stylist is closing the salon he's owned for many years and is going to a situation where he rents a solo cubicle. I will continue to let him cut my hair every six weeks, unmasked.

COVID is endemic. It's going to be with us a long time. I have changed my life because of it and will adapt to living with it in order to avoid getting it for as long as possible.

[Tomconroy]

25. We all have different perceptions of risk. My life is back to normal.

and has been for a while. Although I tend to avoid crowds by nature. You should do what you feel comfortable with. I wish you well.
Long covid remains a subject that not much is known about. Many of the studies that have been done are the definition of junk science.
If you want accurate information about long covid consult the dedicated cdc web page about it. Not du, which suffers from selection bias, publishing only what a handful of people choose to publicize in order to frighten people.

[mnhtnbb]

26. I have a Master's degree in public health

so I am comfortable with accessing accurate information. I also have three factors which put me at higher risk of complications should I catch Covid.

This country runs on love of money. It's what we worship and protect as much as possible. There are serious incentives for the economy first crowd to minimize the risks of COVID in order to encourage the least amount of damage to their bottom lines from altered economic behaviors of individuals. Community protection is not their priority.

So, my bottom line is to find a balance in enjoying the rest of my life--l'm 71--while doing what I can to reduce my chances of catching Covid or spreading it, should I get it and not know it, until we do know more about long COVID.

[Tomconroy]

28. Most people value a flourishing economy. It's rather important.

One thing that has become obvious to me during covid: Scientists have little ability to draw proper inferences from s given set of data.

[mnhtnbb]

31. Belittle science --and scientists--if you wish

but I'll stick with the inconvenient truth about disease and what we know about managing the effects of a new disease until we know more about its long term consequences.

I will not be intimidated by the pressure to abandon good public health practices before we have a better handle on the risks of long COVID. And the only way we will know is to get the data over time.

[Tomconroy]

32. The CDC collects data and the figures are on its website.

[DET]

56. So?

I have no faith whatsoever in the CDC. I lost it in the 1980s when they completely botched the investigation of the Incline Village outbreak of what came to be known (unfortunately) as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, leading to the dismissal of hundreds of thousands of people (mostly women) who have suffered for decades from this illness. Contrary to the CDC findings, CFS is not an imaginary disorder of hysterical middle aged women, nor is long Covid - which closely resembles CFS.

You might say ‘Well, that was then, this is now’. Now is Covid. The CDC has not covered itself in glory during the handling of the pandemic. Please read Michael Lewis’ recent outstanding book ‘The Premonition’ for insight on the cowardly behavior of the CDC in times of crisis. Anyone who has worked with the Federal Government won’t be overly surprised. Anyone who has not will be horrified.

[Tomconroy]

57. You sound like trump.

[davsand]

48. A flourishing economy doesn't mean much to anybody on a ventilator.

Yeah, I'm gonna keep on masking because my docs tell me I need to. I'm immune compromised. I am well aware that the economy and personal preference carry way more significance to some people than my survival, and trying to pass that off by using a slam against science seems pretty intellectually disingenuous.






Laura

[Tomconroy]

49. Many of the early long covid studies had no control groups

And defined long covid as a condition that lasted longer than two months with a single symptom like a body ache. And so people here ran around claiming 50% of those who got covid.would get long covid.
Not science or DUs finest hour.

[Skittles]

53. excellent post

[SickOfTheOnePct]

27. Same

I’m living pretty much the same life as I did pre-pandemic.

Everyone needs to do what they feel most comfortable with.

[haele]

42. Good for you. You don't live with someone suffering from Long Covid.

It's a chance you take- but remember this. Every time you get Covid, you run a 5% chance of getting a debilitating long-term health issue.
I can't risk it, if I get any sort of Long COVID, I'll be unable to work and certainly will be unable to care for my husband or the grandchildren we are raising.
Most people recover just fine. But there's maybe a couple million who won't or haven't.

Haele

[Tomconroy]

43. Cdc figures differ. Considerably.

[Skittles]

51. thank you

the selfishness is sickening - people who risk getting covid are the same ones spreading it :

[Zeitghost]

54. That is not quite how the math works out

You do have an increased chance (>0) of long COVID with subsequent infections. But the chances of getting long COVID are drastically reduced if you did not develop it on your initial infection. That is to say the risk of long COVID is not the same for subsequent infections as it is from initial infections.

[forthemiddle]

45. Not to diminish your post

Or to discourage vaccination, but last week it was reported that the majority of deaths from Covid are now among the vaccinated.
I am unsure of what this tweet is trying to say.

[Tomconroy]

47. Most deaths now are among the elderly who are not current on boosters or who

Aren't prescribed paxlovid when covid is diagnosed. What Dr. Jha is saying is quite clear.

[Meowmee]

30. No not over

This country is full of f idiots. Not just the anti vaxers. We continue to mask n95 everywhere and sd. No indoor gatherings unmasked ever for me. No one can be trusted. I will do everything possible to not ever get covid again and to not contribute to prolonging this nightmare, infecting others and starting more variants.

Yes you can still die even if treated and fully vaxed etc. especially if you are high risk. Good luck getting that treatment too if you do get infected. No one here or anywhere else will care, you are simply a statistic. So I continue to fully protect myself. You murdered my father but you're not going to murder me or my family if I can help it.

You can also have longterm effects like I do.

I hope the new vaccine or another will in time fully treat and prevent against all present and future strains and put a stop to this never ending nightmare.

[Trenzalore]

33. It will never be over

The virus will continue to mutate. It is just part of life now and probably will be for the rest of my lifetime.

[Zeitghost]

40. You're half right

The pandemic is over, but COVIDc is not going away, it is now endemic in our society.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

36. Covid is endemic

Much like the flu and common cold. It's never going away. It will keep on mutating. They will likely have to keep creating new boosters yearly to keep up with the mutations.

[Shrek]

37. It no longer affects my daily life in any material way

Which is what I really care about. Whether or not we call it “over” doesn’t matter to me.

[beaglelover]

46. Same with me.

[Skittles]

52. because it is all about you

alrighty then

[orleans]

39. i was horrified to see the news yesterday

saying shopping malls had reached capacity SEVERAL TIMES and weren't letting people in until some of the people cleared out. several times!!

i've never heard of that happening before

and the nightmare of the parking lots, traffic jams, etc

and the reporters inside the mall showing people & interviewing people. and out of all the people that were shown i saw TWO in the background wearing a mask

[Samrob]

41. Nope. But problems go away when you don't talk about them. Right? nt

[Autumn]

50. Not even close to being over but it sure is being ignored. nt

[Dysfunctional]

55. VA, I had my 5 shot this week and was told I should expect the next one in 6 months.

And 6 months after that and 6 months after that etc.