At what point would you lock down again?

[SKL]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

You did not answer my question: what "other options" were you referring to that you suggest for the high risk people?

I have no problem with you going to stores or choosing to eat in restaurants. My problem is with your statement that at-risk people have "other options". Maybe I am overlooking what those are. 

Other options?  Safer masking, vaccination, choosing a different job.  I don't know about your location, but where I live there are "help wanted" signs at just about every business.  Many of them not as public-facing as dine-in restaurant and and grocery store jobs.

I do think it's good to support businesses throughout the pandemic.  Again, the science says eating at restaurants is safe.  But again.  I'm not here to argue you about how I use our Covid budget.  Not sure why you keep keep engaging me.

(Right now I'm having some problem why eyes so I'm not sure if I'm making typing errors ....)

[cintinative]

6 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

 

Would this be helfpul? https://sojo.net/articles/bible-says-wear-mask-Christians-church-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR1ElcwFHIu0pEWNiLTZ2ZmPZlJtOhz_HstwquaMNv43bkZKOEECPn5saZo

Or this? This one is a letter discussing why he (Episcopal Bishop) is requiring masks at church - based on both making church as welcoming a place as possible even for the vulnerable and on loving one's neighbor. https://cfdiocese.org/on-requiring-face-protectors-love-of-neighbor-or-partisan-divide/

Thank you. One thing I find interesting in all of this is that concurrent with the lack of faith/trust/confidence in governmental authority has come a lack of those things with church authority. Again, another thread, but our church elders recommended masks based on discussions with local medical professionals and the growing case numbers here. Masking was still at only about 20% the second week after the announcement.  When I remarked about it to an elder he said that people don't believe masks work.  My thought is, but it is more than that--they also don't respect the elders enough to do it anyway.  Okay, enough digressing. 

[Corraleno]

48 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Requiring Masks in Schools Has a Downside - The Atlantic

This is the kind of bullshit OpEd piece that really ticks me off. This is the headline: "The Downsides of Masking Young Students Are Real: The educational cost of face coverings is far better established than the benefits of mandates." The first paragraph repeats this: "The potential educational harms of mandatory-masking policies are much more firmly established, at least at this point, than their possible benefits in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in schools."

So where is all this clear, incontrovertible data that "firmly establishes" the harms of masking in schools? This is the ONE study he cites in support of this statement: Labor market returns to an early childhood stimulation intervention in Jamaica. This study reports "substantial effects on the earnings of participants in a randomized intervention conducted in 1986-1987 that gave psychosocial stimulation to growth-stunted Jamaican toddlers. The intervention consisted of weekly visits from community health workers over a 2-year period that taught parenting skills and encouraged mothers and children to interact in ways that develop cognitive and socioemotional skills."

Oh, ok, well that totally proves that making kids wear masks in schools is far worse than kids getting sick, whole classes quarantined, teachers dying, etc.!

[Carrie12345]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

1&2, 2-3 months after kids are able to be vaccinated? Probably. That’s when my sense of responsibility to others is likely going to run out.
 

I might keep masking when surrounded by lots of strangers, but as an overall good practice I’ve come to appreciate, not specifically a Covid thing. People are gross.

[ktgrok]

8 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

1&2, 2-3 months after kids are able to be vaccinated? Probably. That’s when my sense of responsibility to others is likely going to run out.
 

I might keep masking when surrounded by lots of strangers, but as an overall good practice I’ve come to appreciate, not specifically a Covid thing. People are gross.

That last sentence made me think of this shirt. https://amzn.to/3zUD0Iz

[Dmmetler]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

No, no, yes. I did so even last summer when local numbers werepretty good, because I see it as modeling and supporting parents who wanted their unvaccinated kids to continue masking (the same reason I required masking for under 12 in my studio last summer, even though the CDC guidelines at the time indicated that it would have been safe to not mask). And now we have an indoor mask mandate again, so definitely yes. 

Once everyone can be vaccinated, if case numbers are reasonable and r <1, I'll stop masking indoors, but for now, I'm sticking with it. 

[pinball]

35 minutes ago, SKL said:

Other options?  Safer masking, vaccination, choosing a different job.  I don't know about your location, but where I live there are "help wanted" signs at just about every business.  Many of them not as public-facing as dine-in restaurant and and grocery store jobs.

I do think it's good to support businesses throughout the pandemic.  Again, the science says eating at restaurants is safe.  But again.  I'm not here to argue you about how I use our Covid budget.  Not sure why you keep keep engaging me.

(Right now I'm having some problem why eyes so I'm not sure if I'm making typing errors ....)

It is bc you are not in the Covid Circle of Trust

[freesia]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

For me the answers were different before Delta.  But here goes my shot at now?

1. Yes, if we masked and there was ventilation and at least 12 feet from anyone facing me and singing or speaking. Our church has a lounge for masking and social distanced while watching a video stream. That is another option.  I bounce around in what I do.  Up until last weekend we really needed for no one to get Covid in order to get kids off to college (including to Canada.)  We took fewer "risks." (Except dh who works at the church and uses a Happy Mask except when preaching.)

2. Not at 15%.  I did when our area was 0.5% this summer, though. We are now at around 3% and I am not eating inside.  I might if getting Covid weren't so disruptive to the whole family's lives.

I am on the side of trusting that the vaccine is providing protection that allows the risk to be close to what my family risks in general life.  If our area were surging, I would be more careful, as I am when the flu is surging.

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

Nope, nope, yes. I'm still mostly getting things delivered, but if I need to go to a store I go early in the week, try to get there before they open, and put on a HappyMask before I get out of the car. My county has one of the highest vax rates and lowest case rates in the state, but I'm almost 5 months post vaccination and I just really don't want to catch this thing.

Edited September 8, 2021 by Corraleno

[freesia]

20 minutes ago, freesia said:

For me the answers were different before Delta.  But here goes my shot at now?

1. Yes, if we masked and there was ventilation and at least 12 feet from anyone facing me and singing or speaking. Our church has a lounge for masking and social distanced while watching a video stream. That is another option.  I bounce around in what I do.  Up until last weekend we really needed for no one to get Covid in order to get kids off to college (including to Canada.)  We took fewer "risks." (Except dh who works at the church and uses a Happy Mask except when preaching.)

2. Not at 15%.  I did when our area was 0.5% this summer, though. We are now at around 3% and I am not eating inside.  I might if getting Covid weren't so disruptive to the whole family's lives.

I am on the side of trusting that the vaccine is providing protection that allows the risk to be close to what my family risks in general life.  If our area were surging, I would be more careful, as I am when the flu is surging.

I forgot #3 I did not mask in grocery stores while vaccinated in June-July.  Now I do because why not?  It's easy to do and an extra layer of protection.  As I said in the above, we were also trying to avoid Covid because of college and camps.

And since someone mentioned R0--our county rate is 0.83, so that does inform some of what I decided.  If I live right now like I am in Florida or Georgia, then if it gets like that here it will be a long long time.  People around me are generally masked and mostly vaccinated. 

[Laura Corin]

Really stressed today. Hope it's okay putting this here - it's about pandemic fatigue, I think.

I'm back at work several days each week at the university where I'm an administrator.  Everyone is masked and a very high proportion are vaccinated.  I'm feeling okay in the office.

But I seem to have reached the end of my tether anyway. The pandemic-induced administrative challenges just got on top of me today. I asked for help,  and the senior people whom I involved responded well to my reserved but pointed emails. My colleagues and husband were sympathetic. It's all fine. But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

[Eos]

10 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

I'm so sorry, that's awful.  

[Not_a_Number]

39 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

Nope, nope, yes. I'm still mostly getting things delivered, but if I need to go to a store I go early in the week, try to get there before they open, and put on a HappyMask before I get out of the car. My county has one of the highest vax rates and lowest case rates in the state, but I'm almost 5 months post vaccination and I just really don't want to catch this thing.

I think I'm going to be OK catching it after the kids are vaxxed and I get my booster. At that point, I figure it's the best I'm going to do, lol. It's not like I'm going to manage to avoid it my whole life. But it'll seem like we've optimized as best we could.

[mommyoffive]

3 state troopers in Vermont resign after allegedly making fake Covid vaccination cards (msn.com)

 

Mu COVID Variant Outbreak in Florida as Hundreds of Cases Detected (msn.com)

 

Ignore the grouchy Fauci: Vaccinated Americans are living their lives again (msn.com)

 

COVID, vaccine misinformation spread by hundreds of websites, analysis finds (msn.com)

 

 

[Harriet Vane]

22 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Really stressed today. Hope it's okay putting this here - it's about pandemic fatigue, I think.

I'm back at work several days each week at the university where I'm an administrator.  Everyone is masked and a very high proportion are vaccinated.  I'm feeling okay in the office.

But I seem to have reached the end of my tether anyway. The pandemic-induced administrative challenges just got on top of me today. I asked for help,  and the senior people whom I involved responded well to my reserved but pointed emails. My colleagues and husband were sympathetic. It's all fine. But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

So sorry for the stress. Pandemic fatigue is real. I've been feeling it, too. I've known all along that it will take 2-3 years start to finish for all to settle, but I'm still worn out. I hope you get some deep, restful sleep soon.

[ktgrok]

1. I would not attend a church that is unmasked at this time - because even if my kids were old enough to vaccinate, not everyone can be and it is irresponsible to have group gatherings that are mixed vaccination status with no masks. I'd leave such a church, and in fact, did leave one. Just canceled my giving, and start a new, more cautious church, this Sunday. 

Now..if you mean after everyone who wants to be can be vaccinated, and 3rd doses are available, then yes. But not until even infants can be vaccinated, and the elderly have a 3rd dose if they want one. I'm not concerned with getting Covid at that point. 

2. We have not eaten indoors at a restaurant since Covid started, and only outdoors once. Once my kids are fully vaccinated, and I've had a booster, I will again. We don't eat out much anyway, since DS has celiac and I don't trust anywhere to make his food, but in theory, yeah we'd seek out some gluten free restaurants. 

3. Once everyone can be vaccinated, and elderly can be boostered, AND hospitalizations are low in my area, I'll be happy to take off my mask in stores, salons, etc. At this point, that's a pipe dream in my area, but I can look forward to it!

[Not_a_Number]

20 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Ignore the grouchy Fauci: Vaccinated Americans are living their lives again (msn.com)

 

Sigh. And this is how most people are going to get their natural immunity very soon 😛 . Between pandemic fatigue and the reluctance to approve boosters and the transmissible Delta variant, we're about to have everyone get infected. Everyone buckle up... it's going to be a rough ride. 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Not_a_Number

[rebcoola]

1. Yes with very good masks (though if there was a equivalent church with better masking I would change)

2. No, but there is no real benefit to eating in a restaurant vs. a patio or getting takeaway.

3. Masks in stores is easy so easy I might never take mine off

[wathe]

4 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

1. No.  If everyone were masked, maybe. 

2. Hard no.

3. Yes.  It's still mandated here, but I would still mask even if it weren't.  Especially if it weren't.

 

[historically accurate]

5 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

My whole family is vaxxed. 

1) No. Kids only did a few youth things in the lull before Delta; they are not returning for the fall. DH took one kid to church on a Sunday a couple months ago and found out they cancelled the viewing in the overflow chapel, so they didn't stay. I refused to go - we had a mask mandate for months, but they didn't follow it which I feel is wrong so I will not return. They feel so strongly in "in-person fellowship" (*cough* let 'er rip *cough*) that they have closed the overflow chapel (everyone sits in the main auditorium now) and stopped livestreaming. Even if I didn't feel like this, I don't feel comfortable singing and shaking hands and being so close together for that long.

2) No. 15% is not a good positivity. I might at 3% or less, but I doubt it. I ate on a patio when I took Oldest to college, and it was the first time since March 2020 we'd done restaurant food other than drivethrough or pizza delivery. I do eat inside once a month with my co-workers at our monthly staff meeting, but I don't really have a choice to attend (I chose not to eat during this last one because numbers are increasing a lot lately here).

3) Yes, we still mask. Governor just passed a mask mandate again, so I don't have a choice here either. I haven't really decided when I'll unmask. I did do about 2 unmasked errands before Delta hit.

Edited September 8, 2021 by historically accurate

[mommyoffive]

Florida judge rules against DeSantis again, allows schools to require masks (msn.com)

[Spryte]

1. No.

2. No. We did over the summer once, when positivity was very low. 2% maybe? It was under 3%. Knowing what we know now, we would not do it again. (Namely, that we can still be carriers with the vaccination, etc, we don’t want to catch or pass it on.)

3. We have groceries delivered, but if we have to go indoors in any public setting - we mask. It’s such a simple thing to do, easy peasy.

[SeaConquest]

5 hours ago, TCB said:

My whole family is vaxed but we are not doing those things. I honestly don’t know what the positivity is around here, because I haven’t looked, and because a lot of people here don’t bother testing unless they get really sick, so I don’t think any numbers are very meaningful. I  react based on the fact that at least 1/2 the available ICU beds, and often more, at my hospital are Covid patients and have been for several months. I have never known such a large proportion of ICU beds to be taken up by 1 diagnosis before.
I did listen to a podcast with ZDoggMd and Monica Gandhi where they mentioned several recent studies showing that vaccinated people appeared to be a lot less likely to spread Covid while infected, so that seems encouraging.

 

ETA. My girls and I are masking inside, my husband does some, but not everywhere. Fortunately he had the Moderna vax so I’m hoping he just isn’t going to get infected, and so can’t spread anything.

I’ve kind of given up doing much more than what I think is the right thing and being a good example rather than being vocal unless asked. I feel like I’m hanging by a thread and just surviving. The toll from looking after people and getting to know them, and helping them fight it, and then seeing them almost inevitably lose the battle and die is just almost too much to bear anymore. If people who think it’s exaggerated want my job I’ll happily step aside and let them have it.

TCB, you are such a shero. I know only a small percentage of what it feels like to experience what you have been doing for the past 18 months+, and your strength through all of this is incredible. I am interviewing for two ICU positions in the next week and a part of me is completely afraid, knowing the nightmare that I am about to walk into. You have been carrying such a heavy load for so long, and I am so sorry that so many fail to understand the depth of what has been happening. That's part of why I've been screaming about it from the top of my lungs to anyone who will listen. I couldn't help as a student, but at least I could do that. Now, I am suited up and ready to learn and help in any way that I can. You have so earned a reprieve. Thank you again. You have my utmost respect and gratitude for your service to this country. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

Well, crap - DS8 is positive. Still totally asymptomatic, so no idea if it’s a new development or not. 

DH is vaccinated & positive. DS is unvaccinated & positive. I am vaccinated & negative. We’ve been quarantining for 10 days already, with DH isolated in a bedroom - but I’ve been caring for DS largely unmasked. Now we have at least another 10 days on our clock.

Is it worth having me isolate in a guest bedroom to try to avoid catching it or do we say forget it at this point & live as normally as possible (masked, quarantined, but together)? 

Edited September 8, 2021 by Shoes+Ships+SealingWax

[Corraleno]

17 minutes ago, Shoes+Ships+SealingWax said:

Well, crap - DS8 is positive. Still totally asymptomatic, so no idea if it’s a new development or not. 

DH is vaccinated & positive. DS is unvaccinated & positive. I am vaccinated & negative. We’ve been quarantining for 10 days already, with DH isolated in a bedroom - but I’ve been caring for DS largely unmasked. Now we have at least another 10 days on our clock.

Is it worth having me isolate in a guest bedroom to try to avoid catching it or do we say forget it at this point & live as normally as possible (masked, quarantined, but together)? 

Since you had symptoms and DS is now positive despite your DH isolating, I think it's likely that you had a very mild case and a false negative test, so I wouldn't bother isolating yourself in the guest bedroom (unless you want an excuse for some alone time!)

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

4 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

I think it's likely that you had a very mild case and a false negative test

Twice, with tests a week apart? I mean, I suppose anything is possible but those have to be pretty astronomical odds. 

Nonetheless, I think we’ve come to the same conclusion. We’ll all mask, I’ll continue to sleep separately, & we’ll switch to me eating separately while DH eats with DS (as opposed to vise-versa) but otherwise we’re going to be together at this point. 

[mommyoffive]

COVID-19 concerns do not justify the invasion of health privacy (msn.com)

 

WHO doubles down on delta, calling it the ‘most concerning’ variant (msn.com)

 

Risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 is higher for seniors and those with underlying conditions -- but the unvaccinated still face much higher risks (msn.com)

 

College football season has met the delta variant. Here’s what we know. (msn.com)

[SeaConquest]

30 minutes ago, Shoes+Ships+SealingWax said:

Twice, with tests a week apart? I mean, I suppose anything is possible but those have to be pretty astronomical odds. 

Nonetheless, I think we’ve come to the same conclusion. We’ll all mask, I’ll continue to sleep separately, & we’ll switch to me eating separately while DH eats with DS (as opposed to vise-versa) but otherwise we’re going to be together at this point. 

That's a tough situation. I am so sorry. I guess it would depend on how long ago I was vaxed (further away = greater chance of waning immunity), with what vaccine (Moderna probably stronger at this point because of higher dose and longer spacing), my age, and overall health (underlying health conditions that would make me more susceptible to a worse outcome if Covid +). Hugs to you, mama. Remember that there is also an incubation period, so I would keep testing if those positives are new.

[mommyoffive]

BinaxNow Covid tests are marked down on Walmart's site for 19.98 for 2. 

Sam's Club has them 2 for $14

Edited September 8, 2021 by mommyoffive

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

4 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

I guess it would depend on how long ago I was vaxed (further away = greater chance of waning immunity), with what vaccine (Moderna probably stronger at this point because of higher dose and longer spacing), my age, and overall health (underlying health conditions that would make me more susceptible to a worse outcome if Covid +).

I wasn’t able to get the vaccine until May / June & did get Moderna. The only health factor I have is my weight.

We will definitely keep testing as DH needs a negative to return to work & DS needs one to return to sports so I may as well test right along with them. 

[SeaConquest]

Just now, Shoes+Ships+SealingWax said:

I wasn’t able to get the vaccine until May / June & did get Moderna. The only health factor I have is my weight.

We will definitely keep testing as DH needs a negative to return to work & DS needs one to return to sports so I may as well test right along with them. 

Well, that's pretty recently, and with Moderna, so that's two good things in your favor. Most of the people that I know who have had breakthrough infections received Pfizer (lower dose, shorter spacing between doses) and were vaccinated earlier. 

[TCB]

2 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

TCB, you are such a shero. I know only a small percentage of what it feels like to experience what you have been doing for the past 18 months+, and your strength through all of this is incredible. I am interviewing for two ICU positions in the next week and a part of me is completely afraid, knowing the nightmare that I am about to walk into. You have been carrying such a heavy load for so long, and I am so sorry that so many fail to understand the depth of what has been happening. That's part of why I've been screaming about it from the top of my lungs to anyone who will listen. I couldn't help as a student, but at least I could do that. Now, I am suited up and ready to learn and help in any way that I can. You have so earned a reprieve. Thank you again. You have my utmost respect and gratitude for your service to this country. 

Thank you so much for your kindness! I’m so thankful people like you are coming to help. Working through these dreadful times really results in strong bonds with the people we work with. It is one bright thing to see how well we can work together and support each other. I don’t think I will ever forget the people I’ve been working with through this.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

16 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

Well, that's pretty recently, and with Moderna, so that's two good things in your favor. Most of the people that I know who have had breakthrough infections received Pfizer (lower dose, shorter spacing between doses) and were vaccinated earlier. 

Yeah, DH had the single-dose J&J in March so it’s been quite a bit longer for him. 

[mommyoffive]

[Acadie]

7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Really stressed today. Hope it's okay putting this here - it's about pandemic fatigue, I think.

I'm back at work several days each week at the university where I'm an administrator.  Everyone is masked and a very high proportion are vaccinated.  I'm feeling okay in the office.

But I seem to have reached the end of my tether anyway. The pandemic-induced administrative challenges just got on top of me today. I asked for help,  and the senior people whom I involved responded well to my reserved but pointed emails. My colleagues and husband were sympathetic. It's all fine. But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

I'm so sorry, Laura.

It's tough to be a human being who cares emotionally and/or professionally for other people right now, tough to be in a public-facing job, tough to witness the state of the world, and tough to make decisions about our own health and that of our families and communities.

It all adds up and it's no wonder you're stressed and at the end of your tether (a phrase I love that you've introduced me to--I say the end of my rope!) 

I'm guessing we'll all take turns reaching our limits in the next several months. Take whatever break you can to take care of yourself, allow others to spell you, and may the courage and strength you bring to the Hive come back to you whenever you need it 💜

Edited September 9, 2021 by Acadie

[mommyoffive]

This is a bit profane, but sorry I liked it

Officials: Health care rationing could spread across Idaho (ksltv.com)

 

'America's Frontline Doctors' Peddle Bogus COVID-19 Treatment | Time

 

[ktgrok]

I'm dying laughing at the McSweeny thing. I needed some levity. 

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

I'm dying laughing at the McSweeny thing. I needed some levity. 

Yep me too!

[Martha in GA]

1 hour ago, Shoes+Ships+SealingWax said:

Twice, with tests a week apart? I mean, I suppose anything is possible but those have to be pretty astronomical odds. 

I have friends (husband/wife) who were exposed to COVID and both tested negative even though they were both having symptoms (I can't remember if it was 3 or 5 days post exposure). Then, 5 days later, they both retested. The husband again tested negative, but the wife tested positive and soon thereafter ended up in the hospital. I don't think the test is particularly accurate.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

11 minutes ago, Martha in GA said:

I have friends (husband/wife) who were exposed to COVID and both tested negative even though they were both having symptoms (I can't remember if it was 3 or 5 days post exposure). Then, 5 days later, they both retested. The husband again tested negative, but the wife tested positive and soon thereafter ended up in the hospital. I don't think the test is particularly accurate.

Crazy. We all have more tests scheduled for this weekend. Yippee… 🙄

[cintinative]

13 minutes ago, Martha in GA said:

I have friends (husband/wife) who were exposed to COVID and both tested negative even though they were both having symptoms (I can't remember if it was 3 or 5 days post exposure). Then, 5 days later, they both retested. The husband again tested negative, but the wife tested positive and soon thereafter ended up in the hospital. I don't think the test is particularly accurate.

Do you happen to know if it was a rapid test or a PCR?

[Spryte]

Just now, cintinative said:

Do you happen to know if it was a rapid test or a PCR?

Glad you asked. I am wondering the same. 
 

 

 

[Spryte]

Thank you for posting the McSweeney’s. Still laughing. Exactly what I needed, too.

Edited September 9, 2021 by Spryte
Correcting the autocorrect fail

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

7 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Do you happen to know if it was a rapid test or a PCR?

All of ours have been PCRs with the exception of DS’ test today.

[Ausmumof3]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Really stressed today. Hope it's okay putting this here - it's about pandemic fatigue, I think.

I'm back at work several days each week at the university where I'm an administrator.  Everyone is masked and a very high proportion are vaccinated.  I'm feeling okay in the office.

But I seem to have reached the end of my tether anyway. The pandemic-induced administrative challenges just got on top of me today. I asked for help,  and the senior people whom I involved responded well to my reserved but pointed emails. My colleagues and husband were sympathetic. It's all fine. But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

I’m sorry and yes, I think pandemic worries distinctly amplify everything.  We have this roller coaster of good and bad times here with local transmission and my ability to handle normal stressors when the pandemic stress ramps up is definitely different to when the background pandemic stuff is calm.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

I'm dying laughing at the McSweeny thing. I needed some levity. 

I can't access it, but they have another article about scurvy being a hoax that's funny.

[regentrude]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Really stressed today. Hope it's okay putting this here - it's about pandemic fatigue, I think.

I'm back at work several days each week at the university where I'm an administrator.  Everyone is masked and a very high proportion are vaccinated.  I'm feeling okay in the office.

But I seem to have reached the end of my tether anyway. The pandemic-induced administrative challenges just got on top of me today. I asked for help,  and the senior people whom I involved responded well to my reserved but pointed emails. My colleagues and husband were sympathetic. It's all fine. But I've not been sleeping and I'm really stressed.

Hugs, Laura. It's the cumulative stress and anxiety of a year and a half.
I am having a rough time these days, too - actually, ever since the beginning of the semester. At least the feeling of being utterly terrified of going into the packed rooms has vanished... or maybe one just gets used to everything.

[Terabith]

In general:  

1) No

2) No

3) Yes.

Caveats to number 2:  In June, we took a trip to visit family and colleges, and we did eat inside restaurants.  And actually, we did tonight because we got there, the patio was packed like sardines and the huge restaurant inside had only one couple in it.  

[cintinative]

I was just watching a Holderness family video "Actually, I'm not fine" and someone said she was like the wife (of Holderness family)--she was an "anxiety squirrel" too. I love that word picture.

[Pam in CT]

10 hours ago, cintinative said:

So, maybe this has been discussed, but in light of the more recent comments (and because this thread is now 64 pages--gah!), question:

1. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you be comfortable going into a worship setting of 200 plus people where only 20% were masked?

2. If your whole family was vaxxed, would you eat inside at a restaurant if the local positivity was around 15%?

3.  If your whole family was vaxxed, would you still mask in public settings like the grocery? What would inform that decision? Would it be based on local case numbers or hospitalizations?  

 

Whole family, and our octogenarians and extended family above 12 yo, all vaxxed. 

1. No.  We're in the midst of High Holy Day season.  The synagogue has a mask policy and compliance is 100%; every congregant I know personally (I'm on the board, and very active) is vaccinated; we spaced the seats; we threw open the doors on all sides; the clergy both took PCR tests the day prior to RH... and still I was twitchy, and spent a lot of time in the foyer "ushering" rather than in the main sanctuary.  If it were only 20% masked... no way.

2. No. We were eating inside in restaurants during a brief window after vaccination and before Delta, when I briefly felt like Wonder Woman as I briefly believed the light was at the end of the tunnel in the US at least. But now with Delta we're back to outside-only, and as the weather turns on us we'll go back to takeout and delivery. Sigh.  And our positivity is only ~3%; 15% is HIGH.

3.  Sure.  Masking is... just not a terribly big deal IMO.  You find a type that fits well, you put it on when you're around others.  I remain baffled why it's so freaking controversial.