Coronavirus prep
Replies
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SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Restaurant food prices have increased dramatically. I’m sure that is due to a combination of reasons including increased transportation costs due to increased fuel prices, increased price of good, and increased wages.
My brother is a chef and he told me that while wages have increased, the menu price increases are almost ALL because of the food cost. Food cost is up because of the increased transportation costs and supply issues. Many restaurants are changing and shrinking their menus to accommodate ingredients they can consistently get at a price that has the least impact on their profit margin.
The restaurant business is tough. Even successful restaurants in the best of times have very narrow profit margins. I once complained to my brother about the cost of certain restaurant items...like a glass of wine or a baked potato. "Why do they charge $6.00 for a baked potato that cost them 10 cents?" He responded, "Because they lost money on the $40 steak you ordered and they have to make it up somehow."
My husband is a restaurant manager and he co-signs this although increased wages play a role too. He does not control salaries though. The regional managers do. Here in California the minimum wage was recently increased and even before that, many entry level restaurant positions were hiring at $18 an hour. They are still having a hard time hiring good employees. Interestingly the long term employees wages have not increased. It does not make sense to hire entry level people for that amount but not raise wages of those who have been there and are experienced. It is frustrating.
I'm sure the long term people are going somewhere else.0 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Restaurant food prices have increased dramatically. I’m sure that is due to a combination of reasons including increased transportation costs due to increased fuel prices, increased price of good, and increased wages.
My brother is a chef and he told me that while wages have increased, the menu price increases are almost ALL because of the food cost. Food cost is up because of the increased transportation costs and supply issues. Many restaurants are changing and shrinking their menus to accommodate ingredients they can consistently get at a price that has the least impact on their profit margin.
The restaurant business is tough. Even successful restaurants in the best of times have very narrow profit margins. I once complained to my brother about the cost of certain restaurant items...like a glass of wine or a baked potato. "Why do they charge $6.00 for a baked potato that cost them 10 cents?" He responded, "Because they lost money on the $40 steak you ordered and they have to make it up somehow."
My husband is a restaurant manager and he co-signs this although increased wages play a role too. He does not control salaries though. The regional managers do. Here in California the minimum wage was recently increased and even before that, many entry level restaurant positions were hiring at $18 an hour. They are still having a hard time hiring good employees. Interestingly the long term employees wages have not increased. It does not make sense to hire entry level people for that amount but not raise wages of those who have been there and are experienced. It is frustrating.
I'm sure the long term people are going somewhere else.
That's what I was told as well.
Sad though, isn't it? Loyalty and experience count for very little these days.
Unfortunately, many people are trapped where they are for whatever personal reasons, watching new employees get higher wages.0 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I'm totally fine with that
Some of my masks are darned cute, and lord only knows I wear enough other stuff for purely decorative purposes.
First and foremost I rely on my vaccinations to keep me safe, perhaps not from contracting the virus itself but at least from serious consequences. Secondly, I rely on distance from potentially germy people.8 -
paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.3 -
NTheoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Not all doctors are infectious disease specialists, either. Clearly, N95 or equivalent is best, and us civilians (who don't have expert fit tests for our chosen N95s) aren't even usually getting the best out of those.
Still, I'm skeptical when anyone says risk level is binary, on or off. It's about percentages, inevitably, and there are a bunch of variables.
Generally, I'm going with the N95s as my best bet, fitting them as best I'm able. In materially less risky situations, I might think of a cloth or paper mask as better than nothing, perhaps even adequate to the risk level of the situation. Mask matters, ventilation matters, proximity to others matters, knowing how risky are the lives of those in proximity to us matters, length of exposure to a other individuals matters, incidence of Covid in the community matters (in a statistical sense), and more.
There's a continuum of risk. None of us are getting to zero, unless we're sealed in a clean chamber 24x7.15 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
But there are also experienced infectious disease specialists who agree with Anne's point about a continuum of risk. And the studies theyve been doing since the pandemic show that while your percentage chance of getting infected is smallest with a well-fitted N95, other masks do afford at least some improvement.
Don't get me wrong, if I was working in a hospital with covid patients I'd be in an N95, I just think his all or nothing opinion is not typical of medical pros who work with and study respiratory infections.
My mom is 76 and takes an RA med that may limit the effectiveness of the vaccine. She got what seemed like a bad cold so she called her doctor (he's my doctor too) and he told her it was probably covid so don't bother testing, she should isolate and treat the cold symptoms with otc meds. No monoclonals or antivirals mentioned. This goes against everything I've read and my mom is high risk. I was livid, but she wanted to believe it was nothing and now she had a doctor telling her what she wanted to hear. He was wrong and I have no idea why he didn't know she needed treatment before she got really sick if it was covid. I was finally able to convince her to at least take a home test and she got three negatives and it ran it's course like a cold and she's fine now, thank goodness. But I'm looking for another doctor.16 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
But there are also experienced infectious disease specialists who agree with Anne's point about a continuum of risk. And the studies theyve been doing since the pandemic show that while your percentage chance of getting infected is smallest with a well-fitted N95, other masks do afford at least some improvement.
Don't get me wrong, if I was working in a hospital with covid patients I'd be in an N95, I just think his all or nothing opinion is not typical of medical pros who work with and study respiratory infections.
My mom is 76 and takes an RA med that may limit the effectiveness of the vaccine. She got what seemed like a bad cold so she called her doctor (he's my doctor too) and he told her it was probably covid so don't bother testing, she should isolate and treat the cold symptoms with otc meds. No monoclonals or antivirals mentioned. This goes against everything I've read and my mom is high risk. I was livid, but she wanted to believe it was nothing and now she had a doctor telling her what she wanted to hear. He was wrong and I have no idea why he didn't know she needed treatment before she got really sick if it was covid. I was finally able to convince her to at least take a home test and she got three negatives and it ran it's course like a cold and she's fine now, thank goodness. But I'm looking for another doctor.
So glad your mom is fine now!
My dh had a cold(we assume because his dr. said no need to test). Then he came down with cold symptoms again couple months later and called the dr., because he had taken Nyquil and wanted to know if the outcome of a home test(by then we had acquired a couple) would be affected by it. Dr. said no so he did the self test and tested positive.
I'm not sure if they went entirely by symptoms or if, due to the fact, dh had been fully vaccinated and boostered, they just assumed he'd be okay? In fact, when he called them back to say he'd tested positive, they were offering all kinds of IV's, medicines, etc. Yet, they never said much when he called with cold symptoms. IMO, you can have some or all or even none of the symptoms of Covid, so how can they differentiate between the 2 unless you do get tested?5 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
And there are many doctors out there through this whole thing who still say masks are totally useless and the vaccine doesn't work and more dangerous then Covid. So just because someone is a doctor who has been in this doesn't mean they are automatically 100% correct.
Also, it is not a black and white situation. People use what they can get. A fabric mask is still better then no mask.9 -
Seriously, there is still a mask debate going on after all this time?
Something is better than nothing, I agree. If nothing else, it keeps my fingers from mindlessly floating to my mouth and nose all the dang time.
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Our workplace is removing the masking requirement starting this coming Monday. They will still be providing masks for those who want to wear them and if you chose to wear a mask it must be the type provided (3 layer medical type). I will probably wear my mask most of the time at work anyway because it's just one less way of catching or spreading something (covid or other) around the open workplace environment.
Of course they made an attempt last July to remove masks also which lasted almost 2 weeks until Delta showed up. I do see that it is becoming more difficult to keep up with the local statistics as they continue to change their "metrics" and "reporting methods".
The one thing that strikes me about the current conversation is that as a child I used to have ultimate faith and trust in "figures of authority" such as doctors, policement, etc. As I grew up and experienced life I realized that all these were just "people" too. Some smarter or kinder or whatever than others. I see my parents' generation seemed to continue as they aged to have ultimate faith in anything a doctor told them without question. Perhaps the ability to find information and research data thru the www has changed our perspective on 100% trust in such figures?10 -
LA County lifted its indoor mask mandate which I kinda wish it didn't for...evening aesthetic reasons when I'm not all there.
Edited to add: And, apparently, it hasn't started yet or stores didn't get the memo.
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SummerSkier wrote: »Our workplace is removing the masking requirement starting this coming Monday. They will still be providing masks for those who want to wear them and if you chose to wear a mask it must be the type provided (3 layer medical type). I will probably wear my mask most of the time at work anyway because it's just one less way of catching or spreading something (covid or other) around the open workplace environment.
Of course they made an attempt last July to remove masks also which lasted almost 2 weeks until Delta showed up. I do see that it is becoming more difficult to keep up with the local statistics as they continue to change their "metrics" and "reporting methods".
The one thing that strikes me about the current conversation is that as a child I used to have ultimate faith and trust in "figures of authority" such as doctors, policement, etc. As I grew up and experienced life I realized that all these were just "people" too. Some smarter or kinder or whatever than others. I see my parents' generation seemed to continue as they aged to have ultimate faith in anything a doctor told them without question. Perhaps the ability to find information and research data thru the www has changed our perspective on 100% trust in such figures?
Wait. You're saying your workplace doesn't require masks but if you choose to wear one, they dictate which type of mask it has to be? I'm sorry, but that's crazy -- they're telling people who might be uncomfortable or allergic to the material or have sensory-issue problems with the specific type of mask that the workplace is handing out that they're not allowed to wear some other type of mask???6 -
LA County lifted its indoor mask mandate which I kinda wish it didn't for...evening aesthetic reasons when I'm not all there.
Edited to add: And, apparently, it hasn't started yet or stores didn't get the memo.
In our area government-mandated masking has lifted, but stores are still allowed to require masks if they choose on what is, after all, their private property. Pretty much everywhere I've been indoors since the mandate was lifted, the large majority of people have been masked, except for church and restaurants.1 -
FWIW, as others are saying or implying: I was out and about in stores and such today, and it looks like people are still masking up in about the same numbers as before the recent guidance changes. (We didn't have a full mandate here, though, so there was already some individual discretion in nearly all but health care scenarios.)
Perhaps folks will gradually change behavior, but it doesn't look like there was an immediate mass reaction of people shouting "whoo hoo!! I'm free!" and joyfully whipping off their masks. 😆3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »SummerSkier wrote: »Our workplace is removing the masking requirement starting this coming Monday. They will still be providing masks for those who want to wear them and if you chose to wear a mask it must be the type provided (3 layer medical type). I will probably wear my mask most of the time at work anyway because it's just one less way of catching or spreading something (covid or other) around the open workplace environment.
Of course they made an attempt last July to remove masks also which lasted almost 2 weeks until Delta showed up. I do see that it is becoming more difficult to keep up with the local statistics as they continue to change their "metrics" and "reporting methods".
The one thing that strikes me about the current conversation is that as a child I used to have ultimate faith and trust in "figures of authority" such as doctors, policement, etc. As I grew up and experienced life I realized that all these were just "people" too. Some smarter or kinder or whatever than others. I see my parents' generation seemed to continue as they aged to have ultimate faith in anything a doctor told them without question. Perhaps the ability to find information and research data thru the www has changed our perspective on 100% trust in such figures?
Wait. You're saying your workplace doesn't require masks but if you choose to wear one, they dictate which type of mask it has to be? I'm sorry, but that's crazy -- they're telling people who might be uncomfortable or allergic to the material or have sensory-issue problems with the specific type of mask that the workplace is handing out that they're not allowed to wear some other type of mask???
The way I see it, if they're still working there at this point, and the company has been dictating which mask to wear all this time, they'd have already sorted out any issues with who refuses to wear *that* type of mask.
I'm thrilled to go about with my naked face again. Most of the people who continue to mask around here are at least of the subset of people who understand that all the benefits are conferred by covering ALL the breathing holes. That *kitten* gives me anxiety. I am not bothered if you mask. I am not bothered if you don't mask. I can't keep my cool around someone walking around with a medical mask layered over their N95, but both pulled down under their nose.4 -
@autumnblade75 I can do you one better. A few weeks back I was in the grocery store and chose a check out where the gal was masked (as I was). When I got to the slide she had her mask pulled down from her nose. I politely asked her to pull it up and she said "we are no longer required to wear masks". Anyway I left it there but honestly if it's not required don't sort of half way wear it.
Re my workplace. They had already made accomodations for some who could not wear the reg masks so that's not really an issue. I just would prefer if I am the only one wearing a mask that I can wear my KN95 vs their good but not great masks. Anyway, it's sort of moot. I do really enjoy seeing faces again altho I guess I am going to have to go for a makeup run on foundation this weekend.6 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Ah, the appeal to authority line.
so somehow his authority ( relayed to us second hand through you, so we dont know exactly what he said ) supersedes that of all other medical authorities who say otherwise and whose recomendations government guidelines of countries around the world are based on.
I agree with other posters - nobody disputes that N95 mask are better than basic paper or cloth masks.
But that doesnt mean other masks are useless - it isnt an all or nothing scenario.
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FWIW, as others are saying or implying: I was out and about in stores and such today, and it looks like people are still masking up in about the same numbers as before the recent guidance changes. (We didn't have a full mandate here, though, so there was already some individual discretion in nearly all but health care scenarios.)
Perhaps folks will gradually change behavior, but it doesn't look like there was an immediate mass reaction of people shouting "whoo hoo!! I'm free!" and joyfully whipping off their masks. 😆
LOL yeah. I snuck into Trader Joe's today. The mask required sign was gone but some people (both employees and shoppers) inside were still wearing them.
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paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Ah, the appeal to authority line.
so somehow his authority ( relayed to us second hand through you, so we dont know exactly what he said ) supersedes that of all other medical authorities who say otherwise and whose recomendations government guidelines of countries around the world are based on.
I agree with other posters - nobody disputes that N95 mask are better than basic paper or cloth masks.
But that doesnt mean other masks are useless - it isnt an all or nothing scenario.
If you don't like what I passed on from a conversation with someone that has more medical knowledge than anyone posting here, you are free to scroll on by.3 -
Give it a couple a weeks ... the majority of people will stop masking. Where I live very few people masked in the summer and fall but as Omicron showed up in Dec I noticed that people started masking up ... I did too. It was completely self directed because my state hasn't had a mask mandate since spring of 2020 and it was short lived (two months max). But the last couple of weeks in Feb the number of people masking has dwindled. Rates in my state are back to pre Dec rates.
I've spent a couple of weeks (separated by roughly a month) in a state that had no mask mandates and about the only people I saw masking where those who were quite elderly or had some kind of physical disability. When I went there at the end of Jan/begin of Feb I was sure I was going to get Covid but so far after two years I've yet to get it. Truth be known I'm surprised. I'm fully vax'd with booster.
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Ah, the appeal to authority line.
so somehow his authority ( relayed to us second hand through you, so we dont know exactly what he said ) supersedes that of all other medical authorities who say otherwise and whose recomendations government guidelines of countries around the world are based on.
I agree with other posters - nobody disputes that N95 mask are better than basic paper or cloth masks.
But that doesnt mean other masks are useless - it isnt an all or nothing scenario.
If you don't like what I passed on from a conversation with someone that has more medical knowledge than anyone posting here, you are free to scroll on by.
There are shades of gray here, but I think many experts believe that Omicron with its greater transmission through aerosols pushed paper masks into being much less useful. With earlier variants, you were fairly safe unless someone sneezed directly on you or you spent a number of minutes in close proximity. With Omicron I have read it’s possibly as transmissible as measles, which means you can catch it by walking through an area which someone else walked through earlier. You really need an n95 to make a difference with Omicron.
At this point there’s no reason not to buy an n95 or kn95 (which is essentially the same level or protection unless you get it wet) so this isn’t an argument against masks, it’s an argument for better masks.5 -
Double kn95 not perfectly fitted? Has anyone noticed that kn95s don't usually fit as well as n95? And.... what about fake kn95s, which I feelz are more often the case then not, in spite of Inspector 17 adding a piece of paper saying they inspected them?🤯🤷🏻♂️3
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Ah, the appeal to authority line.
so somehow his authority ( relayed to us second hand through you, so we dont know exactly what he said ) supersedes that of all other medical authorities who say otherwise and whose recomendations government guidelines of countries around the world are based on.
I agree with other posters - nobody disputes that N95 mask are better than basic paper or cloth masks.
But that doesnt mean other masks are useless - it isnt an all or nothing scenario.
If you don't like what I passed on from a conversation with someone that has more medical knowledge than anyone posting here, you are free to scroll on by.
I am free to comment on it too - that is how threads work.
All the medical experts who advise government policy and recomendations to the public have more medical knowledge than most of us too - not sure why you think your friends opinion, passed on second hand to us, has more authority than all of them
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In Italy we still must mask until the end of March. N95's are required on public transport, museum visits, and various "close quarters" areas.
Our numbers are dropping and we were sitting pretty, BUT we are taking in Ucranian refugees. The first have arrived and Italy is offering free vaccinations upon arrival, along with housing and necessities. The majority are no-vax and therefore refusing the COVID vax. The experts are saying that we will see an increase in COVID numbers with this influx.8 -
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2022/03/04/is-there-a-frito-shortage/
Probably would not have read this article had it not reminded me of the OP.
My grocery store still has a "please wear mask" sign and most shoppers do. Inventory is still spotty on specific things. Whole chickens are back but I'm really missing my plain Greek yogurt for the past several weeks. Fresca has been hit or miss the whole pandemic.1 -
Illinois dropped the mask mandate. I'm in a purple area of the state. Maybe 2 people at the gym with masks, another 1 or 2 at Sam's Club on a Saturday morning.2
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »Just to level set, I've worn a mask when required so I'm not an anti-masker. Had an interesting conversation with a young man 2 years into his clinical fellowship (this is a 2-3 year program after medical residency) in pulmonary critical care. He started his fellowship right before the pandemic broke out in the US so has lived this on the front lines since the beginning.
His take on masks, unless you have an N95 you are just wearing a face decoration.
I disagree with that .
Obviously some masks are better than others and obviously a lacey holey one would be useless.
But a cheap paper mask is still better than nothing and for most purposes when you are in public ,not getting that close to other - eg shopping - quite sufficient.
You sure have the right to disagree, but remember who you are disagreeing with, a doctor who has been working with this 16 hours a day most days of the week since Jan, 2020.
Ah, the appeal to authority line.
so somehow his authority ( relayed to us second hand through you, so we dont know exactly what he said ) supersedes that of all other medical authorities who say otherwise and whose recomendations government guidelines of countries around the world are based on.
I agree with other posters - nobody disputes that N95 mask are better than basic paper or cloth masks.
But that doesnt mean other masks are useless - it isnt an all or nothing scenario.
If you don't like what I passed on from a conversation with someone that has more medical knowledge than anyone posting here, you are free to scroll on by.
He is speaking outside his realm of expertise and/or there is something misconstrued in the meaning being passed second hand here. Medical experts on the whole, and experts in infectious disease and disease transmission disagree. An early release of the latest study posted to the CDC website found respirator style masks (N95/KN95) were the best, but other masks provided protection to the user. MANY other studies have found widespread masking reduces community transmissions through source control.
I am licensed professional engineer, but I know damn well enough to defer and consult with engineers in their field of expertise when I am working in another area where I have a working knowledge but am not an expert.
Latest study on mask effectiveness: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7106e1.htm11 -
The mask mandate ended in my area of Southern CA a week ago. Most people were still wearing them that first week, but the rates have dropped rather quickly. I went to the grocery store this morning and mask usage was in the 10-20% range after being near 90% a couple weeks back. Almost every employee was no longer wearing them. I chose not to this morning. Rates in the area are low and still dropping quickly in the area, and I'm vaccinated and boosted.
Our workplace ended the mask mandate this week and is making return to the workplace at least two days a week mandatory.2
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