The_Enginerd Member

This article speaks to one those involved and the citizen scientists that helped alert the CDC to the outbreak early on and the high incidence in vaccinated individuals. One of the bright sides about this was the gay community's willingness to work with the medical community and CDC for contact tracing. The article doesn't…

With the data available at the time, the vaccine was conferring much less ability for the vaccinated to spread COVID-19 (sterilizing immunity). The guidance was based on the best data available at the time, but I still think it was not communicated well or well thought out as expecting folks to respect the honor system was…

The preliminary study data showed efficacy of the Pfizer shot at six months is 84%. That's down from the 95% peak efficacy, but still quite good. https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/28/efficacy-of-pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-slips-to-84-after-six-months-data-show/

I've seen parts of this post shared in memes mistakenly attributed wholly to Macron, but the sentiment of frustration is shared by many of us that have done our part and are still suffering the burden from the poor choices of those around us. Let those who continue to choose to not be vaccinated suffer the restrictions and…

My partner and I were discussing this yesterday. At this point, I'm all for charging higher rates (akin to smokers) or allowing insurers to exempt coverage for COVID-19 care for those that choose not to be vaccinated. We need to stop socializing the cost they are hoisting upon the rest of society in terms of care for…

Your overall diet choices sound reasonable based on your description, and you can make your diary public if you want others to take a peek at the details. I personally do not find oats very satiating, despite them being a complex carb. Experimenting with different foods as you've been doing and seeing what works best for…

Did an impromptu dinner out last Saturday night in our downtown area, the first since CA has "fully reopened". Some of the clubs and restaurants were PACKED. It's such a swift, stark contrast to just a month ago. I've been fine eating out and have started to get more comfortable going without a mask where no longer…

In my area mask usage at the grocery store that I frequent is around 75% still. At my workplace, they stated vaccinated individuals could not longer wear a mask weeks ago, and the couple of times I've worked from the office since then I'd say mask usage was under 25%. Mask wearing seems to be about a 50/50 mix of those who…

In my area, the hospitalization and ICU numbers are also continuing to improve even as more things open up. Likewise, the # of tests and positivity rate have also continued their downward trend, and the positivity rate is currently under 1%.

We can complain about the lack of room on airlines, but the fact of the matter is, we are voting with our collective wallets for this. The market is providing other options for those willing to pay a higher price, such as Economy Plus seating.

The cramming of more people into the plane seems to be done via reduced seat pitch, the width of the seats of the seats hasn't changed. While I'll blame the lack of sufficient leg room on the drive to add more seats to the plane, spilling into the seat next to you is due to our increasing width.

Going back to this after seeing @penguinmama87 comment on loss leaders, gas doesn't go on sale because it's ALWAYS on sale. Gas stations make their profit on the convenience store and other services such as car washes. The gas is sold at next to no profit and just serves to bring traffic to the location.

The Pfizer vaccine trials indicated fatigue, headache, chills, and muscle and joint pain at a significantly higher rate in the vaccinated group over the placebo group, especially after the second dose, and at a higher rate in younger persons (16-55) than in older. While I am sure there is large part of the vaccinated that…

I heard some common reports of adverse reactions the day after the second shot and had planned to take it easy myself the day after my second shot. I got my shot at 7:30 in the morning, did a 90 minute bike ride afterwards, and some automotive work the rest of the day. The next day... nothing. No fever at all. My arm was…

That's an isolated/remote station that overcharges. It's averaging just over $4/gal, which is a bit above where it was pre-pandemic. The gas in CA is higher than other states due to the special blend for emissions and higher than average fuel taxes.

On the CDC mask guidance, my hope is that the overall effect on mask wearing, vaccination take rates, vaccination effectiveness, and the effects on transmission have been factored into their decisions and communication. When they state that vaccinated people can remove masks and do not have the need to follow social…

I wonder if they had someone get infected or a COVID exposure scare that shut them down or caused staffing issues due to quarantine that has led them to be much more risk adverse. You sound willing to take reasonable precautions. Unfortunately, there are too many others who are not and put others at risk including defying…

Just received an update on the mask guidance for our workplace: masks are still required except if you've been fully vaccinated. You cannot ask about an employee's vaccination status. Not feeling very comfortable with that considering the Venn diagram of those who are anti-mask and those who refuse to take and will lie…

Had my second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine yesterday morning. Did notice it looked like a different, more traditional syringe needle than what they used the first time, and I had heard there are shortages of the low dead space syringes that are used to get the most doses out of every vile. Went on a 90 minute bike…

No regular onsite presence has been required thus far, although there is a plan in place to gradually increase the amount of office time versus remote, up to a maximum of 50% occupancy. For the past year, folks have only been going into the office as needed, and some that needed to be at the facility continued to go…

Given how relatively poorly CA has been doing thus far compared to other states and that we were still on Tier 1B, I wasn't sure I could believe this. But there it is, right there on the official CA site. https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/ I'm hesitantly elated because I don't know how long it will take once the surge in…

Miami had to declare a state of emergency and implement a curfew due to the Spring Break crowd. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/20/us/miami-beach-crowds-clevelander-covid/index.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56476904 edit: Added a photo/additional link showing just how crowded some of those areas are.

As of this date (3/13/2021), COVID-19 has killed 531k people in the US. Even if every single person had been infected already (and we are no where close) that is 0.161% of the population that has died from COVID-19, nearly 10X higher than the mortality rate you are claiming. Reliable sources put the overall mortality rate…

I had postponed some things in those first months, but as it became clear this would be more long term and we started to get a handle on how to adjust to reduce the risk, I decided deferring medical appointments was a worse option. I had my first dental appointment the second day dentist were allowed to reopen for…

Do you have a source for sunscreen/vitamin D impact? I expect a reduction in UV and subsequent vitamin D, but not a nearly complete elimination. I wear SPF 30 but still do get a bit of a tan.

I've known quite a few folks who have had pre-cancerous skin cut from their face. I am happy to continue to treat my deficiency via dietary supplementation versus UV exposure. Not to mention the visible damage and aging that it causes to skin that I've seen in friends and family that spend significant time outdoors for…

When I had a checkup with blood tests several years back I had a vitamin D deficiency despite spending over an hour a day outdoors as a regular runner, being in my mid 30's with a good diet, having light skin, and living in southern CA. I am religious about sunscreen use but that surprised me.

Southern CA here as well. We are under a regional stay at home order, but the only changes I've noticed are all dining being take out only, personal services such as barbers being closed, and gyms only operating outdoor operations. There is still plenty of traffic and people going out for "essential" trips. There are…

Meanwhile, in WI 🤦‍♂😡 https://www.npr.org/2020/12/30/951736164/some-500-coronavirus-vaccine-doses-intentionally-destroyed-hospital-says I am way in the back of the vaccination line since I am in a low risk group at my age, being healthy and fit, and am able to work remotely. On the NYT estimator, I think I was behind 280M…

And quite timely, this showed up in my news feed this morning. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/28/948936133/still-disinfecting-surfaces-it-might-not-be-worth-it