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Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

publichealth.verily.com

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Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#181

Post by jeffbee »

timr wrote: post #83
jeffbee wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are pants and shirts also symbols of fear and control?

If you're forced to wear them on your face, yes. Covering your face , as a primate, is not a natural thing to do. Our brains have huge areas dedicated to recognition of subtle differences in facial features. We're literally wired for facial recognition. More than almost any other feature of our bodies, our faces define us as individuals. Assuming that obscuring the face has zero cost is clearly wrong. I honestly can'…

I think you are overstating your case. The eyes are the important thing. You can cover someone's mouth without affecting recognition performance, but you can't cover their eyes. Lots of research available on this, starting with https://www.jstor.org/stable/1421414

Secondly, your primate brain also wants to look at the genital area, but, again: pants.

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#182

Post by neilv »

rajup wrote: post #102
neilv wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think an additional benefit of the masks is that they signal something about the person's Covid conscientiousness -- which I suspect affects how likely they are to be a carrier, and how likely they are to be careful about spreading it if they are. (Though that signal didn't help me in Trader Joe's the other day, when one of the few employees wearing a mask (only surgical), turned out to have a phlegmy cough. In tha…

An additional way to virtue signal is a benefit? Weird world we live in…

Signalling as communication of information (e.g., "I'm following these practices, which tells you something about what to expect about things that might be important to you"). Not the "virtue signalling" meme talking point to dismiss.

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#183

Post by ch4s3 »

basch wrote: post #160
ch4s3 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not my point at all. I didn't make the droplet vs airborne distinction. I mean that the masks can and do stop some droplets and larger particles, but smaller particles pass through and around them readily. It seems like really small particles might be causing infections with newer variants. But I'm also not sure what we even know for sure about this at the moment. A lot of mask research has been don with model…

That goes back to its not binary. Less viral load is less viral load. Masks are not a complete solution. At the end of the day the goal appears to be to reduce spread and reinfection to minimize the load on the hospital system.

The question I have is, do masks actually lower viral load meaningfully if the individual viruses are being shed and blown through the mask? Put another way, particles large enough to be stopped by most masks may not be the primary vector of infection for new strains of COVID and we have no real clue.

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#184

Post by landemva »

amalter wrote: post #175
landemva wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got actual covid and recovered, then did you get blood test to check for development of antibodies? Then you later got the shot for what purpose?

Caught a medium severity case of omicron almost exactly a year ago when I was triple vax'd. Took the bivalent booster about 2 months ago then went on a cruise and directly after to re:invent. Since then had multiple exposures with people around me getting week long fevers. So far I had something in my system that made me feel "slightly off" - but nothing worse. Yay antibodies. I'm a big believer in "more antibodies t…

> The pandemic was an immensely scary time for everyone

I was in a truck fixing heavy equipment at mines, construction sites, oil & gas pads, and the only thing that changed was I could calculate drive time based on mileage because most everyone was at home. I didn't get fake safety gear or a big bonus check for sitting at home.

Not everyone was scared. Mine sites were great because behind the gate everyone was normal. Unlike the OSHA scaremongers, MSHA eventually released guidance which said roughly, "Policies to stay home when sick are always in effect and miners are always safe and keep being safe. And safety."

One mine site had their yearly pig roast with tables under a tent that Spring, and everyone was shoulder to shoulder, no masks, no gloves, no gel stations. It was awesome.

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#185

Post by anon_coward_ghk »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #172
anon_coward_ghk wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally everyone is vulnerable to falling bricks, whereas the evidence shows that those who will die from covid are most likely obese / elderly / smokers / diabetics / etc.

this doesn't really influence my comment, if 1 million people over the past 2 years died of falling bricks I'd wear a helmet

As would I, because falling bricks kill young healthy people.

HIV kills ~650K per year, should everyone take PreP?

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#186

Post by D13Fd »

spookthesunset wrote: post #53
dxhdr wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How would you characterize the costs associated with wearing a mask most of the time when in public? I tried it for a year and it's dehumanizing. Not sure how you'd rate that vs the unknown chance of long covid but I've made my choice.

It’s sad you get downvoted. Mask wearing is incredibly dehumanizing in my opinion. It is a symbol of fear and control. It never ever should never have been mandated, only recommended.

How do you feel about having to wear a seatbelt?

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#187

Post by acheron »

sn0wf1re wrote: post #32
endisneigh wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone sick should be staying home, not going into grocery stores with a mask on.

How else would they get food? Not everyone can afford to order in. Is your opinion that these people should just starve?

That's hardly a good faith interpretation of the post you're responding to. Do you actually want to discuss something or are you just looking to insult people?

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#188

Post by slaw »

TurkishPoptart wrote: post #164
howinteresting wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indoor masking is quite common in the SF Bay Area.

It's a cult over there. They get guilted into feeling like bioterrorists if they don't.

I would rather call it religion, they really believe in masks.

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#189

Post by ABCLAW »

rayiner wrote: post #145
ABCLAW wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I understand the sentiment of saying that a purely individual perspective is egregious, selfish, myopic and inappropriate for a situation in which individual selfishness can cause extensive social harm, it's not a good look to tell people that you hope their loved ones die. I don't hope their loved ones die, I hope they become better.

I’m not coming from an “individual perspective.” I wore masks the whole time because I’m an obedient Asian who will do whatever social convention requires. But now the prevailing social consensus is to not wear masks, and I think that’s correct. It’s anti-social to not wear a mask when society has decided to do so. But it’s perfectly fine for society to decide to prioritize normal interactions over safety and abandon…

>It’s anti-social to not wear a mask when society has decided to do so.

Sure, because the efficacity of mask usage increases with adoption. The logic works in one direction, though, not both.

>I’m not going to go around wearing a mask all the time to avoid a couple of days of cold symptoms every other year.

This is the point I was referring to. Would you wear a mask if you had a cold and doing so could prevent other people from getting your infection? If other people wearing a mask while symptomatic could save you months of healthy time over the course of your life, would you reciprocate in turn? More importantly, if evidence was provided that the risks to mitigate were significantly worse than 'cold symptoms' would your calculus change?

Re: Graph showing level of Covid, flu and RSV in US wastewater systems, by city

#190

Post by Rebelgecko »

tshaddox wrote: post #97
dxhdr wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How would you characterize the costs associated with wearing a mask most of the time when in public? I tried it for a year and it's dehumanizing. Not sure how you'd rate that vs the unknown chance of long covid but I've made my choice.

Why do you describe it as dehumanizing? Would you also describe mask-wearing among dentists, surgeons, painters, etc. as dehumanizing?

Dehumanized by strangers isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've talked to multiple women who prefer to wear masks on public transit because they're less likely to get catcalled or harassed
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