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Flight Attendants and Covid-19

confessionsfromaflightattendant.wordpress.com

21–30 of 148 posts

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#21
post #8
post #4

Since hospitals are practically empty right now, have we thought of allowing people to voluntarily get infected/quarantined (using a tiny viral load)? Obviously no old, immuno-compromised, or other vulnerable people. But for healthy "essential" workers it would mean not living in fear that they might get it... because they already got over it.

Genuine question: why are hospitals empty? Aren't people affected by covid taken there?

The vast majority of places in the US have almost no covid cases. Many emergency hospitals and rent hospitals have been taken down or decommissioned, and in some cases nurses and hospital staff are even being furloughed because demand for elective and non-emergency care have dropped off a cliff.

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#22
post #12
post #4

Since hospitals are practically empty right now, have we thought of allowing people to voluntarily get infected/quarantined (using a tiny viral load)? Obviously no old, immuno-compromised, or other vulnerable people. But for healthy "essential" workers it would mean not living in fear that they might get it... because they already got over it.

It's still risky for healthy young individuals, while most barely present symptoms some people have a very real risk of dying. "Voluntarily allowing people to get infected" creates a perverse incentive for poor essential workers to put their lives on the line in order to put food on the table.

What's the perverse incentive? I don't think the proposal is that essential workers should have to get infected before they work.

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#23

It's reactionary to say it but China has to pay a price for this, otherwise what's to stop it happening again? Edit :I've been completely hammered on this topic so I won't make any more comments. Hope that's ok

I wonder what other bullshit things governments have caused due to their neglect which could be punished, in that imaginary world of yours...

The Chinese government has the incentive to not let something like this happening again because they still need the queit cooperation of their population, a slow-burning dissent would still lead to their downfall...

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#24
post #14

All I can think of reading this article is someone else overly panicking over ‘rona’. Look at the statistics yourself: as someone under the age of 65, your chances of dying even after catching it is negligible. It’s a rounding error. The younger you are, the more harmless it is to you. Yes, you can pass it along to other people, those older and actually at risk. But thinking YOU are at risk is a myth.

Chance of death is one thing, but your chance of ending up with a prolonged extremely unpleasant hospital stay and possible long term (we don't know yet, but I don't want to be the one to find out) morbidities is far higher. Under 50 year olds make up 20-25% of hospitalizations.

https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1259131903170371591

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#26
post #8
post #4

Since hospitals are practically empty right now, have we thought of allowing people to voluntarily get infected/quarantined (using a tiny viral load)? Obviously no old, immuno-compromised, or other vulnerable people. But for healthy "essential" workers it would mean not living in fear that they might get it... because they already got over it.

Genuine question: why are hospitals empty? Aren't people affected by covid taken there?

Hospitals in my area have laid off and/or furloughed nurses. Also in my state, less than 500 people have tested positive (lack of testing for sure) and less than 20 people have died. There are not enough sick people from COVID or anything else to fill our hospitals. However, people are unable to do normal treatments and elective procedures due to lockdowns or are unwilling to go due to fear of COVID. Thus no money coming in to the hospitals thus layoffs and furloughs.

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#27

It's reactionary to say it but China has to pay a price for this, otherwise what's to stop it happening again? Edit :I've been completely hammered on this topic so I won't make any more comments. Hope that's ok

I agree, but we also need to look closer to home with our factory farming approach to animal husbandry where conditions are far from ideal. Not saying that everyone should go vegan, but we can't rely on a continuously supply cheaply produced meat ($1 burger).

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#28
post #7

The days of carefree travel will return. It'll be a while, but it will be back. In early March, looking for a park to sit quietly with my thoughts in the sunshine but away from others, I found myself in a local cemetery. Alone, but not far from a great many people. Seattle's a pretty young place on the scale of things. I was surprised to find that our local graveyard had a substantial contingent that had lived throug…

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattles-quick-thinking-191...

We can turn to history to get a sense of what they might have told us. Seattle acted quickly and swiftly, and the damage was mitigated. Compare that to Philadelphia, where it wasnt. And ultimately, research into influenza led to confirming the causative agent and developing the first effective influenza vaccines. We learned, we adapted, and we fought back. Don't know how long it will take, but it's good to remember that for the past few dozen millenia, the lack of fear of pandemics was not normal. The normal we are trying to return to is a new normal created by our species unwillingness to let infectious disease have the last word.

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#29
post #19

It's reactionary to say it but China has to pay a price for this, otherwise what's to stop it happening again? Edit :I've been completely hammered on this topic so I won't make any more comments. Hope that's ok

We're all paying a price for this. It is on each of us to limit the damage today and prevent a similar event in the future.

China castigated the rest of the world for suggesting restrictions on travel from there, yet now are blaming foreigners for new cases there, as well as imposing the sort of restrictions that they felt were unacceptable when applied to them

Re: Flight Attendants and Covid-19

#30
post #7

The days of carefree travel will return. It'll be a while, but it will be back. In early March, looking for a park to sit quietly with my thoughts in the sunshine but away from others, I found myself in a local cemetery. Alone, but not far from a great many people. Seattle's a pretty young place on the scale of things. I was surprised to find that our local graveyard had a substantial contingent that had lived throug…

> After noting, to my surprise, that there wasn't an obvious peak in the deaths in 1918

Well, you've seen photos of mass graves circa this year, right?

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