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Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

news.northwestern.edu

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Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#31

Post by dekhn »

This PR purports to answer a question I had since the beginning of the epidemic when it was clear that transmission was through-air.

"""“For example, if we assume the infectious dose for COVID is 300 copies, then a person who is exhaling 1,000 viral copies per minute would exhale an infectious dose in 20 seconds (highly risky in an elevator), whereas a person who is exhaling two viral copies per minute would exhale an infectious dose in about two hours (probably safe in an elevator),” Lane said. """

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#32

Post by libraryatnight »

o11c wrote: post #19
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

If there's literally no downside for him to wearing a mask, why do you even care?

I thought the anti-mask revolution was because they didn't want to be "forced" but now nobody is forcing them and they still can't shut up about masks worn willingly by others.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#33

Post by mcpackieh »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #20
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

I get your perspective, but everybody has their own risk assessment and comfort, and yours is no more necessarily right than his :). Some people still wear masks, some people still take booster shots, some people people still wash their hands, some people sneeze into elbows, some people stay inside, etc. Others may not do some or any of those things. "Accept new risk" and "this is the new normal" is as validly execut…

> I get your perspective, but everybody has their own risk assessment and comfort

Yeah I get that, but with him it seems very out of character. He likes to ski and is a general aviation pilot; these aren't low risk activities. I hope he comes to term with the new normal soon because he's still young and spending the rest of his life paranoid behind a mask would be truly sad.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#34

Post by BurningFrog »

histriosum wrote: post #4
xnx wrote: post #3

I'm surprised this is news after 3+ years. I would've figured this would've been one of the first things to figure out. I'm sure many would've volunteered to be infected and closely studied early on to collect this information.

Intentionally infecting people for study isn't something that really fits with our medical ethics, at least as I understand them.

Yeah, the medical "ethics" field is full of really weird and damaging decisions.

Someone needs to do the work exposing what the hell is going on there.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#35

Post by dekhn »

dingnuts wrote: post #22
steve1977 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if he’s right?

when almost everyone has already had the disease and was able to observe what it did to them -- which is the state we're at -- it's pretty hard to say that everyone needs to protect themselves. I know what COVID will do to me, because I had it already. He's not right. I was vaccinated, and the vaccine didn't work (it didn't prevent me from getting ill, get out of here with the 'better outcomes' bullshit, I'm healthy…

I don't think anybody has answered the question "is every COVID infection an individual gets going to give the same level of response"? IE, will you get COVID and then get better, but later get COVID and end up with Long COVID symptoms? Is it random every time you are infected?

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#36

Post by mcpackieh »

gumby wrote: post #15
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

"a guy"? I see people like this every day...and I'm one myself. Not outdoors, but when I enter a building. We don't yet know the long term sequelae of an epithelial infection, nor do we know why about 10% of those infected appear to get "long covid". Why should I risk it when the burden of reducing the chance is negligible? I also wear a seatbelt.

"I know a guy", as we grew up down the road from each other and I was a groomsman at his wedding. We've known each other for 30 years. This isn't some random guy I see on the street. I see maybe one in a hundred strangers in public still wearing a mask, which is why I mentioned 99% of the public. That's my estimate for how many people gave up masks. I take it you are among the 1% of those who keep it up.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#37

Post by UIUC_06 »

mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

27 years ago, there was a movie that perfectly shows that mindset:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114323/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5

If it wasn't covid, it'd be something else with people like your friend.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#38

Post by donkers »

freitzkriesler2 wrote: post #21
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

[flagged]

Or they have immunocompromised loved ones at home, or are vulnerable themselves despite looking healthy. It’s their health and passing judgement on them as neurotic or germophobic without knowing their situation is pretty shitty at best.

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#39

Post by [deleted] »

o11c wrote: post #19
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

If there's literally no downside for him to wearing a mask, why do you even care?

[deleted]

Re: Covid patients breathe out large amounts of virus early on

#40

Post by mcpackieh »

steve1977 wrote: post #11
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

I know a guy who still wears a half-face respirator every time he's in public even for just a second. I think at this rate he'll be wearing it for the rest of his life, unable to accept a new level of risk and move on with his life. I'd like to help him but I see no possible way, he's convinced that I and 99% of the rest of the public are suicidally insane like people who play literal russian roulette.

What if he’s right?

Right about what? That there is risk in taking off the mask? Of course he's right about that. Right about taking off the mask being suicidal, like playing russian roulette? He obviously isn't right about that.
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