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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

#71

Post by bugglebeetle »

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?

People care because it impinges on the mass denial all of all the death and harm inflicted during the pandemic, as well as the ongoing dangers and unknowns of our new, post-COVID reality.

This isn’t uncommon in history, but it unfortunately tends to take a few cycles of mass death before humans adapt their culture and social behavior to the world as it exists (vs. how it was before or they wish it could be). We’re still early in this reality for COVID. It took decades for the reality of HIV/AIDS to change behavior around things like testing, condom usage, prophylactic drugs etc. Comparably, we’re in the like mid-1980s of COVID, even though it’s killed more people than HIV/AIDS did in the past 40+ years.

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

#72

Post by [deleted] »

talldatethrow wrote: post #49
o11c wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If I was sick, or if there was a meaningful sickness in the air, I would wear a mask. But I wouldn't say there is zero downside to wearing a mask, atleast the way 98% of people wore one during covid. (The same one all day, if not a week, touching it, putting it in pockets, around your neck, on your greasy forehead, so on). I used to wear a mask because allergies when I mowed the lawn or even dirtbiking during certain…

[deleted]

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

#73

Post by op00to »

taeric wrote: post #66

"We further found that levels of exhaled viral RNA increased with self-rated symptom-severity, though individual variation was high." I was curious on how high the variation was, so checked that out. There is a fairly wide swing in measurements. Not clear what that means on things. Would love to see more conversation on that. Most concerning on this, though, is "Levels of exhaled viral RNA did not differ across age,…

If you don’t get Covid because you got the vaccine, that’s a benefit to others.

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

#74

Post by elil17 »

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]

Is someone a germaphobe if they wash their hands after using the bathroom?

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

#75

Post by eitally »

steve1977 wrote: post #9
francisofascii wrote: post #2

> COVID patients exhale high numbers of virus during the first eight days after symptoms start...then drop steeply." Eek. Eight days is longer than I expected.

Here in Switzerland you’re considered infectious 10 days after symptoms start (for mild cases)

That's what it used to be in the US, too, but it was reduced to 5 days about a year ago (which dramatically reduced school truancy, whether covid positive kids were still sick or not).

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

#76

Post by PaulKeeble »

dekhn wrote: post #31

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 a…

I have seen some small scale research suggesting the likely number for necessary copies to become infected is 34. That makes one breath likely enough.

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

#77

Post by version_five »

op00to wrote: post #73
taeric wrote: post #66

"We further found that levels of exhaled viral RNA increased with self-rated symptom-severity, though individual variation was high." I was curious on how high the variation was, so checked that out. There is a fairly wide swing in measurements. Not clear what that means on things. Would love to see more conversation on that. Most concerning on this, though, is "Levels of exhaled viral RNA did not differ across age,…

If you don’t get Covid because you got the vaccine, that’s a benefit to others.

That only happened for a few months in 2021. Since then theh haven't stopped anyone from getting it.

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

#78

Post by op00to »

mcpackieh wrote: post #33
NikolaNovak wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I mask in close indoor situations. I am not paranoid. Why do you think he is paranoid?

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

#79

Post by omginternets »

op00to wrote: post #73
taeric wrote: post #66

"We further found that levels of exhaled viral RNA increased with self-rated symptom-severity, though individual variation was high." I was curious on how high the variation was, so checked that out. There is a fairly wide swing in measurements. Not clear what that means on things. Would love to see more conversation on that. Most concerning on this, though, is "Levels of exhaled viral RNA did not differ across age,…

If you don’t get Covid because you got the vaccine, that’s a benefit to others.

And if the vaccine makes you an asymptomatic carrier, that's a harm to others.

I think it's more useful to start with the question of what is actually happening, and examine the consequences from there. Otherwise, we find ourselves arguing in favor of our priors, which helps no one.

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

#80

Post by freitzkriesler2 »

donkers wrote: post #38
freitzkriesler2 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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.

[flagged]
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