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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

#81

Post by jeffbee »

fullmoon wrote: post #35
aaroninsf wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's not security theater, as has been demonstrated time and again FFS It's trivially easy to acquire authentic N95s today. People just won't wear them, so, we all suffer.

Austria has mandated N95s for months. No improvement in comparison to neighboring countries could be demonstrated. Mostly because it was pure theater and no attempt at proof was even made.

You can't do a study that way. People do or do not wear masks based on emergent social acceptance, regardless of government actions. If you want to do a discontinuity study you have to evaluate actual mask usage in the real world and discover a boundary discontinuity. You can't just do it by jurisdiction and assume that the government proclamations work. People wear masks when they aren't required, and they may not wear them when they are required.

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

#82

Post by dfxm12 »

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.

It is a symbol of fear and control.

Why do you think this? I see someone wearing a mask and I see someone with enough respect for their fellow man that they don't want to get them sick. That's not fear or control, that's compassion. I don't think compassion is uniquely human, but it still is humanizing.

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

#83

Post by timr »

jeffbee wrote: post #68
spookthesunset wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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't believe I have to say this out loud.

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

#84

Post by haswell »

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?

While I agree that the parent comment is making huge assumptions about delivery options people have access to (both for geographical and for cost reasons), there are options in the middle.

The majority of stores (grocery and otherwise) introduced curbside pickup options early in the pandemic, which at least provides more options for someone who doesn't have access to or can't afford delivery, while removing or minimizing the time they need to spend in-store.

Not a perfect solution, but the options are not "delivery or starve".

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

#85

Post by mjevans »

The post holiday gathering spike is rather obvious. Not just for COVID but for everything. We really should have test kits, and people should test BEFORE travel. A national level policy of full refunds if tested positive (for any illness / disease) could help prevent the needless spread of illness.

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

#86

Post by kitsunesoba »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #13

I am continually surprised at how many people don’t wear masks at places like the grocery store even as cases are rising. I got covid over the summer and it was horrible! I lost two weeks of work which was a lot of money to lose, missed multiple dates with my partner I would have really enjoyed and felt totally isolated. Then I felt fatigue and brain fog for months afterwards. Afterwards I got the bivalent vaccine so…

I hear you. Having seen family who's suffered from brain fog and greatly reduced stamina ever since getting over covid, I want absolutely nothing to do with it. The fact that it has the potential to so negatively impact my means of earning a living as a developer (my mental faculties) makes it terrifying. If I lose that, I have nothing. It'd be like a carpenter losing dexterity in their hands.

Anything that can reduce my chances of a severe outcome or even coming down with it in the first place is worth it in my book.

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

#87

Post by jeffbee »

spacefracas wrote: post #6

It's Suspect that adjacent cities have such divergent trends. For example Novato vs San Rafael CA. Novato: http://publichealth.verily.com/#Novato,%20CA:SARS-CoV-2 San Rafael: http://publichealth.verily.com/#San%20Rafael,%20CA:SARS-CoV-...

This is not suspicious at all. San Rafael has a combined sanitary and storm sewer system. In the California rain season their sewer is diluted with rain water. Novato has separate sanitary and storm water systems.

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

#88

Post by gjsman-1000 »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #13

I am continually surprised at how many people don’t wear masks at places like the grocery store even as cases are rising. I got covid over the summer and it was horrible! I lost two weeks of work which was a lot of money to lose, missed multiple dates with my partner I would have really enjoyed and felt totally isolated. Then I felt fatigue and brain fog for months afterwards. Afterwards I got the bivalent vaccine so…

Never again. Caught COVID, vaccinated friends also caught COVID, vaccinated individuals are now 58% of hospitalizations, and long term effects of both long COVID and having microplastics embedded in your lungs are both unknown. However, long COVID is just long, but microplastics are forever. I've chosen to be mask-free and anyone who doesn't like that can mask themselves.

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

#89

Post by diag »

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 is it a symbol of fear? Masks for infection control have been used since the late 1800s. It's purely practical.

Maybe a little fear would be healthy for some people if it makes them act in a socially integrated manner. Anybody who's had covid probably doesn't want to get it again.

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