COVID-19/corona virus mega thread/prepping thread

[ConstitutionCowboy]

I've noticed a couple of revisions of "standard" tests recently.  Some major study of body temps over the world indicated the new "normal" body temp was 97.8 or something like that instead of 98.6.

They've also dropped the alarm bell limits for blood pressure.  Seems like for normal folks now it's below 120/x and I always thought normal was around 130/x, if my geriatric memory serves.

Why, that's a whole two-tenths of a PSI lower !

The "crisis" level seems to have been lowered, too.

Now, you wouldn't suspect the Medical Industry would have lowered these limits just to create more Business, would you?  Naaaah.

That's geriatric paranoia talk, Terry.

Not too long ago, "normal" was 140/X.

I'm just happy to have blood pressure.

Woody

[WLJ]

Guy estimates 25k per day dying in India from C19
Can't verify any of his numbers so take with a grain of salt

https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1391238136219512833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1391238136219512833%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fgregp-3534%2F2021%2F05%2F09%2Fdean-of-brown-univ-school-of-public-health-estimates-the-death-toll-from-covid-19-in-india-at-25k-to-50k-per-day%2F

[Jim147]

I know a couple guys in India. They said it got really bad after the general election and is not letting up.

[WLJ]

In the replies

SydeleyHawkins
@Sydeley_Hawkins
·
May 8
Replying to
@ashishkjha
 and
@neal_katyal
then India must learn from US. Elect a sane person, death rates go wayyyy down
But India loves Modi

 

[WLJ]

When they think the cameras are off https://twitter.com/lawyer4laws/status/1391112010599911424

[Ben]

I wonder if this means freakin' Costco will finally drop their mask rule, now that the head libs say it's okay? Costco is the only place left that I go where they still enforce the mask rule. Other places still have signs up, but hardly anyone, including employees, is wearing them. Other than in Boise because of the lame mayor there.

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/05/13/omg-no-way-really-cdc-and-biden-finally-admit-vaccine-works-vaccinated-people-can-take-their-masks-off-under-new-guidance/

[MillCreek]

I already dread explaining to people that the new CDC guidance says to still wear masks at the clinics and hospitals.

[Ben]

I already dread explaining to people that the new CDC guidance says to still wear masks at the clinics and hospitals.

That I can see. Honestly, if there's a good side to covid, it will be that more people wear masks when they go to the doctor or hospital for anything. Pre-covid, I always dreaded going in for my physical because of all the sick people hacking and coughing and sneezing in the waiting room. I wouldn't at all mind there being a mask rule at the doctor's office. Or segregated waiting rooms like at the vet, where if your dog is sick you have to go through a separate door so the other dogs don't get sick too.

[Ben]

How about everyone being issued a QR code? That sounds reasonable, right?

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/05/14/my-god-do-you-hear-yourself-both-the-right-and-the-left-torch-jill-filipovic-for-demanding-people-be-forced-to-get-vaccine-passports-now/

Whichever side of the issue you are on, the geographic and cultural differences on this have been fascinating to watch. I was recently talking to a former coworker from California, and she about got mad at me because I wasn't wearing a mask everywhere. She could not fathom how someone could do that.

[MechAg94]

Don't forget your life preserver.

[Snowdog]

I'm about as conservative as one can get.  I do give credence to some of the more realistic conspiracies out there and I have suspicions of my own that some could describe as preposterous.  I'll keep those to myself.

However, both my wife and I work within the medical profession and I can tell you without a shadow of any doubt Covid is real.  We have seen many (many!) more people suffer and die of respiratory failure in 2020 and 2021 than any event some 20 years prior. More than many of the previous years combined.

It honestly chafes me when folks ape the views/opinions/suspicions of social media so-called experts claiming this is nothing more, or more severe, than the flu. 

If it wasn't for HIPAA, I would love to share some of the horrors we've been seeing daily in the ICU units (and units turned into ad hoc ICU units) to dispel this absolute BS.  In the years I've been in this profession, never have I seen influenza, gastroenteritis or pneumonia outbreaks have an impact even slightly similar to this.  Where this ultimately came from or whether it was a mistake or intentional aside, this is something absolutely real and concerning.

On the bright side, the current numbers are a fraction of what they were and I'd like to think we're all but out of the woods.  All the temporary Covid wings both at my primary employment and another hospital where I'm PRN, have closed.  Both hospitals have ICU beds available. 

[Ben]

I just read that both Costco and Walmart have dropped their mask requirements. Hopefully Costco doesn't stop the "old guy" hours - I've become accustomed to getting in and out with no one in line in front of me. Almost makes it worth the mask! 

[MechAg94]

I'm about as conservative as one can get.  I do give credence to some of the more realistic conspiracies out there and I have suspicions of my own that some could describe as preposterous.  I'll keep those to myself.

However, both my wife and I work within the medical profession and I can tell you without a shadow of any doubt Covid is real.  We have seen many (many!) more people suffer and die of respiratory failure in 2020 and 2021 than any event some 20 years prior. More than many of the previous years combined.

It honestly chafes me when folks ape the views/opinions/suspicions of social media so-called experts claiming this is nothing more, or more severe, than the flu. 

If it wasn't for HIPAA, I would love to share some of the horrors we've been seeing daily in the ICU units (and units turned into ad hoc ICU units) to dispel this absolute BS.  In the years I've been in this profession, never have I seen influenza, gastroenteritis or pneumonia outbreaks have an impact even slightly similar to this.  Where this ultimately came from or whether it was a mistake or intentional aside, this is something absolutely real and concerning.

On the bright side, the current numbers are a fraction of what they were and I'd like to think we're all but out of the woods.  All the temporary Covid wings both at my primary employment and another hospital where I'm PRN, have closed.  Both hospitals have ICU beds available.

I know people who have been hit hard by it.  I think most know there is a reality beneath the politics.  However, when politicians insert their agendas into things to take advantage of the crisis, disbelief and suspicion are natural results.  It doesn't matter how real the issue is. 

[cordex]

I know people who have been hit hard by it.  I think most know there is a reality beneath the politics.  However, when politicians insert their agendas into things to take advantage of the crisis, disbelief and suspicion are natural results.  It doesn't matter how real the issue is. 

Right.
The September 11 attacks were real.
The government overreach that followed was still underhanded and authoritarian and the endless wars that followed (and were encouraged by both parties, despite some modern claims to the contrary) were an awful waste of American blood and treasure ... but also did do some good in some areas for some people.
The claims that the government “did 9/11” were wrong and stupid, but pushing back against PATRIOT act or Iraq war was not a rejection of the reality of the attack.

[Pb]

I wore a mask in shops etc until I got my shots.  Who knows if it did any good, but I never got sick.  Now I don't wear it unless I am forced to. 

[JTHunter]

I wore a mask in shops etc until I got my shots.  Who knows if it did any good, but I never got sick.  Now I don't wear it unless I am forced to.

In the past 15 months, the only times I have worn a mask is when I took my elderly parent to their doctor or went to my own.  Despite the fact that I nearly passed out AT my doctor's office late last summer because of wearing the mask, they are so inflexible that they appear to be in favor of risking my life and health (from falling) than exempting me from a mask.  Having a partially collapsed lung is no excuse for them to make an exception.
The rest of the time, at grocers, "big box stores", etc., I haven't worn a mask.  This is despite the so-called experts claiming that I have 3 co-morbidities - age, weight, and high blood pressure.  And I do all the shopping for both myself AND that elderly parent, NOR do I have any intention of being a "guinea pig" for their experimentation !

[WLJ]

Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
·
12h
“As the masks go away, a lot of Americans are going to miss the ability to classify, shame, and despise one another at first sight.”
-novelist Walter Kirn

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1393507556748931073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3Anathancole%7Ctwgr%5EeyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.starshipstalker.com%2F

[Ben]

Looks like those of us who have always thought there was an extremely high probability of this being a Wuhan Lab leak - whether accidental, test, or China got what they wanted out of it - can start saying, "We told you so".

Interesting how the MSM went from making fun of anyone who thought this was anthropogenically introduced to now running OMG headlines.

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/05/18/gtfoh-jonathan-chait-pretending-his-publication-didnt-treat-the-covid-lab-leak-story-like-a-crazy-conspiracy-backfires-thanks-to-his-own-tweet/

[Ben]

Kamala Harris on Twitter:

Get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.

Response:

Are women allowed to remove their mask briefly to advance their career like you did?

 

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/05/18/visit-the-border-and-ill-consider-it-kamala-harris-demanding-tweeps-get-vaccinated-or-wear-a-mask-does-not-go-over-well-like-at-all/

[Angel Eyes]

Doctors in India warn that covering oneself in cow dung will not protect against COVID-19:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKBFtOB86Js


Well no *expletive deleted*it.

[WLJ]

Should work because no one will come near them.

[Perd Hapley]

Does anyone else recall the Asian gentleman roaming Italy, just before the outbreak there, offering free hugs?

Just checking.

[Ben]

I can confirm no masks needed at Costco anymore.

Yesterday I did my first "running errands in Boise and stopping downtown for a burger and beer" routine since this started last year. Cabelas made their employees mask up. Half the customers were masked, half weren't. They had a social distancing sign out, but no mask sign. The german store had a sign out that said (paraphrasing) "The Mayor* no longer requires masks. Customers may wear them if they choose, but we will not be enforcing masks in the store." No one in the store, customers or staff, wore masks.

At the brewpub, all the employees were masked up, and most of the customers walked in with masks, then took them off when they sat down. I entered maskless and had no problem. I think I mentioned earlier one of my favorite brewpubs was still enforcing masks because of their crybaby employees, so I'm not visiting them.

*The Boise Mayor would like Boise to be like Portland, and with the demographics in Boise these days, I could see why people were still wearing masks there even with no mandate. At my Costco, in another county, hardly any customers wore masks. "Mask or no mask" seems to be very geographic around here right now.

[Perd Hapley]

The St Charles MO Bass Pro is like the Cabelas you describe, except that nearly all the customers were wearing masks the last few times I was there. Weird.

[K Frame]

The Giant grocery store I shop at took its mask signs down (I stopped in yesterday evening), but most people were wearing masks.

I saw one guy shopping without one; I commended him on his bravery given that mask Karens and Nazis are still roaming in force... he chuckled.

I'll probably try going sans mask this weekend.



Maybe... just maybe... salad bars will finally come back.