Taking a migrant caravan to Alabama to get the first vaccine shot today.  Can't wait to finally start picking my nose immediately after touching doorknobs again.

8 minutes ago, pallidrone said:

I think I will be wearing a mask even after this is long over. If the pandemic proved anything, it is that there are so many Americans that are disgusting germ ridden creatures.

I've read that it was normal in Asia long before this to wear a mask when sick. It wouldn't be a bad thing for us to normalize some of these behaviors going forward.

53 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

I've read that it was normal in Asia long before this to wear a mask when sick. It wouldn't be a bad thing for us to normalize some of these behaviors going forward.

I'm gonna stick with hand sanitizer and continuing to avoid Walmart like I have been for the last decade.  I'm not wearing a mask for the rest of my life every time I'm in public.  I have no issues with it for the greater good of squishing this pandemic but I want to be frickin done with them asap.

9 minutes ago, rambo said:

I'm gonna stick with hand sanitizer and continuing to avoid Walmart like I have been for the last decade.  I'm not wearing a mask for the rest of my life every time I'm in public.  I have no issues with it for the greater good of squishing this pandemic but I want to be frickin done with them asap.

Of course, I'm with you. I'm just saying we could generally take some lessons with us from this experience for the benefit of public health.

1 minute ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

Of course, I'm with you. I'm just saying we could generally take some lessons with us from this experience for the benefit of public health.

I agree.  I think the bigger thing is just cleaner habits.  Like wash or sanitize your hands when you get out of stores, not touching your face and eyes with dirty hands, etc...Now if I'm ever forced to go to a Chucky Cheese or equivalent again, I'm going full hazmat suit.

2 hours ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

He makes the point later on that, even if the variants reduce efficacy against illness, they're still quite effective against sever disease, hospitalization, and death. They might not be perfect, but they're a powerful weapon that will help us get this under control.

He also makes the point that the public health community has screwed up the messaging on this by being paternalistic and focusing on what people can't do, rather than what they can do, giving them options rather than absolutes and framing the matter around mitigation rather than elimination, but they've been selling fear instead of hope, etc. He also notes that some of the shutdowns and some of the mitigation efforts were kind of nonsensical when we think about how the virus spreads. On the last point, I'd contend that we took a lot of extreme measures early on that proved to be excessive or foolish simply because we really didn't know much about this virus at the time, but maybe we should be revising them. Either way, there's good perspective in here and advice to be well-taken by the doom-and-gloomers.

Even ignoring T-cell response, a lesser antibody response does not mean the vaccines don't prevent infection, it just may mean lesser durability. And I'll again point out that even with tens of millions of people vaccinated, we have very few, if any, reports of any fully vaccinated people getting infected with either of the variants.

But I agree with the errors in messaging. We need to dangle the carrot to try to bump compliance to 75% or better.

Obviously the best bet when you're sick is staying home, but if that's not possible, I wouldn't have a problem wearing a mask while out in public if I'm under the weather. Definitely not down with wearing them indefinitely while healthy.

1 minute ago, Kz! said:

Obviously the best bet when you're sick is staying home, but if that's not possible, I wouldn't have a problem wearing a mask while out in public if I'm under the weather. Definitely not down with wearing them indefinitely while healthy.

One thing that has helped is people keeping their kids home from school when they're showing any minor cold/sick symptoms.  Before it was just ship that snot bubbler off to school so they don't get an unexcused absence.  Now with option of virtual they can not miss and not infect the entire class.  That is something that needs to continue.

31 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

Of course, I'm with you. I'm just saying we could generally take some lessons with us from this experience for the benefit of public health.

We barely heard the importance of a healthy immune system and at a healthy weight. Just toss a few pills down your gullet with a diet soda and will be fine. 

12 minutes ago, rambo said:

One thing that has helped is people keeping their kids home from school when they're showing any minor cold/sick symptoms.  Before it was just ship that snot bubbler off to school so they don't get an unexcused absence.  Now with option of virtual they can not miss and not infect the entire class.  That is something that needs to continue.

Any idea what is being done if a kid is sick with the virtual learning?  Sniffles is one thing, but if a kid has a fever, is the student expected to watch virtual classes as much as possible?  Do they tell the family to have the student get rest and get back to normal as soon as possible?

 

The virtual learning will also partially avoid snow days, which is bad for kids in the winter, but good for kids in June.

2 minutes ago, xzmattzx said:

Any idea what is being done if a kid is sick with the virtual learning?  Sniffles is one thing, but if a kid has a fever, is the student expected to watch virtual classes as much as possible?  Do they tell the family to have the student get rest and get back to normal as soon as possible?

 

The virtual learning will also partially avoid snow days, which is bad for kids in the winter, but good for kids in June.

Back in October, my daughter didn’t feel well (started to take a nap during her lunch time).  When it was time to get back on the zoom, she was still sleeping, so we let her sleep (she doesn’t take naps anymore, so she was likely sick in some manner).  We emailed the teacher to let her know.  There was work put on the class page for anyone who missed a given day, they’d do the assigned work and get credit for that day.

6 minutes ago, xzmattzx said:

Any idea what is being done if a kid is sick with the virtual learning?  Sniffles is one thing, but if a kid has a fever, is the student expected to watch virtual classes as much as possible?  Do they tell the family to have the student get rest and get back to normal as soon as possible?

 

The virtual learning will also partially avoid snow days, which is bad for kids in the winter, but good for kids in June.

This would have crushed me as a kid. There was nothing better than the unplanned snow day off.

Exposure to bacteria and germs are necessary to build a strong immune system. 

Pfizer FTW, beyotchezzzzz!

Nice!   Were you a brave boy?

15 minutes ago, xzmattzx said:

Any idea what is being done if a kid is sick with the virtual learning?  Sniffles is one thing, but if a kid has a fever, is the student expected to watch virtual classes as much as possible?  Do they tell the family to have the student get rest and get back to normal as soon as possible?

 

The virtual learning will also partially avoid snow days, which is bad for kids in the winter, but good for kids in June.

My kids are full live but there is also a virtual option.  Kid doesn't feel good let the school know and they can just logon and do the work at home and attend google meets with the teacher since they're doing virtual and live at the same time.

22 minutes ago, paco said:

Nice!   Were you a brave boy?

I was! I even got the young, cute nurse, so that probably helped 😊. The GF acted like the shot itself was painful after she got it the other day, so I asked the nurse if it was a deep injection (yeah, I just realized there's a lude joke in there ). She said no, though, and she was right; I barely even felt the jab. The one funny thing was that I felt just a twinge of lightheadedness within about 10 seconds after the shot, but it dulled pretty much immediately.

8 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

I was! I even got the young, cute nurse, so that probably helped 😊. The GF acted like the shot itself was painful after she got it the other day, so I asked the nurse if it was a deep injection (yeah, I just realized there's a lude joke in there ). She said no, though, and she was right; I barely even felt the jab. The one funny thing was that I felt just a twinge of lightheadedness within about 10 seconds after the shot, but it dulled pretty much immediately.

No lie, I'm terrified of getting shots.  If I have to do a blood draw I make them use a butterfly needle in my hand.  I don't care if its more painful in the hand, the idea of a needle in the soft part of my arm...... 

 

Flu shots I use to be squeamish about, but since schmoopie has been making me get them, I know what to expect. When I got it, it was the same as a flu shot, barely noticed it.  However schmoopie said she heard some spring like noise from hers?  Didn't know that was a thing.

Just now, paco said:

No lie, I'm terrified of getting shots.  If I have to do a blood draw I make them use a butterfly needle in my hand.  I don't care if its more painful in the hand, the idea of a needle in the soft part of my arm...... 

 

Flu shots I use to be squeamish about, but since schmoopie has been making me get them, I know what to expect. When I got it, it was the same as a flu shot, barely noticed it.  However schmoopie said she heard some spring like noise from hers?  Didn't know that was a thing.

That was the microchip being inserted. 

2 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

That was the microchip being inserted. 

Shut up and buy a Microsoft Surface!

Just hope that when Bill Gates flips the 5G switch in all of our heads, you get one of the cool forced labor jobs. 

58 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

I was! I even got the young, cute nurse, so that probably helped 😊. The GF acted like the shot itself was painful after she got it the other day, so I asked the nurse if it was a deep injection (yeah, I just realized there's a lude joke in there ). She said no, though, and she was right; I barely even felt the jab. The one funny thing was that I felt just a twinge of lightheadedness within about 10 seconds after the shot, but it dulled pretty much immediately.

Nah, the cute young nurses have only been doing it for a few years most likely.  When it comes to lab draws and shots give me the surly old nurse with the forearms of a medieval blacksmith and the dead-eyed stare of Colonel Kurtz anyday. That nurse has given a million shots in his/her day and could find a vein on a field mouse. 

52 minutes ago, xzmattzx said:

Any idea what is being done if a kid is sick with the virtual learning?  Sniffles is one thing, but if a kid has a fever, is the student expected to watch virtual classes as much as possible?  Do they tell the family to have the student get rest and get back to normal as soon as possible?

 

The virtual learning will also partially avoid snow days, which is bad for kids in the winter, but good for kids in June.

Since our schools continue to teach virtually, one consequence this cold/flu season is nobody has gotten sick! By this time last year, we all had been coughing, sneezing, snotting all winter since November. Last year was a particularly bad year, I remember. Usually we'd expect 4-6 bouts of cold/crud every season. This year, hardly anything until spring allergies started kicking up.  If my kid had gotten sick, I'd give him the day off; just count it as a sick absence.

Also, no snow days this year. Just like us parents, who can telework.

Got my first vaccine shot a couple days ago. The needle was as thick as a coat hanger. You could actually hear the pop as it broke the skin. It reminded me of the chick in Pulp Fiction getting the adrenaline slammed into her chest.

3 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Nah, the cute young nurses have only been doing it for a few years most likely.  When it comes to lab draws and shots give me the surly old nurse with the forearms of a medieval blacksmith and the dead-eyed stare of Colonel Kurtz anyday. That nurse has given a million shots in his/her day and could find a vein on field mouse. 

They used to have trouble finding a vein for a blood draw on me, but then they gave me the older, African-American nurse who has been doing this for 25+ years. First stick every time. Anytime I need blood work, my doctor makes sure she is available.