Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prevention & Health Tips

[ZE_501]

I?ve recently gone back to work and protocols are strict. Departments don?t mix, lots of restricted areas, lots of hand washing, daily temperature checks, weekly testing, masks mandatory.

There has been the odd case but so far as I can tell, generally contained to 2 or 3 people who for instance ... car-pooled but didn?t wear masks in the vehicle (against the rules).

The masks work.

It remains unnerving.


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[Lejuan]

I don't get the fuss over masks myself. In the wake of SARS2003 loads of SE Asians, mainly international students and new immigrants, kept on wearing them. I always thought it was a bit weird, same as their tendency to walk around with parasols or umbrellas whenever the sun came out. It took a bit of getting used to for the rest of us, but it was never the big deal it seems to have been in parts of the US.

 

[Boba Ben]

My work situation hasn't changed much throughout the pandemic. My department is still required to report to the office as management was unwilling to put the money into getting one of our processes changed so it could be done remotely. Virtually everyone else is working from home and will be pretty far into 2021, so I'll be reporting to this giant empty building for quite a long time unless I can find a job somewhere else. It's a little annoying that most of my colleagues basically got a pay bump in savings on gas and car maintenance and more time in their day due to no longer having to commute, but I'm sure it'll never be addressed.

They instituted a mask policy over the summer, but allowed everyone in the building to fill out a form that says they don't have to wear a mask if they don't feel comfortable doing so, so nobody does. I'm the only one that didn't sign the exemption form. They're supposed to wear them when they leave their desks, but they just get up and talk to each other and go to the copier without them on. They often come up to me without their masks on to ask me questions and I just kind of back away from them as much as possible and explain that I feel more comfortable with the masks on while this pandemic is going on. It's been pretty frustrating. I know they're not 100% effective, but if they even offer some protection and reduce the chances of me infecting my family and not being allowed to work if I contract covid, I'll wear it at work. If kids in elementary school and grocery workers can do it, so can I.

 

[ZE_501]

Sorry Ben, it sounds like your co-workers and employers are clowns.

When the pandemic revved up my freelance work was severely impacted by the economic uncertainty and industry shutdowns, and my traditional fallback (hospitality) was simply levelled. I didn?t work for months.

Somehow in the midst of the chaos I switched careers definitively and although that work is sporadic, it?ll be much better for me in the long term, so I count myself lucky.

A bullet dodger if you will.


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[Lejuan]

Geez Ben, any employer trying that on in Australia would be put up on charges. The Australian response has been pretty harsh, but it's hard to argue with the fact that the virus has been suppressed.

The pay bump your colleagues are getting is a tricky one - as well as saving on car, commute etc they're probably also able to claim work-from-home expenses at tax time. A lot of employers have also been given rent relief on the cost of office space etc.

Sorry Ben, it sounds like your co-workers and employers are clowns.

When the pandemic revved up my freelance work was severely impacted by the economic uncertainty and industry shutdowns, and my traditional fallback (hospitality) was simply levelled. I didn?t work for months.

Somehow in the midst of the chaos I switched careers definitively and although that work is sporadic, it?ll be much better for me in the long term, so I count myself lucky.

A bullet dodger if you will.

Far out, months without work? That's tough. I've enjoyed a relatively high degree of certainty in my work for years, so being confronted with not knowing when/where the next paycheck is coming from is a bit of a jolt. Switching careers, kudos ZE!

 

[ZE_501]

[...] Far out, months without work? That's tough. I've enjoyed a relatively high degree of certainty in my work for years, so being confronted with not knowing when/where the next paycheck is coming from is a bit of a jolt. Switching careers, kudos ZE!

Given how much I've relied on freelance work in different capacities for decades, it wasn't so hard to adapt to for someone used to uncertainty. I've run my own business, been a salaried employee, bartender, waiter etc. etc. ... what was tough was when my contingencies got taken out. Any income from hospitality or running an Airbnb (both of which were my own safety nets) disappeared overnight, that's when the ride got a little wild. Still, I'm a lucky one.

It also helps that I'm Canadian, so there was an additional safety net from my government if I needed it. Even so, savings got pummeled and it's been a wild ride, but my career switch was just a logical consequence of my extremely roundabout trajectory the past 20 years. Everything makes sense with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[HODLr]

Got a source for that? Thanks!

I'll do you one better.

A new Danish study, out today, with over 6000 participants -

A high-quality, large-scale finds no evidence that wearing a face mask significantly minimizes people?s risk of contracting COVID-19. The randomized-control trial found no statistically significant difference in coronavirus infection rates between mask-wearers and non-mask-wearers. In fact, according to the data, mask usage may actually increase the likelihood of infection.

In the third post hoc analysis, which investigated constellations of patient characteristics, we did not find a subgroup where face masks were effective at conventional levels of statistical significance, researchers found.
The randomized-control trial, which is considered the gold-standard design for scientific research, had a large sample size of more than 6,000 people. Most studies conducted on various kinds of face masks against various coronaviruses are neither randomized, controlled trials nor conducted regarding the specific SARS-CoV-2 virus currently affecting the world.


After a month, 42 of the mask-wearers in the study (1.8 percent) were infected with the virus while 53 of the non-mask-wearers (2.1. percent) were infected with the virus. Statistically, this is not a significant difference between the two groups, suggesting these infection differences were a product of chance, say the study authors.

The between-group difference was −0.3 percentage point (95% CI, −1.2 to 0.4 percentage point; P = 0.38) (odds ratio, 0.82 [CI, 0.54 to 1.23]; P = 0.33).

 

[ZE_501]

I'll do you one better.


[...]

Where was that sourced from?

 

[Lejuan]

I'll do you one better.

er, that's actually not one better. I'd be interested in seeing the source too. And the primary source, not the secondary source you've posted here. Cheers

 

[SwedishHeat]

I'm assuming Pilky is referring the study referenced here.

The results state "Although the difference observed was not statistically significant, the 95% CIs are compatible with a 46% reduction to a 23% increase in infection" but what conservatives are shouting about, was this line in the conclusion "The recommendation to wear surgical masks ... did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50%"

So great, it didn't reduce the spread by more than 50%, however it did reduce it by 46% .... and anti-maskers are waving this study around as proof that masks don't work. Give me a break .. and put on a mask.

Also note, the author of the study outright said, people should wear masks.

 

[Joshua B. Pace]

good advice!

 

[ebor]

I am a mortician so I will weigh in...in no particular order

Wear a mask when near other people

limit close contact with those outside your very small bubble

stay away from mass gatherings

wash your hands -- constantly

stay healthy, eat properly, exercise, get decent sleep


...I don't need more work so see the above...

 

[Ironlegion]

I don't know if this was posted before but Hospitals get money from the government depending in how many people "perish" because of "covid" as a cause.
I know this because my wife is a nurse. Also, many people who die are wrongly classified as covid when in reality the reason of death is another. We can't really trust the system. Not that I am someone who doesn't believe covid is real. My mother of all people got covid. she is the type of person who would wash and disinfect her groceries, no shoes in the house, mask even in the house, etc. No body else in her house got it. But needless to say take everything that is going on with a grain of salt and know that there is always something else going on a money involved.

 

[SwedishHeat]

I don't know if this was posted before but Hospitals get money from the government depending in how many people "perish" because of "covid" as a cause.
I know this because my wife is a nurse. Also, many people who die are wrongly classified as covid when in reality the reason of death is another. We can't really trust the system. Not that I am someone who doesn't believe covid is real. My mother of all people got covid. she is the type of person who would wash and disinfect her groceries, no shoes in the house, mask even in the house, etc. No body else in her house got it. But needless to say take everything that is going on with a grain of salt and know that there is always something else going on a money involved.

Do you research this information before you internalize it? You really should.

Even the person who initially reported that hospitals get more money for COVID cases, further stated that he doesn't think stats are being over-reported, if anything, he believed cases are being UNDER-reported because of the lack of testing.

Further, there is a paper trail, if any hospital was found to be manipulating case counts, they'd certainly be subject to consequences.

 

[hellgrammite00]

Some things to consider:

-I think both cases and deaths are under reported. Part of that is so many asymptomatic people, and also the categorizing of deaths are generally not filed as Covid unless they have a positive test.

-Hospitals get medicaid reimbursement for Covid cases/deaths, but only if that patient tests positive. Even if a doctor/coroner claimed a death was Covid related, reimbursement couldnt happen without documentation of a positive test.

-Labs are generally external to the hospital, and don't have incentive to fake tests (they already get the charge for lab work, and are overburdened as it is.)

-El Paso has been hit hard by Covid, and provides some interesting data as their infections of gotten so high: https://epstrong.org/results.php

This mortality rate is intriguing, if however unsurprising (100s + is lower than 90s because of small sample sizes.)

 

[Lejuan]

Do you research this information before you internalize it? You really should.

Even the person who initially reported that hospitals get more money for COVID cases, further stated that he doesn't think stats are being over-reported, if anything, he believed cases are being UNDER-reported because of the lack of testing.

Further, there is a paper trail, if any hospital was found to be manipulating case counts, they'd certainly be subject to consequences.

Paper trails in hospitals are very, very hard to fudge and I wouldn't be taking the word of a nurse - respectfully - no matter how well qualified or experienced.

 

[BoosterGold06]

Has anyone else received the vaccine yet? I got the J&J one on Tuesday and was pretty wiped out yesterday. Achey, weak, and a low fever. I feel pretty much back to normal today though. I'm sure my vaccine symptoms were better than actually getting the virus.

 

[a-dev]

I'm in Ireland and no. Very slow here, even my at risk parents are still waiting.

 

[Skywalker(OG)Kush]

Has anyone else received the vaccine yet? I got the J&J one on Tuesday and was pretty wiped out yesterday. Achey, weak, and a low fever. I feel pretty much back to normal today though. I'm sure my vaccine symptoms were better than actually getting the virus.

Ya i had my 2nd moderna shot about 3 weeks ago now. First one no side effect other then a sore arm that felt like a Charlie horse. I already assumed the 2nd shot was going to kick my ass, i had done plenty of research. The side effects usually kick in at the 12-16 hour mark, so i popped an ibuprofen at the 12 hour mark right before i went to bed. I got to say my arm hurt like **** the 2nd time, i couldnt sleep cause everytime id roll on my side id be woken up with the shooting arm pain. I didnt wake up with cold sweats or a high fever cause i took the medicine at the right time. I too was achy, tired and had some brain fog all flu like symptoms for about 2-3 days. Oh and the ?microchip? really iched for a week after the pain finally went away. They really jabbed me hard that 2nd time, first time i didnt feel a thing when it went in, i even questioned if they gave it to me. The covid arm was probably the worst symptom for me.

I highly recommend that everyone getting moderna/pfizer take an ibuprofen before going to bed after getting the 2nd shot, just wait till the 11-12 hour mark. Also try to schedule your appointment before lunch so that 12 hour mark hits right before bed time so you can take the pill at the exact right time. I wouldnt take it too early or way before symptom onset as it could impact immune response. Dont forget to bring your covid vaccine card with you to the 2nd appointment once you get it they?l stamp it/mark then your official... laminate that thing take a picture of it to keep on your phone, guard it with your life..its going to be your ticket to freedom

 

[Skywalker(OG)Kush]

I'm in Ireland and no. Very slow here, even my at risk parents are still waiting.

The usa is swimming in vaccine. To bad you cannot safely get here to get one cause it certainly wouldnt be hard to get it once you were here. Need to buy a really big boat and sail here like the pilgrims of yesteryear