COVID-19

[Tomas]

Not sure if it was posted, but just for fun:

https://howbad.info/index.html

[NTP66]

No **** way am I checking that list.

[eddy]

Good friend of me mom's tested positive for covid, went to hospital and died next day. (No way they were vaxxed)

[faftorial]

Not sure if it was posted, but just for fun:

https://howbad.info/index.html

Really? VAERS data?

Anyone can report anything to VAERS and it's raw data. I expect better than that from you Thomas.

Chances are you may not be not familiar with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. Co-managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, VAERS was established in 1990 to detect possible safety problems with vaccines.

Unfortunately, the anti-vaccine movement has used this once-obscure database to spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.

VAERS is ripe for exploitation because it relies on unverified self-reports of side effects. Anyone who received a vaccine can submit a report. And because this information is publicly available, misinterpretations of its data has been used to amplify COVID-19 misinformation through dubious social media channels and mass media, including one of the most popular shows on cable news.

https://theconversation.com/unverified- ... ncy-166401

[count2infinity]

Not sure if it was posted, but just for fun:

https://howbad.info/index.html

J&J vaccine has 9 confirmed deaths directly as a result of the vaccine and they shut that sh*t down until they got it sorted and figured out. I would imagine with the hundreds of deaths from both moderna and pfizer vaccines shown on this website and in the vaers data, we'd have at least seen/heard something... anything. But alas, we have not.

[Dickie Dunn]

Are you telling me that a website that has a section titled “Facebook Testimonials” is unreliable?

[count2infinity]

Are you telling me that a website that has a section titled “Facebook Testimonials” is unreliable?

No no no... I'm telling you a website that has contact information to a dude trying to sell anti-aging medication and a link to "DOCTOR SPEAKS OUT ABOUT VAERS" and it links a video from this lady: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Support-the- ... 1958a92998 has less than noble motives...

The data itself is likely real. Straight from VAERS, but VAERS has been weaponized and used in a way it was never intended to be used in the last year.

[bhflyhigh]

Not sure if it was posted, but just for fun:

https://howbad.info/index.html

Really? VAERS data?
Anyone can report anything to VAERS and it's raw data. I expect better than that from you Thomas.

I'm guessing he knows, hence "just for fun."

[faftorial]

I'm guessing he knows, hence "just for fun."

It's a go to line in the anti-vaxxer playbook that is brought up over and over.

[count2infinity]

The pandemic is a complex, difficult situation to analyze statistically. When you don't have experience with analyzing statistics, have a bias/reason for presenting only certain data, or don't take the time to fully understand what the data means and where it comes from, you get the anti-vax crowd. VAERS data is useful for certain things, that's why it's there. The way it's being used there is not the way it's meant to be used, nor is it useful.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

[count2infinity]

I'm still in the former... for the first time through this pandemic I have resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to get sick. The omicron variant is just that infectious. I don't want to get sick, but I'm very aware it's likely to happen. The reason I don't want to get sick is that I realize that no vaccine is bullet proof, I could still have complications, I have an unvaccinated daughter who has a history of pneumonia, and I don't want to get someone else ill. I couldn't care less about disruption to my work, and I don't have any plans scheduled to cancel.

[shoeshine boy]

well, my friend and his husband that got sick from their unvaxxed niece in Colorado are confirmed positive. both were vaxxed and boostered and at this point their only lingering symptom is fatigue but I've got to wonder, would my friend's sister give a damn if either/both of them had long-term health issues because of this?

[NAN]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

I'm in the group of "I just dont' want the hassle of quarratining, keeping kids home from school, etc". It's already gone through our household, extended family, and friends like 2 or 3 times, 1 pre vaccine where we all felt like we had a really bad cold, to twice post vaccine where literally we probably wouldn't really know we had it if we didn't have close contact and tested.

This is part of our lives now. Get vaccinated. Protect yourself how you feel you is necessary. After that, we are doing sports, vacation, gatherings, etc. If you feel you have symptoms, get tested, or stay away, just like you probably would with the flu or something in the past that is more than a common cold.

[skullman80]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

We were way more precautious the week or so before we left for Vegas...simply for the fact that we didn't want to get sick and have to cancel our plans even though we had travel protection for a refund.

Somehow we didn't get it while were in vegas or on in the airport/plan...though I'm sure the indoor mask mandate/requirement there helped. Everyone followed it as well ...or at least 95% of people did.

We don't have kids, everyone in our family is vaxxed and or vaxxed/boosted. My mom is the only outlier in a nursing home (she is vaxxed). I get calls from them every day that someone there has tested positive. When we go see her we have to wear full PPE (n95/faceshield, gown etc). We limit out visits to a half hour or so. So our precautions are probably way less tha most others at this point.

My wife works in a hospital and somehow she hasn't gotten it yet either even though others in her workplace have. Honestly she probably did have it at some point and just when she happened to test at work due to being a close contact it came back negative...who knows.

[Troy Loney]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

I think it's different for everyone. I still feel bad for people that were never afforded the luxury of being able to work remotely and insulate themselves from exposure.

From what I can see at this stage, being triple vaxed means that the risk of covid is the same risk you face each winter from something like a flu/sinus infection/getting sick beyond a stuffy nose. I think the low hanging fruit is to avoid bars / restaurants until the spring and summer, and I really can't tell you if i'm avoiding them for covid, or just using covid as an excuse not to do those things. But, if you are unvaccinated, your best hope is to get omricon now so that you don't get delta and possibly die. And I could not possibly care for the fate of those folks, so I'm really not thinking about my behavior in terms of whether it's contributing to the spread of the disease (it is almost certainly not aside from occasionally going to use the gym).

That said, this is very different for people with kids than for those without, hence the contentious school closure debates right now. I think those folks need to work it out and probably acknowledge there are two very valid sides to that debate (and then there's Nate Silver who should probably be euthanized for the good of everyone).

[LITT]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

I think it's different for everyone. I still feel bad for people that were never afforded the luxury of being able to work remotely and insulate themselves from exposure.

From what I can see at this stage, being triple vaxed means that the risk of covid is the same risk you face each winter from something like a flu/sinus infection/getting sick beyond a stuffy nose. I think the low hanging fruit is to avoid bars / restaurants until the spring and summer, and I really can't tell you if i'm avoiding them for covid, or just using covid as an excuse not to do those things. But, if you are unvaccinated, your best hope is to get omricon now so that you don't get delta and possibly die. And I could not possibly care for the fate of those folks, so I'm really not thinking about my behavior in terms of whether it's contributing to the spread of the disease (it is almost certainly not aside from occasionally going to use the gym).

That said, this is very different for people with kids than for those without, hence the contentious school closure debates right now. I think those folks need to work it out and probably acknowledge there are two very valid sides to that debate (and then there's Nate Silver who should probably be euthanized for the good of everyone).

my spouse and i both work in a hospital so we obviously have not been able to work remotely and i think its been a blessing. i actually feel bad for the people that have been able to insulate themselves this whole time. many of my friends/family members that have been remote this whole time have developed mild to severe agoraphobia where it is almost paralyzing to them at times. as was mentioned a few posts ago about healthcare workers and not being infected, having to face this every day allows you to see how dangerous an infection can be but also the simple things that can be done to prevent infection from spreading (i.e. handwashing and airborne precautions). you dont have to fear it, just respect it

[MR25]

I still wear a mask because I work in-office where a mask is required (though everyone seems to trust everyone else so occasionally those masking rules are a little lax), and I don't want to be the a-hole who goes out, gets sick, then spreads it to the whole office. My immediate coworker has 3 kids either under 5 or under 6 and already had a bad bout with it right before I started.

I also have my dad, who is on meds for persistent lung issues related to sarcoid, and visits my 89 year old grandma often since he's retired and needs stuff to do. Plus my roommate, who also has elderly grandparents.

Basically, I'm doing it for other people because of the guilt I'd feel if I knew it was me who spread it around to everyone.

[NAN]

i actually feel bad for the people that have been able to insulate themselves this whole time. many of my friends/family members that have been remote this whole time have developed mild to severe agoraphobia where it is almost paralyzing to them at times. as was mentioned a few posts ago about healthcare workers and not being infected, having to face this every day allows you to see how dangerous an infection can be but also the simple things that can be done to prevent infection from spreading (i.e. handwashing and airborne precautions). you dont have to fear it, just respect it

This is very true IMO. I mean, there are exceptions as usual, but I know a person or two that I, or anyone, their family, friends, etc haven't seen in almost 2 years. They refuse to leave the house outside of a few exceptions. They are vaxxed now, but still are so scared of the virus, they just don't leave. And I think they are going to continue this behavior with the hope that this will disappear fully. That's no way to live IMO.

I don't know, maybe they enjoy the solidarity. But there is someone my wife works with where he and his wife stay away from each other in their own household. The wife is deathly scared of COVID. She'll cook dinner, eat, clean the kitchen, and then leave teh food for her husband and then leave the room for him to eat. They sleep in different rooms and pretty much live seperate lives. This is a couple that has been married over 30 years. Their kids are so frustrated because they can't come home and visit because of the mom. It's just weird IMO.

Protect yourself, use the tools that are out there, and LTT, maybe correct me if I'm wrong, but it's at a point where if you do protect yourself, it's no different than the other many viruses that are out there, especially this time of the year.

[CBear3]

My 70yo+ parents take care of my kids before/after school, and also are taking care of my 91 year old grandmother.
They're all triple vax, but I don't want to be the one that brings that crap into their household. So we're still masking up when we're out and about. Kids are all double vaxed now as well, so just trying to minimalize any potential damage.

I'd rather my grandmother not suffocate to death form her lungs filling with fluid and find some other way to pass.

[Troy Loney]

my spouse and i both work in a hospital so we obviously have not been able to work remotely and i think its been a blessing. i actually feel bad for the people that have been able to insulate themselves this whole time. many of my friends/family members that have been remote this whole time have developed mild to severe agoraphobia where it is almost paralyzing to them at times. as was mentioned a few posts ago about healthcare workers and not being infected, having to face this every day allows you to see how dangerous an infection can be but also the simple things that can be done to prevent infection from spreading (i.e. handwashing and airborne precautions). you dont have to fear it, just respect it

Fair, obviously this social shift has driven people into some paranoid positions. I would just contend that their insanity is not derived from their working situation, but a predisposition. And I guess my comment was more related to people forced to work in their low-pay, high risk jobs, not in a healthcare environment where their safety is an afterthought.

[eddy]

We still mask up whenever, at this point it's fine, I have no issues with it. It's unfortunate that a lot of my distant family still doesn't believe in this thing, but thats their choice and it's mine not to participate in Christmas or family gatherings now. Just not worth it to get sick and spread it to people who are doing the right thing. I have plans with vaxxed friends on a few weekends coming up so will avoid family events in the mean time. Sucks that I'm missing out on these big events for them, but I'd rather have fun with those who are smart.

[willeyeam]

Been back from Florida for 4 days. Fingers crossed for a couple more symptom free days and I'll be in the clear. Thought for sure this trip would result in omicron

[Tomas]

Open ended question:

Given the current state of things, i think we are all modifying our behavior at least in some way. My question is this: have we collectively shifted our attitude from "i dont want to get sick becuase it may get me or someone i care about seriously ill" to "i dont want to test positive becuase it will be a hassle to cancel trips, disrupt work/school/familly life"

i'm going out of town next weekend, and i wore a mask while playing adult sports twice in the past week or so. we are skipping on any eating out this weekend out of caution. its not because we are worried about spreading this (its going to spread at this point no matter what) or getting sick. its just to avoid the moral dilemma of "do i want to cancel my plans over the sniffels"

Firmly in the latter. I am vaccinated, kids got Covid with no symptoms, so did everybody else in their school. As a statistician by training, I pay attention to the distribution of outcomes, not outliers, so I know that the likelihood of truly adverse outcomes for vaccinated is very low. I am unwilling to change my behavior for the unvaccinated. I mask where requested or required, which is not very frequent in the state I live. Otherwise I completely resumed my normal life. I'm working from office (have been since fall of 2020), traveling, eating out, meeting friends, let kids play with their friends. Going back to social distancing, not eating out only when an important event I would not want to miss due to quarantine is approaching.

[bhflyhigh]

The pandemic is a complex, difficult situation to analyze statistically. When you don't have experience with analyzing statistics, have a bias/reason for presenting only certain data, or don't take the time to fully understand what the data means and where it comes from, you get the anti-vax crowd. VAERS data is useful for certain things, that's why it's there. The way it's being used there is not the way it's meant to be used, nor is it useful.

Exactly. Most people don't fix their own car. They take it to a mechanic who is an expert. They trust surgeons if they need something operated on. They rely on a pilot to fly the plane they're on. They rely on IT companies to provide services that they themselves could not. But somehow they are 100% convinced that they are somehow qualified to be a data analyst in infectious disease and vaccine safety without any training or experience whatsoever. And you're right. They come to the table with a pre made conclusion and evidence doesn't matter. If you search for the answer you want, there's always some crackpot out there that will support your point.