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Post by B.E. on Dec 30, 2021 17:27:12 GMT
I was able to get a booster at a local CVS Pharmacy in early November, but that was before the current wave. Speaking of which, this current wave has me baffled more than any time since this began. There are lines and long waits for tests. So, here's my confusion. If you're vaccinated, and don't feel sick, why is the hell would one wait five or six hours for a test. Possible exposure risk? If you've been anywhere around people, you've been exposed. It seems we're moving backwards here, and it feels unnecessary to me. I think it makes sense that people are being cautious ahead of holiday gatherings.
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Post by kds on Dec 30, 2021 17:46:48 GMT
I was able to get a booster at a local CVS Pharmacy in early November, but that was before the current wave. Speaking of which, this current wave has me baffled more than any time since this began. There are lines and long waits for tests. So, here's my confusion. If you're vaccinated, and don't feel sick, why is the hell would one wait five or six hours for a test. Possible exposure risk? If you've been anywhere around people, you've been exposed. It seems we're moving backwards here, and it feels unnecessary to me. I think it makes sense that people are being cautious ahead of holiday gatherings. If you feel sick, or haven't gotten the vaccine, sure.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 30, 2021 18:08:25 GMT
I think it makes sense that people are being cautious ahead of holiday gatherings. If you feel sick, or haven't gotten the vaccine, sure. But you don’t have to feel sick to have it and spread it to others, right? I know a lot of people who got tested last week or this week because they had been exposed and were planning to attend a holiday gathering (w/elder family members). Whether you feel a little sick, or very sick, or not all, testing is the only way to know.
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Post by kds on Dec 31, 2021 16:10:30 GMT
If you feel sick, or haven't gotten the vaccine, sure. But you don’t have to feel sick to have it and spread it to others, right? I know a lot of people who got tested last week or this week because they had been exposed and were planning to attend a holiday gathering (w/elder family members). Whether you feel a little sick, or very sick, or not all, testing is the only way to know. Being vaccinated means you're less likely to transmit. That's why my job only requires weekly testing for those who have not been vaccinated.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 5, 2022 13:07:04 GMT
Rochester (Minn.) based Mayo Clinic--widely regarded as one of the best healthcare providers in the world--announced they are terminating about 700 employees for failing to comply with the company's vaccine mandate. That number represents about 1% of their workforce. Mayo says they did allow health and religious exemptions, and granted the majority of exemption requests.
While I feel a little bad for anyone losing his or her job, I can't fault Mayo here at all. If you're taking care of vulnerable people, it stands to reason that you need to take all the precautions you can to avoid spreading diseases to them.
Really I think the 1% figure is a positive one, too. It's far lower than the number of unvaccinated people generally, and even in other sensitive occupations, such as nursing homes. (In Minnesota, something like 35-40% of nursing home employees were not vaccinated, last I heard. Absurd.)
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 5, 2022 20:18:30 GMT
Well, indoor mask mandates are back in Minneapolis and St. Paul, effective tomorrow afternoon. A lot of stores either required or strongly recommended/requested them all along, so I've actually mostly been wearing them in stores regardless. But now it's official again. Time to go back to wearing contacts a lot, because otherwise I'm mostly blinded by the fog, especially in winter!
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Post by kds on Jan 5, 2022 20:22:28 GMT
Well, indoor mask mandates are back in Minneapolis and St. Paul, effective tomorrow afternoon. A lot of stores either required or strongly recommended/requested them all along, so I've actually mostly been wearing them in stores regardless. But now it's official again. Time to go back to wearing contacts a lot, because otherwise I'm mostly blinded by the fog, especially in winter! Washing your lenses with shaving cream really does work. Although, wearing a mask is much easier with contacts. That reminds me that I'm overdue for some new ones, and way way overdue for new glasses.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 5, 2022 20:29:44 GMT
Well, indoor mask mandates are back in Minneapolis and St. Paul, effective tomorrow afternoon. A lot of stores either required or strongly recommended/requested them all along, so I've actually mostly been wearing them in stores regardless. But now it's official again. Time to go back to wearing contacts a lot, because otherwise I'm mostly blinded by the fog, especially in winter! Washing your lenses with shaving cream really does work. Although, wearing a mask is much easier with contacts. That reminds me that I'm overdue for some new ones, and way way overdue for new glasses. I always preferred wearing my glasses in the office because the air was so dry there, it would irritate my eyes over time. So contacts were, for years, pretty much relegated to when I would play rec league basketball, etc.
Once the pandemic started, though, I was back on contacts with a vengeance. Like you, though, my prescription was pretty old... But I'm up to date now, and relatively freshly stocked. (It used to be I could go years without needing new ones, I wore them so seldom.)
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Post by kds on Jan 5, 2022 20:44:54 GMT
I used to wear contacts at least six days out of the week. But, I remember reading around the start of the pandemic that it's better to avoid contacts when possible with COVID going around.
Once I got vaxxed back in April, I began wearing my contacts more often again, but I had some eye irritation towards the end of summer, so I've backed off a bit since then.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 13, 2022 12:32:02 GMT
Minneapolis and St. Paul are implementing new mandates requiring not only masks (which were re-implemented a week or so ago), but proof of vaccination or a negative test for entry to restaurants, bars, music venues, and sports stadiums.
Omicron and the resulting restrictions feel like a blizzard in April: not especially rare and probably to be expected, but a punch in the gut regardless.
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Post by kds on Jan 13, 2022 13:24:44 GMT
Minneapolis and St. Paul are implementing new mandates requiring not only masks (which were re-implemented a week or so ago), but proof of vaccination or a negative test for entry to restaurants, bars, music venues, and sports stadiums.
Omicron and the resulting restrictions feel like a blizzard in April: not especially rare and probably to be expected, but a punch in the gut regardless.
Some places in Baltimore are starting to do the same, like the National Aquarium. So far, local government seems reluctant to put in too many more restrictions, but things can change on a dime.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 15, 2022 16:09:00 GMT
I'm so confused... I go to a coop for most of my meats, cheeses, eggs, and produce. The shoppers there are overwhelmingly upper-middle class liberal-to-progressive types. (You can tell: clothes, cars, bumper stickers, etc., not to mention the products they sell there.) Throughout the pandemic, they have been in the group I'd call absurd: double-masked (even last summer when things were better), plastic gloves, making a show of distancing, etc.
In the past week or so, both Minneapolis and St. Paul reinstated mask mandates, and obviously cases are way up. The coop is in an inner-ring suburb, though. While so far precautions there have been on the extreme end, today I'd say WAY less than half of the people there, including employees, were unmasked and not distancing at all, ignoring the floor-markers near the checkout, etc.
Did even these hardcores suddenly give up on it all, or what? I feel like I'm always in the middle, thinking people aren't doing enough or are doing too much. Funny world.
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Post by kds on Jan 15, 2022 17:47:21 GMT
I guess even the Branch Covidians - the same people who, here in Maryland, constantly scream for more restrictions and shut downs - have their limits too.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 19, 2022 13:28:45 GMT
Minneapolis and St. Paul added new requirements beyond the indoor mask mandate of a couple weeks ago: they are now requiring proof of vaccination for people entering restaurants, bars, and other indoor venues that serve food and beverages (e.g. music and sports venues).
The mayors of these cities say it's essential to keep these businesses open at all. The businesses and their lobbying groups generally disagree, and fear (probably rightly) it will drive potential customers away.
What I find interesting is the relative slowness of the precautions. By most accounts, omicron is probably on the decline already. These kinds of measures, if they were going to be passed, almost certainly should have been passed around Thanksgiving, or Christmas at the latest. Not mid-January. They are late reactions.
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Post by kds on Jan 19, 2022 13:39:58 GMT
Minneapolis and St. Paul added new requirements beyond the indoor mask mandate of a couple weeks ago: they are now requiring proof of vaccination for people entering restaurants, bars, and other indoor venues that serve food and beverages (e.g. music and sports venues).
The mayors of these cities say it's essential to keep these businesses open at all. The businesses and their lobbying groups generally disagree, and fear (probably rightly) it will drive potential customers away.
What I find interesting is the relative slowness of the precautions. By most accounts, omicron is probably on the decline already. These kinds of measures, if they were going to be passed, almost certainly should have been passed around Thanksgiving, or Christmas at the latest. Not mid-January. They are late reactions.
I honestly don't think they wanted to mess with the holiday season. Similar restrictions have taken place here in Baltimore, but conveniently, after the conclusion of the Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Year cycle, as well as Ravens season.
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