Good news ?

[Stallard12]

For the first time in forever, I opened up the forum and didn’t see on covid related topic listed!  I sure hope this means that y’all are on the way out.

Texas is now pretty much dun wi dat !  All stores restaurants, schools, bars, movie theaters and sporting events are in full swing - no masks required, not even the staff wear them.  In fact information is now coming out showing that masks played very little part in preventing the spread of covid.  Some Democratic States, including the mentally challenged Biden are clinging to them because they represent power.  Liberals have become used to the undemocratic power that they grabbed, as usual, “ for the common good”, cos we can’t think for ourselves and they just don’t want to relinquish it.

Thankfully, Texas is ruled for the good of the people, not for the good of the politicians.  At the very start, someone jumped up and closed the golf courses, fishing lakes, tennis courts etc.  They were closed for four hours, before the Governor removed all restrictions and told everyone, Texans are not prisoners, go enjoy yourselves and get fresh air.  
 

There has never been a lock down in Texas or Florida and these two States have the lowest impacts from the virus.  Right now the infection rate for covid is lower than a normal mild flu season.

I have said all along that we were being conned, now it appears that it was in fact incompetence by the ‘experts..  Infection rates have always been thru the roof in enclosed places - nursing homes are a prime example, while outside in the fresh air say at a soccer game, infection was almost germ free.  Yet they forced people to stay in confined spaces, where if one germ got in everybody went down. 
 

Finally, a funny / tragic personal story.  Three weeks ago I was in the Herman Surgical unit in Houston on a gurney, all ready to have cataract surgery, just before they inserted the iv, they did a final ekg.  Everything slammed to a halt when the nurse said “ Do you have AFib ?”  I said no, she said, well you do now!  Surgery cancelled. Very disheartening to get up, dress and walk out of the hospital still blind in one eye !  I am now playing with heart doctors and even more pills.

AFib, is an erratic heartbeat that allows blood to pool in the heart, dislodge clots and causes strokes and heart failure.  Pretty upsetting for an ex bike racer, who was still hanging hope of getting a call from the US Olympic Committee !  Still playing golf every day though, shot a 69 last Monday - maybe I should change my Olympic hopes to golf !

 

[asperity]

They're talking about masks and social distancing being maintained here into 2022 despite the majority having been vaccinated. The famous British stiff upper lip and fortitude have disappeared it seems. Hopefully some of us will get in to see the Wire live next month, fingers crossed.

Hang on in there Stall!!

[Stallard12]

It’s bullshit Asp, you wouldn’t believe how pleasant it is to just go out without a care.  Pretty much everyone in Texas who is susceptible has now had both vaccine shots.  Went maskless all day, Walmart, Frankies Italian restaurant and bar for lunch, doctors office for bloodwork and never questioned anywhere.  A couple of people in the docs office had masks on, but the doc didn’t.  They had 30,000 people at the Dallas Mavericks ball game last night, mostly maskless.  

[asperity]

The government has had two successes with this pandemic - the vaccine rollout and terrifying a majority of the public that if they even catch sight of someone not wearing a mask they are going to drop dead from covid. There are constant government advertorials on the radio keeping the pressure on - "hands face space", "don't meet up in groups of more than six", etc, etc. I do a lot of shouting at the radio.

[Davy51]

The precautionary approach has been to try & keep a lid on spreading the virus  till a viable vaccine was available. Nobody knew 15 months ago how bad the virus was or where it had come from  even though most of us suspected a man made source.

[Observer II]

Go tell the Indians Asp.       😷

[asperity]

Trying to compare the situation in India to ours is just more madness and scaremongering. The standards of living and the health service in India bear no comparison to ours and it's stupid to even try, but I expect we will be fed this as a "warning" against giving us freedom. When Whitty Van Damm comes out with nonsense like "it's perfectly safe for 2 vaccinated people to meet up - but the shouldn't" alarm bells ring even louder.

[Bill]

It’s simply a case of being cautious at the moment and not throwing it to the wind as we’ve seen across Europe and especially India. I don’t see the advice for us to be cautious in any way as scaremongering; it’s the right advice unless we want to risk the same thing happening here.

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

Well in that case say "be cautious", don't say "it's perfectly safe but don't do it". They've done this all the time, given us information and then immediately contradict themselves, they'd be better saying nothing. And again, why compare us to India? Why not compare us to Texas or Florida?

[Bill]

Look at it this way, someone could say that some cars have become so safe these days with automation, air bags etc that you probably don’t need a seatbelt. But don’t try it.

It’s risk Asp and I can’t understand how you can’t see that. The infection rate now is extremely low and therefore so is the risk but it’s not non-existent. What he’s saying is just try and put up with the masks for a bit longer to minimise the risk even further. It’s not a big thing to ask, we’ve put up with them for a long time already and I don’t hear anyone objecting aside from you and Stalard. 😊

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

Bill you are being deliberately obtuse in refusing to see the point I'm making. The guy we are all supposed to be looking to for guidance says that it's perfectly safe and then advises us not to do it, how stupid is that? You are also obviously blocking your ears to anyone who objects to masks, mainly because they have been proved to be ineffective. Wear your mask all day every day, outside, inside, in bed, in the bath wherever if it makes you feel safe it doesn't bother me what you do.

[Bill]

Quote

Wear your mask all day every day, outside, inside, in bed, in the bath wherever if it makes you feel safe it doesn't bother me what you do.

You do talk a load of old twaddle at times Asp. Try reading my edited post again but this time with your eyes open. 😊

 

Bill

[asperity]

I've read your twaddle again Bill and you don't explain how it's sensible for someone in his position to advise that something is perfectly safe but don't do it. I'll give you an analogy to match your seatbelt one - "it's perfectly safe to cross the road at a Pelican crossing if the lights are in your favour, but don't do it". Of course there could be some lunatic in his BMW going through the red light and runs you down, it's a risk like everything we do. But we don't tell people to cross the road at a Pelican crossing when the light is in their favour but in the same sentence tell them not to cross the road at all.

[Bill]

Well, I’m not even going to try to respond to that one Asp. Yer going bonkers again. 😊

You know what, I had a DNA test recently that said I was s 5% Irish and that worries me that I might be related to you. 😊

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

The mask is primarily to safeguard other people from you; and for those with colds and flu, should become normal wear from now on.    😷

[asperity]

Well you carry on wearing one Obs, I won't stop you 🤣

[Bill]

This whole virus thing is getting like an episode of Wacky Races.

Asperity and Observer. Between the two of them there is a lot of common sense. 😊

 

Bill 😊

[Confused52]

10 hours ago, asperity said:

Trying to compare the situation in India to ours is just more madness and scaremongering. The standards of living and the health service in India bear no comparison to ours and it's stupid to even try, but I expect we will be fed this as a "warning" against giving us freedom. When Whitty Van Damm comes out with nonsense like "it's perfectly safe for 2 vaccinated people to meet up - but the shouldn't" alarm bells ring even louder.

Well the alarm bells should stop. Dr Mary Ramsay explained this and actually I though it was clear what Van Tam said, we are currently using one set of rules for everybody so you don't meet up. That is is, you cannot be sure about the other person and nobody wants vaccine passports so the consequence is the rule is don't even if it is safe ( which it is) if you complain people don't understand the rules or you are unsure that complain about different rules in different places then this is what you get. Until everyone over 50 has had their second dose for at least 10 days that is how it will stay because then the 99th percentile of those likely to die will be protected or they have elected to risk it. People don't have to trust each other to tell the truth after that (about their vaccine status anyway).

[asperity]

As I was trying to point out to Bill, he would have been better saying nothing rather than saying it's perfectly safe and then straight away say don't, that way there would be nothing to explain away.

[Confused52]

14 hours ago, asperity said:

As I was trying to point out to Bill, he would have been better saying nothing rather than saying it's perfectly safe and then straight away say don't, that way there would be nothing to explain away.

To be fair Asp he didn't have that opportunity since he was answering a direct science  question in the Coronavirus briefing live on Wednesday. It is the press and media that want the rules simple and the questions always answered but they never get the criticism for the trouble they cause.

[asperity]

Fair enough Con, context is everything.

[Observer II]

Think Israel's proved that crowds cause deaths.   😷

[Stallard12]

You don’t need anyone to tell you to wear a mask or not wear a mask, it’s painfully simple to work it out for yourself.  If you have been vaccinated, YOU WILL NOT CATCH COVID and YOU CANNOT GIVE COVID.  So when you are continuing to insist on everyone wearing a mask, you are actually defying all the science that says the vaccines are 100% effective and please don’t nit pick by quoting some obscure source that says something different.  I don’t think many on here have advanced degrees in viruses, so on what basis are you refusing to accept this concept?  Caution? Against what?

The message from government and people on this forum should be “ Get vaccinated and never have to wear a mask again.”  Maybe that would motivate the weird anti vaccine nerds.

[Bill]

The info that we’ve been given is that after both doses, the vaccines can provide up to 95% immunity and up to 50% reduction of passing it on to others so overall while it’s not 100% it’s as near as makes almost no difference. I suppose part of the reason they’re asking people to keep wearing masks in confined places like stores is that the younger folk who haven’t yet been vaccinated are more likely to comply with the rules if everyone else is doing the same.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a big issue just to wear them for a bit longer even though the probability of me getting infected is almost zero but it’s the message it sends out to others that’s important. Only a tiny minority here are wearing masks outside and I think a lot of that is forgetting to take them off. I’ve walked home several time with the shopping in both hands with the mask still on and people would probably think I’m going OTT.

I’ve only met a couple of people who were outspoken anti maskers and quite honest, they were both a bit wacky and not the kind of person I’d like to share a beer with. Nobody likes them but almost everyone now accepts the logic of wearing them and don’t make a fuss about it. Hopefully, it’ll only be a matter of a few weeks now before it becomes an optional thing.

 

Bill  

[Stallard12]

Don’t know where you got that info Bill, but the CDC has stated that once vaccinated, there is no further need for masking or not to social gather. The only cases being recoded now and they are pretty sparse, are young folk who only suffer very mild symptoms.  Plus we are rapidly approaching herd immunity.  Plus unless you are constantly leaning into the face of a covid patient, a la a nurse or doctor, masking for the general public has been close to useless the whole time.  If you had been close enough to a covid germ with your mask on and accidentally touch a finger to your face while taking it off, you have got it, if you haven’t been close, then why the mask.