You get what you see with me. I hate putting a mask on my face. I did for as long as was necessary.
Not in my neck of the woods. CT is in very good shape. 71% at least one does and 64% fully vaccinated. Out of that remaining 29% I’d guess 15% are children under 12 who can’t yet get vaccinated. So we have like 14% not vaccinated who are eligible. I don’t see a valid need to mask up again. Unvaccinated people and children can double mask and protect themselves. I understand my mask helps them but me taking an experimental vaccine also helps them. We see cases spiking in the anti-vaccine crowds. Hand out the Darwin Awards.
The odds of me getting it and transmitting at a trip to Walmart are extremely low. My whole family is double vaccinated as are many of my close co facts. The ones who are not that I know are all Trumpers. They go to parties, bars and so on without a mask unvaccinated. I’m the least of their concern and honestly, they reap what that sow at this point. Not masking except where required.
I understand it. I just meant that for me it’s enough of a reason to still personally wear the mask in gatherings for a little while longer until it’s all under a bit more control.
I don’t think it’s out of line to admit that one hates wearing masks. I don’t know anyone who really enjoys it. The key is that despite not liking it, many have dutifully done it when necessary anyway for the sake of others, and will again if it becomes needed.
I don’t enjoy masking either, generally, but they are actually pretty nice when it’s below zero in the winter and your nose hairs would freeze without one on.
Reading up on the Delta variant situation this week, this is the important info I’ve noted and my takeaways. I’m not going to take the time to go back and find all my sources, you can trust me or not.
Vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant than the original variant, but they are still pretty effective in preventing severe cases that result in hospitalization. Less than 1% of vaccinated people are experiencing breakthrough infections (edited to be more statistically accurate)
(1 in 100 is good odds, but if community spread is high in your area, you might want to wear a mask at crowded indoor gatherings with no social distancing to protect yourself.)
Vaccinated people who become infected with Delta are just as contagious as unvaccinated people and infected vaccinated people have high viral loads in their nose and mouth, even with very minimal or no symptoms. The R0 for Delta variant is estimated to be from 7 to 12, meaning it is more contagious than chicken pox.
(Wearing a mask as a vaccinated person protects others in the event that you are infected and don’t know it.)
The symptoms are also reported to be different than the first COVID variants and people are less likely to have cough and loss of taste or smell. They are more likely to have runny noses and congestion and headache. So people may not be recognizing that they have COVID symptoms when they are in fact highly contagious.
(Wearing a mask protects yourself and others from people who don’t know they are sick and contagious.)
Based on these things, my family will be wearing masks to church on Sunday and in stores and other public buildings because our area is a “red” zone now. We have not been wearing masks around vaccinated friends and family, because we feel that is an acceptable risk.
I agree. I know despite being irritated with these people that are anti vax and anti mask in my community I don’t actually
Want to contribute to their deaths. I also feel like by wearing a mask it also helps to keep the others wearing masks that may not have had their vaccines. Plus I’m going to buy some more horror “masks”.
As in 7 people per 100,000 hospitalized vs 5? That is your trending up? And of course it is. We laid back on all rules and opened everything back up and now a new strain is ripping through the unvaccinated crowd.
Your other link
Mortality (43 states, NYC, PR and GU reported)*
Among states reporting, children were 0.00%-0.26% of all COVID-19 deaths, and 7 states reported zero child deaths
In states reporting, 0.00%-0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death
Covid deaths extremely rare in children. What all the studies show. We will soon see what happens with all these schools without mask mandates. Here in CT we have to wear them. Like I said, my area is fine.
We are spending next week in SC. Not knowing the area and it’s politics. We will probably mask there just to be safe.
I was reading about the cases linked to Lollapalooza here in Chicago last night.
There were 385,000 people there, and from the pictures I saw, people were right on top of each other and hardly anyone was wearing a mask.
There have been 203 cases linked to the event, which is a pretty low percentage.
They required proof of vaccine or a negative COVID test for entry and 90% of the guests were vaccinated.
So I think at this point, the best thing we can do is keep encouraging people to get vaccinated. Vaccinated people are only a small percent of the people contributing to these new explosions of cases and community transmission.
Also just to be clear with my post my point was not to undermine vaccines or saying that vaccinated people are the main reason why covid is spreading. I obviously support getting the vaccine and think it’s best.
I was just trying to bring up two issues.
Should those of us vaccinated still wear masks in public gatherings. ( I personally am ).
Secondly how amusing it is that the people who are blaming the vaccinated are essentially saying because the vaccinated are not wearing masks they are spreading the virus which means by default they are saying masks help prevent the vaccine yet if you asked them that directly those same people
Most likely have been the ones “ mocking “ maskers.
That might depend on what’s meant by ‘exposed’ here. mRNA vaccines are reportedly somewhere between 40% and 80% effective at preventing infection with the delta variant; that is, that’s how much they reduce your chance of being infected compared to someone who isn’t vaccinated. (Which is a wide spread – the data is still pretty crappy.) What your absolute risk is of being infected when exposed depends on just how exposed you were, and I don’t think is well known.
(Note that the vaccine effectiveness probably depends on which vaccine you got, on how long ago you got it, and on other things like your age.)
Yes, I’m probably misstating the stat I read. ETA: I looked up what I was trying to remember reading. It was that fewer than 1 percent of vaccinated people had reported breakthrough infections.
This article from a statistician said that reporting on the percent of current cases that are breakthrough cases is confusing people about vaccine effectiveness and instead we should be asking what percent of the vaccinated population is getting infected. It’s very low.
[Piggybacking off your question…]
Short answer: yes, at least if there is substantial transmission in your area. Epidemics depend on the collective behavior of the entire population. Behaviors that contribute to transmission permit an epidemic to intensify, meaning more suffering and death, while behaviors that reduce transmission collectively control epidemics. Vaccination reduces transmission. Masking reduces transmission. Avoiding crowded places reduces transmission. Doing more than one thing reduces transmission more than doing just one.
The way I figure it, anything I can do to prevent sickness and death in others (not to mention myself) is a good thing. No doubt some of the people who will be spared suffering are annoying, some of them are morons, some are downright evil, some are misinformed, and some are vulnerable innocents who are doing their best to protect themselves. I don’t see how any of that matters to how I should behave. "Use every man after his desert, and who shall 'scape whipping? "
Yeah, it may be overkill but I’m going to be wearing a respirator to be safe. My college does not give the opportunity to remotely learn and it is known for high transmission.
I’ve been vaccinated, but I’m not running a chance due to family members with compromised immune systems and too young for the shot. I know I’m possibly going to be ridiculed, but so be it… have to protect the ones I love and others.
)
