Moderator notice: Please do not ask for medical advice in this forum!
- If you are interested in Crafting, maybe try ordering a craft kit online (something substantial that would take time would be best, like a Latch hook kit
(and crochet hook if you don’t have one), a potholder loom and cotton loops, or cross stitch kit), to work on.
- learn something physical, like an instrument, how to sew or knit, etc
- a lot of museums and zoos and the like are doing virtual tours or free online classes, so keep an eye out for that as well.
- do a giant puzzle
- Join an online bookclub
- Take an online class
While the outbreak started around New Year's Day (12/31), it's picking up steam around the Asia-Pacific region especially since Mainland Chinese people tend to travel a lot.
For reference, the BNO Newsroom twitter has a special feed for any info on the coronavirus:
https://twitter.com/bnodesk?lang=en
The WHO has page about COVID-19 and any other concerns people may have. I suggest peeps go to the Q&A page to check for official details.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Edited by nombretomado on Jun 3rd 2020 at 3:21:48 AM
Redmess
Calling them boosters seems to be rather pointless at this point. We should just call them new vaccinations.
Optimism is a duty.
In the US, 2nd booster/4th shot are available for those over 50 in general, as well as those basically above 5 with moderate or severely compromised immune systems.
Edited by megarockman on Jun 7th 2022 at 10:31:50 AM
A procrastination in of itself
Can someone translate 1.8-fold and 4.2-fold into percentages for me? As while the strains are more resident, I can’t actually understand how much more.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fold is another way to say "x times larger". So 1.8-fold is 1.8 times larger or 180% the initial or an increase of 80%. Same thing with 4.2-fold, 4.2 times larger, 420% the initial or 320% increase.
Redmess
In other words, that's a huge increase over the last variant.
Optimism is a duty.
Redmess
I seem to have the flu again (at least its not Covid).
This pandemic sure seems to mess with your immune system, even if you don't get covid. I've never been sick this often before.
Optimism is a duty.
Looks like more tourism is open up for foreigners in Japan. They need to stick to wearing masks and stay within tour groups ONLY.
Redmess
I'm starting to wonder if wearing masks has made me more susceptible to the flu somehow. Has masking up for so long somehow prevented me from maintaining a level of immunity to the flu or something like that?
Optimism is a duty.
Lost in Space
Not necessarily, but there could be other factors involved. Prolonged social distancing means that you are also not getting exposed to the other pathogens that travel regularly through human populations and so your immune system will not develop incidental defenses against them.
Extra time spent indoors in controlled environments may also affect the overall robustness of your immune system.
Edited by Fighteer on Jun 9th 2022 at 1:46:25 PM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Redmess
Yeah, that could also be it. Rather unfortunate.
I wonder how common that is. Are we going to see a wave of more general illness in the wake of the pandemic? Has that happened after other pandemics?
Edited by Redmess on Jun 9th 2022 at 7:59:13 PM
Optimism is a duty.
Visiting from the Hoag Galaxy
There may be a wave of general illness but for a really basic and obvious reason.
The masks worked against more than just Covid. They were really effective against several types of the flu. When everyone stops wearing masks, the other stuff they were effective against comes back too.
Wearing masks does fuck all to your immune system, the idea of being slightly less exposed to disease for a couple years resulting in a weaker immune system is absurd. Especially since one of the things that can easily happen with many diseases is that the disease can permanently weaken your immune system. Covid certainly did that for a lot of people.
Not Three Laws compliant.
Redmess
But I never got the flu before the pandemic, and now I've gotten it several times in one year. How do you explain that?
Optimism is a duty.
Well, Redmess, you keep mentioning that COVID restrictions are loosening up in the Netherlands. I'd imagine that at least some people went "yeah, I'm gonna do my interactions with stuff even harder to make up for quarantining and stuff".
I'd also imagine it's led to the "well, it's just the flu, it's not COVID, ergo it's not so bad to take precautions" mindset. I caught a nasty non-COVID bug fall 2021 because some genius had tested negative and, thus, came into work coughing all over the place. But, hey, at least it wasn't COVID.
So, let's hang an anchor from the sun... also my Tumblr
Also, immunity to flu decreases over time. Or more precisely, the flu virus mutates to evade immunity. That's why we give vulnerable people flu vaccines every year; and if we bet on the wrong strain becoming dominant then the vaccines are a lot less effective. Since virtually no one got flu last year or the year before, it's to be expected that we will have very little hard immunity right now.
Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that you would get flu twice in one year, let alone "several times" in five months. With that time frame, you ought to have got immunity after the first time. Are you sure that they were all actually flu, rather than just a bad cold or something?
Edited by pi4t on Jun 9th 2022 at 1:25:04 PM
Redmess
One of them could have been a bad cold, yes.
Optimism is a duty.
Redmess
Speaking of airborne diseases, apparently monkey pox can spread through the air too now.
Optimism is a duty.
Great. Joy. That's fantastic.
I'm really getting sick of the "Find Out" century.
It's been fun.
Oh, bother.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The CDC's official line includes this:
"It also can be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact."
So not quite spreading through the air as quickly as other pathogens that mainly spread that way.
Edited by M84 on Jun 10th 2022 at 11:23:38 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Still not taking the risk. I’m glad I kept wearing my mask.
Apparently you're fine if you had the smallpox vaccine, but it I'm sure this is not wholly correct.
Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
I've relaxed my masking in some places, like when I'm outside or at break at work and sitting in a big open area, but generally keep to it of I'm out in public on the logic of "I have no good reason not to"
Oh, bother.
Should probably still be more worried about COVID-19 at any rate. Though the precautions for COVID-19 do largely help to reduce the risk of monkeypox exposure too.
Disgusted, but not surprised
I never had the smallpox vaccine since it wasn’t relevant to me.
Yeah, that's definitely a thing I've heard about in articles - that since smallpox vaccination was phased out rather a long time ago due to no need to protect against smallpox (which is good of course), it unfortunately leaves a greater population of people susceptible to monkeypox. I'm an older millennial and also never had a smallpox vaccine, because, yeah... it was eradicated except for secure labs.
I also have been keeping a mask on when I'm indoors in a public place and being careful in general, just because I know the COVID pandemic isn't over. Seems to have worked for me so far, and I haven't been getting non-COVID cold/flu either.
Edited by PointMaid on Jun 10th 2022 at 9:13:50 AM
I actually just got my third booster, I think. I’m still paranoid.
Edited by fruitpork on Jun 7th 2022 at 7:20:36 AM