The P&R Plague Thread (Covid-19)

knapplc said:
It continues to baffle me how much pushback there is against something as simple as wearing a mask. 
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I am certainly not pushing back. I wear a mask 100% of the time I am in public, and about 40% of the time while at work. I have not missed one day of work. I never had to quarantine. I have not had one day of "working from home". I counsel my co-workers to wear their masks. I am in contact with the public every single day, many of whom do not wear masks. 

 
Archy1221 said:
Now that it’s proven that only some mask wearing 90% eliminates the flu, will everyone back mask mandates every fall/winter going forward?  If not, why not? 
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I doubt it because we don't value the common good more than the inconvenience of wearing a mask. Other cultures wear masks more commonly than we do, especially in tight public quarters like trains, so maybe it will change over time.

 
DevoHusker said:
I am certainly not pushing back. I wear a mask 100% of the time I am in public, and about 40% of the time while at work. I have not missed one day of work. I never had to quarantine. I have not had one day of "working from home". I counsel my co-workers to wear their masks. I am in contact with the public every single day, many of whom do not wear masks. 
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Maybe I misunderstood the thrust of your "dichotomy" discussion above, but it certainly seemed that you were saying masks can't both stop influenza and not stop Covid. 

 
knapplc said:
Maybe I misunderstood the thrust of your "dichotomy" discussion above, but it certainly seemed that you were saying masks can't both stop influenza and not stop Covid. 
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My discussion was more in the vein of blaming mask deniers for Covid spread, but that even some mask usage has somehow eliminated influenza.  Why has no one ever pushed mask mandates during flu season..? The 25k-60k deaths that would have prevented every year not worth it?

If masks don't work for covid, then why continue to brow beat people like the revelers in Tampa the other night...or why continue to make it a flame war between right and left.  

 
DevoHusker said:
My discussion was more in the vein of blaming mask deniers for Covid spread, but that even some mask usage has somehow eliminated influenza.  Why has no one ever pushed mask mandates during flu season..? The 25k-60k deaths that would have prevented every year not worth it?

If masks don't work for covid, then why continue to brow beat people like the revelers in Tampa the other night...or why continue to make it a flame war between right and left.  
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Wow. Lot to unpack here.

Mask deniers should be blamed for spreading Covid - or at least shamed. It's undeniable that wearing a mask dampens the spread of Covid. This is accepted science, right? If so, everyone not wearing a mask is pretty much a jerk. 

Why has the flu been tamped down this year even though so many people refuse to wear masks? Because it's less contagious than Covid. Again - accepted science, right?

"If masks don't work for Covid" - they do. They are not 100% effective, but the CDC has gone to great lengths to educate the public about the benefit of mask wearing. I'll link you some data, if you're not aware of this.

"Why has no one pushed for mask mandates during flu season" - I don't have an answer for this. Influenza clearly isn't the killer that Covid is, as we approach half a million deaths from Covid on the year anniversary of its major impact on America. 

Mask wearing became "a flame war between right and left" when right-wingers chose to follow trump's "it's just a hoax" mantra and made it political rather than a science-based response. 

 
Archy1221 said:
Why don’t we need one when it’s now proven that it would save 30,000-60,000 lives every year 
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Not sure where the line should be, but a pandemic would qualify as an extraordinary event where public health is truly in everyone’s interest.  I also don’t think you need to wear a mask during flu season to demonstrate compassion. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough/yawn/sneeze, and stay home when you’re sick.  If all people did that, we’d see far fewer flu deaths as well. 

 
DevoHusker said:
My discussion was more in the vein of blaming mask deniers for Covid spread, but that even some mask usage has somehow eliminated influenza.  Why has no one ever pushed mask mandates during flu season..? The 25k-60k deaths that would have prevented every year not worth it?

If masks don't work for covid, then why continue to brow beat people like the revelers in Tampa the other night...or why continue to make it a flame war between right and left.  
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I think another reason would be the fact that a flu shot is available to everyone every year. We obviously didn't have that with Covid-19 and subsequently in order to keep our health professionals from being overwhelmed a mask was a necessary step to try and keep the spread of the virus as low as possible.  

Which going back to my first point. I think a lot more people got their regular flu shot this year because of Covid-19, which certainly kept flu rates down as well. 

 
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NebraskaHarry said:
I think another reason would be the fact that a flu shot is available to everyone every year. We obviously didn't have that with Covid-19 and subsequently in order to keep our health professionals from being overwhelmed a mask was a necessary step to try and keep the spread of the virus as low as possible.  

Which going back to my first point. I think a lot more people got their regular flu shot this year because of Covid-19, which certainly kept flu rates down as well. 
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I think you make valid points here regarding flu shots.

Thanks.

 
Our IT guy came by yesterday to upgrade my computer.  Walked into my office not wearing a mask carrying a bag of McDonald's.  Total space invader to boot.  I bailed immediately. 

Then to make matters worse he stuffs his McDonald's garbage under my desk.  I fumigated the whole place.

Nice knowing you all...lol

 
Scarlet said:
Our IT guy came by yesterday to upgrade my computer.  Walked into my office not wearing a mask carrying a bag of McDonald's.  Total space invader to boot.  I bailed immediately. 

Then to make matters worse he stuffs his McDonald's garbage under my desk.  I fumigated the whole place.

Nice knowing you all...lol
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Come on, even Covid is not going near an IT guy.  Those guys are the worst!  Ha

 
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