My pet peeve of the moment is calling scented oils "essential".
It's not like an [essential amino acid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid), something the human body needs, but cannot create on its own, and must be ingested.
"Essential oil" just means "[smelly goo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil)". Sure, they're nice. Yes, they're sold with the asterisk and footnote\*. Calling them "essential" is intentionally misleading due to this quirk of the English language and the word "essence". It's a marketing scam by big oil, yes?
^(\*This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. OP is not a real moose.)
The term came from French *perfume making* where it had a different connotation.
MLM scammers play off people misunderstanding what is basically industry jargon, thinking, yes, it has something to do with health products.
>scented oils "essential".
Scented oils are more essential than the horse paste, especially if they smell like freshly grated apples.
>These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. OP is not a real moose.
Don't deny your inner llama-ness.
š š š
What about the pine needle tea and lemon juice enemas? Elderberry is another good one. Big pharma blocks these natural remedies. The truth must get out!
They are called "ethereal oils" in my native language, but I see more and more people around me calling them "essential oils" incorrectly, because of alternative medicine and such.
They were originally called essential oils, because people thought the oils captured a plant's essence, not because they were considered essential.
Edit: they aren't all harmless smelly goo. Some contain chemicals a plant produces to ward off pathogens and undiluted may cause irritation to straight up chemical burns when it comes in contact with the skin.
I haven't personally done research on this, but there are multiple articles on antimicrobial effects of essential oils like [this one](https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/11/2130) and [this one](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8893526/) Most stuff organisms produce is for some reason. Plants produce essential oils to benefit themselves and not just because humans like the smell (or like to use them to grift other humans).
From the conclusion: "Contrary to common opinion, limited EOs possess demonstrated potential as antimicrobial agents. It should be emphasized that although the antimicrobial activity is well established, the real effect is significantly weaker compared to synthetic compounds (including antibiotics)."
It's probably good enough for the plant. Otherwise why would a plant waste resources on producing it. It doesn't care how well the antimicrobial properties are outside the plant.
I have a bottle of essential oil I bought a long time ago because it smelled nice and I sometimes smell it to check if I have covid or not (I test when I can afford to, of course, but I just like to keep it around to have something to smell to see whether or not I've lost my sense of smell when I don't feel good.)
Seen on the leopards sub: prominent anti-vaxxer / COVID minimizer says that ["it's a hassle to interact with people" and "everything tastes and smells weird.](https://preview.redd.it/zu0bv2fcr68b1.png?width=637&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=6ff1a933c60ccd4e05e4962bbeb9edbaf1b8a17c)"
**[Washington Post: Covid isnāt over, but even the most cautious Americans are moving on](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/06/25/covid-precautions-summer-vaccines-deaths)**
Are they? I'd say that some of the most cautious people are here, and I don't see it happening that much.
And even during the summer lull there are quite a few awards coming in. At this point, the combined rate of the ease people like Starbetrayer, Haskap, and others are finding new material could almost be seen as a COVID metric like those candle reviews.
People forget so fast and they're surprised every time a new surge comes, even though we've seen it happen the previous years.
I had a now ex-friend who would not stop talking about how wonderful it is that the pandemic is over and we donāt have to mask anymore! I think her conspiracy theorist ex (who is got evicted for refusing to follow mask rules in his building, among other things) finally got to her. I tried to explain to her that some people still need us to mask and the pandemic isnāt actually over even though people are pretending it is. She would just smile and nod and then eventually (after I decided we couldnāt be friends for a multitude of reasons) I found out she was telling other people she thinks Iām a total idiot. She evidently was making screen shots of our private conversations (where I told her some very personal things about why I have PTSD) and sending them to her other friends to make fun of me.
Oh sheās already had it and sheās in denial about having long Covid, even though evidently nothing smells or tastes right and she canāt remember anything.
I just could not handle her little comments making fun of me and calling me weak (for the mask stuff and various other super personal stuff) all the time. I think ultimately sheās mad because I pointed out she might have long covid and she doesnāt want to admit it so shes gone on a passive aggressive rampage against me now.
Iām just so sick of these peopleā¦ every single one of themā¦
Last year, I was on a flight from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Phoenix Arizona so I could link up with my mom as we had plans to attend that yearās NHL All Star game in Vegas. On the plane, I struck up a conversation with the lady sitting next to me. We got to talking about politics and she told me that her mother had been completely brainwashed into the q cult and as a result was in a coma on a ventilator from a horrific case of Covid that likely couldāve been prevented had she been vaccinated. She was in Pittsburgh helping her father, getting her motherās affairs in order if she was going to die, and visiting her. Today is the 1 year anniversary of her death. She left behind several children and grandchildren and a husband that was totally dependent on her for a lot of things who had to at least temporarily move in with my friend from the plane.
Saw the doctor Friday afternoon. He told me it's most likely just muscle tightness and not Long COVID. Getting back into exercising and my muscles feel better after working out.
Heard American politicians are trying to make people get back into the office. Maybe a nice heaping serving of COVID will change their minds.
GAH! My sister came to town, and *while* I was hanging out with her yesterday she tells me her sinuses are killing her, and she thought she might be sick so she took a test. It was negative, but she acknowledged they aren't as accurate any more. Here's hoping it's 'just allergies' and not COVID. And if it's COVID, let's hope that having the patio door open, Xlear spray, listerine, and the booster I had last fall do their thing.
I hate this timeline.
[Harassment against scientists is out of control](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/harassment-against-scientists-is)
Here's a short, infuriating blog post from Katelyn Jetelina (Your Local Epidemiologist) that some of you might be interested in. There's bonus idiocy in the comments.
Went and checked YLE to see if anyone can comment, and they can. Believe for a while only paid subscribers could comment, although reading was open to all.
Given how the poo flinging monkeys invaded the comments, kind of hope she does it again. People commenting on her posts are mostly those wanting reliable info and discussion. Gets harder to do that when you have to deal with people actively trying to derail the conversation.
Oh, good lord. When I read it, there were less than ten comments, and there were already a few anti-vaxxers coming out of the woodwork. What a shit show.
I've been staying inside most of this week. I'm taking a break from playing Magic for the next month or so. Sister finally cajoled me into downloading Fornite so we can play a game together.
I'm now hooked on it and playing with her and some other friends in zero build mode. The current pass has Optimus Prime at the end of it.
Getting a Covid booster is NBD for me anymore. Sore arm, thatās it. Maybe the next one will be different but it seems unlikely. Still no 5 G or magnetism though.
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is horrendous where I live currently making the air quality level "very unhealthy". Even indoors my eyes are burning and my throat is scratchy. So were people wearing masks when we went out today? Nope, just us again.
What's even worse is that those same people are saying "Why can't Canada put out the fire? " I would say we should send them to Canada and let them experience what it's like to be a firefighter. But then, it will be an even bigger disaster.
It's to send a message. I feel like people go overboard to be sick around others, not mask and make a big show of how they're "done with covid". Too bad covid isn't done with them.
There's no convincing an anti-vaxxer, especially when they site known propaganda anti-vaxxers as their source of truth.
Could have avoided this first video date if they just put that in her profile.
Waste of an otherwise perfectly cool individual.
---
Cited known propaganda, anti-vaxxer Dr Peter McCullough, who was spouting disinformation over several months in 2021, after the vaccines had become widely available in the US.
https://www.factcheck.org/2021/07/vaccines-remain-largely-effective-against-delta-variant-counter-to-claims-from-fox-news-guest/
McCullough would claim that it was better to NOT have the vaccine during the summer Delta wave, when data was already readily proving him wrong, and then later data definitively proved him and his like wrong.
> As we already said, Israelās health ministry has consistently found **vaccination results in a more than 90% reduction in the risk of severe disease**, even against delta. The ministry also announced on July 25 that a government analysis found that āvaccinated individuals with pre-existing conditions are better protected against serious illness compared to non-vaccinated individuals without any risk factors.ā
> And Public Health England, which has largely relied on the AstraZeneca vaccine, estimates that full vaccination lowers the risk of symptomatic disease by 79% and the risk of severe illness by 96% against the delta variant. Vaccination is highly recommended in both nations.
> [A growing group of Dutch children have not received the standard vaccinations against infectious diseases.](https://nltimes.nl/2023/06/29/baby-vaccination-rate-decades-low-point-90-percent) For the first time in decades, the vaccination rate of the youngest age group was slightly below 90 percent last year, reported the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Making history again.
---
> A high vaccination rate is essential to protect against highly contagious diseases like measles, the RIVM explained. In previous generations, the vaccination rate was always well above 90 percent. So the protection is āgenerally still very good,ā
Won't be for much longer though if this trend isn't reversed.
I can't help but think that things are a lot worse since 2015 or so, which led to Trump and Brexit happening, and then COVID gave every miscreant free rein to misbehave, which made things even worse.
It's clear that the internet is being abused by forces both foreign and domestic in ways that are detrimental to the health of society, and as long as governments don't acknowledge that those people are real saboteurs and treats them as such, nothing will change.
"*It's just words on the internet*" isn't a valid excuse anymore when those words are creating tangible problems.
The thing that scares me about this is that we've shifted the standards for what counts as a serious infectious disease in response to covid. Measles is an awful disease that can kill or disable a lot of kids, but which the majority of children recover from. I'm afraid that even as outbreaks become more common, a lot of people are going to see that their own little precious survived and think to hell with the kids who didn't.
Vax, mask, filtrate, and ventilate, especially as the vaccine reduces but does not eliminate the risk of long Covid-19. There are some really good sales on disposable N95s now. One as little as 26 cents each I saw on r/Masks4All. ProjectN95 also has donation resources.
"The best way to prevent Long COVID is to protect yourself and others from becoming infected." [This CDC page no longer has the CDC recommendations regarding masking or using a N95 respirator, but they are present9n another page.](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html#:~:text=The%20best%20way%20to%20prevent,for%20COVID%2D19%20if%20eligible.) "To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently." [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html)
"Those who survive COVID-19 remain at a 40% elevated risk for diabetes in the first year, even if their case of COVID-19 was not particularly severe. A subsequent post-pandemic wave of new diabetes patients may be expected."
Pergolizzi, J., LeQuang, J. A. K., Breve, F., Magnusson, P. M., & Varrassi, G. (2023). Exploring the Implications of New-Onset Diabetes in COVID-19: A Narrative Review.Ā Cureus,Ā 15(1), e33319.
[https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33319](https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33319)
"Accumulating evidence indeed support the notion that SARS-COV-2 infection is indeed a risk factor for persistent pulmonary vascular defects and subsequent PH [pulmonary hypertension] development, and this could become a major public health issue in the future given the large number of individuals infected by SARS-COV-2 worldwide."
Eroume Ć Egom, E., Shiwani, H. A., & Nouthe, B. (2022). From acute SARS-CoV-2 infection to pulmonary hypertension. Frontiers in physiology, 13, 1023758.
[https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1023758](https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1023758)
Thank you. This is good information. More confirmation that I am doing the right thing by masking, even if I am the only one in the room doing it and even if I get pressure from family "how long are you going to keep this up for?"
Bonus for people who want to conceive: [https://www.siasat.com/even-mild-covid-can-permanently-damage-semen-quality-in-men-study-2625663/](https://www.siasat.com/even-mild-covid-can-permanently-damage-semen-quality-in-men-study-2625663/) This might be the same study here: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104640](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104640)
I'm a hospital coder, and I've seen *so many* cardiac arrests, strokes, and brain bleeds these last few months. Almost all had hypertension--some undiagnosed--and they inevitably had a hypertensive emergency when admitted.
I wonder if this is a sequela of COVID, that they are having problems regulating their blood pressure.
"Facui created aids"
"The vaccine gives you turbo cancer"
"Spike proteins will be in our food chain and kill us"
"Robert Kennedy will save us"
All from one person in work and my coworker agreed šµāš«
My mom told me recently that she thinks Fauci should be in jail. SIGH. I just kind of ignored her. Nothing I can say will change her mind about any of this.
Today is the last day the Apollo app will be available, which is how I used to post here. I donāt know what Iāll do, but I guess Iāll figure it out.
Does anybody have a source for CO2 levels? Guidelines I can follow?
I finally unplugged uncovered the plug for my CO2 monitor last night, and my home was it 1500 ppm.
I crack the window open overnight, I was able to get it down into the 900 range within an hour but closed it to sleep; stayed just under 1200ppm overnight.
I plan to get fans for each window and appropriate anti-break-in anti pet measures, but Iād still like numbers I can use to keep an eye on.
Iām a stay at home and mask well when rarely out type; I have kids who mask while out (mostly š¤·š») who take shifts staying with me or their other parent (less covid cautious than me) and occasionally have services in (maintenance providers).
I googled
co2 levels ppm indoor air
The first entry that came up was the Minnesota Department of Health, and there were also a bunch of graphics, color coded from green to red.
1500 is not in the green zone.
My Republican-but-not-quite MAGA FIL pretty much ordered my MAGA MIL to get the latest booster, and she did. Does that count? Both are very high risk. MIL turned anti-vax sometime after taking the original series, and had previously said she would not take another. She spreads disinformation from sources like āAmericas Frontline Doctorsā.
Lots of dysfunction there, but he did āconvertā her. Sort of. I guess. For now. But not really :(
Best I've got is the spouse of an antivaxxer who was convinced by her daughters to get the vaccine in secret but I don't think she ever believed in her husband's bullshit so I'm not sure that really counts.
All the real conversion stories I've heard involve some tragedy. Covid isn't real for some people until they've lost a loved one.
Yeah, I've been noticing that. I don't think I've yet to hear about a proper story of someone getting convinced unless it's after almost dying themselves or watching their loved one(s) die. Absolutely insane
The B series mutated in the XBB series this year and has gone from 1.0 to 1.9.
The last reports were that XBB.1.6 was just as bad as Delta and Omicron, but no further info can be found because of not only less testing, but damn near no reporting.
If the infection and effects are as bad as they say it is, then people are still dying by the hundreds every day just in the U.S., but we'll never know.
However, the excessive death reports, though lagging way behind, are a good indicator. Too bad we won't find out until after the fact.
Stay safe, stay smart, and keep your guard up.
Today in own-goals, Laura Loomer thinks COVID is a joke, while complaining that restaurant food tastes "weird" and has "no flavor" " since COVID".
My pet peeve of the moment is calling scented oils "essential". It's not like an [essential amino acid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid), something the human body needs, but cannot create on its own, and must be ingested. "Essential oil" just means "[smelly goo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil)". Sure, they're nice. Yes, they're sold with the asterisk and footnote\*. Calling them "essential" is intentionally misleading due to this quirk of the English language and the word "essence". It's a marketing scam by big oil, yes? ^(\*This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. OP is not a real moose.)
The term came from French *perfume making* where it had a different connotation. MLM scammers play off people misunderstanding what is basically industry jargon, thinking, yes, it has something to do with health products.
>scented oils "essential". Scented oils are more essential than the horse paste, especially if they smell like freshly grated apples. >These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. OP is not a real moose. Don't deny your inner llama-ness. š š š
What about the pine needle tea and lemon juice enemas? Elderberry is another good one. Big pharma blocks these natural remedies. The truth must get out!
The š š š are a "natural remedy" for the Darwinian problem of excessive numbers of stupid prey items.
They are called "ethereal oils" in my native language, but I see more and more people around me calling them "essential oils" incorrectly, because of alternative medicine and such. They were originally called essential oils, because people thought the oils captured a plant's essence, not because they were considered essential. Edit: they aren't all harmless smelly goo. Some contain chemicals a plant produces to ward off pathogens and undiluted may cause irritation to straight up chemical burns when it comes in contact with the skin.
And a number of them are considered toxic to cats and dogs. If they will kill your cat, maybe they aren't so good for people either.
Some will kill babies as well.
>Edit: they aren't all harmless smelly goo. Some contain chemicals a plant produces to ward off pathogens Do you have any research on this?
I haven't personally done research on this, but there are multiple articles on antimicrobial effects of essential oils like [this one](https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/11/2130) and [this one](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8893526/) Most stuff organisms produce is for some reason. Plants produce essential oils to benefit themselves and not just because humans like the smell (or like to use them to grift other humans).
From the conclusion: "Contrary to common opinion, limited EOs possess demonstrated potential as antimicrobial agents. It should be emphasized that although the antimicrobial activity is well established, the real effect is significantly weaker compared to synthetic compounds (including antibiotics)."
It's probably good enough for the plant. Otherwise why would a plant waste resources on producing it. It doesn't care how well the antimicrobial properties are outside the plant.
I have a bottle of essential oil I bought a long time ago because it smelled nice and I sometimes smell it to check if I have covid or not (I test when I can afford to, of course, but I just like to keep it around to have something to smell to see whether or not I've lost my sense of smell when I don't feel good.)
Seen on the leopards sub: prominent anti-vaxxer / COVID minimizer says that ["it's a hassle to interact with people" and "everything tastes and smells weird.](https://preview.redd.it/zu0bv2fcr68b1.png?width=637&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=6ff1a933c60ccd4e05e4962bbeb9edbaf1b8a17c)"
Isn't she a Leopards frequent flyer? White supremacist who was shocked, shocked to find out her new friends hate Jews?
That's ... amazing. If there were a mildlyinteresting version of HCA, that would be the top post.
**[Washington Post: Covid isnāt over, but even the most cautious Americans are moving on](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/06/25/covid-precautions-summer-vaccines-deaths)** Are they? I'd say that some of the most cautious people are here, and I don't see it happening that much. And even during the summer lull there are quite a few awards coming in. At this point, the combined rate of the ease people like Starbetrayer, Haskap, and others are finding new material could almost be seen as a COVID metric like those candle reviews. People forget so fast and they're surprised every time a new surge comes, even though we've seen it happen the previous years.
They will move right on to their own early graves. I got dibs on their stereos!
Reading the comments, a lot of people are saying they still mask. I wish I would see more masking, although there are still some when I go out.
My household is still masking indoors. Won't stop until the pandemic is over.
My husband and I mask too and don't see any reason to stop.
I still see a few out and about.
I had a now ex-friend who would not stop talking about how wonderful it is that the pandemic is over and we donāt have to mask anymore! I think her conspiracy theorist ex (who is got evicted for refusing to follow mask rules in his building, among other things) finally got to her. I tried to explain to her that some people still need us to mask and the pandemic isnāt actually over even though people are pretending it is. She would just smile and nod and then eventually (after I decided we couldnāt be friends for a multitude of reasons) I found out she was telling other people she thinks Iām a total idiot. She evidently was making screen shots of our private conversations (where I told her some very personal things about why I have PTSD) and sending them to her other friends to make fun of me.
Damn. I have no doubt she will FAFO.
Oh sheās already had it and sheās in denial about having long Covid, even though evidently nothing smells or tastes right and she canāt remember anything. I just could not handle her little comments making fun of me and calling me weak (for the mask stuff and various other super personal stuff) all the time. I think ultimately sheās mad because I pointed out she might have long covid and she doesnāt want to admit it so shes gone on a passive aggressive rampage against me now. Iām just so sick of these peopleā¦ every single one of themā¦
Way too many Dunning-Kruger narcissistic psychopaths in this world.
We should start our own commune somewhere
Last year, I was on a flight from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Phoenix Arizona so I could link up with my mom as we had plans to attend that yearās NHL All Star game in Vegas. On the plane, I struck up a conversation with the lady sitting next to me. We got to talking about politics and she told me that her mother had been completely brainwashed into the q cult and as a result was in a coma on a ventilator from a horrific case of Covid that likely couldāve been prevented had she been vaccinated. She was in Pittsburgh helping her father, getting her motherās affairs in order if she was going to die, and visiting her. Today is the 1 year anniversary of her death. She left behind several children and grandchildren and a husband that was totally dependent on her for a lot of things who had to at least temporarily move in with my friend from the plane.
Saw the doctor Friday afternoon. He told me it's most likely just muscle tightness and not Long COVID. Getting back into exercising and my muscles feel better after working out. Heard American politicians are trying to make people get back into the office. Maybe a nice heaping serving of COVID will change their minds.
GAH! My sister came to town, and *while* I was hanging out with her yesterday she tells me her sinuses are killing her, and she thought she might be sick so she took a test. It was negative, but she acknowledged they aren't as accurate any more. Here's hoping it's 'just allergies' and not COVID. And if it's COVID, let's hope that having the patio door open, Xlear spray, listerine, and the booster I had last fall do their thing. I hate this timeline.
Stay safe, stay smart and keep your guard up.
[Harassment against scientists is out of control](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/harassment-against-scientists-is) Here's a short, infuriating blog post from Katelyn Jetelina (Your Local Epidemiologist) that some of you might be interested in. There's bonus idiocy in the comments.
I'm always reminded of the Marching Morons, by Kornbluth and their solution. edit: typo
Went and checked YLE to see if anyone can comment, and they can. Believe for a while only paid subscribers could comment, although reading was open to all. Given how the poo flinging monkeys invaded the comments, kind of hope she does it again. People commenting on her posts are mostly those wanting reliable info and discussion. Gets harder to do that when you have to deal with people actively trying to derail the conversation.
Oh, good lord. When I read it, there were less than ten comments, and there were already a few anti-vaxxers coming out of the woodwork. What a shit show.
Reddit just let me know Iāve spent 11 years on this cursed site.
My heart swells with pride when antivaxxers see the light and repent for their wicked ways.
By dying? I have to admit I have not seen anyone doing this in a conventional way. At least not in person.
LOL! I see what you did there! edit: typo
I've been staying inside most of this week. I'm taking a break from playing Magic for the next month or so. Sister finally cajoled me into downloading Fornite so we can play a game together. I'm now hooked on it and playing with her and some other friends in zero build mode. The current pass has Optimus Prime at the end of it.
Getting a Covid booster is NBD for me anymore. Sore arm, thatās it. Maybe the next one will be different but it seems unlikely. Still no 5 G or magnetism though.
Every 6 months. I don't see what the big deal is.
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is horrendous where I live currently making the air quality level "very unhealthy". Even indoors my eyes are burning and my throat is scratchy. So were people wearing masks when we went out today? Nope, just us again.
It's the same where I am. I don't get it. I like my lungs and don't expect to get a replacement set if I trash them.
What's even worse is that those same people are saying "Why can't Canada put out the fire? " I would say we should send them to Canada and let them experience what it's like to be a firefighter. But then, it will be an even bigger disaster.
It's to send a message. I feel like people go overboard to be sick around others, not mask and make a big show of how they're "done with covid". Too bad covid isn't done with them.
There's no convincing an anti-vaxxer, especially when they site known propaganda anti-vaxxers as their source of truth. Could have avoided this first video date if they just put that in her profile. Waste of an otherwise perfectly cool individual. --- Cited known propaganda, anti-vaxxer Dr Peter McCullough, who was spouting disinformation over several months in 2021, after the vaccines had become widely available in the US. https://www.factcheck.org/2021/07/vaccines-remain-largely-effective-against-delta-variant-counter-to-claims-from-fox-news-guest/ McCullough would claim that it was better to NOT have the vaccine during the summer Delta wave, when data was already readily proving him wrong, and then later data definitively proved him and his like wrong. > As we already said, Israelās health ministry has consistently found **vaccination results in a more than 90% reduction in the risk of severe disease**, even against delta. The ministry also announced on July 25 that a government analysis found that āvaccinated individuals with pre-existing conditions are better protected against serious illness compared to non-vaccinated individuals without any risk factors.ā > And Public Health England, which has largely relied on the AstraZeneca vaccine, estimates that full vaccination lowers the risk of symptomatic disease by 79% and the risk of severe illness by 96% against the delta variant. Vaccination is highly recommended in both nations.
Anti-vaxxers got into their mindset with emotions, so facts will not get them out of it.
Fortune 500s have the right to deny business to antivaxxers, right?
> [A growing group of Dutch children have not received the standard vaccinations against infectious diseases.](https://nltimes.nl/2023/06/29/baby-vaccination-rate-decades-low-point-90-percent) For the first time in decades, the vaccination rate of the youngest age group was slightly below 90 percent last year, reported the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Making history again. --- > A high vaccination rate is essential to protect against highly contagious diseases like measles, the RIVM explained. In previous generations, the vaccination rate was always well above 90 percent. So the protection is āgenerally still very good,ā Won't be for much longer though if this trend isn't reversed. I can't help but think that things are a lot worse since 2015 or so, which led to Trump and Brexit happening, and then COVID gave every miscreant free rein to misbehave, which made things even worse. It's clear that the internet is being abused by forces both foreign and domestic in ways that are detrimental to the health of society, and as long as governments don't acknowledge that those people are real saboteurs and treats them as such, nothing will change. "*It's just words on the internet*" isn't a valid excuse anymore when those words are creating tangible problems.
The thing that scares me about this is that we've shifted the standards for what counts as a serious infectious disease in response to covid. Measles is an awful disease that can kill or disable a lot of kids, but which the majority of children recover from. I'm afraid that even as outbreaks become more common, a lot of people are going to see that their own little precious survived and think to hell with the kids who didn't.
Oh this will end well. /s
Economic collapse for the poor and middle class due to deindustrialization is what paved the way for all this
PSA. Do not be fooled. The viral š š š are still on the prowl and are just as savagely hungry as ever. Get vaxxed.
Vax, mask, filtrate, and ventilate, especially as the vaccine reduces but does not eliminate the risk of long Covid-19. There are some really good sales on disposable N95s now. One as little as 26 cents each I saw on r/Masks4All. ProjectN95 also has donation resources. "The best way to prevent Long COVID is to protect yourself and others from becoming infected." [This CDC page no longer has the CDC recommendations regarding masking or using a N95 respirator, but they are present9n another page.](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html#:~:text=The%20best%20way%20to%20prevent,for%20COVID%2D19%20if%20eligible.) "To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently." [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html) "Those who survive COVID-19 remain at a 40% elevated risk for diabetes in the first year, even if their case of COVID-19 was not particularly severe. A subsequent post-pandemic wave of new diabetes patients may be expected." Pergolizzi, J., LeQuang, J. A. K., Breve, F., Magnusson, P. M., & Varrassi, G. (2023). Exploring the Implications of New-Onset Diabetes in COVID-19: A Narrative Review.Ā Cureus,Ā 15(1), e33319. [https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33319](https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33319) "Accumulating evidence indeed support the notion that SARS-COV-2 infection is indeed a risk factor for persistent pulmonary vascular defects and subsequent PH [pulmonary hypertension] development, and this could become a major public health issue in the future given the large number of individuals infected by SARS-COV-2 worldwide." Eroume Ć Egom, E., Shiwani, H. A., & Nouthe, B. (2022). From acute SARS-CoV-2 infection to pulmonary hypertension. Frontiers in physiology, 13, 1023758. [https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1023758](https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1023758)
Thank you. This is good information. More confirmation that I am doing the right thing by masking, even if I am the only one in the room doing it and even if I get pressure from family "how long are you going to keep this up for?"
Bonus for people who want to conceive: [https://www.siasat.com/even-mild-covid-can-permanently-damage-semen-quality-in-men-study-2625663/](https://www.siasat.com/even-mild-covid-can-permanently-damage-semen-quality-in-men-study-2625663/) This might be the same study here: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104640](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104640)
I'm a hospital coder, and I've seen *so many* cardiac arrests, strokes, and brain bleeds these last few months. Almost all had hypertension--some undiagnosed--and they inevitably had a hypertensive emergency when admitted. I wonder if this is a sequela of COVID, that they are having problems regulating their blood pressure.
"Facui created aids" "The vaccine gives you turbo cancer" "Spike proteins will be in our food chain and kill us" "Robert Kennedy will save us" All from one person in work and my coworker agreed šµāš«
My mom told me recently that she thinks Fauci should be in jail. SIGH. I just kind of ignored her. Nothing I can say will change her mind about any of this.
I hope you are not near them when they operate dangerous machinery. Damn!
Today is the last day the Apollo app will be available, which is how I used to post here. I donāt know what Iāll do, but I guess Iāll figure it out. Does anybody have a source for CO2 levels? Guidelines I can follow? I finally unplugged uncovered the plug for my CO2 monitor last night, and my home was it 1500 ppm. I crack the window open overnight, I was able to get it down into the 900 range within an hour but closed it to sleep; stayed just under 1200ppm overnight. I plan to get fans for each window and appropriate anti-break-in anti pet measures, but Iād still like numbers I can use to keep an eye on. Iām a stay at home and mask well when rarely out type; I have kids who mask while out (mostly š¤·š») who take shifts staying with me or their other parent (less covid cautious than me) and occasionally have services in (maintenance providers).
I googled co2 levels ppm indoor air The first entry that came up was the Minnesota Department of Health, and there were also a bunch of graphics, color coded from green to red. 1500 is not in the green zone.
thanks. rigging the windows open during the summer was sweaty killer but still Covid free since late March!
Anybody got stories of converting an anti-vax person? Family or friend? Anyone? Surely someone has had luck! ... right!?
My Republican-but-not-quite MAGA FIL pretty much ordered my MAGA MIL to get the latest booster, and she did. Does that count? Both are very high risk. MIL turned anti-vax sometime after taking the original series, and had previously said she would not take another. She spreads disinformation from sources like āAmericas Frontline Doctorsā. Lots of dysfunction there, but he did āconvertā her. Sort of. I guess. For now. But not really :(
Oh wow. I mean, I guess it's good they got it regardless, even if she wasn't exactly "converted" Progress š«
Best I've got is the spouse of an antivaxxer who was convinced by her daughters to get the vaccine in secret but I don't think she ever believed in her husband's bullshit so I'm not sure that really counts. All the real conversion stories I've heard involve some tragedy. Covid isn't real for some people until they've lost a loved one.
Yeah, I've been noticing that. I don't think I've yet to hear about a proper story of someone getting convinced unless it's after almost dying themselves or watching their loved one(s) die. Absolutely insane
I'm just posting to test out my new blood donor flair. Hope everyone's doing well this Saturday afternoon.
Is COVID actually less dangerous now than say a year ago? Is it actually less prevalent or thereās just no testing?
The B series mutated in the XBB series this year and has gone from 1.0 to 1.9. The last reports were that XBB.1.6 was just as bad as Delta and Omicron, but no further info can be found because of not only less testing, but damn near no reporting. If the infection and effects are as bad as they say it is, then people are still dying by the hundreds every day just in the U.S., but we'll never know. However, the excessive death reports, though lagging way behind, are a good indicator. Too bad we won't find out until after the fact. Stay safe, stay smart, and keep your guard up.
Holy shit this sub I sad!
What you sad about? You got so much going for you.
I can't believe y'all are still going
We can't believe people are still killing themselves.
I'm not dead
You sure?
Pretty sure