@gwnorth I thought that there were some unlucky folks that were catching Covid more than once but that it was a very small number? Do you have anything that supports that many are catching it repeatedly? Not arguing, I just have not read this…
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My friend’s daughter was tested for flu and covid, was positive for the flu, negative for covid. My daughter was tested for strep and covid, negative for covid, positive for strep (she worked as an outdoor cashier at a garden center, guessing she picked it up there).
what is strange - if masks and distancing are preventing the flu, why are they not working with COVID. I believe many COVID cases are actually flu cases.
What is that statement based on? At this point, most covid cases are being confirmed by covid tests. As you can see on the link above, CDC tracks flu on a weekly basis and current levels are low across the board (CDC tracks flu differently…includes estimated and actual cases).
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The problem with covid is that it is mostly spread before people know they are sick. And there are PLENTY of people not wearing masks and social distancing.
The flu doesn’t operate the same way. Also, in my area widespread flu before January is rare. Mid January through mid to late February is the peak. It’s more common to see widespread flu beginning of March than before Xmas. And I also found it to be rampant spreading through the K12 schools. Ours have been virtual for most of the year. All of that helps.
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Covid is way more contagious than the flu, masks help but certainly aren’t 100%. You are contagious with covid a lot longer than with the flu, and there is a longer period between infection and symptoms. With the flu, one gets sick the day after being infected, with covid it could be a week, or there might be no symptoms (my 17 year old tested positive after being exposed, no symptoms).
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Not strange at all.
The flu isn’t typically spread asymptomatically.
People are still getting together maskless and eating at restaurants indoors.
Covid is much more contagious.
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based on my cousin who works in COVID hospital unit. many are testing for both but only covid is counted
My cousin works at a large hospital in Brooklyn as an ED physician, and has said nothing of the sort. They actually had to work after testing positive if they didn’t have a fever because the staff was hit so hard.
my cousin herself tested positive for both and only was written up as COVID and she is a covid nurse.
also mentioned many pneumonia cases testing for flu and covid - positive for both
First, there is no immunity to Covid, most people have some immunity to the flu from prior exposure. Second, I believe I read that the Covid virus is smaller than the flu virus and many masks state they protect against the flu Virus either by transmission or killing on contact with the outside layer of the mask but I haven’t read that any mask actually prevents transmission of the Covid virus.
My opinion is that masks, especially fabric masks and gaiters without an additional filter do little to nothing to stop the flow of air and the Covid virus. Surgical masks at level 2 or 3 might be a bit better but few people wear n95 masks. In addition, people touch, move, adjust, take off and put on their masks with little thought to where their hands have touched before. People reuse masks etc… all the things that the “experts” warned were problematic with use of masks by the general public.
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COVID-19 is most contagious a few days before symptoms start (if symptoms ever start, since some people are asymptomatic). So people could be unknowingly spreading COVID-19 even though they feel fine.
While the flu can be contagious one day before symptoms start, the most contagious period is after symptoms start, when the person with the flu is less likely to want to go out to places where they may spread the virus to others.
The concern about COVID-19 may be stopping the flu in other ways. For example, some places have gatekeeping based on symptoms like cough, fever, etc… While ineffective against stopping pre-symptomatic COVID-19 spreading, they will stop most of those who could spread the flu.
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Studies have found that typical masks protect others from the wearer’s exhaled virus droplets better than they protect the wearer from virus droplets in the air. Of course, typical masks do not stop everything.
If masks stop 2/3 of your exhaled virus droplets and 1/3 of virus droplets from getting to you, and everyone is wearing similar masks, then it will take 4.5 times as long to get an infectious dose of virus as it would take in a similar situation with no masks. So if a given type of situation would require 10 minutes to get infected from a contagious person with no masks, it would take 45 minutes with everyone wearing masks. That may protect you in a 15 minute visit in a grocery or other store that has contagious people in it, but not if you are working for eight hours in proximity to a contagious coworker.
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@Admin
Would love to see this thread go back to the original topic related to Academic year experiences and Covid - maybe a new thread can be started by those interested in talking about Covid and the flu.
Thank you.
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Those studies don’t seem to comport with what’s happening in real life.
I’m interested to see where we are towards the end of January in terms of cases and infection rates and kids are once again crisscrossing the country to go back to school because most of the schools seem to be heading towards more kids on campus for the spring semester while the overall virus situation seems worse than it was back at the end of August/beginning of September. Are they assuming more or most kids have already had the virus? That professors and staff will be vaccinated by then? Are they ramping up testing? Are they going mostly remote classes? Requiring quarantine fir 2 weeks on arrival? Campuses closed to the public?
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Perhaps they, like many people, have given up on trying to control the virus, protect themselves, and protect others. Vaccines may be just around the corner, but a few months too late to combat the rising tide of defeatism that has been evident over the last month or two.
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My D starts classes at Rice 1/25. She will fly to Houston 1/22, go straight to testing, and then her room where she will quarantine until she gets results. Students will then all be tested a few days after their initial test and then at least weekly (more if needed) after. They are also encouraging students to test before they come to campus. We’ll have our daughter tested the week before.
The school has continued to test staff, faculty, and any grad or undergrads still on campus over break and numbers are increasing quite a bit, especially among staff and grad students.
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Don’t know if this was posted earlier, but Penn State is going to be remote until Feb 15. Dorms will not be open during the remote period and off campus students are being discouraged from returning early.
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