Yes I bought N95s in January 2020 along with purell.
Good point! As a layman I tend to think in terms of transmission by coughing or sneezing equating to airborne which is why masking always seemed like a prudent measure.
Because so much data - pure data - is out there showing it saves lives and gives us far fewer severe cases. This helps the common good tremendously (less healthcare needs as well as severe illness spreading around), so anyone wanting to be out in common places (workplaces, travel, eateries, whatever), may indeed, want to help their customers, clients, employees, etc.
If one prefers to remain a hermit, no vax or care about the common good is necessary.
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Not sure that the mutations are all that obvious, from the little Iāve read. The transmissibility of Delta is higher due to viral load, is my conclusion. So replication and ease of entering cells, plus what it does once it gets inside, seem to be issues. I havenāt read anything on ādropletsā or āparticlesā for months now.
Then they should approve it for the common good. It is not now approved and as such should not be mandated until it is. Actually it is against the law to mandate it.
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Havenāt many court decisions said itās not?
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Another case to consider for those who arenāt sure about the vax. The dude is 42 years old and the pic in the article doesnāt seem to show him as significantly overweight (maybe not at all overweight):
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/coronavirus/article253350493.html
When her husband left the call on COVID-19 vaccines for their family up to her, Mindy Greene of Utah wrestled with the decision.
āI read all kinds of things about the vaccine and it scared me,ā Greene later wrote on Facebook, The New York Times reported. She opted against it. āSo I made the decision and prayed about it and got the impression that we would be ok.ā
Even after two of their four children came home from summer camp with COVID-19, the Provo mom felt comfortable with her decision, she told KSL. Then her 42-year-old husband, Russell Greene, caught the virus.
He went into the ICU on July 1, four days later, and has been there since.
āI have such incredible guilt,ā Greene told The New York Times. āI blame myself still. Every day.ā
Russell Greene has battled lung collapses and an emergency surgery doctors werenāt sure heād survive while spending weeks on a ventilator, KSL reported. But Greene has hope.
āMy husband told me, āYou need to have faith that Jesus Christ still lives and miracles still happen or I wonāt make it out aliveā,ā she told the station.
āI will always regret that I listened to the misinformation being put out there,ā Greene told The New York Times. āTheyāre creating fear.ā
If she had it to do over again, Greene says sheād have gotten her family vaccinated.
āEducate yourself with facts and then make the decision. Include the Lord in that process and he will help guide you,ā she told KSL. āBut you cannot make an educated decision on fear and lies.ā
Coming back to answer your question about compliance with regard to masking, social distancing, etcā¦
I asked a Catholic high school teacher about compliance issues and they said they really did not have any. There was really an emphasis on we have to all do our part from the administration and teachers in the classroom brought that down to a more personal level. The students knew that the public schools in the area were mostly doing two part-time days a week and done not meeting at all, so the kids realized they had something special.
The school also did things to create an environment where social distancing was easier, like creating seating areas outside.
They also said the school instituted new programs to create a positive atmosphere, where all members of the school community could give positive feedback and congratulations to students, some publicly. Not really for covid protocol related compliance but for all things good.
It did get tricky at the very end of the year when the state mask mandate ended.
The only person I know who hasnāt gotten the vaccination is one of those people who thinks the pharmaceutical companies are evil, only out for profit and donāt care who they injure. I countered with 'If the companies making the vaccines fail to deliver a safe, effective product and/or do more harm with the vaccines than good, it will be the biggest failure in pharma history and their companies could go out of business. Thatās the antithesis of making lots of money. Putting out a safe, effective vaccine is a ābet the companyā decision".
Yet this woman prefers putting her faith in crystals and organic foods.
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Private schools of any kind can mandate compliance to their own set of rules. Those who do not wish to conform can be asked to leave. Public schools do not have that luxury.
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Post about a previously healthy 31-year-old woman:
āIt is with a heavy heart that I share my sister-in-law, Brianna Justus went home to be with Jesus this evening. Two weeks ago, life was completely normal. My brother and I were trying to figure out how to soon be girl-Dads and our wives were talking nursery plans. Last week Brianna was hit hard with COVID at 30 weeks pregnant. A few days after a positive test she couldnāt breathe and went into ICU. A few days later she underwent an emergency C-section and immediately went on a ventilator. For the past week Brianna fought hard, so hard. Today, at 31 years old her heart gave out. Her sweet baby girl made it and is in the NICU. Please pray for my brother Cory, his two sweet boys, that sweet little girl and our family as we walk this road.
Know that when you visit Justus Orchard this fall there will be a new little Justus saying hello and one special angel watching over the farm from heaven. Check out one of the last photos Brianna took of the farm on their evening family walks. If itās this beautiful here on earth, imagine what she can see right now in heaven!ā
Last year, the woman posted a photo of her healthcare co workers with this post:
āSome of my favorite people, suffocating to death 
I had to document in remembrance of #covid19
In reality!, I only wear my mask 10% of the time. I honestly donāt know how people wear them all shift long.
#covid_19 #coronavirus #corona #healthcareā
So sad.
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the wife had one dose and that likely helped her.
Another case, and this is a Facebook friend.
She posted this a couple of weeks ago: āFirst get the vaccine so you donāt get covid. Oh wait you can still. Get the vaccine so you donāt get bad symptoms and end up in the hospital or die. Oh, I just heard on the radio Shah said 25% of mainers in the hospital are fully vaccinated.
I know Iām not supposed to question anything but, it leaves me to wonder. When were those people vaccinated? Does the vaccine lose effectiveness over a few months? Did they have underlying health issues that makes the vaccine not strong enough for them. Does the vaccine make a difference? 1 out of 4 people hospitalized is pretty high. Covid has like a 99% survival rate. Would the results come out the same with or without the vaccine?
I guess time will tell. Right now I wish the government had rallied so hard behind finding a cure for cancer which doesnāt have a 99% survival rate.ā
Today, she posted this:
"Gregory tested positive for covid and is in the hospital. I took him in last night thinking weād rule covid out. It wasnāt at all what I expected. He was tired, couldnāt stay awake and spiked a fever. No coughing, congestion, trouble breathing. Said nothing hurt, wasnāt sweating or shivering. On the way there he said he felt better, we should just grab dinner and see how he felt in the morning. I almost agreed with him, so glad I still took him. He kept falling asleep in his chair in the waitingroom. The took us out back and put the oxygen sensor on his finger then rushed us into a room and a whole team of people came in. His oxygen level was 65% they put him on a biPap and ran every test they had. All the blood work, ekg, chest films came back good but the covid test was positive. She said because of his size, medication, tiny airway (from his cleft palete surgeries) and apparently his diaphragm is higher than it should be he isnāt getting enough oxygen. So heās staying there for awhile. Good news is they took him off the bipap this morning and put him on a high flow nasal cannula. When they told him I called to check on him and asked if he wanted to call me he said ājust tell her Iām fineā lol. Which is typical Gregory.
Iām so glad I chose St Joeās! The doctors and staff were amazing. We decided on hydroxychloroquine and remdesivir as a course of treatment.
Unfortunately, he canāt have visitors which is killing me! Also, I have to quarantine and shutdown my shop at least 2 weeks. I say at least 2 weeks because Iām not going back til heās home and feeling better. So, Iām home, by myself with nothing to do but worry until heās better."
65% oxygen level! Iām surprised he made it. Geez. Itās all I can not to post something snarky. I have given her lots of stats when she posts misinformation. 
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The issue is still making its way through the courts. The IU just reached the Supreme Court so not sure how that till go (guessing it will be a narrowly framed decision if SCOTUS takes it up). Lower courts upheld the mandate. Borough of Staten Island just sued NYC over the restaurant/gym/entertainment mandates, citing a bunch of reasons that appear to cover local and state statutory as well as constitutional issues. Fun time to be legal muckety-muck.
Public schools have many requirements. Shirts, shoes, vaccinations for MMR, DTap, sitting in certain desks, only being in certain areas of the schools. Most that require the vaccine have the option of online learning or in classroom. No one is depriving them of an education or requiring them to get the vaccine, just saying that if they want to go to school in person (or teach there) they need to be vaccinated.
There are big protests going on around here because of mask mandates for the individual school districts and vaccination requirements in some. Denver is requiring masks for all - staff, students, teachers - and vaccinations for those faculty and staff who are eligible. Vaccinated or not, masks are required. A neighboring (wealthy) district is not requiring masks except on school buses (fed requirement) and there is a petition by parents to require masks at all levels, PreK -12. Another neighboring district (also wealthy) is requiring masks for anyone under 11 and the parents are in an uproar.
I donāt think any of the choices are āillegalā. Kids can still get an education but can only do it in school if they follow the mask rules.
True. And there is often more of a buy-in for the students and their families.
Gotcha. I hope Pro-vax wins. Of course Iām also hoping for full approval to come sooner rather than later.
I have had my kids in public and diocesan Catholic schools and the vaccine requirements were the same. I met anti-vax parents in public school as well as families whose kids were not permitted to enroll in Catholic school because of their kids did not have all vaccinations.
Iām pretty sure the Catholic schools I know will mandate the vaccine once it has full fda approval but for now if is strongly encouraged, and records are being kept because anyone who is not vaccinated will still have to quarantine if exposed.
With the exception of the military ā which Biden could waive as Commander in Chief ā I havenāt heard of any law that exists that says vaccines under an EUA canāt be mandated by private employers. Or, government workersā¦ (As long as the employer does not cross paths with discrimination lawsā¦)
Now that doesnāt mean an employer canāt be sued for damages by āforcingā an ee to get a EUA vaccine who then gets a bad reaction to the vaccine.
My prediction on the IU case currently appealed to SCOTUS: they punt on the appeal for an Emergency Stay and kick it back down for litigation.
So whatās the hold up on FDA approval? Approval could certainly change the dynamic of the mandates and I would bet you will see an increase in vaccinations.