It’s time for our quarterly work meeting. The ones that I’ve burned vacation time or they’ve been cancelled. At some point I’ll have to go back - it’s been two years - but I am not looking forward to it. 40 people in what will likely be 1:30-2:00 meeting. Buffet style breakfast!
Pros - I think cases are low. I know omicron blew through the department in January so maybe everyone has had it.
Cons - If I decide to mask, I will likely be the only one masked, and I can almost guarantee comments will be made about how masks are useless or how dumb all the restrictions are. Honestly, this is what makes me not want to go the most. Peer pressure is real.
Attending by zoom is not an option. The head person won’t even let people in that building have voice mail and any info must be printed and handed to each person. I wasn’t allowed to work at home after the initial 3 month lock down. Zooming definitely isn’t an option.
Ugh. Not looking forward to it but I don’t know how long I can get away with calling in on vacation. It’s just that I’ll be beyond angry if I get sick attending a mandatory “safety meeting!”
It’s a joke. It isn’t happening. Even epidemiologists are shaking their heads at this pointless decision.
At the Sixer’s packed playoff game last night - no masks .
Nope. Not eligible. Won’t be for a few more months, and my booster will be 6 months as of Friday.
I did order KN 95 masks. I should be fine wearing it, though I will try to stay as far away from the speaker as possible. My life is generally risky compared to many on here. It’s more the peer pressure and being called a scaredy cat and listening to all of the mess that’s irritating. And the fact that there will be nothing said that couldn’t have just been sent in an email.
Plenty of people got their boosters when they wanted, even if they weren’t eligible. In your situation, I would see no harm. Nothing seems to matter anymore – it’s each person for themself. If people shouldn’t have to mask or distance or test for others, then anyone who wants an add’l vax dose should be able to get it (after all, the supply is plentiful). In your work situation, you need protection.
Your workplace (city? area of the state?) is incredible. Even those infected with Omicron can become infected again. It must be very frustrating to live and work where you do!
I trust the CDC. I’m going to assume they know better than I do. However, the unused vaccines and therapeutics out there should be more widely publicized. I hadn’t heard of two of the treatments mentioned in the NPR article.
I’m not sure which part of the linked article was objectionable. Is it that the CDC hasn’t issued more mask mandates? I think the approach now is to be conservative with issuing them, because no one wants to go back to masks. Who blames anyone for not wanting to wear them? Is the CDC weighing the mental health of the public against the possibility of getting Covid? Mental health IS health. Covid seems to be becoming manageable.
My thought is that we are at a stage where people go with their comfort level. My husband is done with masks unless he is in a crowded place. I still wear masks anytime I am shopping or on public transport. I wear masks when I work one on one with others. But I don’t wear them anymore at social gatherings, which includes eating out. I want to have a life. I pay attention to the Covid numbers and when I get uncomfortable with them, I’ll be more diligent about mask wearing.
It appears that getting Omicron twice is exceedingly rare. This study in Denmark looked at over 2 million cases of Omicron including the BA2 variant, and only found 187 cases of reinfection, but they included cases where the tests were as short as 20 days apart. Other studies and interviews with experts that I’ve read indicate that in that short time window, it’s more likely to be a matter of testing problems vs. a reinfection (ie the 2nd test may be picking up old dead virus from the first bout with Omicron, not really a reinfection, or other testing issues). Either way, the numbers are small. Anecdotally, from the hundreds of omicron cases I know of (through my town, my kids’ college, and family/friends) I have yet to hear of anyone who has gotten Covid twice since November (since Omicron came here). So it does seem theoretically possible, yet 5 months into this variant, reinfection with this variant does not seem highly worrisome. That may change over time, but I can’t find any recent studies that point to signifcant levels of reinfection. Thank goodness!
I would agree, ClassicMom, that if you are a few months shy of turning 50, but your booster is over 6 months old and you would feel better getting another booster, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult for you to obtain a booster before your birthday.
Great article. It’s time we re-evaluated the ‘booster, booster, booster for all’ strategy. The part that worries me most is the “original antigenic sin”. Especially since the data on the Omicron variant specific vaccine points toward it now being a point of concern.
I like how she dives deep into data and then gives us the bottom line:
<<< Bottom line
After two years of vaccines and the virus significantly mutating, there is no definitive evidence of OAS in humans being an important concern for COVID-19.
Without knowing the future, decisions must continuously weigh benefits with risks we know right now. Evidence from Israel shows meaningful benefit of a fourth mRNA dose (or second booster) against severe disease among older adults. We need to be responsive to the needs of our immune systems to protect us from this virus. The reality is, for someone who needs a booster, the theoretical concern of OAS is not a strong enough reason to not get it.
A bill introduced in the Rhode Island legislature would require every eligible person who resides, works, or pays taxes in the state to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Anyone who refuses will be fined $50 per month, AND “shall owe twice the amount of personal income taxes as would otherwise be assessed.”
This also applies to parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids.
Any medical exemption requires the signature of three different doctors, with each document notarized.
This is incredibly disturbing. Just way over the top and probably unconstitutional as well.
Wow, just wow. I happen to be very much in love with our covid vaccines, couldn’t get any of my doses fast enough. I’ve been very sad thinking about all the people who could have benefited from the vaccines but were somehow misinformed and therefore chose not to get them and suffered consequences up to death. I’ve felt fine about places that require proof of vaccine for entry, that seems totally legitimate to me. However, I’ve been ambivalent about various vaccine mandates for certain workers, etc. Sometimes I’m in favor, sometimes it feels like overreach; I’ve had mixed feelings. But this particular potential bill definitely feels like overreach to me. Charging double income tax as a penalty—can that possibly be legal? What if this flaky person stays at home at their farm, gets stuff delivered, doesn’t go to restaurants & bars, and just has their reasons for not getting vaccinated but doesn’t mingle—it does not make sense to me to persecute like this. But I don’t expect this will pass, so……
This bill has NO, NO, NO chance of passing–it’s being pushed by a state legislator who just wants to make waves, I am sure. Even true blue RI would never pass such a law.