CDC Director: Impending Doom

[KingAugie]

Oh wow, they know they didn't spread it to anyone in the last year? Considering that that is impossible to know, that's an amazing feat.

You don't think the people ignoring a pandemic are rushing to get tested anytime they display mild symptoms?

Neither of you know what the pp has done or hasn't done in the last year.
Not doing the same things you would do does not equal "ignoring" a pandemic.

 

[jlwhitney]

When I donate blood, they test for covid antibodies. I've donated twice in the last year. Both antibody tests have come back negative. In between, I took a rapid test for work. It came back negative. Based on those factors, I feel pretty safe saying I haven't had Covid. Since I haven't had Covid, I couldn't spread it to anyone. While that may not be 100%, I'd say it's at least 95%, which most people seem to find acceptable.

If it spread as fast and as easily as people think most of the country would have probably had it by now or would be truly not leaving their house because they would know how real the threat of getting it really is. Bottom line is yes it seems more contagious then the flu but it is still not at the level some think where one person is gonna get a packed room all sick in 10-20 mins or less.

 

[Christine]

If it spread as fast and as easily as people think most of the country would have probably had it by now or would be truly not leaving their house because they would know how real the threat of getting it really is. Bottom line is yes it seems more contagious then the flu but it is still not at the level some think where one person is gonna get a packed room all sick in 10-20 mins or less.

But some of the studies (many published on the CDC website) show exactly that happening. Granted, it doesn't generally happen "that fast" in well-ventilated buildings where outside air is brought in and recirculated frequently. But it has exactly happened in a few restaurants, a coffee shop, and a bus. That doesn't mean that it will happen at every restaurant, Starbucks, or public transit vehicle, but it has been demonstrated that it has happened before.

 

[hsmamato2]

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is scared.

Are you?

I am not. Every person over 65 that I know is vaccinated. Well, I know two eligible people that refused the vaccine. Oh well.

Every teacher that I know is vaccinated. I don't know any that have refused.

And, in fact, I am the opposite of scared. I have more hope now than in the last year.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/cdc...id-cases-rise-again-right-now-im-scared-.html

I didn't read this article(didn't sign up to click thru) but here's what I know.... They are rightly concerned about the trending numbers. They are trying to warn a largely unconcerned nation that if we jump on the 'no limits to activity' bandwagon too soon (as many are right now,evidenced by many news stories) that we will set our small advancement in beating this thing back to where we were last Fall/winter.
The % of vaxed poplulation MUST reach around 70% for that 'herd immunity' thing to happen. Last I checked (actual statistics and numbers,no opinions) the BEST % states are at around 23% vaccinated. Jumping the gun on lifting restrictions etc can and will set us back. (which I find frustrating personally)
Those same (non opinionated) statistics show that at our current level of vax #'s daily here in the US, we *might* reach that golden 70% by June/July.
So everything I've read from the CDC is warning us to please hold steady,to tip those scales.

 

[hsmamato2]

My SIL caught it while she was working as a server wearing a mask.

I can see why it would be easy to catch for many wearing a mask.... gaps around the edges, close proximity to those unmasked and contagious through the eyes, abesntmindedly rubbing the face while working.... from another worker while on break with masks lowered....there are a lot of ways to catch this thing anyway. Masks *help* prevent spread. They're not magic wands.

 

[hsmamato2]

If it spread as fast and as easily as people think most of the country would have probably had it by now or would be truly not leaving their house because they would know how real the threat of getting it really is. Bottom line is yes it seems more contagious then the flu but it is still not at the level some think where one person is gonna get a packed room all sick in 10-20 mins or less.

Bottom line for my household is too many people have died from this to call it a flu. I lost 3 friends personally this past year, and a few more fighting serious long haul symptoms after being sick. I don't have too many stories about losing friends in a typical flu season. That's all I need to know.

 

[KingAugie]

Bottom line for my household is too many people have died from this to call it a flu. I lost 3 friends personally this past year, and a few more fighting serious long haul symptoms after being sick. I don't have too many stories about losing friends in a typical flu season. That's all I need to know.

On the other side of that are the people who haven't seen anyone die or seriously ill from COVID.
We are all looking at it from our own experiences and points of view. Based on what you wrote I can totally see why you would see the impending doom of the virus. For many of us though we look at the overall numbers and the fact that we haven't seen it personally and come to a different opinion.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Neither of you know what the pp has done or hasn't done in the last year.
Not doing the same things you would do does not equal "ignoring" a pandemic.

You're right but I think my assumption is reasonable considering the attitude displayed in the PP posts. I've heard similar statements from friends/colleagues and the venn diagram between people who aren't taking precautions and are writing off symptoms as a "cold" or "allergies" is basically a circle.

I'm far from living a sheltered life myself but I have isolated and tested anytime I have felt off or was exposed. This is not how I would have handled it pre-pandemic (stupidly) but I take it as a personal responsibility to not infect friends/family.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

Bottom line for my household is too many people have died from this to call it a flu. I lost 3 friends personally this past year, and a few more fighting serious long haul symptoms after being sick. I don't have too many stories about losing friends in a typical flu season. That's all I need to know.

The point would be better made when you leave out the underlined part because I agree with the rest.

People do die from the flu, children die from the flu and it's not going to be a comfort to people who have lost loved ones from the flu to be told from someone else that they don't have too many stories about losing friends in a typical flu season. It's also just swapping one virus with another. If you want people to treat it seriously who haven't lost someone to covid then comparing not knowing people who have died from the flu is going to come across as contradictory.

 

[KingAugie]

You're right but I think my assumption is reasonable considering the attitude displayed in the PP posts. I've heard similar statements from friends/colleagues and the venn diagram between people who aren't taking precautions and are writing off symptoms as a "cold" or "allergies" is basically a circle.

I'm far from living a sheltered life myself but I have isolated and tested anytime I have felt off or was exposed. This is not how I would have handled it pre-pandemic (stupidly) but I take it as a personal responsibility to not infect friends/family.

Just because someone doesn't say it on this message board doesn't mean they aren't taking some care in how they out there living their life. I'm not sure if I missed where they said they are doing what they did pre-pandemic, but even if they are it doesn't mean they are doing it in the same way.

There is plenty of area in between not doing anything and sheltering in your home. I don't know why the assumptions are always that someone is one of those extremes if they don't see it or do the same as what you're doing during the Pandemic.

 

[luvsvacation]

You're right but I think my assumption is reasonable considering the attitude displayed in the PP posts. I've heard similar statements from friends/colleagues and the venn diagram between people who aren't taking precautions and are writing off symptoms as a "cold" or "allergies" is basically a circle.

I'm far from living a sheltered life myself but I have isolated and tested anytime I have felt off or was exposed. This is not how I would have handled it pre-pandemic (stupidly) but I take it as a personal responsibility to not infect friends/family.

As the PP you referred to I can tell you that I have not have Covid. I have actually had no illnesses at all in the last year. Ironically enough the last cold I had was the night before everything shut down last March. I was feeling sick and went to bed early and woke up to the news that everything was be cancelled and closed at record speed. It was a typical snotty nose cold. I was better in day or two and have never been sick since. I was in a situation where I was at someone’s house and they tested positive. I did the required 14 day quarantine but never felt sick so I never tested. I figured I probably had it and was just asymptomatic since I had been at their house all day in close contact. But nope, later when I donated blood they checked for antibodies and I had none.

 

[kdonnel]

When I donate blood, they test for covid antibodies.

A friend of my wife’s ran her own personal experiment for almost a year.

She got COVID very early on in the pandemic in late February 2020.

She was friends with the manager of the local blood plasma clinic and arranged to donate every 28 days. They also checked for antibodies at each donation.

She was checked 11 times and each time was positive for antibodies.

Last week she opted to get vaccinated so her personal study ends as she won’t know if future positives are because of her prior infection or the vaccine.

 

[b2k1121]

Neither of you know what the pp has done or hasn't done in the last year.
Not doing the same things you would do does not equal "ignoring" a pandemic.

Well, I do know that they have repeatedly said they didn’t change anything about how they live their life during the last year, so I know that much. That kind of sounds like ignoring the pandemic to me because it would be hard to not change anything about how you live during the last year.

 

[KingAugie]

Well, I do know that they have repeatedly said they didn’t change anything about how they live their life during the last year, so I know that much. That kind of sounds like ignoring the pandemic to me because it would be hard to not change anything about how you live during the last year.

Unless you live in an area that didn't do mandates and lockdowns. Maybe they are in an area that didn't need to do those things because the spread of COVID there was completely different than it was in places like NYC where there are still shutdowns. Just an example of the Pandemic being treated differently because of what was happening where they were.
That poster repeatedly said "what I see day to day" so take that for what it's worth.

 

[jlwhitney]

On the other side of that are the people who haven't seen anyone die or seriously ill from COVID.
We are all looking at it from our own experiences and points of view. Based on what you wrote I can totally see why you would see the impending doom of the virus. For many of us though we look at the overall numbers and the fact that we haven't seen it personally and come to a different opinion.

I know many probably at lease 50 plus people that have had Covid and not a single one died or hospitalized and the majority was 1-2 days of symptoms and not much more than a bad cold. This includes as young as 9 (only know like 3 kids period ) and up to 84.

 

[mjkacmom]

I know many probably at lease 50 plus people that have had Covid and not a single one died or hospitalized and the majority was 1-2 days of symptoms and not much more than a bad cold. This includes as young as 9 (only know like 3 kids period ) and up to 84.

I know at least that many, people who died, people hospitalized, long haulers, I had a fever for 2 weeks, my 18 year old for 5 days, my girlfriend went to the hospital for a transfusion, actually at this point almost everyone I know has either had it, been vaccinated, or both. I’m in the NYC area, I figure eventually it will move on from here and take hold elsewhere.

 

[AvidDisReader]

With over half a million deaths just about every single person in this country knows of someone who has died of COVID. This disease has spared no one from loss. That being said, closing down now appears to be the wrong thing to have done. The states that stayed semi open (Florida and Texas to name 2) are not seeing the large increases in cases as the states that closed down tight (California, Michigan, NY). It is interesting that while Texas claimed to be fully open, when my daughter was on vacation there all businesses still required masks. You can be open and still use some common sense protecting yourself and those around you.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I live in Northeast. I know many people that had gotten Covid, some that experienced slight issues, some very bad, and some that died. I am really sad that people think not to get vaccinated or blow it off like it's nothing, "I don't know anyone". Well you are lucky and don't wait until you do. I don't know where you live but near me everyone knows someone, some that did ok, some that had very bad, and some died. Also some that have weird ongoing issues from it. It is not nothing and it is not at all in any way comparable to the flu. That said, I am hopeful even tho by me it's still kind of hard to get vaccine for some, particularly those not computer savvy or have the ability to travel a little out of there area. I am not feeling "doomful", as I do see many people getting vaccinated and there has been a call to get more in my area. But please please please think this through, don't let fear stop you from getting vaccinated or political baloney or get your info from non intelligent places. The more and faster we get vaccinated, the faster we can get back to more normal living.

 

[antmaril]

I know many probably at lease 50 plus people that have had Covid and not a single one died or hospitalized and the majority was 1-2 days of symptoms and not much more than a bad cold. This includes as young as 9 (only know like 3 kids period ) and up to 84.

It’s wonderful that none of those 50+ people were hospitalized or died from Covid. But, anyone of them could have gotten very ill or even died and that is something you cannot know ahead of time. We cannot predict how our bodies will respond to this virus. Are the odds in our favor? Yes, but is it worth the gamble? I don’t think so. Everyone is different. For that reason alone, I have done everything I can to prevent getting this virus. I am now fully vaccinated, but I still wear a mask and follow all of the guidelines when I am out in public. For me, it just makes sense. We are not out of the woods yet.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, I do know that they have repeatedly said they didn’t change anything about how they live their life during the last year, so I know that much. That kind of sounds like ignoring the pandemic to me because it would be hard to not change anything about how you live during the last year.

And it's possible that even if they didn't change a single thing about how they live their life that they haven't come down with Covid. If you don't come down with it, you can't spread it. And if they've had antibody tests, they should know if they had it.