The New Normal

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Campgottagopee said:
Not all, but some. I know a few. Great people but have the common sense of a door knob, and god help them if they have to change a flat tire. A dude in our camp graduated Cornell with a 3.9 --- smartest dumb guy you'll ever meet in your life!! lol
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Lol
My kid went to Cornell and MIT. The other day
I had to change the wax ring on the toilet
She looked at me like I fixed the space shuttle.
 
As with any topic, much depends on how people pay attention to an issue. There were plenty of people who were surprised when the first wave of COVID-19 hit the U.S. It was no surprise to people who knew what had happened in Italy and around Boston by early March. The first detected COVID-19 cases in Colorado happened in Feb 2020, but weren't making national headlines.

The primary reason that people in other continents or countries are behind on vaccination is vaccine supply or access. Canada was slow to start their vaccine rollout because shipments weren't expected to be needed so soon given that the non-pharmaceutical approaches like masking were keeping community spread from getting out of control. Australia and New Zealand got behind the Delta curve because they didn't think it would matter if the majority of their citizens didn't get vaccinated until late 2021. They have had to resort to "lock downs" because of Delta. Most countries in Africa are dependent on COVAX, which in turn depends on donations of money and/or vaccines from relatively rich countries.

Staying safe from being infected by COVID-19 is not that complicated. Assuming someone understands knows the definition of "aerosols" and how SARS-CoV-2 can grab a ride in them. That was a major source of confusion early on. Still not well understood by people who refuse to believe that masking for K-12 schools is important to help keep kids and teachers safe.

May 13, 2021, Wired
www.wired.com

The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill

All pandemic long, scientists brawled over how the virus spreads. Droplets! No, aerosols! At the heart of the fight was a teensy error with huge consequences.
www.wired.com www.wired.com
 
As with any topic, much depends on how people pay attention to an issue. There were plenty of people who were surprised when the first wave of COVID-19 hit the U.S. It was no surprise to people who knew what had happened in Italy and around Boston by early March. The first detected COVID-19 cases in Colorado happened in Feb 2020, but weren't making national headlines.
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COVID information was on NPR in early 2020. I was hearing about it on the way to GP. I figured that it was only a matter of time before it made its way to Cornell, because we are such an international community. One of my coworkers had no clue what was going on. In early March, I checked with my supervisor about whether or not my coworkers had remote access capability for working from home. She didn't think we needed to do that. About a week later, we received the information that we would be fully remote within a week.
 
jasonwx said:
Lol
My kid went to Cornell and MIT. The other day
I had to change the wax ring on the toilet
She looked at me like I fixed the space shuttle.
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Reminds of the saying that a physician makes the worst patient. Some think they know better than the doctor or nurse who is trying to help them when they are sick.

Academic background doesn't always help in real world situations. Some of the academics being quoted about the pandemic suggest solutions that are impractical because they don't take into account human behavior. Doesn't mean that their advice is inherently bad, but it may cause unanticipated issues.
 
Campgottagopee said:
cnycentral.com

Amid new virus surge, Florida skeptics reconsider vaccines

CALLAHAN, Fla. (AP) — In a rural stretch of northeastern Florida where barely half the people have gotten a coronavirus shot, Roger West had no problem telling others he was "adamantly anti-vaccination. " The co-owner of the Westside Journal weekly newspaper used his voice as a columnist to...
cnycentral.com cnycentral.com
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Interesting to see news about FL in central NY. There have been articles like this for a couple months in Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and even the parts of California that have low vaccination rates . But they were in local papers and not making national headlines until recently.

Delta is making a huge difference because it's so much more transmissible. For places with low vaccination rates, it's back to "flatten the curve." Doesn't matter if it's a town, a county, or a country that had very few detected cases in 2020. The difference is that vaccination is an option if there is access and availability for people who want to decrease the risk of serious illness. The risk of death is only high for those who are unvaccinated and do not take recommended precautions like masking or avoiding crowds. Those who don't take precautions and also don't understand when to get tested, and wait too long after minor symptoms start put themselves at higher risk of hospitalization. No wonder people working in hospitals are frustrated.
 
Even when vaccines became more available, many Australians thought there was no reason to get vaccinated since they believed COVID-19 had been all but eliminated there. But once Delta arrived, the fact that so many people are tired of lock downs has meant that the numbers of detected cases grew exponentially after a few super spreader events. One was a birthday party attended by 40+ people. In the early news, the 6 vaccinated people there were the only ones who didn't test positive. The unvaccinated people also infected members of their households in the few days after the party. After a week or so, it was clear there were people who didn't want to admit to being at the party. So they didn't get tested and probably added to community spread. The situation in August 2021 in Australia seems quite unreal given how much more is known about COVID-19 compared to a year ago.

August 18, 2021
www.theguardian.com

NSW Covid update: daily cases surge to 633 as Gladys Berejiklian dismisses calls to tighten lockdown rules

Non-urgent elective surgery at private hospitals postponed as staff redeployed to public system that government admits is ‘under stress’
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

The ski resorts in New South Wales had to shut down. Includes Perisher and Thredbo, which are on Epic/Ikon. There is an Epic Australia pass. This is the best part of the Australian season. But there are pretty intense travel restrictions against crossing state lines for non-essential travel.
 
Colleges are a good indication of a shift in attitudes about masking and the risk of community spread of COVID-19. As has happened before in the last 18 months, the situation is changing fast. The difference is that more people have experience with the impact that public health measures can make. There are far more ways to get tested and more people willing to be tested. Hopefully that will help given that it takes several weeks for someone to be fully vaccinated. Protection against Delta is much better after two shots of Moderna/Pfizer, which most people seem to prefer over the 1-shot J&J.

August 18, 2021
www.chronicle.com

Clemson, U. of South Carolina Require Masks After State Supreme Court Ruling

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that public colleges could implement mask requirements.
www.chronicle.com www.chronicle.com
 
MarzNC said:
Delta is making a huge difference because it's so much more transmissible. For places with low vaccination rates, it's back to "flatten the curve." Doesn't matter if it's a town, a county, or a country that had very few detected cases in 2020. The difference is that vaccination is an option if there is access and availability for people who want to decrease the risk of serious illness. The risk of death is only high for those who are unvaccinated and do not take recommended precautions like masking or avoiding crowds. Those who don't take precautions and also don't understand when to get tested, and wait too long after minor symptoms start put themselves at higher risk of hospitalization. No wonder people working in hospitals are frustrated.
Click to expand...
What bout Israel havin a very high vaccination rate and high increase in hospitalizations now?

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org www.sciencemag.org
 
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