The New Normal

[snoloco]

So now the New Hampshire health department is no longer recommending masks. I didn't know they even did, given there's no statewide mandate. This also resulted in a statement from the governor saying that schools should no longer require masks, though it's unclear if any action would be taken to enforce this.

 

[MarzNC]

Both natural immunity are effective and the combo might even be better yet.

The reality is that all the following are very likely in the USA as of Feb 2022. For a given county, the mix is different. But could be that 80% of almost every county already has some form of immunity and/or a combo.

* Vaccinated but not boosted
* Vaccinated and boosted, or more than two shots because immunocompromised
* Vaccinated and had COVID-19 as a breakthrough case recently because of Omicron
* Vaccinated after having had COVID-19 in 2020 or 2021, may not even know already had COVID-19 before vaccination
* Unvaccinated but have some level of natural immunity because had COVID-19 at least once already and recovered

For better or worse, a lot of vulnerable folks died in 2020-21 all over the world. That means the population at risk in 2022 is different than the population at the beginning of 2020. The remaining population are much more likely to have some form of immunity to any variant of SARS-CoV-2. Pandemics last longer than people expect, but they do end even if the disease is not eradicated.

Feb. 21, 2022

Got a Covid Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another for a Long Time (Published 2022)

A flurry of new studies suggests that several parts of the immune system can mount a sustained, potent response to any coronavirus variant.

www.nytimes.com

" . . .
Three doses of a Covid vaccine — or even just two — are enough to protect most people from serious illness and death for a long time, the studies suggest.

“We’re starting to see now diminishing returns on the number of additional doses,” said John Wherry, director of the Institute for immunology at the University of Pennsylvania. Although people over 65 or at high risk of illness may benefit from a fourth vaccine dose, it may be unnecessary for most people, he added.
. . .

Specialized immune cells called T cells produced after immunization by four brands of Covid vaccine — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax — are about 80 percent as powerful against Omicron as other variants, the research found. Given how different Omicron’s mutations are from previous variants, it’s very likely that T cells would mount a similarly robust attack on any future variant as well, researchers said.

This matches what scientists have found for the SARS coronavirus, which killed nearly 800 people in a 2003 epidemic in Asia. In people exposed to that virus, T cells have lasted more than 17 years. Evidence so far indicates that the immune cells for the new coronavirus — sometimes called memory cells — may also decline very slowly, experts said.
. . ."

 

[Andy_ROC]

Spent several hours in Great Barrington, MA today. (Skiing wasn't worth the drive time given that Catamount was closed and it was in the 50s this morning in the Berkshires.) As a town that depends heavily on tourism, GB still has quite a few restaurants and other businesses that are requiring masking. Customers are complying. At the same time, there are also shops that don't require masking. Made for a contrast to the outlet shops in Queensbury where few shops required masks and even in those that did there were people who didn't bother.

I'm guessing that the "new normal" in the USA will mean people who choose to be more cautious by masking are less likely to be considered dangerous by others. Back in 2020, people who masked were often thought to be sick by people who didn't understand the advantages of masking from a public health standpoint. In Asia, people have been masking during flu season for a couple decades. Many started during the SARS pandemic that started in 2002 that impacted 29 countries, including the USA and Canada. The H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 meant more people got in the habit of masking during flu season.

More interesting info!

One of the good and long lasting things from the pandemic will be more acceptance of masking and not looking like a weirdo. Prior to the pandemic, one of my greatest concerns about air travel beside cancelations and missed connections, was getting a cold or flu from exposure on my flight and then having it ruin my vacation. Anyway I'll probably always wear a mask while flying outbound from now on just to help reduce one possible cause that could ruin my vacation

 

[Campgottagopee]

So now the New Hampshire health department is no longer recommending masks. I didn't know they even did, given there's no statewide mandate. This also resulted in a statement from the governor saying that schools should no longer require masks, though it's unclear if any action would be taken to enforce this.

Same has, and will happen in NYS. Only a matter of time.
The grass ain't greener, lil buckaroo.
Heck, move to Forestport NY. You can do whatever the F you want, whenever you want, and nobody gives 2 F's about it.

 

[Campgottagopee]

What good has come out of this pandemic.
On a personal level I made a move at work and couldn't be happier.
I'll admit I do enjoy the bathrooms being cleaner cause I hang out in some real dives

 

[not2brite]

You guys need to take it easy on sno. He’s a big boy and likes to dig in his heels and defend himself and I love that about him. But assuming most of you have only ever met him in this forum it’s safe to say you don’t actually know him very well. You can’t possibly know the effect this entire situation has had on him. I say this as a father of a 17 year old daughter. High honor roll, 12th in her class, carrying a 4.0 forever. First school closure was tough but once summer rolled around it looked like she bounced back. It all came crashing down in the fall. Without going into specifics she started intensive therapy. Almost had to send her to an in patient facility. She doing better it’s helping but as a graduating senior college may need to be delayed a year.
My point is that without knowing the person on the other side, what you guys see as constant whining and complaining may in fact be a much needed outlet. I believe the expression is “before you criticize a man walk a mile in his shoes”

 

[snoloco]

I'm sorry she is going through this. These past 2 years have been so difficult for young people. Part of the reason I'm speaking up is because I know of people who've had it way worse than I have. As damaging as this pandemic has been for my mental health, I feel as though I'm relatively fortunate. Maybe to address what was a public health crisis, we should've taken advice from all parts of the medical field, including mental health professionals. Instead, in certain parts of the country, epidemiologists were given near dictatorial control of the response. They focused on unrealistic goals of "Zero Covid" or watered-down versions of it, and never considered the collateral damage they caused. In my opinion, there needs to be consequences, though I'm not sure what that would look like.

 

[Brownski]

Yeah, I can attest that it has been emotionally hard on younger people. Juniors first semester was more like being in a minimum security jail than real college life. He is a natural rule follower, which made it worse. So think about how much fun you had during your first two years of college. He got none of that.

 

[not2brite]

Thank you sno. I’m old school. Toughen up, get over it. It’s how I was raised and I imagine most in this forum around my age (53) were as well. Doesn’t work with a lot of kids and young people. Most people assume young people can handle it. The “they bounce back easily” argument. I now disagree with it. Young people have few if any points of reference to measure true hardship by. Middle aged and above have been thru the shit. Job loss, career disruption, major illness, divorce, death of parents or siblings and plenty of other major and life altering events. In light of these things some regulations that may or may not make much sense don’t really move the meter much.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Yeah, I can attest that it has been emotionally hard on younger people. Juniors first semester was more like being in a minimum security jail than real college life. He is a natural rule follower, which made it worse. So think about how much fun you had during your first two years of college. He got none of that.

This
You said it better but that's how I feel about my neighbor's kid. These kids have missed out on so friggin much.
I'm lucky to be alive after my first two years of college.
Hopefully these kids are rewarded, someday, somehow. They'll be stronger for it.