I follow COVID scientists here on Mastodon. I've seen them post links to studies showing waning effectiveness of COVID vaccines after 6 months.
I received the updated booster last October and want to get boosted again prior to some planned travel in July. (Air travel to the MAGA anti-vax cesspool known as Florida)
I have contacted three pharmacies in my area.
One has no COVID vaccines at all and said they won't receive any until fall.
The other two say they will not vaccinate me because they must follow US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines stating that only people 65 years and older should receive boosters at this time.
They won't vaccinate me even if I am willing to pay out of pocket.
Both say I must get a recommendation from my health care provider before they will even consider it.
Less than 20% of people in my state are up to date on their COVID vaccines. For those of us who want to follow the science and not some arbitrary age limitation, why not let us get vaccinated?
Yet again, I get the impression that FOSS doesn't really believe in equality. Especially if it's difficult to implement, or to get people to understand the issue.
Yet again, people express resentment that some of us are asking openly for some consideration of our health and safety.
Or perhaps Organisers don't like people asking them to enable that equality of access.
My #CovidIsNotOver table at the Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine (ARSTM) at the Rhetoric Society (RSA)! Art by @JoBlakely and @violetblue ; zines by @hnewlevant ; flyers by @phpledge and bit.ly/lesscovid. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on how to make it engaging--it's been lovely to meet other #CovidCautious people and create some visibility around #disability and #COVID .
"A blueprint for radical inclusion and living a full, safer life within the context of Covid-19 exists.
Many mutual aid groups and initiatives advocating for clean air and continued Covid-19 safety are emerging all over the world using technology and layers of protection to help mitigate the spread of viruses."
"Getting most people to wear a mask could nip the outbreak in the bud, preventing a pandemic or lessening its impact. Wearing a mask is inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as lockdowns."
"The bottom line from our recent review is masks work. Along with improving indoor air quality and avoiding crowded, underventilated places, they provide the best way to avoid catching a respiratory infection. And our findings support previous advice to not just wear any mask but wear the best mask available."
🇦🇺 Australia: COVID keeps killing more people every month than flu does in a year.
“In other words, there were three times as many confirmed Covid-19 cases as influenza cases,” Adrian Esterman, professor of biostatistics at the University of South Australia, told TND.
“And the death rate associated with Covid-19 was about four times as high as for influenza.”
He said it was “completely crazy that face masks are not mandatory in all health care, hospital and aged-care settings”.
What happens when you mandate masks at a conference now that most people no longer wear them but medically vulnerable people are still at risk because #CovidIsNotOver? In the case of #PyConUS, the conference sells out.
Why a masking policy? “Many of us and our fellow community members can’t attend without health and safety guidelines in place. We want PyCon US to be an event that everyone feels safe attending,” organizers explained.
People who were repeatedly vaccinated for COVID-19 — initially receiving shots aimed at the original variant, followed by boosters and updated vaccines targeting variants — generated antibodies capable of neutralizing a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants and even some distantly related coronaviruses.
Honestly it makes sense why there was a lot of frustration about masking at #PyConUS — the world really has decided to move on. I’m still glad we wore masks and allowed friends like @bitprophet, @brainwane, and others to join us. #covidisnotover#covid
Bonjour Masto !
On recherche des recommandations de lecture sur le début de la pandémie dans les pays nord-africains, et plus particulièrement au Maroc
🇪🇸 Spain: A new wave of COVID-19 infections is beginning to be noticed in hospitals in Spain.
"According to data from the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System released by the Carlos III Health Institute, hospitalizations due to covid-19 have quadrupled in two weeks, mainly affecting people between 65 and 79 years old."
"In communities like Madrid, infections have skyrocketed in patients aged 60 or over, increasing by 60%."
@luckytran This is what a Republican congress does. ⬆️ Every #COVID post from now on should also be tagged #VoteBlue#Vote#Biden The cat is to remind you of how the MAGA views vaccines and the Rs in congress that are happy to let them. Rs want to fund billionaire tax cuts, Dems want to fund #healthcare. #CovidIsNotOver#CatsOfMastodon#GOP
"Anyone else who feels they would benefit from a spring vaccine can contact the call centre to book a vaccine at 1-833-838-2323. You may also be able to walk into a pharmacy, where the vaccine is available."
Es gibt ja nicht nur leichte Momente auf Reisen. Das National Covid Memorial hat mich sehr berührt und erschüttert. Bereits von weitem sieht man, dass die gesamte Wand des Ufers gegenüber des britischen Parlaments rot ist. Jedes dieser Herzen steht für einen Menschen, bei dem COVID auf der Sterbeurkunde vermerkt wurde. Die Zahl ist seit meinem Besuch weiter gestiegen.
Judge me if you want, but after five years of being tossed aside by most of the people we thought of as friends, of being forgotten and limited and thought of as the crazy ones about #Covid, we are entitled to some Schadenfreude. I have not a single fuck left to give for people who won’t mask.
“I should have the freedom, my children should have the freedom and my husband should have the freedom to wear a mask in order to protect and save my life without fear of being arrested and charged with a class one misdemeanor, which is exactly what this bill would do.”
Sitting with the fact that cattle industry has more power over whether humans in their employ get tested for #AvianFlu than #PublicHealth authorities do.
Hence #CDC preparing to launch wastewater dashboard for tracking spring and summer influenza surveillance...
To address absence of #BirdFlu testing. Taking a page out of the #CovidIsNotOver handbook of better too-late-to-be-actionable data than no data.
Wir müssen uns bislang keine Gedanken darüber machen, mit Maske im Wahllokal möglicherweise nicht mehr wählen zu dürfen, weil der Wahlvorstand sich z. B. anstellt und meint, uns nicht identifizieren zu können. Oder? 🤔
Ich möchte mit der Frage explizit keine Gerüchte oder Sorgen hervorrufen! Momentan frage ich mich nur, ob Briefwahl nicht doch einfach die entspanntere Variante für mich wäre (obwohl ich den Gang ins Wahllokal sehr mag).