Reality is that you only really need to wear a mask and consider air quality if:
-you breathe air regularly.
-you care about your brain, heart, immune system, lungs, kidneys, bones, teeth, eyes, liver or other organs.
-you ever have other people around you.
Really loving seeing several different models for safer conferencing pop up on here in the past week. Good job, Mastodonians! 😷❤️
Oh and here's the accessibility policy for mine that ended last week. (We learned the hard way we should have sent a masking reminder immediately before the first full day of conferencing--but one went out and people honored the policy much better after receiving reminder) https://www.petrocultures2024.com/accessibility-policies.html
New study: "First, there is strong and consistent evidence for airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory pathogens. Second, #masks are, if correctly and consistently worn, effective in reducing transmission of respiratory diseases and show a dose-response effect. Third, #respirators are significantly more effective than medical or cloth masks." #CovidIsNotOver#WearAMask#N95
@violetblue 's Covid Sanity is "a self-defense guide, a conversation starter, a resource for finding community, a helpful tool for hard decisions, and a means with which we ultimately disallow our valid refusal to endure repeated Covid-19 reinfections to be used against us."
"We're made to feel separate from society for avoiding covid, but we are far from alone."
Head to Kickstarter and help Covid Sanity become reality:
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.
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?
"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."
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 .
"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”.
Bonjour Masto !
On recherche des recommandations de lecture sur le début de la pandémie dans les pays nord-africains, et plus particulièrement au Maroc
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
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.
🇪🇸 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%."