An open call for submissions!
We are compiling a zine/collection of works of art.
Working title: "Testimonials of the collectively abandoned"
Our main theme is the isolation that comes from being #CovidAware and #CovidCautious in a world that has decided to abandon anyone who does not consent to infection.
We need our voices heard. We want to hear your voices and experiences.
The impact of neoliberal, hyper-individualistic thinking when "designing" "public health" policies is not abstract. It has very real impact on our lives, and we believe it needs to be documented.
We invite you to share your short stories/anecdotes soundscapes, paintings etc about the topic.
Anonymous or pseudonymous contributions are welcome. you can add a link/information on how to support your work, as well as how you want your work to be credited, or if you want it to be CC0 for example.
Send submissions to:
lettertoourcomrades [at] proton [.] me
I can not convey clearly just how hard it is for those of us who are truly hardcore #CovidCautious to coexist on this planet with people we care about.
Instead of arguing, bringing up the non safe things they are all excited about doing, just swallowing it and nodding. And that takes a hit on #MentalHealth and #Flareups /#Crashing w/ #LongCovid for the next day or two, curled up in a ball because you don't want to be that screaming wet blanket.
Changed up my name to be a bit more anonymous as I’m struggling in the world with so many of my friends. Glad they aren’t on mastodon (I don’t think) but it’s public enough I figured I should be less visible so I can be more honest. I hope people don’t mind. Definitely trying to keep my sanity in all these holiday moments, getting harder and harder. Grateful for the #COVIDcautious people here. #maskup#covid19#CovidIsNotOver#COVIDisAirborne
I used to have a sail boat. One of the most important #safety rules in sailing is "don't sail on a schedule".
What this means is that if you have a destination & a deadline, you will override safety signals (like weather) & travel in unsafe conditions due to deadline pressure. This is how serious accidents happen while sailing.
Planning for sailing puts an emphasis on having a checklist that includes having situational awareness of issues like boat condition, charts, & weather by explicitly checking the marine weather forecasts.
Also you have to be prepared to bail on your destination & schedule if the safety signals change. You have to know where your closest port is to seek shelter if a storm arises.
It occurred to me that the #airbornePrecautions equivalent is "don't be task focused on a deadline".
The need to get a task done by a deadline causes you to lose situational awareness, & accept risk that you would not otherwise accept if you thought your safety plan through ahead of time.
This is exacerbated by the total lack of a danger signal in society right now. No mitigations visible. Out of sight, out of mind.
This bit me yesterday getting a vaccination from an unmasked pharmacist in a small room. I took a risk I should not have, because I lost situational awareness under the drive to get the task done. I never would have accepted that risk in my pre-thought out safety plan. But it just popped up in the middle of the task, & I let it slide because I wasn't situationally aware.
Now, ofc I was wearing #P100#elastomeric so the risk here is relative. My event was ocular exposure during high water mark for community transmission, not being maskless. But it is not a risk I would have taken in a pre-thought through safety plan.
And that's the big deal now. Every little ordinary task needs a safety plan.
It's frustrating. It's exhausting.
When it goes wrong, when the safety signals change, when you get off plan, you have to be prepared to "bail". Halt a task, walk out, cancel, reschedule. Find a safe port in the new storm.
I should have refused entry with a maskless pharmacist. Cancelled, requested accommodation & rescheduled.
This is a kind of risk "velocitization" that happens. I am getting velocitized into one-way masking even during high #community#transmission periods. Everyone else but me unmasked is the new normal.
This is how accidents happen - a bunch of little issues leading to an unwanted, unplanned outcome.
A relative mocks me at Thanksgiving about being #CovidCautious: "I actually did the math. You're 100,000 times more likely to be injured riding a #motorcycle than to get #LongCOVID."
In fact, <1% of riders are injured each year, including the majority of accidents which involve drunk driving or unsafe speeds, neither of which I do.
In contrast, >6% (at least) and growing of the US population has Long #COVID.
But sure, she "did the math." #smdh
I feel like we Zeroes need to create our own holiday recognizing the anniversary of our never-ending personal lockdowns in March.
Festivities would include drinking alone together on Zoom, gifting copious amounts of toilet paper to each other, a good long virtual group cry, and sending "get better soon" cards to all the 2019ers we know, regardless of whether they're currently sick or not.
Holiday food would be whatever you can make with what's currently at your house, but definitely no yeasted bread (homemade sourdough only). Bonus points if the food smells faintly of bleach.
has anyone seen any good resources about explaining why one remains Covid cautious? Like, how to explain this in a way that is less likely to be perceived as judgmental of those who are taking no precautions? please boost #Covid#CovidCautious
Hello #Philadelphia natives! I am attending a work meeting in #Philly next week, and I've been tasked with finding a mid-range, quirky venue for a team dinner (~12 people). Requirements:
Outdoor space with heaters (we have #CovidCautious people we want to accommodate)
Both food and (alcoholic) drink
Options for vegetarians
Near the Liberty Bell (our meeting site is near there) if possible
Any recommendations?
Please boost! Thanks. :boostRequest:
Right now, my wife and kids are making corn starch-based "essence of bat wing" potions. Then, there is a virtual Halloween party for our eldest. After I'm done work, we are going to have a bonfire with my COVID-cautious parents and a Halloween scavenger hunt for just our kids.
I'm debating whether to convince my kid there's such a thing as a Halloween equivalent of the Easter bunny named Jack O'Lantern...
We could also discuss the suffering of immunocompromised or otherwise vulnerable extroverts who are still shielding due to govt & public failure to adopt v basic #PublicHealth measures.
But no, let's just keep on framing lukewarm libertarianism as leftism & rebutting alleged calls for lockdown that literally no-one is making. Yeesh
I just gotta vent, because I know there's at least a #CovidCautious community here; I just had a friend hang up on me when I said she should make sure her sore throat isn't covid.
It was really jarring, because I haven't had that kind of confrontation with this friend before. I never leave the house, so I haven't had to confront the kind of pandemic denialism others have talked about, thankfully. So this really sucked.
How do y'all #COVIDcautious folks deal with having to quarantine from a loved one? We're currently having to quarantine in two different flats (which is incredibly privileged, I know), and it's rough. Add to that that a) my social circle has gotten quite small thanks to people "moving on" and that I literally have to pack up our whole flat to get it ready for our move. I'm very privileged, I know, but I'd really need someone to relate to right now. #CovidIsNotOver
We know 4 tests per household is a shamefully low allotment, but everyone should still get theirs. It proves we still care that covid remains a concern and a threat and that we demand more and better official support and protection to survive it.
Even if you can afford to purchase tests yourself, you can share them to larger families and households, as well as give them to free pantries or directly to your unhoused neighbors.
And remember to check ALL rapid tests you acquire against the FDA extended shelf life list! Don't risk throwing away unexpired kits!
And remember to check ALL rapid tests you acquire against the FDA extended shelf life list! (Also on our Linktree for easy locating.)
🧵 Right now is a very busy time at my job. I'm mostly remote, but due to the upcoming events we have, I had to be in person for 4 days this week.
Two of those days were due to a multi local member event on Saturday this past week. I was leading recruitment for my local - so I had to be at a run thru meeting on Friday and the event on Saturday.
I showed up to the run-through meeting and quickly realized I was the only person who was wearing a #Mask.
At this point, I'm used to being one of the few people at my job who is still #CovidCautious. Those in charge have made any #LayersOfProtection at work events fall to the wayside. The best we get now is staff taking RATS prior to in person events (with no accountability if you dont) - and a very light suggestion to #MaskUp.
That being said, I was still nervous being the only one in a mask knowing we are in a Covid surge right now. I had my Aranet and the readings were hanging out in the 500s so at least there was that.
As always, I took my lunch and water breaks outside and did not remove my mask indoors.
There's an essay on (internalized) sanism/madphobia vis-à-vis #LongCovid that wants writing.
The popular discourse, among those in the #LongCovid and #CovidCautious communities, too readily trips face first into "LC folk are dangerous to themselves and others" territory.
U.S. spike in accidental deaths, between 2019 and 2020, at least, was largely due to a one third increase in deaths by poisonings and exposure to noxious substances.
The sort of thing one might expect for a population that has suddenly lost their ability to smell—thus accurately taste—environmental & food-borne hazards.