#COVIDcautious in #yeg … I’m afraid I can’t share an update, because the data in the wastewater tracker is now 11 days out of date. Who knows what’s been happening, but since we’ve returned to school with no precautions in place, I’m sure it’s not good.
Interesting - Recent Study - September 14, 2023- “..persistent T lymphocyte activation in many parts of the body up to 2.5 years after acute SARS‑CoV‑2 infection.” “..T cell activation was found even in those who were not experiencing any Long COVID symptoms at the time of imaging” - https://johnsnowproject.org/insights/a-new-disease-paradigm/
Fellow #CovidCautious who have known from the beginning that #Covid is not something you want to get if you can help it: Did you have a last moment of normalcy that you remember, when you looked around and thought, “It’s not going to be the same here soon, and these people don’t realize it?”
For me, it was when I was pushing two loaded grocery carts through the checkout in March 2020. Cases hadn’t yet shown up in my area. Haven’t breathed unfiltered indoor air in any public space since then.
To my fellow cynics in the #Neurodivergent and #COVIDcautious communities, do you find it easy to turn off the cynicism when talking to neurotypicals/the COVID cavalier? My problem is I know I SHOULD shut up, but I CAN'T.
One of the points @phpledge and @josh makes is that you can ask for safer conferences to attend. We've done it before by pushing for conferences to have COCs with anti harrassment policies.
We need our community leaders to push for rigorous public health policies as #CovidIsStillHere
In 2013 @scalzi decided to take a stand on COCs by announcing he wouldn't be the guest of honor, or a panel participant unless the conference had an anti harrassment policy.
@MichRVer shared a $1/ea (min 25) rapid test sale! Thank you!! I've never used this brand and have no idea if it's showing current variants well but probably still worth it as test costs is a barrier for many right now. It may be worth stocking up to give ones to friends and family or local mutual aid groups / mask blocs https://zeroes.ca/@MichRVer/111037916984984474
We’re in a deadly and disabling pandemic and 99% of people do absolutely nothing about it.
That includes many of the people reading this.
They’ll shrug and just continue to spread something that maims and kills, themselves and their “loved ones” included. Even though we have an extremely effective, cheap and readily available solution that does not interfere with their lives whatsoever: N95 (or better) masks.
How do you even begin to address a cognitive disconnect at such a huge scale?
@thomasfuchs This week, the ~1% of us who say we are #CovidCautious, and wear N95 type masks, saw notices to submit comments for upcoming CDC meetings on vaccine eligibility, and wastewater monitoring. Quite a few did comment. There is a loosely organized community here. An Arthur Ashe quote goes - start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
I wonder if we could use active listening to learn what the 99% are actually thinking.
I do wonder. That data could help. text limit.
Today has been an amazing day. I managed to sketch out the next couple of weeks of #software#engineering for the massive 30K+ lines of #Python that’s behind the scenes of the project I’ve been developing. A total flow state for hours, and shit got done. I almost qualify for the senior discount but my #brain is still humming along in top form.
This relates to #Covid, sadly. Putting the rest of this in a thread hashtagged #NoToBrainInfections which you can follow if it wouldn’t be traumatic.
#NoToBrainInfections tag is an attempt to get some people thinking about a critically important and yet criminally neglected and ignored public health catastrophe with whatever undamaged neurons they’ve got left. You can read about it in academic papers that never get discussed fairly or fully outside a very narrow group of #CovidCautious people. And you can learn about it, tragically, from hundreds of stories by people with #LongCovid if you care to listen.
I'm thinking of switching to a 3M 6000 half face respirator with source control filter instead of my Flo Mask. I'd paint it 90's theme colours. I've been avoiding the proper respirators because I've been worried people will think I'm weird but, really, is their opinion going to be different whether it's a Flo Mask or a 3M? The seal is so much more reliable on the 3M and COVID is so contagious and sooooo bad for you. I'm undecided but I guess why care when I don't value the opinions of people that don't mask anyway?
Thoughts? Wondering how others feel about wearing a respirator like the 3M 6000?
It's back to school day and here goes my little brother into a bigger sea of maskless kids this year. I wish people weren't so ridiculous with their denial of covid severity.
I'm in France and I don't know where to turn to to find info on current transmission levels, to show family that yes, it's still happening. We hear about the US, but not about here.
Also, I don't know if it's been discussed already, but my experience is that for non-english speaking people, so much info is not accessible. You can't just send people links to studies, when they don't understand English. This has been a major obstacle in my opinion, to make people aware of the risks and prevention methods. sigh
Well, here goes. I literally don't know how else to make IRL friends, so I'm going to see if fedi can help me.
Hi! I'm Balerion (real name to be revealed when friendship applicants pass the vibe check). I live in the #Seattle area. I'm 27, white, queer, and PROBABLY a cis woman. Oh, and I have ADHD. I'm looking for IRL lefty friends because I don't have any & would like to. Bonus points if you're not a fed, but one can't be too picky.
A little more about me: I am #CovidCautious & wear a mask everywhere I go. My hobbies include #crochet, #DND, #VideoGames (loving #BaldursGate3), writing occasionally, listening to podcasts, reading political theory, hanging out with animals, and consuming pretty much all forms of fiction. I have two awful cats. I'm very #cannabis friendly & would be glad to have someone to do edibles with. I'm a libertarian #socialist who's very passionate about politics & making change in the world. I'm not technically an #anarchist, but I'm very sympathetic to #anarchism & tend to get along with anarchists.
If you think we might click, please check my pinned posts. Still like me? Then feel free to hit me up!
Boosts appreciated for reach.
P.S. Please be vaxxed/have a medical reason not to be.
It blows my mind that nobody is out there making elastomeric N95+ respirators that look less like industrial equipment and more like an accessory. Is the market really too small to make this work?!? I feel like the elastomeric options are so limited and many aren't available in Canada.
I have a Flo Mask but I find the fit can be finicky. It's fine if I'm not talking to people, but it felt sketchy in Costco today. I need a replacement as well because of a small nick on the inside of the gasket but everything out there looks so intense.
So far, the Envo Mask Pro looks to be the best, but it's soooo expensive to import it here. I have a Dentec NxMD that I painted but I don't trust the way the filters are attached. It feels way too easy to install them incorrectly.
I don't really care THAT much if it looks industrial, but I'd really like it if there was something out there that could look stylish.
There’s a lot I’m willing to give up for covid safety and solidarity, but at this stage it seems to be in conflict with being able to date and have a partner. This may be my breaking point. It’s very hard to accept this is the state of things.
;Honestly, the #pandemic started to become a chore, like going to school where you don't get to choose your subjects. And you MUST keep up with your homework in order to #StaySafe and it's exhausting, especially if your friends have all dropped out and are partying.
I know PLENTY of #CovidCautious who are up on the homework and WANT to share with you so you can be safe too. Got questions?
No shame. No yelling. No dismissiveness ("you do you").
I am still a fediverse newbie myself but links.zeroes.ca has some great resources, including apps and web versions (I like Moshidon on android, Ice Cubes on ios and Elk.zone on web myself) since the official clients can feel a bit... meh? (coming from Twitter, especially), so give it a look!
The fact that there's a new variant out (again) that people are concerned about changes literally nothing for me. I'm not more worried. I'm not changing my behavior. I only think about it when articles come up. It IS interesting seeing viral evolution unfold so rapidly, however.
It seems so ironic being told I'm living in fear when I feel so emotionally detached to increasing immune escape. Mechanical interventions never stopped working. 🤷
I'm in a group of COVID-cautious #Boston area folks who organize COVID-safe outings to private theater showings. Everyone who attends is fully vaccinated and symptom-free, takes a rapid test beforehand, and wears a good mask for the entire movie. If you're interested, go to https://groups.google.com/g/boston-covid-safe-movies and click "Join group" near the top. We're currently organizing a Barbie outing; if you'd like to participate, see "COVID-safe Barbie showing" once you've joined the group. @universalhub#CovidCautious
My niece's school only accepts navy masks so scrambling to find an okay band that sells navy n95s now before she goes there...
If anyone has recommendations for kids masks, I'd gratefully accept 🥺
I went to buy groceries today and I did something different than I've done in the past.
Normally, when I'm wearing my mask (usually a Flo Mask), I keep my eyes down. I unconsciously make myself small to avoid conflict. I've done this for a while now and I think it's the wrong attitude for me to take.
So today I SWAGGERED my way through the aisles, chin held high, assured in the fact that I'm a fucking BOSS. I felt confident and I looked confident, as I should be.
Wearing a mask is sexy. Wearing a mask shows people you are a critical thinker and that you don't give a fuck what other's think. Wearing a mask is badass.
a whole fuckton of infosec people went to Defcon, spread COVID amongst themselves and who knows how many others, and are now shitposting about it on Twitter
these same people would be aghast (or maliciously joyful) if someone left a computer connected to the internet with zero network protection measures.
and they all went to a superspreader event, took off their masks (Katelyn Bowden specifically admitted she masked for travel and then unmasked at the con), and decided that, actually viruses are cool and good when you let them into your body
the past three years have proven that almost no one is willing to forego the social benefits of unmasked activities. and those who are willing to forego those benefits, or have no other choice, simply disappear, effectively no longer existing.
the complete refusal of society to take COVID precautions seriously amounts to social death for anyone who will not or cannot risk infection.
@dave@AvengingFemme I'm sorry but as pissed off as I am about how our society and governments have responded to COVID (which will be entirely obvious if you glance at my timeline), I don't wish illness on even the shitty people perpetrating all that, and I think it's in rather bad taste to do so.
I hope that those of us being #CovidCautious are doing it not only to protect ourselves, but also because we care about protecting others. Wishing illness on people is obviously inconsistent with that.
Should note the nature of their straps makes them more of a one time use than Blox or Gerson duckbills (which I personally can reuse a few times but ymmv) but still a good deal!