Very useful explainer posted by @dfisman. I’m am going to try and copy and paste it over here as it’s worth sharing and reading.
Going to be a bit bloody tedious as Bluesky doesn’t seem to allow copying of text. I have to “translate” it which opens it in a web page.. where I can copy the text😔
Downtown #toronto outdoor #masking is effectively zero right now.
A few holdouts still masking indoors, sub 5%.
Let's see what happens when four years of variant evolution crashes into vax and relax "it's over" as the only mitigation strategy in the building next wave..
I've been wondering what (if anything) the Asch conformity experiments might tell us about Covid-era mask-wearing
A few people have told me they decided to stop wearing masks, even in busy indoor spaces, not based on assessing the risk to themselves or others but because they felt stupid or weird being such an outlier
My kid told me that other students have been asking her why she's still #masking at school. So I showed her this, and then we sat down to pick colors for her next #mask order.
At this point, I know maybe 6 or 7 people (8 if you include me) irl, that haven't been infected with #Covid19.
Every time I tell people I've never gotten #Covid , they seem shocked.
All the people I know who are #Novid do at least 2 of the following.
Not spending time indoors unmasked around others that aren't in their "bubble." If they do see people outside their bubble, they try to do stuff outside. If it has to be indoors, everyone must #MaskUp when inside
Don't spend a lot of time in public places indoors - especially when there are crowds.
Having common shared agreements about #CovidPrecautions with the people they do see unmasked (usually about 3 people total - sometimes less - and it's pretty much always the people they live with).
#Masking in public using high-quality and well fitted masks (N95/KF94/KN95) - everyone I know who has remained Covid free is doing this.
I've watched basically every single person I know catch Covid, some of them multiple times, and it gets harder for me to comprehend how myself and others are screaming from the rooftops about #LayersOfProtection , yet they're still not #MaskingUp.
It's honestly just exhausting at this point because not only can the social isolation get you down sometimes, but I'm also just tired of seeing my friends get sick.
The Pirola variant is spreading, covid monitoring & data gathering has been stripped back, #vaccinationis getting under way but is limited by capacity & demographic(s)... no social measures (#masking, #socialdistancing) are as yet being publicised.
Could this be about to be a very difficult #winter? The trouble is as yet we have no good way of knowing until well down that road!
This Ottawa-based science fiction convention has consistently had stronger COVID policies than most #medical conferences since the start of the #pandemic.
They survey people (prior to each convention) interested in attending, and cater the policies to what people want. You may be surprised. In light of new variants and what might be around in the fall... Some highlights:
"The clearest message we received was that mandatory #masking was an absolutely necessary part of having a safe and welcoming environment."
"There was also mixed support for ensuring that attendees are vaccinated, but since provincial governments have stopped supporting the various #vaccine verification systems, we don’t want to promise something we can’t deliver. Can*Con will encourage all attendees to be up to date on their vaccines and boosters." #SF#sciencefiction#CanCon#mask#IDmastodon#medmastodon
Anyone with #ADHD and/or #ASD can tell me about their experience with masking?
I have a hard time relaxing and recharging my social batteries unless I'm alone or just in the company of animals.
How do you manage #masking and your social battery around your SO? Is it possible to deprogram the automatic tendency to mask even with people you love?
To give you an idea about my masking, I feel like my social interactions are based on following a script or doing a performance even if it's super unconscious and automatic.
Just learned about the concept but it's evident that this is what I'm doing constantly when interacting with people and the reason why I crave alone time to unwind and recharge.
For Patient Safety, It Is Not Time to Take Off Masks in Health Care Settings | Annals of Internal Medicine https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1190# “Although gold-standard evidence is not available, we argue that, despite the lack of clinical efficacy trials (as with the widely accepted practice of #HandHygiene), #masking in interactions between # patients and #HealthCare personnel should continue to receive serious consideration as a patient safety measure.”
Can someone share the best mask recommendations for COVID currently? There are some pictures with in-depth test results and comparisons - can people reshare those pictures? (Trying to find them, struggling)
The phrase "burnt out former gifted kid" has always given me the ick, but there are unique challenges/issues/traumas related to that experience that tend to come up in #autistic discussions and I've never encountered a good description.
Proposal for a slightly less icky alternative:
✨ burnt out former high achiever ✨
Over the holidays VLGF and I looked at dismay at our local and #provincial#covid monitoring results (#wastewater, hospitalizations, new cases etc) and decided that when we went back in public, or to work, we'd be #masking.
My first day back on Tuesday I ran into the COO and CEO (med. size company) in the breakroom, me sporting my mask, and they asked why the mask Spruce?
On #COVID#masks#masking, I frequently read (and empathize with) people around here posting abt comments by various ppl questioning their masks. It sucks!
Wanted to give an other perspective: I've worn N95s (pillowy Dräger 1750) at the office for 2 years (incl. dozens of business meetings) and nobody's ever said anything about it. (A couple of "are you sick today or just cautious" in 2 years.)
Your mileage may vary, but in case you've been thinking about trying, hope hearing that might help?
Five months ago today, I was recovering from my first (known) #COVID infection. It took me weeks to feel normal.
Now, as I prepare to get on a plane next week for the first time since then, I am incredibly nervous and anxious. Especially cuz I know I'll be one of only a few people #masking at the airport and on the plane.
Maybe we'll all luck out and not catch the latest variant. Maybe the risk will seem worth it to see my family.
So my 24 year old coworker has called in sick again, it's basically every couple of weeks. He's been wearing a mask and social distancing, besides coming to work, since March 2020.
Is it possible that he has wrecked his immune system by wearing a mask basically 24/7 for close to 4 years now? I'm serious, I can't find any data one way or the other but no one else I know is as sick as frequently as this 24 yr old guy.
I currently make an urgently needed clean slate regarding my browser tabs - and so read for the 100s time the Wiki article on #masking. And it just came to me as a flash insight [the German word Geistesblitz is a thing in English, right?]: Masking could be compared to Emotional Labor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_labor ! I learned about the underlying psychological strategies + concepts during my 2nd studies, also about advice on how to survive it sanely. Maybe this could be a support for @actuallyautistic?
I went to the dermatologist last week and I was the only one masked. (Did I mention that I live in Utah?) After being taken to an exam room, the nurse asked if I’d like her and the P.A. to mask. I said yes. I asked during the appointment if they’d seen evidence of Covid rising. They said yes simultaneously, and seemed very concerned. They lamented the politics. It also seemed that the mostly elderly patients envied my mask and seemed worried. But politics. 🤦♀️ #Covid#Masking