They might be meaning 'strain'.

Oblivian: Yeap.

Science is cool and all. But seems odd everyone leans more to the side of 'oh well it didn't work' and brush off any impact. No matter if there actually was one. Miniscule or otherwise.

We use the term every cent counts amount others when referring to small impacts that sre still an impact on a greater scheme

I'm sure it can apply to health. Gotta be why doctors still use them as a standard, right.

None of this is that simple.

Science is up against everyones lived experiences which holds more weight than science to those individuals. Covid isn’t exactly rare so many have lived experience. Due to vaccination and the fact we had mainly Omicron spread rather than Delta, we had antivirals I suspect most had a better experience with covid than they did with the flu. Think about how that skews peoples perspectives. Most people I know acquired covid via a household type setting. Not public transport where sometimes there’s a lot of people or a few people and rarely anyone strikes up a conversation with their neighbour. Yet that’s one of the target environments for mandatory masking.

Even if masking has a minor impact, it didn’t prevent the majority of people from getting covid, and for those that did, they’re the minority probably because of a bit of luck but also they probably wore their medical / N95 mask properly. Maybe reduced their social contacts.  

Does this warrant a policy change? And given peoples lived experiences – what do you think the uptake would be like? If people had a snotty nose and a sore throat do you really think they’re interested in an N95 and using it properly in public settings? 

When you say doctors use masks as a standard, do you mean they wear them all the time? I think our experiences have been different.

sudo:

 

My partner works in a hospital (in one of the labs) and they wear properly fitted N95s all day. Everyone ends up getting the latest string going around ... and bringing it home.

 

 

 

Half the time it seems to be asymptomatic, so they are always short of people who test positive so stay at home.

 

Gotta have that tea and lunch break! Do they have hepa filters in their tea room?

Batwing: Let's play devil's advocate and say masks don't bring the r0 of covid down enough to be a game changer.

Do they bring the prevalence of other illnesses down?

Do they have downsides for the wearer that are worth talking them out of wearing one?

We can't reduce everything to zero sum, in which case the cautionary principal may apply.

If someone has made the individual decision to give up precautions, that's great for them I guess but the least they could do is not advocate for others for follow suit (in my opinion)

Masks will likely reduce the chance of you acquiring whatever bug you're trying to avoid if you're wearing it well and taking other precautions. Some masks are better than others. Some people are better at wearing them than others. Is that a matter of education? For some yes but even health staff get complacent. 

re: downsides, even the personal perceived discomfort is enough for people to decide they don't want to wear a mask.

NOBODY should be talked out of wearing a mask. It is absolutely their choice. 

That precautionary principle may not be applied how you think it should be applied. 

I caught my bout of coronavirus about 18 months ago, but do the new variants spread easily? Do they spread as a fomite (ie, from surface contact) or is it still mostly person-to-person, via droplets, etc?

(maybe I should stop watching movies like Contagion...)

quickymart:

 

I caught my bout of coronavirus about 18 months ago, but do the new variants spread easily? Do they spread as a fomite (ie, from surface contact) or is it still mostly person-to-person, via droplets, etc?

 

yes they spread easily. the rate went up with the newer variants. surface contact is still a thing, but how much it is compared to via aerosol depends on what you do and where you go. major public indoor places are a soup of infections. 

gzt: I'm interested in an N95 recommendation for occasional travel and public transport. Are there any comfortable ones with easy breathing and no moisture traps or something to deal with it - or is that entire wishlist oxymoron?

3M Aura N95 from Mitre 10. You can reuse these until the straps break basically.

Excess mortality across countries in the Western World since the COVID-19 pandemic: ‘Our World in Data’ estimates of January 2020 to December 2022 | BMJ Public Health

 

Online supplemental table 1 illustrates that the total number of excess deaths in the 47 countries of the Western World was 3 098 456 from 1 January 2020 until 31 December 2022. Excess mortality was documented in 41 countries (87%) in 2020, in 42 countries (89%) in 2021 and in 43 countries (91%) in 2022.

 

In 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of the containment measures, 1 033 122 excess deaths (P-score 11.4%) were recorded. In 2021, the year in which both COVID-19 containment measures and COVID-19 vaccines were used to address virus spread and infection, a total of 1 256 942 excess deaths (P-score 13.8%) were reported. In 2022, the year in which most containment measures were lifted and COVID-19 vaccines were continued, preliminary available data counts 808 392 excess deaths (P-score 8.8%).

 

New Zealand, Greenland and Norway seemed to have done better than others.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/advertising-standards-authority-says-reality-check-radios-covid-advert-had-unsubstantiated-claims/2532GL3JIBABRAQUGFMWJYFFH4/

Ha ha, the antivaxx crowd get told they're wrong. But I question what clown at the two (different) newspapers decided it would be a good idea to print VFF's propaganda in the first place???

Ugh just tested positive this afternoon. That's what I get for leaving the house on the weekend.

Got another booster shot this week.

@Lias I hope you don't get too sick.

Off to get another booster tomorrow morning. Wife had hers today.

Does the current booster have any side effects? Last time I didn't feel too flash for a day or so but came right.