Lostin76

I should add, this is no different than what we do with the flu vaccine EVERY year. You can either get it, or refuse to get it and go work someplace else. This is not unique to COVID - as much of this is not different than other vaccines in the past. Only thing different this time around is politicians making asses of everyone to score points and divide us.

Same in our hospital system. Patients have expressed an overwhelming preference for their caregivers to be vaccinated. So much so that they would switch their care elsewhere to be get that assurance. That is a factor for sure, but the number one factor is patient safety. Many of these patients are immunocompromised. We take our commitment to the patient very seriously. And we don’t want to lose staff, but if the staff would rather not take a shot, then they can do that and work elsewhere.

I always wonder the same thing. Would they say those things to someone in person? Probably not. I deleted my Facebook profile about five years ago, and drastically cut down on who/what I follow on Twitter. Political accounts were largely unfollowed or muted. I am still on Instagram, b/c it’s a steady stream of dogs, road bikes, and gardening - the things that make me happy.

Piece of trash - would fit in well with the NYPD.

I kept waiting for Trump to take this seriously and create some smart, effective mandates - I would have 100% been behind his decision if he did. I don’t really obsess over what politicians do or don’t do regarding COVID anymnore. They are as a group, the most venal, hateful, and greedy people in our nation. We pay their salary so they can further divide us - it’s maddening. Honestly, think this has only been political b/c the politicians (and the people who follow them) are obsessed with keeping score and being right. It’s exhausting seeing how this has further divided us. I mean, I’m super liberal, but I can’t stand the yappy, far left accounts on Twitter who are still cryassing about Trump. I’ve muted so many of them.

I know a lot of people say that about NYC, but they are always surprised when they visit our place in Brooklyn. It feels like a series of interconnected neighborhoods that are walkable and jammed with small businesses. It’s nothing like the horrible, overcrowded tourist trap that is Manhattan. I always get in a bit of a surly mood when I have to go into Manhattan. And I never go to Midtown or Times Square area unless I’m going to a Broadway show.

I’ve been happiest here in Brooklyn, but feel like I’ve outgrown our space and am really looking forward to moving upstate in NY or Vermont or Maine. Definitely want to be int he NE, b/c I like the proximity to NYC/DC/Philly. Also not a big fan of humidity and overly hot climates. My wife surprised me with a beer trip to Vermont this summer and I REALLY clicked with the state. It may have just been the area we were in - near Burlington - but I really loved how people were into pimping out their front yards with amazing gardens and flower beds. It was much more pronounced than any other place I have visited. Another plus for Vermont - no billboards on roadsides. ZERO. They don’t allow them. That I can get behind. Our plan is to buy a summer home somewhere up north in the next 3-5 years and then transition to it full time once my wife retires.

Those look great! I recall them being my favorite slicing and eating tomatoes to date.

Really happy to see all of the talk on diet/exercise. I won’t say what the answer is for everyone, b/c I don’t know. But what works for me is eating healthier foods with a limited number of ingredients and lots of movement every day. If you can’t run or bike, walk. Do it early and do it often. Walking absolutley makes a HUGE difference. We noticed that when we moved from Indy (driving city) to NYC (walking city). For foods, I eat whole grains and non-processed foods. My goal started by saying I wouldn’t eat anything with more than five ingredients or anything with ingredients that I can’t pronounce or identify. I’ve relaxed that a bit, but it does help. When people say to avoid carbs or bread, I think that’s fairly unrealistic for long term. Just buy bread that’s made with bread ingredients - water, flour, and salt. It’s simple. Same with pasta. Don’t buy overly processed crap that the food industry is desperate for you to eat. There’s a reason grocery stores and fast food restaurants are designed like they are. They want and need you to eat more, more, more. Fad diets absolutley do not work - or they may work for a bit and then you yoyo back to that original weight. One thing that works for me is having a hot wife 11 years younger than I am. She runs marathons and is super acitve. It behooves me to do the same. 😂 I’m also a vegetarian, but I don’t think that’s necessary to lose weight. Just means I eat a lot more veggies and fruits, and avoid high fat, cholesterol red meat. I’m 53 and wear the same size in jeans I did in high school. Definitely in better shape and more muscle tone than back then though.

I have to be honest. I don’t care what they do. Id rather they follow the rules, but I know what works for me and am not concerned about the actions of people I can’t control. Down that way lies madness. I think I would trade DeBlasio for almost anyone!

I ALWAYS hate the UN General Assembly b/c it creates one long horrible traffic jam in my work neighborhood. But to ignore vaccine requirements makes it even worse. If I have to prove to be vaccinated to eat indoors, they can be vaccinated to attend an all day indoor meeting. Unfortunately, our mayor is a spineless creep and our governor, well we all know how well that turned out!

We watched the Netflix show on the Pacers/Pistons brawl last night. Both really liked it. I had stopped watching the NBA when it happened, so really didn’t pay too much attention to it at the time. They really did a great job showing the pearl-clutching media crying about thugs. Interesting to see the whole tape of the incident.

I feel ya, my friend. I hate it and really thought we would be over it by now. And taking a break in Brown County feels like heaven to me now. This isn’t COVID-related or anything, but thought people would like it and maybe lighten the mood around here a bit. I posted a headphone amp for sale on Craigslist and a guy reached out to me to come and see it. We exchanged phone numbers and started texting. He had a 317 area code and I was like, “wait that’s familiar.” The guy moved here to NYC three years ago from Zionsville. Also lived close to where we did by Luna Music before we lived downtown. Both he and his wife went to IU - same as my wife and I. He apologized for not having his IU hat on today. Hell, he might be on this board! Just thought that was one of those small world things.

Good point, and I don’t disagree that it’s an important part. I also think there should be more study in this area. But herd immunity was never going to save us w/o killing too many people in the process. But I also have to say that I have had VERY few friends and colleagues who have been infected. My wife and I have not been infected. What we have been in careful and thoughtful. It’s worked so far for us. We managed to navigate the epicenter of this the entire time w/o being infected. We know so many people who chose to flee NYC during this and we stayed put, but did so with common sense actions. Hope I didn’t just jinx us though!

Proven? Sure, masks, social distancing and vaccines. Especially these three together. I know you are not a fan of any of those, but they do work if people use them. Look at deaths, hospitalizations, and positivity rates in states that don’t embrace them. Idaho is at 43.7%, Mississippi at 34.4%. Deaths are surging in these places, and the hospitalizations are crushing healthcare workers in many regions. The states with the lowest positivity rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are all NE states that embrace masks, social distancing, and vaccination. The states struggling largely embrace individual freedom over a healthy society. The densest, most populous city in the US (NYC) has a positivity rate that’s been hovering between 1-4% for the last six months, currently at 3%. Everyone knows we got hammered in the beginning, before we knew what worked. Made a lot of mistakes, but after that initial surge, our rates have been VERY low. Why? Because we have been very strict about wearing masks indoors, social distancing, and we have a high vaccination rate. Our population density means we are always packed together - in buildings (mine has 75 units sharing an elevator), on subways, on buses, and on sidewalks. You would think that would make controlling spread difficult. There are a lot of us, but we mostly decided to make some sacrifices for the greater good of the people around us. Life is vibrant here - sidewalk and street dining are packed every day. New restaurants and stores are popping up. We go about our lives as we did before, w/o much worry about COVID. Outdoor dining has transformed neighborhoods, many more people are out and about biking, summer streets were extended year around (streets shut down to car traffic on weekends). We do mask up indoors, but that’s just smart. Subways are packed, but people wear masks. This really isn’t rocket science - we don’t have to scour the internet for fringe treatments and studies to prove our pet theories, if we simply do these things. History also tells us this is how many plagues and pandemics are ultimately ended.

You are not a freak at all. Questioning is good and yes, politics can be a problem. I’ve worked with one researcher in all my years that let politics seep in. I talked to him, we disagreed, and I moved on to work with someone else. I hate that politics has got into this so deeply. Like you said, very complicated problem. But I will continue to trust real scientists and medical providers.

My favorite of MANY hilarious tweets about this one.

Sigh. This is pretty much the deal with any paper or any legitimate study. There is a limitations section. Legitimate researchers are trained to constantly question their results. And often over-emphasize the limitations or issues with a study, so when it’s peer reviewed they may head off some of the critiques and comments. The peer review process can be brutal. So, the CDC must include every word in a press release, but Joe Rogan, Podcast Pete, or Tucker Carlson can selectively quote things and mislead the public and that’s cool. Got it. I have to admit, this thread is difficult for me. I work with researchers, some of the best in the world. I trust them. I do not trust Podcast Pete or on air personalities. In the end, science will be proven right, and the treatment of the day/week pushers will long be forgotten about. I get it, many people on here don’t trust science. But, damn it’s depressing. I also get that many people don’t trust politicians. I am with you. Am sick of them all. Mostly just sick of people constantly questioning proven ways to reduce the spread of this virus. I also just simply don’t have the time to scour the internet all day b/c someone is wrong on the internet.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0806-vaccination-protection.html In today’s MMWR, a study of COVID-19 infections in Kentucky among people who were previously infected with SAR-CoV-2 shows that unvaccinated individuals are more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated after initially contracting the virus. These data further indicate that COVID-19 vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity alone and that vaccines, even after prior infection, help prevent reinfections. “If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “This study shows you are twice as likely to get infected again if you are unvaccinated. Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious Delta variant spreads around the country.” The study of hundreds of Kentucky residents with previous infections through June 2021 found that those who were unvaccinated had 2.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with those who were fully vaccinated. The findings suggest that among people who have had COVID-19 previously, getting fully vaccinated provides additional protection against reinfection. Additionally, a second publication from MMWR shows vaccines prevented COVID-19 related hospitalizations among the highest risk age groups. As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rise, the data in today’s MMWR reinforce that COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to prevent COVID-19.

Over 2,000 US citizens died of COVID yesterday. It didn’t have to be like this. And no, Ivermectin is not the way out of this mess.

Oh man, I hate this for you. This is probably the most difficult things we have to do in our lives. And the hole they behind, the silence, the absence of their claws clicking on the floor, is just so much. I’m sorry, my friend.

Yeah, that’s our policy too at the medical center. Actual dates for scheduling and receiving the vaccine. But I know there are other exemptions being approved in our department. And you are right, we shouldn’t bicker about it. We both want to be over this crap. Sorry if I came across like a d*ck, just so frustrated by this whole thing.

Just so you know, I’ve worked in healthcare research for the last twenty five years. I run a healthcare innovation center at a very highly ranked School of Medicine. We study adverse events, barriers to treatment, predictive analytics, machine learning, health information technology, etc. One of the things we are always interested in is provider burnout. We work with dozens of major universities nationally and a few internationally. And no, we are not forcing people to get medical treatment against their will. As I’ve already mentioned twice, I’ve helped a post-doc get a medical exemption so she can keep her job. I know it makes for great headlines to stir up the freedom or else crowd, but that’s just not the policy on the ground in most places.

We are really starting to be more concerned about the insidious, long term effects. Many people don’t seem to care about this, b/c it’s the flu, it’s a liberal conspiracy. It’s all about scoring argument points. The same people don’t care about long term effects, just individual freedom over what’s good for society. They don’t seem to care about health systems or healthcare workers forced to take care of anti-vax people who have *suddenly* had a change of heart and now desperately want care. Never mind that they didn’t trust the same healthcare system a month or a week ago. We are damn lucky that the people that work in healthcare (and don’t get me started on teachers, those poor teachers) are as decent as they are. Healthcare workers in many low vaccination states are exhausted and frustrated, but sure they should just keep their mouths shut and treat people who mock them. COVID’s impact is much more far reaching than we think, but sure let’s treat it like the flu and bicker about masks and vaccines.

The families of over 1,500 people that die each day would disagree with you about COVID not being a good example. And I just posted above about one of my employees being unvaccinated. I did not eliminate her right to work. I helped her get an exemption so she could remain employed with us.