OT: USA COVID-19 Vaccination Updates
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
As an educator, I'd say educate yourself.
1) Cloth masks have negligible effect on transmission. Look up what a nanometer is if unsure. COVID molecules are approximately 300nm in diameter. Cloth masks have openings between the threads that are 1000X larger and that doesn't even account for the macro-sized openings where the mask doesn't touch on the outsides of the nose even if worn above the nose.
2) What does matter is the equivalent dose for exposures. This is the time measurement of the exposure times the concentration of covid molecules suspended in the air. The concentration is a function of the number of people infected and their rate of shedding virus, the size of the enclosure (room, building, etc.) and the ventilation rate to outside air (not shared ventilation to other rooms which are also likely to have high concentrations of covid molecules).
3) Ways to reduce risk.
A) Limit exposure time. Go outside when you can.
B) Reduce numbers of potentially infectious people. Smaller class sizes help.
C) Increase volume of spaces where you spend time (bigger buildings as opposed to small enclosed spaces).
D) Increase ventilation rate to outside air (your school has had ample time to put better ventilation systems in place and there was tons of COVID money to schools that went unspent) or just open your windows to your classroom. Conduct class outside if it's nice.
E) Take vitamins C, D (watch that you don't have too much as this can be toxic above normal levels), and other immune system supporting things like Elderberry.
F) Eat generally healthy and exercise.
Others can add to this but it is a start.
Cletus, We are here also for 2 weeks to watch grandson while his daycare is closed for vacation. [right beside Old Town Alexandria]. I was struck by the same thought, lots of masks. Took the gs to storytime hour at the library which is really singing and stories. Person in charge is in the front of the room and about 10 ft away from the kids., wearing a mask. Seemed like a buzzkill to have the person leading the singing wearing a mask. Probably 30 kids and 20 parents in the room and no one else with a mask on. Then we leave and I see two people out walking. One with one without.
Follow the science. The germ can pass thru a cloth mask like a marble thru a bushel. Now, every thinking American knows how Hitler came to power in a democracy. All the democracies of the world were as fascist as Hitler during covid19 except Sweden. How can we ever trust anyone in the federal beaurocricy again?
So Biden did not eradicate covid. Another lie from Biden.
Thanks for the Reply and ideas. Over the past 3 years at work I've taken the steps within my control to give myself the best chance of remaining healthy. I choose to not wear a mask at school. There are peers who still wear masks- maybe 15% or so along with more kids than you'd think since they are no longer required. The case I got was after me and my bride spent a year living like Amish people and then our son spent a week in NYC, came home for Christmas and blessed us with the "gift" Omicron!
The physical plant stuff is completely out of a teachers' control except for the windows- which I can do. Our school chose to go to Block schedules (90 minutes per class every other day) as opposed to the shorter 41 minute classes every day to limit hallway time and in theory be safer. But your point of having too many people in close proximity for too long is the opposite so as with most of this whole puzzle- no one solution solves all.
As high schoolers we don't really "go outside" for class or recess- some teachers do a class break/walk to get blood flowing and leave the classroom. I haven't done that. Smaller class sizes have been an issue in education forever. My max is 28 in my room based on computer terminals available for the content I teach- and my average tends to be in low 20s in a relatively larger room so I'm lucky. Others have 35 kids in more traditional rows in smaller spaces...which is far from ideal for both education and health. Unlike my Elementary peers, I rarely need to be in very close proximity physically so again- I'm fortunate. IF I were a K-5 or Middle School teacher I may think differently.
I'm generally healthy and rarely take Sick Days- so I can see me doing 5-10 more years. Working in a Petri Dish of germs has probably made me stronger over the years- my wife is jealous of my immune system. But if things get back to the Live/Hybrid/Virtual model of 3 years ago I'll quit immediately. Do not want to go through that again.
In any indoor setting ventilation is key. Try to get the school to max airflow. New filters on equipment. Circulate air even if furnace or AC is off. Open windows when conditions permit.
Whatever the government tells you to do, do the opposite.
yeah, i never understood when one husband or wife wears a mask and the other does not. as obviously if they are together, if the one not wearing the mask get Covid, the spouse is certainly going to get it.
it is my understanding that here in Philly area there is a covid surge of some sort going. not like anybody really knows or cares, but talking to a urgent care doctor that I know, he said that the last few weeks a lot more covid positive test cases he is seeing. basically standard cold/flu like symptoms of the omicron type variant and when people come in with those symptoms they get a covid test. hence how he knows a lot more covid positive now then anytime in the last year plus he said.
I think there are times when a person is suffering from some kind of condition that compromises the immune system. I don't think masks are very helpful but can also understand that this can be some kind of 'teddy bear". That is just fine by me.
But, mostly, I think the people still doing this only watch or read one side of the conversation. I haven't seen a lot of news pieces and articles saying "despite our best efforts, we were wrong. we are sorry that the scientific community failed you so. Moreover, we are sorry that group-think did not allow us to correct in information in a timely manner once it was clear that our guidance was complete bullshit, if not some kind of way to yield more power and/or make money. We will try to do better."
Their plan for Block schedules actually makes no sense. Not just longer in the same space, but do they think that the doors of the classroom are airtight? Why haven't the physics teachers enlightened them on propagation of suspended particles? If you can physically see a gap in the door then the air outside and inside of the classroom is constantly mixing and again, the covid molecules are only 300 nanometers in diameter. If you open those doors for several minutes when classes change, then the rate of mixing is even higher. But the real kicker is that all of the ventilation in the entire building is likely shared ventilation.
So there is a high mixing rate of airflow constantly throughout the building of shared air from all ventilated spaces. You can assume whether you are doing block scheduling or normal periods that just about all of the air in that building has approximately the same concentration of covid molecules. Perhaps the spaces near the doors to outside spaces are slightly lower concentrations.
One of the problems with the lockdowns early in the covid response in places like NYC was that these people were on lockdown in huge apartment buildings with hundreds or even thousands of people breathing the same shared ventilation air for 24/7. How do you ensure that the maximum number are infected and exposed to very high doses of covid? You lock hundreds of them down in the same building with shared ventilation 24/7. Had they gone outside and breathed fresh air for a significant portion of their day, then they would have had a lower dose exposure and likely more moderate infections. They are however, still locked in a building sharing the same ventilated space with hundreds of others for probably at least 8 hours or so as they sleep and get ready for their day.
Also, thank you for making a difference to kids.
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Probably looking for a count of how many will be down for whatever their 2024 election season stunt is planned to be.
The only thing that would surprise me about intelligently and intellectually dishonest opinions like that is if they also were not accompanied by statements saying that we need to go back to remote learning and work. Nothing like wanting to repeat measures that not only did not do any good when they first were imposed, but also did irreparable harm to the mental, intellectual, physical and economic state of this country, the effects of which we still are feeling and will feel for decades; just look at the state of our major cities and the education statistics.
She said something at the end along the lines of it would be a shame if we had to close the schools later due to something that could have been prevented. AYFKM? I am dumber for having watched that. This is pure scare propaganda, along with the anchor's assertion that now "everybody" seems to know somebody with a C19 diagnosis again. Another falsehood. Hospitalizations are up 12%. Not that I believe MSN but if that's true, so what? How many are acutally hospitalized? There is no prevention for this. Anybody claiming there is, is patently lying.
I am double lung transplant recipient, diabetic and stage 4 kidney failure. I don’t think masks are particularly helpful, but I wear them indoors because my doctor tells me to do so. I would hate to tell him I got COVID not wearing a mask.
I am shocked that a medical doctor in July 2023 would be calling for school masking. just completely insane. I mean there are medical papers and numerous studies out on the negative effects of masking in schools. it is now admitted by Fauci that masking doesn't work unless you have 99.99% compliance with properly fitted N95 masks. It has been shown that kids are not at risk. What the hell is this lady thinking.
Love the humor! Fwiw my sister was serving in the Peace Corps in Lome, Togo during Covid. The rules/LAWS of that country required mask wearing even when driving alone. I joked with her about it and she said " it's no joke, fines at least, possible jail time." West Africa has faced some craziness healthwise so I guess I understand the concept/conservatism. This joke made me immediately think of her "no joke" comment.
I'm not sure where you were in NOVA, but it's pretty uncommon in the Fairfax area.
I remember saying that about the masks and was told I wanted to kill Grandma
By a lot progs on this site that skipped out to the other board. Good riddance!
The worst was McAndrew. That guy censored so many things about covid now proven to be true that he probably contributed to several covid deaths in the PSU community himself.
When people want to deceive, they use percentages instead of actual numbers. By 12% -- does that mean the hospitalizations went from 50 to 56, 1000 to 1120, 20000 to 22400, or 100000 to 112000? All are 12% increases but not all are significant increases. Never trust percentages to mean anything without seeing the actual figures behind them.
actually as we have talked about on many occasions, it is just 12% increase in hospital admissions WITH covid NOT BECAUSE of covid. so what is the percent increase (and total people as you mention) of people admitted to the hospital FOR covid, that is the number that really is the most meaningful.
between vaccine and exposure, I am sure that 99% of the american population have some level of immunity.
also, the people that are in the hospital FOR covid, what is their current health situation? Is this a case of nursing home patients with double and triple co-morbidities in the hospital or what?
Of those hospitalizations, what is their vaccination status. I think if the data supported unvaxxed at a much higher hospitalization then it would be reported in the news. The fact that it isn't mentioned is likely telling.
He would been far better off to just say ‘We don’t fully understand the mechanism’ and then move on.
But was the admission peer reviewed?!
