Bipartisan Virginia legislature votes to end mask mandates alongside Governor Youngkin

[Anonymous]

I just noticed this...Virginia has had one of the lowest death rates from Covid throughout the pandemic - in the bottom 10 by deaths per capita.

But currently, Virginia is in the TOP 10 of Covid deaths per capita, right up there with all its fellow GOP-governed states. What happened?

Maybe Republican Covid policies get people killed?

Current top 10 states for Covid deaths over the last 7 days:

Tennessee
Deaths per 100,000: 1.50
Daily average deaths: 102.7

West Virginia
Deaths per 100,000: 1.43
Daily average deaths: 25.7

Arkansas
Deaths per 100,000: 1.41
Daily average deaths: 42.6

Mississippi
Deaths per 100,000: 1.35
Daily average deaths: 40.3

Oklahoma
Deaths per 100,000: 1.23
Daily average deaths: 48.9

South Carolina
Deaths per 100,000: 1.07
Daily average deaths: 54.9

Ohio
Deaths per 100,000: 0.95
Daily average deaths: 111.4

Idaho
Deaths per 100,000: 0.94
Daily average deaths: 16.9

Virginia
Deaths per 100,000: 0.93
Daily average deaths: 79.1

Missouri
Deaths per 100,000: 0.90
Daily average deaths: 55.1

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/us-coronavirus-deaths-by-state-july-1.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no problems removing the masks now, based on the number, per CDC guidance.

however, the law is very troublesome as it makes mask optional regardless of the numbers or the nature of the virus. That is bull.

GOPers, we learned one thing from you. We just have to be loud and relentless, and yes, uncivil. Just like you were. And we'll get our way

It's funny how injured they act.

Laws can be changed again folks. Meanwhile I’ll take liberty at the risk of death. That is what America is about. If you want to be coddled and over governed go to Europe.

And I honestly hope you get your wish. Just please stay home and die, don't go to the hospital.

Stop wearing seatbelts too while you're at it, and disobey speed limits. Freedom!

Seatbelts actually work.

It's like they can't help it. They have to push more disinformation. Do you get a bonus or are you a zealot?

I have more than a dozen ancestors who fought for liberty and a free nation when our country was founded. They are all.my ancestors because they did not catch yellow fever and die. But you do, sweets.

Vaccines and seatbelts have proven to save lives in statistically significant numbers. Cloth or surgical masks, despite numerous attempts to prove they work, don't provide a statistically significant benefit. Why did they research this? Because developing countries don't have easy access to N95s. N95s can be protective, but they need to fit correctly. The average citizen or child isn't wearing them correctly. So, even N95s don't really work either due to misuse. But you keep on with your rituals that make you feel safer: The wiping of packages, Disinfecting door knobs, Perfuming yourself with Lysol, etc.

"Masks don't work" is patently false. Studies show that if you're unmasked and standing next to someone else who is contagious and unmasked it will take 5-15 minutes for you to get infected. Whereas, in that same scenario if both people are properly (i.e. reasonably snug fit and your nose isn't hanging out) wearing a N95/KN95 the time it would take for you to get infected goes to around 4 hours. Masks make it safe for vulnerable people to go to stores et cetera.

43% of Americans have one or more risk factors - age, hypertension, obesity, etc. The risk of death is higher than 0.5%. Nearly a million Americans have died and countless more are now dealing with ongoing debilitating health problems as a result of having gotten covid. And now studies are showing that even mild cases are leaving a substantial percentage of victims with a variety of mental health issues.

What does that study have to do with masking in schools where they likelihood that either, let alone both, kids is wearing a non-counterfeit kn95 or n95 is about zero? What benefit is gained from the ill fitting cloth masks that most kids wear?

So what if some people are stupid?
That's like asking, why do cars have air bags and crumple zones if seatbelts work? Why have speed limits, traffic signs and signals if seatbelts save lives? Why not let people drink and drive, since we have seatbelts?

No - it’s not all or nothing. It’s a risk / benefit analysis.

Really? What risk and what benefit? How are masks harming you? Seatbelts are a mandate even though you only have around a 2% chance of getting in a car accident in any given year. If it were about low risk you would have been marching in the streets protesting seat belts and other things that protect you in the event of car accidents. If it were about a notion of mandates being evil you would have been marching in the streets over seatbelts. But it's not really about that, is it. And you can't really explain what it is, can you. It's just weird contrived inorganic "FREEDOM" groupthink.

Masks are uniquely problematic in school - where young kids are learning to communicate and learning social emotional skills such as reading facial expressions. It’s harder to hear and talk in them too. You lost all credibility when you don’t see any downsides to masking kids going on two years straight.

Wait, what? You don't let your kids take their masks off when they come home and you don't ever talk with them when they're at home, making the schools the only place they ever learn anything? I think you're the one with the credibility problem here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just noticed this...Virginia has had one of the lowest death rates from Covid throughout the pandemic - in the bottom 10 by deaths per capita.

But currently, Virginia is in the TOP 10 of Covid deaths per capita, right up there with all its fellow GOP-governed states. What happened?

Maybe Republican Covid policies get people killed?

Current top 10 states for Covid deaths over the last 7 days:

Tennessee
Deaths per 100,000: 1.50
Daily average deaths: 102.7

West Virginia
Deaths per 100,000: 1.43
Daily average deaths: 25.7

Arkansas
Deaths per 100,000: 1.41
Daily average deaths: 42.6

Mississippi
Deaths per 100,000: 1.35
Daily average deaths: 40.3

Oklahoma
Deaths per 100,000: 1.23
Daily average deaths: 48.9

South Carolina
Deaths per 100,000: 1.07
Daily average deaths: 54.9

Ohio
Deaths per 100,000: 0.95
Daily average deaths: 111.4

Idaho
Deaths per 100,000: 0.94
Daily average deaths: 16.9

Virginia
Deaths per 100,000: 0.93
Daily average deaths: 79.1

Missouri
Deaths per 100,000: 0.90
Daily average deaths: 55.1

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/us-coronavirus-deaths-by-state-july-1.html

but but FREEDUMB!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no problems removing the masks now, based on the number, per CDC guidance.

however, the law is very troublesome as it makes mask optional regardless of the numbers or the nature of the virus. That is bull.

GOPers, we learned one thing from you. We just have to be loud and relentless, and yes, uncivil. Just like you were. And we'll get our way

It's funny how injured they act.

Laws can be changed again folks. Meanwhile I’ll take liberty at the risk of death. That is what America is about. If you want to be coddled and over governed go to Europe.

And I honestly hope you get your wish. Just please stay home and die, don't go to the hospital.

Stop wearing seatbelts too while you're at it, and disobey speed limits. Freedom!

Seatbelts actually work.

It's like they can't help it. They have to push more disinformation. Do you get a bonus or are you a zealot?

I have more than a dozen ancestors who fought for liberty and a free nation when our country was founded. They are all.my ancestors because they did not catch yellow fever and die. But you do, sweets.

Vaccines and seatbelts have proven to save lives in statistically significant numbers. Cloth or surgical masks, despite numerous attempts to prove they work, don't provide a statistically significant benefit. Why did they research this? Because developing countries don't have easy access to N95s. N95s can be protective, but they need to fit correctly. The average citizen or child isn't wearing them correctly. So, even N95s don't really work either due to misuse. But you keep on with your rituals that make you feel safer: The wiping of packages, Disinfecting door knobs, Perfuming yourself with Lysol, etc.

"Masks don't work" is patently false. Studies show that if you're unmasked and standing next to someone else who is contagious and unmasked it will take 5-15 minutes for you to get infected. Whereas, in that same scenario if both people are properly (i.e. reasonably snug fit and your nose isn't hanging out) wearing a N95/KN95 the time it would take for you to get infected goes to around 4 hours. Masks make it safe for vulnerable people to go to stores et cetera.

43% of Americans have one or more risk factors - age, hypertension, obesity, etc. The risk of death is higher than 0.5%. Nearly a million Americans have died and countless more are now dealing with ongoing debilitating health problems as a result of having gotten covid. And now studies are showing that even mild cases are leaving a substantial percentage of victims with a variety of mental health issues.

What does that study have to do with masking in schools where they likelihood that either, let alone both, kids is wearing a non-counterfeit kn95 or n95 is about zero? What benefit is gained from the ill fitting cloth masks that most kids wear?

So what if some people are stupid?
That's like asking, why do cars have air bags and crumple zones if seatbelts work? Why have speed limits, traffic signs and signals if seatbelts save lives? Why not let people drink and drive, since we have seatbelts?

No - it’s not all or nothing. It’s a risk / benefit analysis.

Really? What risk and what benefit? How are masks harming you? Seatbelts are a mandate even though you only have around a 2% chance of getting in a car accident in any given year. If it were about low risk you would have been marching in the streets protesting seat belts and other things that protect you in the event of car accidents. If it were about a notion of mandates being evil you would have been marching in the streets over seatbelts. But it's not really about that, is it. And you can't really explain what it is, can you. It's just weird contrived inorganic "FREEDOM" groupthink.

Masks are uniquely problematic in school - where young kids are learning to communicate and learning social emotional skills such as reading facial expressions. It’s harder to hear and talk in them too. You lost all credibility when you don’t see any downsides to masking kids going on two years straight.

Wait, what? You don't let your kids take their masks off when they come home and you don't ever talk with them when they're at home, making the schools the only place they ever learn anything? I think you're the one with the credibility problem here.

Stop being pedantic. You know they’re masking for 7 hours a day in school and that it’s GOOD for them to have exposure to other people besides their immediate household.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If masks don't work, are you going to start demanding surgeons stop wearing them in operating theaters?

You anti-maskers are seriously lacking in the facts and logic department.

You are lacking in the facts and logic department when you don’t realize surgeons are wearing correctly fitted N95s which is an entirely different story than an ill fitted cloth mask.

Then you should be admitting that the correct answer is to have people properly wear adequate masks, as opposed to the wrong answer that keeps coming up here, of attacking masks and mandates.

[Anonymous]

By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If masks don't work, are you going to start demanding surgeons stop wearing them in operating theaters?

You anti-maskers are seriously lacking in the facts and logic department.

You are lacking in the facts and logic department when you don’t realize surgeons are wearing correctly fitted N95s which is an entirely different story than an ill fitted cloth mask.

Then you should be admitting that the correct answer is to have people properly wear adequate masks, as opposed to the wrong answer that keeps coming up here, of attacking masks and mandates.

I think mask mandates should be narrowly tailored. A doctor performing a surgery I think is a high risk for a patient and not a place I would advocate unmasking. Kids in school at a time when vaccines are available are very low risk for complications and not a place where masks mandates are needed anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

Nah the majority of the Va legislators, the WHO, most of Europe, and scientists like Joseph Allen of Harvard agree with me so I’m good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If masks don't work, are you going to start demanding surgeons stop wearing them in operating theaters?

You anti-maskers are seriously lacking in the facts and logic department.

You are lacking in the facts and logic department when you don’t realize surgeons are wearing correctly fitted N95s which is an entirely different story than an ill fitted cloth mask.

Then you should be admitting that the correct answer is to have people properly wear adequate masks, as opposed to the wrong answer that keeps coming up here, of attacking masks and mandates.

I think mask mandates should be narrowly tailored. A doctor performing a surgery I think is a high risk for a patient and not a place I would advocate unmasking. Kids in school at a time when vaccines are available are very low risk for complications and not a place where masks mandates are needed anymore.

Have you actually ever bothered to look at any of the outbreak data, to see the top types of locations associated with covid outbreaks? I suspect you haven't, with your clueless notion that there's no risk associated with kids. Here, for example, is DC's COVID dashboard. It shows that k-12 and childcare/daycare are some of the top locations associated with covid outbreaks. Along with bars and restaurants, where people don't wear masks. https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/outbreak-data

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If masks don't work, are you going to start demanding surgeons stop wearing them in operating theaters?

You anti-maskers are seriously lacking in the facts and logic department.

You are lacking in the facts and logic department when you don’t realize surgeons are wearing correctly fitted N95s which is an entirely different story than an ill fitted cloth mask.

Then you should be admitting that the correct answer is to have people properly wear adequate masks, as opposed to the wrong answer that keeps coming up here, of attacking masks and mandates.

I think mask mandates should be narrowly tailored. A doctor performing a surgery I think is a high risk for a patient and not a place I would advocate unmasking. Kids in school at a time when vaccines are available are very low risk for complications and not a place where masks mandates are needed anymore.

Have you actually ever bothered to look at any of the outbreak data, to see the top types of locations associated with covid outbreaks? I suspect you haven't, with your clueless notion that there's no risk associated with kids. Here, for example, is DC's COVID dashboard. It shows that k-12 and childcare/daycare are some of the top locations associated with covid outbreaks. Along with bars and restaurants, where people don't wear masks. https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/outbreak-data

Those are like literally the main places people gather - so it would make sense if anyone is getting it anywhere it would be where people are present. And I think the #1 place for transmission is in the household. Stop driving your kids in a car and allowing them near two inches of water or more - and then we can talk about risks to kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

Nah the majority of the Va legislators, the WHO, most of Europe, and scientists like Joseph Allen of Harvard agree with me so I’m good.

Joseph Allen isn't anti-mandate. He believes the vaccines should be aggressively and universally mandated. He also isn't anti-mask and says masks are in fact warranted and necessary in many situations.

Meanwhile we have VA legislators who are anti-mandate and not in agreement with Allen.

Make up your mind. Clearly you either don't know where they stand or you're confused on where you stand or what you do or don't agree with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

Nah the majority of the Va legislators, the WHO, most of Europe, and scientists like Joseph Allen of Harvard agree with me so I’m good.

Joseph Allen isn't anti-mandate. He believes the vaccines should be aggressively and universally mandated. He also isn't anti-mask and says masks are in fact warranted and necessary in many situations.

Meanwhile we have VA legislators who are anti-mandate and not in agreement with Allen.

Make up your mind. Clearly you either don't know where they stand or you're confused on where you stand or what you do or don't agree with.

Wtf is wrong with you. this thread is about masks in school - which is what I am talking about. And here is my cite on Joseph Allen to show I’m right and you’re wrong.

Opinion: Schools should do away with mask mandates by the end of the year

Opinion by Joseph G. Allen
October 19, 2021 at 12:51 PM ET
 Joseph G. Allen is an associate professor and director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He co-wrote “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/19/schools-should-do-away-with-mask-mandates-by-end-year/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If masks don't work, are you going to start demanding surgeons stop wearing them in operating theaters?

You anti-maskers are seriously lacking in the facts and logic department.

You are lacking in the facts and logic department when you don’t realize surgeons are wearing correctly fitted N95s which is an entirely different story than an ill fitted cloth mask.

Then you should be admitting that the correct answer is to have people properly wear adequate masks, as opposed to the wrong answer that keeps coming up here, of attacking masks and mandates.

I think mask mandates should be narrowly tailored. A doctor performing a surgery I think is a high risk for a patient and not a place I would advocate unmasking. Kids in school at a time when vaccines are available are very low risk for complications and not a place where masks mandates are needed anymore.

Have you actually ever bothered to look at any of the outbreak data, to see the top types of locations associated with covid outbreaks? I suspect you haven't, with your clueless notion that there's no risk associated with kids. Here, for example, is DC's COVID dashboard. It shows that k-12 and childcare/daycare are some of the top locations associated with covid outbreaks. Along with bars and restaurants, where people don't wear masks. https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/outbreak-data

Those are like literally the main places people gather - so it would make sense if anyone is getting it anywhere it would be where people are present. And I think the #1 place for transmission is in the household. Stop driving your kids in a car and allowing them near two inches of water or more - and then we can talk about risks to kids.

NO KIDDING that's where people gather. And as a result, those are the main places which result in covid spreading from one household to the next. All the more reason why those particular locations should be of primary focus where it comes to reducing the spread, like requiring masks, requiring vaccines and legitimate proof of vaccination, and in the case of restaurants, focusing more on whether they have effective ventilation, outdoor dining, et cetera. Personally, we rarely eat out, when we do, it's outdoors (when the weather is nice) - but we make up for it by getting takeout from our favorite restaurants to support them. And to be honest, I don't at all miss the crowds and noise inside a lot of bars and restaurants.

That's just DC data, but nationally, you can be sure it's also been schools, daycares, bars and restaurants that were primary venues that also led to nearly a million people dying from covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

Nah the majority of the Va legislators, the WHO, most of Europe, and scientists like Joseph Allen of Harvard agree with me so I’m good.

Joseph Allen isn't anti-mandate. He believes the vaccines should be aggressively and universally mandated. He also isn't anti-mask and says masks are in fact warranted and necessary in many situations.

Meanwhile we have VA legislators who are anti-mandate and not in agreement with Allen.

Make up your mind. Clearly you either don't know where they stand or you're confused on where you stand or what you do or don't agree with.

Wtf is wrong with you. this thread is about masks in school - which is what I am talking about. And here is my cite on Joseph Allen to show I’m right and you’re wrong.

Opinion: Schools should do away with mask mandates by the end of the year

Opinion by Joseph G. Allen
October 19, 2021 at 12:51 PM ET
 Joseph G. Allen is an associate professor and director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He co-wrote “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/19/schools-should-do-away-with-mask-mandates-by-end-year/

This article was pre-Omicron. Wonder if he still thinks the same now...

Either way, do you also support Allen on mandating vaccines for everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By "stop being pedantic," PP means "stop tripping me up in my dumb arguments."

Nah the majority of the Va legislators, the WHO, most of Europe, and scientists like Joseph Allen of Harvard agree with me so I’m good.

Joseph Allen isn't anti-mandate. He believes the vaccines should be aggressively and universally mandated. He also isn't anti-mask and says masks are in fact warranted and necessary in many situations.

Meanwhile we have VA legislators who are anti-mandate and not in agreement with Allen.

Make up your mind. Clearly you either don't know where they stand or you're confused on where you stand or what you do or don't agree with.

Wtf is wrong with you. this thread is about masks in school - which is what I am talking about. And here is my cite on Joseph Allen to show I’m right and you’re wrong.

Opinion: Schools should do away with mask mandates by the end of the year

Opinion by Joseph G. Allen
October 19, 2021 at 12:51 PM ET
 Joseph G. Allen is an associate professor and director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He co-wrote “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/19/schools-should-do-away-with-mask-mandates-by-end-year/

This article was pre-Omicron. Wonder if he still thinks the same now...

Either way, do you also support Allen on mandating vaccines for everyone?

Pre-omicron, but also pre vaccine for ages 5 and up.

But you don’t have to wonder - here he is in December during Omicron:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/20/opinion/omicron-schools-do-not-close.html?referringSource=articleShare

We Learned Our Lesson Last Year: Do Not Close Schools

“ Vaccination mandates and improved ventilation are important proactive measures that school districts need to take. But when it comes to quarantining and masking, many schools should take a less intrusive approach than they currently are. This may seem counterintuitive in the midst of a surge, but because learning has been disrupted so much already, we need to prioritize keeping kids in school as much as possible and making the educational experience when they are there as rich as possible.”

“ We should make masking in schools voluntary rather than mandatory. Masking was a necessary inconvenience early on and in short stints was fine. But to think that two years of masking has no impact on socialization, learning and anxiety is shortsighted. Kids are resilient but not endlessly resilient.”

I will think about the vaccine question you raised.