Masks optional by spring break

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

Vaccines, not masks, work to reduce the severity of the disease. Moco is highly vaccinated. And our case rates are nearly back to last summer’s. We’re going to be fine when we take off our masks.

It’s more than just hospitalizations. It’s about stopping the spread. These vaccines don’t do that. Hiding behind ineffective vaccines are why we are still in this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of these measures were to flatten the curve and prevent the health system being overrun. Now hospitalizations are low - lower than for many other causes - so by that logic we should remove the restrictions like masking.

The percent of positive tests does not have the same meaning when the IFR is 0.4 percent as when the IFR is 2 percent. We are not going to wipe this thing out. We need to live -as normally as possible- with it.

We can re-mask if there is another more dangerous variant starting to surge.

My concern is we are also dealing with waning immunity and the potential for reinfection.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No more testing, no cases. We just got out of a huge surge right after the last mask lifting.

I'm not really sure what you mean. You don't actually think the surge was due to people not wear some Old Navy fabric across their nose and mouth, right?

The surge was a new variant thanks to those traveling who relied on the vaccine as a cure and it wasn’t. The surge was due to selfish people not staying home and stressing it. It will happen again.

Why do you keep letting the unvaccinated off the hook? But I am glad you are recognizing that it had nothing to do with mask wearing -- so let's drop them, eh?

Vaccines help with symptoms but are not stopping the spread of new variants. MOCO is highly vaccinated and just had a huge surge so clearly these vaccines alone are not enough to stop surges. When students get Covid they miss out on school. The idea of masking and precautions is to stop the spread to keep students in school, which should be everyone,’s goal. It’s sad we live in a me culture and not a we culture. Everyone hates masks but we mask to keep ourselves safe and to keep others safe. It’s part of living in a community.

Look at the data in cities and countries that split out cases by vaccination status. Vaccination still reduces spread. Stop spreading misinformation because you want everyone to stay home in 2022. Our goal is not zero cases. Stop it. Enough.

You may be ok getting Covid but others of us are not ok getting it from you. We just had a huge surge and many of those students and staff were vaccinated. Enough is enough with people like you spreading it and not caring about anyone but yourself. If masking is so hard, stay home.

Can you please say what will be enough for you? Does it have to be the literal eradication of COVID from the world? I would be happy to have a discussion with anyone about when the appropriate time for this is (I did not think it was in January during the surge, but would be ok now) but when people just dig in and say they want to be “safe” and “not get COVID” you just sound resigned to wearing a mask for the rest of your life because life is not 100 percent safe and COVID is not going away. Which is fine if you want to but I do not want that for myself or my children.

It doesn't matter what response I give you, you will always rationalize why your beliefs are more important. No one likes wearing masks. Masking is something simple we can do to help keep our community safe. Why is that so hard for you to understand? Its not just about you. Part of your responsibility as a parent is to teach your children who to live in a densely populated community and show empathy and concern to others. One day it may be your or your child who needs empathy and support.

Our schools are very large, there is no social distancing and it just takes one selfish parent to send their child to school sick or an asymptomatic situation to cause a school outbreak which impacts many families, not just yours.

I am a scientist and I deal with facts and numbers. I also think policies should be set based on facts and measurables not your individual feelings about safety. I feel frustrated with people who continually post the same things about anyone who disagrees with them being bad and theoretical feelings about safety and empathy. I that is not a productive conversation, it’s moral posturing.

We don't have facts or numbers. MCPS, the State of Maryland, MoCo and the Fed's haven't been transparent. And, now they are giving out home tests so people aren't reporting positives so we have even less facts and numbers than before. Plus, the home test aren't always accurate. Its hard to have a productive conversation with all the cover ups and lack of information by the government. The fact is we know MoCo is highly vaccinated and we still had a terrible surge in our schools a month ago. Thankfully it was short lived but it ramped up quickly and can happen again.

This is a serious question, what cover ups do you think have happened? Some one is suppressing case counts? That’s a new one for me.

Obviously case rate data is imperfect since many people are asymptomatic and/or test at home. There are multiple models to account for these known sources of error, some of which are better than others in terms of thoroughness. But in height think trends hold up fairly well. As do hospitalization rates and measures of hospital capacity, both of which I would argue are far more important than a perfect case count. I’d be happy with a metric based on hospitalization rates or hospital capacity for that matter. But the idea we can’t even talk about getting masks off our kids with our name calling (despite under 6s never masking in most of the world and under 12s never masking in many countries with very little differences in outcomes) is …well it’s not encouraging.

We are not talking hospitalizations we are talking transmission. I don’t care about hospitalizations, I care transmissions and positives. I care your family doesn’t care and will give it to my family.

Do you not get that it can be a big deal for other families and their lives don’t just revolve around your wants and entitlement.

My family does care and we are all fully vaccinated and have cheerfully worn our masks for nearly two years now to protect those at risk before they were protected by vaccination. But we can still ask reasonable questions about the purpose and duration of these restrictions. I am concerned that people who are vaguely concerned with the concept of transmission, unlinked to the actual severity of disease, who are unwilling to discuss any metrics that could be acceptable because of “cover ups” are essentially expecting our children to wear masks for another two years or more. That it will never be the right time and the cases will never be low “enough” and they can just insult people for suggesting otherwise.

My concern is that a the PP has such a level of anxiety that they will never get to a point where they feel comfortable without masks under any circumstances

Being concerned about Covid I’d not anxiety but you should get your mental health checked. We are not at the level to unmask yet.

Again, I ask you what is the level and you didn't have an answer.

The level of what?

Some of us have told you and you just don't want to listen. We just got through a huge surge. It ramped up very quickly. There was zero excuse for the county and MCPS to put zero precautions in place beyond masking and it was a s$it show.

If you are going to argue that we are not at a level to lift the mandate my question is when do you think would we be at a level to do so? .

Your other argument is that mcps did nothing and that was not true they had quarantines and testing and distributed rapid tests.

... Which they rolled out frantically and mostly too late to reduce a lot of suffering.

It's great they have masks and testing *now.* They should have had those measures in place in September when they fully reopened.

What should the rate be to drop masks in schools? Below 3% positive tests in the general pop would be good for me. I'm grounding that on the fact that we used to start panicking when the rate hit 5%. But I'm no expert. I've been hoping an expert will opine with a rational explanation. I've noted they all keep demurring, and I am baffled by that.

We are currently at 2.84% positivity rate. The MCPS rate is less than .1 percent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

DP and I don't think you're a COVID denier, but I do think you're exaggerating the risks of COVID vs. other health outcomes, and specifically those risks to children. To claim that our bodies had "no" defenses against COVID-19 isn't correct; if that were true, everyone who contracted it would have died. This country in general, and MoCo/MCPS in particular, took a sledgehammer approach to COVID. After two years of that, we need more precision and nuance in our policies and in our messaging.

You're not rational when you claim that people who want to consider ending mask mandates for children are Cato- and Koch-funded hounds. You're the one making it into theater. The fact is, we need to talk about what metrics we'd want to see, and what factors we're considering, in making masks optional in schools. That's not theatrics, it's reality. Public health cannot be solely about COVID prevention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

The difference is that the vaccines have targeted the same, stable variants for decades. Not a virus that's had several major shifts in just a couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

The difference is that the vaccines have targeted the same, stable variants for decades. Not a virus that's had several major shifts in just a couple years.

bingo. the human body has never been able to produce lasting immunity to the viruses that cause the commeon cold (rhino and corona viruses). It's why we get colds every year multiple times a year. and the same applies for vaccine effectiveness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

The difference is that the vaccines have targeted the same, stable variants for decades. Not a virus that's had several major shifts in just a couple years.

bingo. the human body has never been able to produce lasting immunity to the viruses that cause the commeon cold (rhino and corona viruses). It's why we get colds every year multiple times a year. and the same applies for vaccine effectiveness.

Which means we have have to accept and live with COVID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

The difference is that the vaccines have targeted the same, stable variants for decades. Not a virus that's had several major shifts in just a couple years.

bingo. the human body has never been able to produce lasting immunity to the viruses that cause the commeon cold (rhino and corona viruses). It's why we get colds every year multiple times a year. and the same applies for vaccine effectiveness.

Which means we have have to accept and live with COVID.

We have accepted and live (or die) of Covid, but prevention goes a long way. You should try it.

Masks and cleaning help with colds too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

DP and I don't think you're a COVID denier, but I do think you're exaggerating the risks of COVID vs. other health outcomes, and specifically those risks to children. To claim that our bodies had "no" defenses against COVID-19 isn't correct; if that were true, everyone who contracted it would have died. This country in general, and MoCo/MCPS in particular, took a sledgehammer approach to COVID. After two years of that, we need more precision and nuance in our policies and in our messaging.

You're not rational when you claim that people who want to consider ending mask mandates for children are Cato- and Koch-funded hounds. You're the one making it into theater. The fact is, we need to talk about what metrics we'd want to see, and what factors we're considering, in making masks optional in schools. That's not theatrics, it's reality. Public health cannot be solely about COVID prevention.

Why do you deliberately want to make people sick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

DP and I don't think you're a COVID denier, but I do think you're exaggerating the risks of COVID vs. other health outcomes, and specifically those risks to children. To claim that our bodies had "no" defenses against COVID-19 isn't correct; if that were true, everyone who contracted it would have died. This country in general, and MoCo/MCPS in particular, took a sledgehammer approach to COVID. After two years of that, we need more precision and nuance in our policies and in our messaging.

You're not rational when you claim that people who want to consider ending mask mandates for children are Cato- and Koch-funded hounds. You're the one making it into theater. The fact is, we need to talk about what metrics we'd want to see, and what factors we're considering, in making masks optional in schools. That's not theatrics, it's reality. Public health cannot be solely about COVID prevention.

My issue is that I understand that some folks are not ready to give up the mask mandate which is understandable given how bad things were in January but they should be at least willing to discuss what metrics they would consider lifting the mandate instead of accusing everyone else of being a Bannon/Koch troll or Literally Hitler. This kind of knee-jerk hysteria doesn't engender any kind of good-faith argument.

I think that the decision should be driven by available data and not some hypothetical vaccine-resistant variant or some fantasy that covid will disapear. We can't deal with hypotheticals we can only make decisions based on the available information we have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

DP and I don't think you're a COVID denier, but I do think you're exaggerating the risks of COVID vs. other health outcomes, and specifically those risks to children. To claim that our bodies had "no" defenses against COVID-19 isn't correct; if that were true, everyone who contracted it would have died. This country in general, and MoCo/MCPS in particular, took a sledgehammer approach to COVID. After two years of that, we need more precision and nuance in our policies and in our messaging.

You're not rational when you claim that people who want to consider ending mask mandates for children are Cato- and Koch-funded hounds. You're the one making it into theater. The fact is, we need to talk about what metrics we'd want to see, and what factors we're considering, in making masks optional in schools. That's not theatrics, it's reality. Public health cannot be solely about COVID prevention.

My issue is that I understand that some folks are not ready to give up the mask mandate which is understandable given how bad things were in January but they should be at least willing to discuss what metrics they would consider lifting the mandate instead of accusing everyone else of being a Bannon/Koch troll or Literally Hitler. This kind of knee-jerk hysteria doesn't engender any kind of good-faith argument.

I think that the decision should be driven by available data and not some hypothetical vaccine-resistant variant or some fantasy that covid will disapear. We can't deal with hypotheticals we can only make decisions based on the available information we have.

PP you're quoting and, right, exactly. We need to have a mature conversation, taking into account the trade-offs of various approaches, and driven by science (to the extent that it can be). That the other PP responded to my post by asking why I want people to get sick only underscores the need for a rational approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

Vaccines, not masks, work to reduce the severity of the disease. Moco is highly vaccinated. And our case rates are nearly back to last summer’s. We’re going to be fine when we take off our masks.

It’s more than just hospitalizations. It’s about stopping the spread. These vaccines don’t do that. Hiding behind ineffective vaccines are why we are still in this mess.

You have a horrible understanding of the situation -- it was about stopping the spread to reduce hospital burden. You speak of stopping the spread as though our plan was covid zero. It is and was not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What does highly vaccinated mean? It worked for Delta but now these vaccines need to be reformulated for the new variants. Basic precautions are social distancing, masking and testing. The same as its always been. We just got out of a huge surge. To keep numbers down, we should continue to take precautions until new vaccines are available and we know they work with transmission.

Nope. The original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work well against the variants, including omicron. No need to reformulate. We're good. You're good, I'm good, we're good.

What are the basic precautions we take against measles or chicken pox? Vaccines. Same for covid. The same as its always been.

Measles and chicken pox viruses don't drift - no variants. Apples and orangutans.

Do you think before you post? By your logic masks should stay.

Chicken Pox:
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-chickenpox
"How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed."
That means its not only air born but on the surface so we should go back to extra cleanings as well.

Measles:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8584-measles
"Contaminated droplets that are spread through the air when you cough, sneeze or talk."

The only difference is those vaccine actually are working!

No. Chicken pox and measles have been endemic in human populations for thousands of years. The novel coronavirus, as covid was first known, was called " novel" because it was novel--meaning it had never been seen before in any population. Our bodies had no defense. Their defenses are still tenuous.

While methods of transmission are much the same, and the new variant is as contagious as measles, if not moreso (a prospect that made epidemiologists break out into a cold sweat a year ago), it is not measles. Its long-term effects seem to be notably worse for a notably larger population than measles, even when initially it's just "sniffles."

This is known.

Again, this mask thing is bread and circuses run by sociopaths who are betting it will help them win elections and (bonus!) kill off more of the minority populations they don't like. These people are really that bad. At the end of the day, actual logic would dictate that we may be able to drop masks in schools soon... if new variants don't emerge and assuming cases continue to fall. But the rhetoric that it is harmful to children to mask is being pushed hysterically *Right Now* because Koch and Cato have issued marching orders and unleashed their hounds to make it so.

This is theater, not science.

The great Covid denier.

Hardly. I'm trying to be rational. So many people have suffered and died. I don't think you read my most carefully if you think I'm a covid denier.

If the rate is below 3%, then I suppose lifting some restrictions might be okay. I'm still uneasy about schools. But we can take the attitude we've taken so far, where your kids go first.

DP and I don't think you're a COVID denier, but I do think you're exaggerating the risks of COVID vs. other health outcomes, and specifically those risks to children. To claim that our bodies had "no" defenses against COVID-19 isn't correct; if that were true, everyone who contracted it would have died. This country in general, and MoCo/MCPS in particular, took a sledgehammer approach to COVID. After two years of that, we need more precision and nuance in our policies and in our messaging.

You're not rational when you claim that people who want to consider ending mask mandates for children are Cato- and Koch-funded hounds. You're the one making it into theater. The fact is, we need to talk about what metrics we'd want to see, and what factors we're considering, in making masks optional in schools. That's not theatrics, it's reality. Public health cannot be solely about COVID prevention.

My issue is that I understand that some folks are not ready to give up the mask mandate which is understandable given how bad things were in January but they should be at least willing to discuss what metrics they would consider lifting the mandate instead of accusing everyone else of being a Bannon/Koch troll or Literally Hitler. This kind of knee-jerk hysteria doesn't engender any kind of good-faith argument.

I think that the decision should be driven by available data and not some hypothetical vaccine-resistant variant or some fantasy that covid will disapear. We can't deal with hypotheticals we can only make decisions based on the available information we have.

How horrible things were in January? People got colds, many schools ran just fine, and the hospitals stayed under capacity. I saw tons of hysteria in January and high case rates, but that is not the issue we are trying to prevent.