Coronavirus

[Twoapenny]

It's good that you're noticing care and support in your local circles, Hopsie, and that you managed to get your masks.  Ours have arrived as well; we got a box of fifty and, like you, we're out so infrequently I think they'll last us for a long time yet, even if they are single use.  Do you know if single use means each environment or each day?  One getting on the bus and a fresh one for the osteopath?  Or are you okay to keep it on for both things?  So many things to keep up with

Yes, I think fatigue is becoming a big problem now.  It's just hard to manage without any variety to the day.  There's plenty to do but much of it is quite mundane and there's little in the way of excitement to balance it out a bit and I think that's quite draining.  I have told son that from now on we're going to alternate an hour of screen time with an hour of doing something else.  Even if he just reads for an hour before going back on the computer I think intervening is necessary now - the last couple of days he's only come away from the computer to eat and it worries me, especially as this is looking to be like such a long term thing now.

[Twoapenny]

Local numbers have dropped significantly and I have to say I'm very relieved.  They're still higher than I feel comfortable with but the drop is a big one.  Nationally the drop is still relatively small but they do seem to be getting through the vaccinations better than expected.  Son and I won't be mingling until we're both vaccinated and the numbers are low in general which is still a long way off but I feel better that it's starting to look like they're getting the genie back into the bottle.

[Hopalong]

From this bit on the CDC site it seems you might use the same single-use disposable mask for more than one errand in the same day, Tupp, because the chief thing they mention other than wearing one, is to be replacing dirty or damp ones. I have sometimes re-used them but am cutting that out now. I think a key thing is to handle them only by the ear loops to be certain you're not touching the front. So many people grab the fronts to adjust when they slip down, which defeats half the purpose, since its your inhalations that carry any virus onto the front of your mask, mostly. (It can also come in through side/top gaps if it's not right on your skin.)

Non-medical disposable masks
Disposable face masks are single-use masks. They are sold online and through large retail stores. These are not the same as surgical or other medical masks.

You may prefer using disposable masks in situations where your mask is likely to get wet or dirty. As with cloth masks, make sure your disposable mask fits close to your face without large side-gaps and completely covers your nose and mouth. Bring extra disposable masks with you in case you need to change out a dirty or wet mask.

So I don't know if you literally need one on the bus and another at the doctor's. It seems as though one could extrapolate cautious use of one disposable (under a fabric one) all day.

Maybe this, sez Dr. Hops: Be sure it fits right, cover it with a snug cloth one, and leave BOTH on all of the time you're out of your house. (And don't touch the front, adjust either one only from the ear loops, and wash your hands every chance you can.)

I'm pretty sure this was likely posted by the CDC before the more-contagious-variants threat, so before people were being advised to wear two, btw. With the new variants, best-practice advice has definitely been upgraded to double-masking.

[Meh]

Full body condoms covering every mucus membrane.

Be safe people.

[Twoapenny]

Thanks, Hops.  It's difficult to get into the new habits!  I found it very difficult to remember not to touch the front of the mask.  Son sailed through it, as usual.  He just remembers what he's supposed to do.  The bus was almost empty, there and back.  Town was surprisingly busy considering most of the shops are shut.  The only ones open are those selling food (one each end of the High Street and a few butchers/greengrocers along the side streets) and the Post Office, which is in the middle.  The big supermarkets are in retail parks which are on the edge of town so the two in town are quite small food shops.

The osteopath was lovely, as usual, she just effortlessly rearranges all our bones and ligaments into the right places.  My shoulder feels a lot better.  I wrapped the masks and put them in the bin when we got back, clothes straight into the washing machine and humans into the shower.  I do worry about how much litter is going into landfill at the moment; I'm throwing a lot more away than I normally would.  But it's hard to know what else to do with it.  Son's predicted vaccination date has moved forward a little, which is good, and while we were at the osteopath they got a call from the hospital as they had some vaccines left over and they were calling around healthcare providers to see if anyone was free to go up and get their first shot.  The vaccine programme does seem to be rolling out well compared to everything else they've done.  Israel's is impressive, they've vaccinated huge numbers of people very quickly.  I do feel that there's a light at the end of the tunnel now and that's a nice thing to have.  I think that's been missing for a while now.

[Twoapenny]

Full body condoms covering every mucus membrane.

Be safe people.

Lol, Posh, I did look at the machines they use to wrap Christmas trees and wonder if they could change net for cling wrap and just wrap people up when they go out   Lol xx

[Meh]

Corona "oiling the wheels of violence" - David Jamieson

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/05/covid-school-closures-job-losses-uk-social-unrest-david-jamieson

[Hopalong]

Hi everyone,

I've noticed lately among my fascinating 3-D friends that quite a few are nearly imploding right now. Some of it, I think, is because of the ever-extending stress of continuing quarantine and/or restrictions -- personal, ritual, familial, cultural, traditional, whatev.

In some ways the early quarantine, however sad and scary in the aggregate, was stimulating of good solitude or relaxation in more time to rest, even comforting in ways. (Or was to me.) And when it was most intense, nature was wonderfully compensating with animals in cities and much cleaner air. So we all did a year of that. Enjoyed what we could, changed our lives and tested our limits.

THEN we find out that a year was an arbitrary idea. Vaccines are coming so slowly, the government is upside down, new variants threaten, people keep suffering and dying, and there's no magic rescue ship. Only some leaky dinghies being rowed in our directions by very, very old sailors. And if we want in the dinghies, we have to understand we'll all be bailing indefinitely.

I've noticed everything IRL from personality changes to fights to crises to tears to illness to....on and on. It's as though the herd is under sustained stress and nearly fracturing at times. Some of the kind cows who never kick have turned mad. Some are lying down. Some won't eat. Some eat everything in sight. (That would be me.)

I'm shrinking my world even more and trying some really deliberate things to stay connected to others. I don't LIKE Zoom. For all I know doing too much one day contributed to a TIA. But if I do one SOMETHING a day (one Zoom or one good phone convo), and then most Sunday mornings attend an online UU service (this means just letting it play while I'm in PJs and reading something else during boring bits), I can hang on to an expectation that I WILL be in 3-D community again. I am entirely convinced that my sanity and future happiness depend on that, given how I'm made.

This is just a really strange and stressful chapter and I can't imagine it isn't destabilizing to everyone I know in one way or another. I'm trying to tell people I know how much I respect what they're doing, how they're managing. Even telling myself that a bit more often. Thank god for Zoom therapy, too.

Love y'all. The world is hard and weird. The world is wonderful. Nature gives us everything and nature is Honey Badger, who don't give a f**k. Oh, paradox.

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

It's like that here as well, Hopsie.  Everyone's shattered and unsure.  Even our ultra zen, endlessly meditating, unflappable acupuncturist friend said he's struggling with it.  I think for the same reasons you mention - we've had a year of terribly bad management, blatant profiteering, endlessly changing information and there's still no end in sight.  The vaccination programme here is going pretty well but as everyone knows it isn't a miracle cure, being able to mingle freely sans masks and with close physical contact is still a long way off.  I don't think anyone imagined this time last year it would all still be causing so much damage (in fact this time last year I hadn't even heard of it).  Well done for trying to do a one contact a day approach.  It does help to have some sort of routine or aim, whatever it may be.  Numbers are coming down here, finally, but after six weeks of lockdown it concerns me that they're still as high as they are.  I think a lot more people are breaking lockdown this time because everyone's just so sick of it all.  We can only hang on tight and wait for it to end, I think xx

[Hopalong]

I hear that, ((((Tupp)))).

I think in a way people have been so fiercely (and necessarily, given human deviations) fixated on physical health/survival, that mental health/survival have gotten less and belated attention.

I'm interested in the mental health and community transformation aspects of this awful time....hope I'm around to find out if humanity managed to find enough cooperative kindness and community ingenuity to come through as your country did the Blitz. Or if nihilism won. For individuals, of course, it'll be individual....

I like controlled optimism so I'm going with the Blitz. (Strong arguments could be made for either but as with elections, one has to win eventually!)

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

A friend texted me a link to vaccine appts today and I got one for this afternoon. Very higgledy-piggledy process but I'm grateful. I got the link to my neighbors so hope they get appts too.

(I had signed up to be notified by email but hadn't heard anything. No idea how this exactly came to be but it's a gift horse, so, nice teeth.)

hugs
Hops

[lighter]

Is it the 1 or 2 dose vaccine, Hops?

[Hopalong]

The Pfizer, two-dose. Next jab in 3 weeks.

We (couple hundred people I think) stood in line outside for four hours before getting into the FEMA building. Lucky for me they had some folding chairs to lend. After a couple hours I really needed to sit (back stuff).

Amazingly, my close friend who had sent me the link by text that got me the appt. turned out to be right behind me in line, so we had hours together to catch up! M said the whole thing got triggered by an unplanned social media share of a signup link for a subgroup, so part of the reason we had to wait so long was they had to thaw it out! Hilarious.

Pretty uncomfortable day but I was lucky. Go back in 3 wks for jab #2.

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

Coulda put this on the Hax thread but it really applies more on this one. This is by a commenter on her recent column about "vaccine resentments." (Like the cockup in my town today when way too many people showed up because of the mistakenly social media-spread invite that went beyond the intended group they had enough doses for.) Most posters are venting nonstop about the government's / bureaucrats' mistakes or failures or mismanagement...etc.

I think three things at the same time:

(1) the vaccine rollout is not as efficient as it could be.

(2) it is impossible to craft a vaccine rollout plan that everybody finds fair. I read a lot of unrealistic expectations for vaccine rollout plans.

In my professional life, I handle distribution of benefits. Some people wait longer than others for a variety of reasons. Somebody has to be first and somebody has to be last. I think because I’ve had experience with the bureaucracy end of resource distribution, I have more sympathy for the people attempting to get this vaccine out. I also have lower patience for people who think they could craft a better plan (hint: it’s a lot harder than you think).

(3) this vaccine development was the result of the hard work and dedication of thousands of people. The fact that a vaccine was developed this fast is amazing. It’s fantastic.

I think we could all use a bit more gratitude that there is a vaccine at all.

[Meh]

That the vaccine distribution was going to be a point of argument and annoyance was obvious from very very early on even before a vaccine had been created. This stuff is predictable like clockwork.

The current media buzz is pointing to more reports of children getting the full-body inflammation problem due to Covid.

We didn't have all out Covid riots but we are seeing insidious mental health issues and dare I say it, forms of what looks like mass hysteria, at least in my opinion.

I'm burnt out on Covid. I'd like to go to the doctor for a check up for other reasons but I'm really quite afraid of going to the doctor right now. As far as I know nobody in my county is getting shots just nursing homes (good)... but the rollout has been a failure. I think it's okay to say so. The US government manages to turn the whole Capitol building campus into a controlled military zone but they can't mobilize immunization tents strategically. As a whole country it's like we are one big bumbling neurotic Uncle Sam.

In my area it's like nothing is happening at all. Even the most patient people are going to get tired of this. I'm just venting I guess.