The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

[stessier]

Tried to fudge my youngest birthday...CVS And Walgreens both require an insurance card. Oh well...12 more weeks indoors until fully vaxxed.

[Defiant]

IIUC, you shouldn't need insurance to get the shot, though they may be using the card to determine age.

[Smoove_B]

Yeah, that's what's so strange. All the government-sponsored clinics are fill out a form, come in and get the shot. Everyone that I know that went to a corporate location (hospital system, retail pharmacy, etc...) had to present an insurance card. I still don't know why - unless they're all going to try and submit claims to the federal government for some type of administrative reimbursement.

[Isgrimnur]

I'd expect to see stories just like this over the next six months:

A COVID-19 outbreak that killed two IT staffers in Manatee County government and hospitalized three others has forced the shutdown of the county's administrative building in downtown Bradenton.

...

On Monday, one of four IT staffers who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 died, according to Hopes. A fifth IT staffer who went to the doctor on Wednesday, died at home Thursday from COVID-19.

One staffer in the department who worked closely with the other five and didn't contract the coronavirus was vaccinated. All five who contracted the virus were known not to be vaccinated and had a sore throat as their initial primary complaint.

...

Both staffers who have died, a man and a woman, were in their 50's. Those who were hospitalized were as young as their late 30's, according to Hopes, causing him concern that we could be seeing one of the stronger variants in these cases.

They should have known to keep their antivirus up to date.

...

Too soon?

[Smoove_B]

They should have known to keep their antivirus up to date.

So good!

[LawBeefaroni]

Yeah, that's what's so strange. All the government-sponsored clinics are fill out a form, come in and get the shot. Everyone that I know that went to a corporate location (hospital system, retail pharmacy, etc...) had to present an insurance card. I still don't know why - unless they're all going to try and submit claims to the federal government for some type of administrative reimbursement.

Insurance covers the vaccine administration, that's why they take your insurance card.

Administration as in physically administering the shot, not administrative as in paperwork. Same as any vaccines there's, an admin code.

[Smoove_B]

Right, but I was given my vaccine from a county agency. No insurance card was necessary. I also know they're going to get reimbursed from the state (by way of the federal government). What's the difference?

[gilraen]

Tried to fudge my youngest birthday...CVS And Walgreens both require an insurance card. Oh well...12 more weeks indoors until fully vaxxed.

So tell them you're uninsured. They cannot require insurance for the COVID vaccine, it's covered by public funds.

[Kraken]

Right, but I was given my vaccine from a county agency. No insurance card was necessary. I also know they're going to get reimbursed from the state (by way of the federal government). What's the difference?

Walgreens bills one's insurance company for a few bucks beyond what the government reimburses. At least, that's how it looked on the Rx receipt they gave me. "Insurance amount" was something like $3.89, IIRC. (Mass. might be unique because health insurance is compulsory here.)

[Defiant]

Tried to fudge my youngest birthday...CVS And Walgreens both require an insurance card. Oh well...12 more weeks indoors until fully vaxxed.

So tell them you're uninsured. They cannot require insurance for the COVID vaccine, it's covered by public funds.

They might still require some proof of age, though.

[Smoove_B]

Cruise line running simulated cruise out of FL to see what happens.

Guests lined up to board Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s Freedom of the Seas on Sunday, marking the first cruise from a U.S. port since the pandemic suspended operations 15 months ago.

Passengers filed into PortMiami with suitcases in tow, a sight last seen in the world’s largest cruise port in March 2020. Freedom of the Seas can carry around 4,500 guests, and it’s expected to take about 650 on this first two-night loop, all of them Royal Caribbean employees who volunteered and were allowed to bring an 18-and-over guest.

...

The trip is being dubbed a “simulated voyage,” a concept designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to essentially prove the ships are safe to sail with Covid-19 still circulating around the globe.

...

The CDC created a two-pronged approach for cruise lines to sail again: they can run the simulated voyages, or they can restart revenue cruises right away if they verify a 95% vaccination rate among passengers and crew. Royal Caribbean is following both paths more or less simultaneously, with the first revenue cruise set for Saturday.

But there’s another wild card in the reopening process. The state of Florida sued the CDC in April to lift the restrictions on cruising altogether, saying the industry was unfairly singled out for the strictest possible treatment, putting the jobs of many Floridians at risk.

On Friday, Florida won an injunction against the CDC rules, but U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday put it on hold until July 18 and gave the CDC until July 2 to propose a narrower order.

[Unagi]

Petri dishes were also unfairly singled out.

[malchior]

Vile Godwin stuff about Fauci in the spoiler. This obsession with Fauci is crazy. Itd be fair to say Cernovich is a nutter on a good day swinging wildly from position to position but usually not this nasty.

Spoiler:

https://mobile.twitter.com/Cernovich/st ... 4336909313

[malchior]

Cue the wtf gif.

CNN

A coronavirus outbreak hit a Florida government building. Two people are dead but a vaccinated employee wasn't infected

By Jamiel Lynch, CNN

Updated 7:07 AM ET, Tue June 22, 2021

Two people are dead after Covid-19 outbreak hit a government building

The outbreak began in the IT department, according to Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes, who is also an epidemiologist. Another person who worked on the same floor but in a different department also tested positive for coronavirus last week.

Of the six people infected, five were hospitalized. One employee who was in the hospital died and another employee who was not hospitalized also died, Hopes told CNN's Erin Burnett.

The only exposed employee in the IT office who was vaccinated did not get infected, Hopes said.

"The clinical presentation gives me concern that we're dealing with a very infectious variant that is quite deadly," Hopes told Burnett.

The government building was closed on Friday as a precaution. It reopened Monday but officials didn't implement a mask requirement, instead keeping them optional.

[Smoove_B]

Wow. I'd shared that original story on Sunday, but I didn't see the update. That is a major WTF indeed. I guess when you're a government agency in Florida, you follow the mandate of King DeSantis - even after people die, getting COVID-19 to stick it to to libs. That's f-ing nuts!

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I would say that I hope most people working there had the common sense to wear a mask even though it isn't required, but then I remembered it's in Florida.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Also, six people infected = 5 hospitalizations and 2 deaths? I hope they're doing genetic testing to find out what strain that is. Scary.

[Smoove_B]

Also, six people infected = 5 hospitalizations and 2 deaths? I hope they're doing genetic testing to find out what strain that is. Scary.

From the earlier article:

Both staffers who have died, a man and a woman, were in their 50's. Those who were hospitalized were as young as their late 30's, according to Hopes, causing him concern that we could be seeing one of the stronger variants in these cases.

I'm not a betting man, but Delta seems like a good guess. Without knowing if they had any underlying health conditions it's really hard to say.

[malchior]

Wow. I'd shared that original story on Sunday, but I didn't see the update. That is a major WTF indeed. I guess when you're a government agency in Florida, you follow the mandate of King DeSantis - even after people die, getting COVID-19 to stick it to to libs. That's f-ing nuts!

Even crazier considering he just won another straw poll at a Conservative event over the weekend. The new authoritarian hope.

[Skinypupy]

One of Mrs. Skinypupy's co-workers told her yesterday that she has no issues with the vaccine itself, but will not be getting vaccinated because "she doesn't like the government telling her what to do".

Good hell...

[Smoove_B]

Good hell...

Seatbelts? Speed limits? I'd advise not commuting with this woman.

And yes, I fully believe there's a cohort of adults that aren't vaccinating because they're oppositional-defiant.

[El Guapo]

Good hell...

Seatbelts? Speed limits? I'd advise not commuting with this woman.

And yes, I fully believe there's a cohort of adults that aren't vaccinating because they're oppositional-defiant.

What's the state and local government there saying about vaccination? Seems like there should be enough governmental authority telling her not to vaccinate that she could choose to defy them instead.

[Z-Corn]

One of Mrs. Skinypupy's co-workers told her yesterday that she has no issues with the vaccine itself, but will not be getting vaccinated because "she doesn't like the government telling her what to do".

Good hell...

That is 100% my coworkers viewpoint. And he says he still feels safe because he knows I'm vaccinated.

Thanks you selfish asshole.

[Skinypupy]

The woman I work closest with on a daily basis is severely immunocompromised and cannot get the vaccine. Catching COVID would likely be a death sentence for her. She literally broke down in tears because she feels like she can't even leave her house any more, now that everyone has simply thrown all safety precautions to the wind. She's a single mom with twin 14 year old girls, and even venturing out to go grocery shopping is terrifying for her.

Hearing about selfish assholes like my wife's co-worker - who give absolutely zero shits about anyone other than themselves - never ceases to infuriate me. Especially when their general response to immunocompromised people is "Sucks for them. Guess they just need to stay home forever because I won't change my behavior".

People are such dicks.

[Smoove_B]

FYI on what's happening elsewhere in the world:

https://twitter.com/itosettiMD_MBA/stat ... 1978018820

Word to the wise

In Israel the "no more masks indoor" thing lasted two weeks.

They are going back to indoor masking due to delta spread.

I think I read yesterday that the Delta variant is now responsible for 30% of the new cases here in the U.S. and that it was only ~4% at the beginning of the month.

I have no belief that mask mandates will return, but they should.

[Smoove_B]

I hope to see more and more hospital systems around the nation doing the same.

https://twitter.com/WBUR/status/1408110249500885003

Three large health care providers in Massachusetts -- Mass General Brigham, Beth Israel Lahey Health and Wellforce -- are mandating that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Good jerb MA.

[Formix]

While I hope that my employer does this, if/when they do, we will lose a lot of people, including a fair number of our IT staff including management. I've heard a LOT of grumbling about that being a hill they will die on. If it wasn't for the immunocompromised and folks who are unable to get a vaccination, I would wish them bon voyage, the best of luck with their impending appointment with a Delta variant, but these mule-headed people are going to get innocent folks killed.

[LordMortis]

There are more than a couple here complaining because they now have antibodies, so they don't need vaccines. They've done their research and aren't just listening to... the cdc, Faucci? I wasn't clear and I wasn't getting involved. They do this knowing full well others in the office have had family members taken out of commission for months and nearly a year later are still having lung problems.

I'm really not good at living in society any more. Retirement can't come soon enough. Mother, should a build a wall...

[LawBeefaroni]

We're over 80%. We won't mandate until direction comes from the state/feds or vaccines move from EUA to full approval. There are reasons for this decision that are too involved to get into here but we are communicating that it will eventually be required, so just get it done.

[hepcat]

The urge to call my coworker who refuses to get vaccinated a fucking idiot grows every day.

[Isgrimnur]

Chief said he wants us in-office M&F starting after the holiday.

[coopasonic]

Chief said he wants us in-office M&F starting after the holiday.

If he didn't specify which holiday, I'd say you assumed he meant the Feb 29th holiday.

[Isgrimnur]

He did, unfortunately.

[malchior]

I'm remote indefinitely but I have the option to go in. They just dropped our rules which I feel are more than fair. I probably will a few times if I know people who I have not met are there on a particular day. Otherwise I just do not want to deal with the 2 hr each way commute into midtown.

[hepcat]

We're allowed to come back to the office full time as of a week ago after Illinois entered Phase V. I have already started doing so (to be fair, i was coming in four days a week for months before now). However, a couple of folks who really should be back in the office full time are balking at coming in more than twice a week (their current schedule). I had to jump through hoops to get them set up remote, and they need access to physical devices that have to be in this office and that they now rely on me to do for them when they're not here. So to me, this whole situation is being abused by some lazy ass people.

One of whom is the idiot anti vaxxer I spoke of earlier.

[coopasonic]

Access to physical devices? What is this ancient technology you speak of?

[Smoove_B]

He did, unfortunately.

Tell him you're waiting until September when your carry permit is active.

[Isgrimnur]

He did, unfortunately.

Tell him you're waiting until September when your carry permit is active.

I already have my carry permit. I won't need it in September.

[Kurth]

Back from a week in Maui. The report from HI is that things are. . . Weird. The barriers to entry for someone from the mainland are pretty strict, including mandated testing 72 hours before your flight to HI. As I mentioned before, when my sister in FL took her family in for testing the day before she was supposed to fly out, she found out her 3 kids - unvaccinated, under 12 - all were asymptomatic but COVID positive. So, no Maui for them. They were bummed beyond belief.

We flew on Alaska, and they did a pre-clearance check at the terminal in Portland and gave us all wristbands so we could skip the line to get checked in when we landed in HI. And that was great, because that line was nuts!

HI is still under an indoor mask mandate. But that was where things started getting a little strange. So much of everything in HI is open air, so determining when you are inside and when you are not wasn’t so simple. Getting our rental car and navigating the airport, it seemed like there were a lot of differing opinions on what constituted an indoor space.

Arriving at the hotel, the same thing was going on. Signs everywhere mandating masks indoors and social distancing. But the lobby of the hotel is completely open air out to the pools and ocean. Strange. Also strange, the hotels had recently expanded capacity to 100%, and the place was mobbed. Yet, they were told they have to keep seating availability around the pool and for chairs at the beach at 50%. That created a bit of tension. We got in on a Monday night, woke up Tuesday around 7 and went for a run. By the time we came back and tried to find a place to sit, we were out of luck. Ended up spending the first day there scavenging for seats and chairs. Next day we woke up at 6:00 and aimed to secure some chairs before our run. We got two for our family of 5, and they weren’t what you’d call choice spots. From there on out, we set got up at 5:15 every morning to find five chairs near each other with a little shade. And we were amazed to see the number of people already out doing the same thing but even earlier every morning. It was nuts. But, in truth, maybe because of the heat and humidity or the time change, it seemed like everything in Maui started early anyway, and we got in a rhythm that made for a pretty nice morning routine, even though it started about 2.5 hours earlier than I would have liked.

Final thing: HI hasn’t reached its vaccination threshold or the other metrics needed to lift the mask mandates, and as a result of their rules, all hotel staff had to wear masks 100% of the time. I felt terrible for these people, working hard and absolutely melting under the heat by mid-morning. Every time we went to the front desk for anything, we put on our masks and immediately started overheating. I can’t imagine what it was like for the groundskeepers and the waitstaff. All hotel staff we interacted with shared some level of frustration and anger about the enforced mask wearing. But what struck me as absolutely nuts was the conversation we had with a nice woman helping us at the front desk one day: She was complaining about the masks and hoping that Maui could reach its metrics soon and the mandates would be discontinued. My wife commented that some of the mandates - especially regarding seating and masks - seemed off given that everyone traveling to the hotel had tested COVID negative and most were vaccinated. At that point, this woman conceded that she wasn’t vaccinated and didn’t plan on doing it anytime soon. She said she was “waiting to see how it goes,” but then she laughed and said that she hoped everyone else would hurry up and get it done already. That pretty much ended that conversation.

Anyway, that’s my report from HI. I left wondering, when we look at the vaccination numbers and see many places in the U.S. appearing to stall out, I wonder how much of that is lazy, stupid free-riders like the woman at the hotel in Maui as opposed to anti-vaxxers and COVID disbelievers.

(Also, btw, this was our first time to HI, and it was tough to leave. Maui is a pretty amazing place, and if you ever get the chance to go, take it!)

[Defiant]

She was complaining about the masks and hoping that Maui could reach its metrics soon and the mandates would be discontinued. My wife commented that some of the mandates - especially regarding seating and masks - seemed off given that everyone traveling to the hotel had tested COVID negative and most were vaccinated. At that point, this woman conceded that she wasn’t vaccinated and didn’t plan on doing it anytime soon. She said she was “waiting to see how it goes,” but then she laughed and said that she hoped everyone else would hurry up and get it done already.