# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/711 "2021-03-03T16:54:22Z")
Gaiters I have seen are an open weave, such that they seem to me to be more for theater than effectiveness. I wear one because my employer says I must wear a mask when onsite, not because I feel I need to wear one. Once the mask requirements are gone, I’ll be back to just a beard net. Food safety rules and all that. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/712 "2021-03-03T17:33:41Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Gaiters I have seen are an open weave, such that they seem to me to be more for theater than effectiveness. I wear one because my employer says I must wear a mask when onsite, not because I feel I need to wear one. Once the mask requirements are gone, I’ll be back to just a beard net. Food safety rules and all that Yes, I’ve also seen masks with too-open weave, but I find masks that are better than that. I’d guess that even your gaiter still has some effectiveness - more so than not wearing anything. You say you don’t feel a need to wear one, but you do because it’s an employer rule. Are you positive you’ll never be an asymptomatic carrier? How? Have you scored a vaccine? I’m pretty sure I’m not a spreader, but I have a 74-year-old boss to worry about infecting, so I don’t mind wearing a mask if we’re both onsite (normally I only go in if I’m the only one onsite). ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/713 "2021-03-03T19:32:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Are you positive you’ll never be an asymptomatic carrier? How? Don’t really care if I am or not. I do not associate closely or repeatedly with anyone in any of the higher risk categories. I so far have been exposed a few times by my dad, my wife, and several co-workers. My last antibody test showed negative. Not that I feel immune but I think the risk is overstated. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Have you scored a vaccine? I have declined it. I am not positive on the long term effects since the current vaccines development methods have no track record. When the Novavax and Sanofi vaccines clear the regulatory and testing hurdles I will reconsider my stand as I feel more confident in their methods. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/714 "2021-03-03T20:01:21Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Are you positive you’ll never be an asymptomatic carrier? How? Have you scored a vaccine? We don’t know yet whether even being fully vaccinated prevents one from being or becoming an asymptomatic carrier. > [@PoppaSan](#): > > Don’t really care if I am or not. I do not associate closely or repeatedly with anyone in any of the higher risk categories. But you may give it to someone who does so associate. > [@PoppaSan](#): > > I think the risk is overstated. 520,000 and counting people would disagree with you, if they could. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/715 "2021-03-03T20:25:51Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > I think the risk is overstated. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > 520,000 and counting people would disagree with you, if they could. This. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/716 "2021-03-03T21:37:03Z")
Police say an explosion at a Dutch Covid test center was deliberate. > **[Blast strikes Dutch COVID-19 test centre; police call it an attack](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-blast-idUSKCN2AV0O4)** > > A blast struck a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam before sunrise on Wednesday, shattering windows but causing no injuries in what police called an intentional attack. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/717 "2021-03-03T21:59:30Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Not that I feel immune but I think the risk is overstated Well, in fairness, people struggling to breathe don’t state much, dead people even less. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/718 "2021-03-03T22:16:52Z")
Gaiters were stated to be of limited to no effectiveness when they checked different types of masks. They’re just too thin and too open weave. Remember, a proper cloth mask must have at least three layers. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/719 "2021-03-03T23:25:20Z")
That was one particular gaiter in one test, not to be extrapolated to all gaiters. Or did you think every gaiter is made out of the same material and thickness? You realize they’re all different, right? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/720 "2021-03-03T23:39:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Gaiters were stated to be of limited to no effectiveness when they checked different types of masks. They’re just too thin and too open weave. Remember, a proper cloth mask must have at least three layers. I remember one experiment, which was not meant to establish mask effectiveness, but rather, was a proof of concept for a _method_ of testing mask effectiveness, which was widely reported as saying neck gaiters were worse than no mask at all, speculating that they might break up larger droplets into more smaller ones. (I’m pretty sure I posted about it when it came out, too.) Have you seen anything other than that? Here’s a quote from an article following up on that proof of concept experiment and how it was reported. Some actual research on neck gaiters has been conducted. > [@](#): > > Research on the effectiveness of gaiters and other face coverings is likely to continue. Already [Jin Pan](https://www.biotrans.fralin.vt.edu/index.php/people/trainees/pan-jin), a Virginia Tech graduate student who studies biological particles, is reporting on his [preliminary testing of two types of gaiters](https://twitter.com/linseymarr/status/1294813717373345798) — a single-layer gaiter made of 100 percent polyester and a two-layer gaiter, made with 87 percent polyester and 13 percent spandex. Pan and his colleagues used mask-testing protocols established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and found that [both gaiters were at least somewhat effective at blocking respiratory particles](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GNXt-SWSsPTp8nv0MtqpvUmVQI8g-7WE/view). Both blocked 100 percent of very large, 20-micron droplets and at least 50 percent of one-micron aerosols. When it came to smaller particles, the single-layer gaiter blocked only 10 percent of 0.5-micron particles, while the two-layer gaiter blocked 20 percent. However, when the researchers doubled the single-layer gaiter, it blocked more than 90 percent of all particles measured. [https://medical.mit.edu/covid-19-updates/2020/08/neck-gaiters](https://medical.mit.edu/covid-19-updates/2020/08/neck-gaiters) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/721 "2021-03-03T23:43:10Z")
CBS Sunday Morning ran a [report on mask effectiveness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVjpUeNptNU) over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/722 "2021-03-03T23:45:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > That was one particular gaiter in one test, not to be extrapolated to all gaiters. Or did you think every gaiter is made out of the same material and thickness? You realize they’re all different, right? Yes, it was. The whole point was to test the various types of masks, to see which kind were the best. Gaiters in general scored poorly. You seemed to be unaware of this fact. Plus, we know that the gaiter being discussed is one where his beard hairs poke through. It should be pretty obvious that anything with holes big enough for human hairs to go through would not protect anyone. If, since that report, there have been gaiters that were made of cotton and 3 ply thick, then maybe those are good. But the usual gaiter is one that you can still sorta see through, and is only one layer, and is some stretchy material. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/723 "2021-03-04T00:03:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If, since that report, there have been gaiters that were made of cotton and 3 ply thick, then maybe those are good. Yes, it is now possible to buy [multi-layer gaiters with built in filtering](https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Products-RESPI-Gaiter-Filtration-Standard/dp/B089NZJ84R/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=filtered+gaiter&qid=1614815998&sr=8-4). The gaiters available at the start of the pandemic weren’t really designed to do much more than filter dust. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/724 "2021-03-04T00:17:48Z")
You do realize there are risks beyond death, including permanent disability. COVID-19 isn’t just a bad cold; it’s a disease that causes inflammation of the brain and it can absolutely wreck vessels – perhaps permanently. Try holding down a job when you can’t remember shit you said five minutes ago and can’t walk five minutes without needing to lay on a couch. Try living with yourself knowing you were an asymptomatic carrier that inflicted such damage upon others. Vaccines should not be viewed as long-term protection at this time; they’re a short-term layer of protection - a very important one - that can reduce the spread and hospitalizations, giving us more time to come up with better vaccines and more research to better protect ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/725 "2021-03-04T00:40:03Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > there are risks beyond death, including permanent disability. This is also very much true. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/726 "2021-03-04T00:49:04Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > That was one particular gaiter in one test, not to be extrapolated to all gaiters. Or did you think every gaiter is made out of the same material and thickness? You realize they’re all different, right? I agree. The authors even admitted that their method was not very quantitative. They counted particles visualized by shining a laser on droplets coming out of someone’s mouth. It was more to demonstrate a method people could do at home. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/727 "2021-03-04T02:04:30Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > You do realize there are risks beyond death, including permanent disability. COVID-19 isn’t just a bad cold; it’s a disease that causes inflammation of the brain and it can absolutely wreck vessels – perhaps permanently. Try holding down a job when you can’t remember shit you said five minutes ago and can’t walk five minutes without needing to lay on a couch. Try living with yourself knowing you were an asymptomatic carrier that inflicted such damage upon others. Yes, this can occur in a minority of people. But statistically, this isn’t something the majority of people need to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/728 "2021-03-04T02:49:25Z")
A majority is slightly more than 50%; what kind of majority we talking about here? We know from the data that a majority of patients aren’t hospitalized but anywhere from 70-90% (somewhere in that range) who do end up being admitted have persistent noticeable symptoms more than six months after discharge. That’s a lot of people who don’t necessarily die but have major problems afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/729 "2021-03-04T03:40:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > We know from the data that a majority of patients aren’t hospitalized but **anywhere from 70-90% (somewhere in that range) who do end up being admitted have persistent noticeable symptoms more than six months after discharge**. Cite? I’ll try to dig up the cite, but IIRC I’ve seen a study finding something like 98% of people report no symptoms after a few months. Anecdotally, given that something like 20%-30% of the US population has likely been infected with COVID wouldn’t we see lot more cases of impaired people walking around if a huge number of people were being severely adversely affected? I suspect that, like COVID mortality, the non-lethal effects of the disease are extremely different based on age. The rate of hospitalization and death grows exponentially with age. I don’t doubt that when looking at the population of people likely to be hospitalized with COVID, a high percentage of them are also likely to suffer lasting symptoms. At the same time, it can also be true that the overwhelming majority (much closer to 100% than 50%) of younger people are not statistically likely to suffer long term effects. We probably shouldn’t hijack the breaking news thread here… ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/730 "2021-03-04T03:52:39Z")
Here’s one cite; the research is ongoing. > **[76% of People Hospitalized for COVID-19 Have Symptoms Months Later](https://www.healthline.com/health-news/over-75-percent-of-people-hospitalized-with-covid-19-have-symptoms-months-later)** > > New research has found that 76 percent of people who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 experienced at least one lingering symptom 6 months after recovering. Long-term symptoms affect people of all ages and have occurred in people with mild,... Here’s one article for non-hospitalized patients. > **[One-third of COVID-19 patients who aren't hospitalized have long-term...](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/monumental-acknowledgment-cdc-reports-long-term-covid-19-patients-n1234814)** > > One patient whose symptoms have lingered for months called the report "monumental." Again, the research is ongoing. Obviously we’re not talking half of patients being wheelchair bound or coming down with dementia, but there are enough people with serious long-term symptoms to take this illness very seriously. You could end up with impacts that are well-short of death but leaving you with some form of long-term impairment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=36)