# Coronavirus general discussion and chit-chat **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 12, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903 "2020-08-12T17:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**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:** [September 1, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/644 "2021-09-01T23:07:17Z")
Politics ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/645 "2021-09-03T04:04:31Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The CDC somehow has the power to issue country-wide bans against evictions To be fair, even that is hugely controversial, to say the least. Here’s something I just thought of: I keep reading that the masks that most people wear really don’t do a huge amount of good against spread. Given that, what if we as a nation completely dropped all mask mandates, and any effort towards creating and enforcing them, and put every single ounce of political capital we were using there into making the lives of unvaccinated people as miserable- er, I mean, as inconvenient as possible? Might that do more overall good? It would certainly reduce resentment amongst the vaccinated. As for enforcement, well, we have enforcement problems either way, so why not take the route that’ll do the most good? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/646 "2021-09-03T04:58:02Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I keep reading that the masks that most people wear really don’t do a huge amount of good against spread. What definition of “huge amount of good” are you using and where are you reading this? ---
**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:** [September 3, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/647 "2021-09-03T05:15:14Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I keep reading that the masks that most people wear really don’t do a huge amount of good against spread. This isn’t true though. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/648 "2021-09-03T06:30:00Z")
I’ll try to dig up what I’ve seen, but I keep seeing studies of _surgical_ masks and their effectiveness, and my impression was that anything less, like the cloth or paper masks most people wear, was inferior enough to make mandates that include those iffy at best? But I could very well be misreading, of course. I’ll see if I can find what gave me that impression again. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/649 "2021-09-03T13:41:35Z")
I thought that these two maps might be of interest. Flipping from one to the the other and just eyeballing it - the dark green has pretty good correlation to the light red(ish), and vice versa. Except for the state of Oregon which has high vaccination AND high case count. Don’t understand that. > **[COVID-19 Map: Tracking Cases and Vaccinations in the U.S.](https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-us-tracker/vaccinations)** > > Tracking the latest COVID-19 cases and vaccinations by State and County; Coronavirus Map showing the latest updates on how many vaccinations are in the U.S. Scroll over the map to see your state’s vaccination results. > **[COVID-19 Map: Tracking Cases and Vaccinations in the U.S.](https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-us-tracker/cases)** > > Tracking the latest COVID-19 cases and vaccinations by State and County; Coronavirus Map showing the latest updates on how many cases are in the U.S. Scroll over the map to see your state’s case results. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/650 "2021-09-03T14:40:31Z")
> **[Largest study of masks yet details their importance in fighting Covid-19](https://www.yahoo.com/news/largest-study-masks-yet-details-023712519.html)** > > A study involving more than 340,000 people in Bangladesh offers some of the strongest real-world evidence yet that mask use can help communities slow Covid-19. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/651 "2021-09-03T15:36:38Z")
@Qadgop_the_Mercotan > **[Inmates Weren't Told They Were Given An Anti-Parasite Drug Instead Of...](https://www.npr.org/2021/09/02/1033586429/anti-parasite-drug-covid-19-ivermectin-washington-county-arkansas)** > > Multiple inmates in an Arkansas jail said they didn't realize they took an anti-parasite drug that federal health officials have warned should not be used to treat the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/652 "2021-09-03T16:17:58Z")
That doesn’t happen in my prison system. Jails are run differently, on the county/city level and each one is an entity unto itself. Prison systems are run on the state or federal level, providing more oversight and consistent policies and procedures and accountability (theoretically at least). The patients I gave ivermectin to (all 6 or so of them over 2 decades) knew they were getting it for scabies infestations and had the opportunity to decline it. None did. It cleared up their scabies nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/653 "2021-09-03T16:20:52Z")
Well, scabies and coronavirus both have c’s, a’s, i’s and s’s in them so they must me closely related! ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/654 "2021-09-04T04:51:30Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Except for the state of Oregon which has high vaccination AND high case count. Don’t understand that. I read an article fairly recently that said that the unvaxed tend to cluster together, either geographically or socially, sometimes both. (I know that in Colorado, there are big differences in vaccination rates from county to county.) Even on the county level, if the county as a whole has a high vaccination rate, there will quite likely be pockets where the rate is vastly lower on a hyper-local scale. Thus, it’s possible to have both a high vaccination rate and a high case count. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/655 "2021-09-04T09:59:15Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I read an article fairly recently that said that the unvaxed tend to cluster together, either geographically or socially, sometimes both. And that’s exactly what the situation is in Oregon. The worst area is down in southern Oregon where several counties have low vaxx rates. They also only have small cities and thus small hospitals that are more easily overwhelmed. Not that the hospitals in the Portland area are having an easy time of it. From news reports, I gather they’re also getting pretty full. Some of that may be due to taking some patients from outlying areas, such as the aforementioned southern Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/656 "2021-09-04T17:19:48Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > She said she was glad she got jabbed because the cruise line was demanding vaccination cards. She’s all sorts of happy to pay to float around on a plague ship for a week. I know two hardcore anti-vaxxers who finally got vaccinated so they could take a cruise. Based on this extensive evidence, I can only conclude that anti-vaxxers are devoted cruisers. If a cruise is the incentive that works to get them vaccinated, the government should offer them free cruises. If nothing else, it corrals them into groups where they can infect each other without taking out the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/657 "2021-09-04T17:30:42Z")
Or maybe a free trip to Venus. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/658 "2021-09-04T19:25:07Z")
> [@Ziberian](#): > > I know two hardcore anti-vaxxers who finally got vaccinated so they could take a cruise. Based on this extensive evidence, I can only conclude that anti-vaxxers are devoted cruisers. If a cruise is the incentive that works to get them vaccinated, the government should offer them free cruises. If nothing else, it corrals them into groups where they can infect each other without taking out the rest of us. I think we should give them free cruises that end with sequestering them on an island where they can all live together until they’ve developed that natural herd immunity they’re so enthusiastic about. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/659 "2021-09-04T20:29:34Z")
I taught a free trial class at my fencing club yesterday, and I had an anti-masker. Mask compliance has been so high in general that I honestly didn’t notice that the kid or his dad weren’t masked when they checked in. When I got the class dressed in the uniform and mentioned that you still had to wear the cloth mask under the fencing mask, it finally registered, and I went and got the kid a surgical mask. He said he couldn’t wear one. Why? “Because they’re bad for me, and I have an exemption note from my doctor.” OK, running a class on a schedule, let it slide. After the class, dad (who is wearing a T-shirt saying “DEFEND LIFE, DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD”) was asking about classes and age groups. I answered his questions, then mentioned that we require masking at all times. He didn’t make a big stink (“it’s a matter of principle with us, but we won’t go into that” - meaning the kid was spouting a line he’d been trained to spout), but pretty clearly the mask requirement was a deal-breaker. Amicable departure, but no sign-up. I won’t say “maskhole” because neither of them acted like an asshole or pushed the issue. But a sensible-seeming 11-year-old boy won’t get to have fun taking fencing classes, because of his dad’s Republican “principles”. Oh well. At least I get to keep the rest of our customers and staff safe. And I hope neither the kid nor his dad succumb to Delta. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/660 "2021-09-04T21:21:35Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I think we should give them free cruises that end with sequestering them on an island where they can all live together until they’ve developed that natural herd immunity they’re so enthusiastic about. Sounds like it would make a great TV reality series. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/661 "2021-09-05T02:21:39Z")
> [@Tierce](#): > > I won’t say “maskhole” because neither of them acted like an asshole or pushed the issue. But a sensible-seeming 11-year-old boy won’t get to have fun taking fencing classes, because of his dad’s Republican “principles”. That’s fine. I’ve just told a friend of a friend that nobody is forcing vaccination or masking on him. Society has simply made the decision that for the safety of us all, he is not allowed to participate in many optional activities such as going to a restaurant, bar, sports game, gym, camps, etc. Nobody is preventing him from going - he has made the choice to not follow the rules that society has decided upon. It’s all on him. Society has also decided that he can’t drive while drunk, and he can’t go into a store with no pants on. Sorry, but those are the rules we agree to. With 80% vaccination rate where I am and an estimated 5 -7% hardcore anti-vaxxers, then they are in a tiny minority. They don’t get to dictate what our society’s rules are. I feel for the kid in your scenario though. He’s going to lose out on many fun activities because of the choice of his parents to not participate in societies rules. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/662 "2021-09-05T03:23:05Z")
I understand that they’ve decided what to name variants if they run out of Greek letters. The latest one, mu, puts them halfway through the Greek alphabet. It seems they’re going to name them after stars and constellations. Someone then pointed out that there could be a real life Andromeda Strain. My reaction (other than the obligatory “you can’t be Sirius” pun) is that I wish they’d get a little more creative. There’s already lots of stuff named with the Greek alphabet (including stars, BTW) so that was very unimaginative. Naming after stars is a bit better, but since I read a lot about astronomy, they aren’t going to be very original names to me. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/663 "2021-09-05T03:29:16Z")
There’s an order to the Greek alphabet. There isn’t an order to stars as much. It might be more reasonable to name them after asteroids in discovery order, since those all get minor planet designations in rough order of discovery (sometimes they save round numbers for significant discoveries, but otherwise go in order). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=34)