# 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:** 65
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1285 "2021-12-19T07:26:53Z")
I think the experts say that it will be, but I think it doesn’t qualify yet. I’m seeing predictions of it becoming endemic in the next year or two. I hope it does wind up no riskier than influenza, though that’s still significant, considering it is being added to that existing risk. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1286 "2021-12-19T07:29:12Z")
I don’t think it will necessarily tell if you’d had covid, but significant time had passed. The antibodies stop circulating after 6+ months or so. So you can most likely only find out if you’ve _recently_ had covid. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1287 "2021-12-19T12:33:52Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > True. And they will not give a damn about who calls them selfish or says that history will judge them. And many people seem to be getting tired of caring what they think. Too bad the measures that would make them do the right thing (second tier medical attention, vaccination mandates) generally require their approval. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1288 "2021-12-19T15:54:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > When i can get together with a lot of friends and square dance, without worrying that I’m going to kill some of them, or catch “long covid”. I fail to see how you can believe that Covid will be endemic, and yet believe that there will ever be an “end” as you define it. It seems to me that those are genuinely 100% opposites. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1289 "2021-12-19T16:01:03Z")
I believe that we will reach a point where vaccines + prior infection are good enough against the endemic strains that almost all infections are minor. And by minor, I mean you might have unpleasant symptoms for a couple days or two weeks, but then you get better on your own. Before covid, I tried to avoid people with symptoms of ordinary colds, and if I had a cold, I didn’t go out and dance. But neither did I ever worry that if I organized something, someone might catch a cold. I considered that an acceptable risk to run. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1290 "2021-12-19T16:04:03Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I fail to see how you can believe that Covid will be endemic, and yet believe that there will ever be an “end” as you define it. Almost every human disease you’ve heard of that’s caused by an infection is an endemic disease. No one recognizes an ongoing meningitis pandemic, for example – but the disease is endemic. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1291 "2021-12-19T21:00:11Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I believe that we will reach a point where vaccines + prior infection are good enough against the endemic strains that almost all infections are minor. And by minor, I mean you might have unpleasant symptoms for a couple days or two weeks, but then you get better on your own. And yet it’s been well-documented by this point that the mildness or severity of symptoms is not a guarantee of anything. > The majority of individuals who experience mild or moderate COVID-19 infection also experience long COVID, or persistent symptoms more than 30 days after they test positive, according to data from the longitudinal CoVHORT study at the [University of Arizona Health Sciences](http://uahs.arizona.edu/). > **[Many With Mild COVID-19 Infections Experience Long-Term Symptoms](https://news.arizona.edu/story/many-mild-covid-19-infections-experience-long-term-symptoms)** > > Data shows that 67% of people with mild or moderate COVID-19 infection develop long COVID, with symptoms that last more than 30 days after a positive test. To the best of our current knowledge– As long as Covid is endemic, there will **always** be a risk of long Covid. Which makes your above assertions both bizarre and contradictory. How can you possibly believe that there is no risk of contracting long Covid at the same time that you recognize a possibility of contracting Covid? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1292 "2021-12-19T21:11:52Z")
_Outgoing_ NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins speaking out: > **[Outgoing NIH director says Trump and other Republicans pressured him to...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/19/politics/francis-collins-trump-political-pressure-republicans/index.html)** > > The outgoing director of the National Institutes of Health said Sunday that he faced political pressure from then-President Donald Trump and other Republicans to endorse unproven Covid-19 remedies such as hydroxychloroquine and to fire Dr. Anthony... The preview box hits the high point. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1293 "2021-12-20T04:17:54Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > And by minor, I mean you might have unpleasant symptoms for a couple days or two weeks, but then you get better on your own. > > [snip] > To the best of our current knowledge– > As long as Covid is endemic, there will **always** be a risk of long Covid. > > Which makes your above assertions both bizarre and contradictory. How can you possibly believe that there is no risk of contracting long Covid at the same time that you recognize a possibility of contracting Covid? I think you misunderstood my point. I think it’s “minor” if BOTH the acute phase is manageable at home, and ALSO if you get better after that. “Better” includes no long covid symptoms. I expect that the risk of long covid will diminish. Partly, we will have appropriate immunity. Partly, we will have appropriate treatments to prevent it. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but there’s nothing contradictory in my expectations. Also, I haven’t read the article you linked, but I’ve read a lot of other articles on long covid. I’ve never seen any other article claim 2/3 have long covid. I’ve seen numbers more like 10%. Fwiw, I know three people who died from covid, but none who recovered and still have symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1294 "2021-12-20T05:31:37Z")
Hub’s shut-in best friend is anti-vax (I’m sure everyone is surprised by this news.). Said friend is in terrible health because all doctors are quacks who are just trying to steal everyone’s money or something. He’s been in the ER 4 or 5 times this year over heart and breathing issues but gets mad when the doctors tell him something he doesn’t want to hear and checks himself out AMA. So, he’s bad enough now that he needs a bypass (triple, I think) but the surgeon won’t operate on anyone who isn’t vaccinated. I think the idiot (hubs’ friend, not the surgeon) will make it to Christmas. Maybe. His death won’t be listed as COVID, but it certainly is. IMO. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1295 "2021-12-20T16:58:56Z")
In the news… Will this be a prophetic statement? Sarah Palin gave a speech opposing vaccination, and said she would get a shot ‘over my dead body’ > **[Sarah Palin gave a speech opposing vaccination, and said she would get a shot...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/sarah-palin-gave-speech-opposing-111229733.html)** > > 'I will not \[get a vaccine\]. I won't do it and they better not touch my kids either,' said the former Alaska governor. And… ‘Supporters of former President Donald Trump booed and jeered when he announced on Sunday that he had received a COVID-19 booster shot and was in favor of the vaccine.’ > **[Trump tells his supporters not to boo after revealing he got a booster shot...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-supporters-booed-jeered-revealed-151236632.html)** > > The crowd cheered when Trump said he was opposed to vaccine mandates, but its reaction shifted when he said he was vaccinated and got the booster. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1296 "2021-12-20T18:16:51Z")
Presented here to see if people here think anything about it one way or the other. Might make it a thread topic basis we’ll see. > **[Mask-wearing on planes may be here to stay, Fauci says](https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/12/20/fauci-masks-on-planes/)** > > Fauci’s comments follow remarks from Southwest Airlines’ chief executive, who said last week before his own diagnosis of covid that masks “don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1297 "2021-12-20T19:37:12Z")
I’ve been wearing a mask on long plane flights for more than a decade. I did it because the extremely dry air in airplanes bothers me, not because I was trying to reduce the spread of disease (in either direction) except for the very first time I did it, when I had a mild cold and a box of face masks, and a flight I needed to take. So I decided to try one of those masks. It was the most comfortable flight I’d had in years, so I continued wearing them. (This is also why I started this pandemic with a box of surgical masks in my cupboard.) So… I’m in favor. I hope that eventually things normalize enough that we can take off the masks briefly to eat and drink. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1298 "2021-12-20T20:58:05Z")
Aren’t all of the Palin children except Trig adults by now? Up to them and not her if they (and the grandkids) get the shot. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And… > > ‘Supporters of former President Donald Trump booed and jeered when he announced on Sunday that he had received a COVID-19 booster shot and was in favor of the vaccine Y’know, the man for once says something that at least makes internal sense (he does not support the mandate, it should be each person’s choice, and he chose to do it) and a part of his public reacts badly (to the point even he says “that’s just a few”). (this jibes with one common theory: DJT’s followers are such not because they support him, but because they expect _he_ supports _them_; so when it comes to “make your own choice” they are disappointed his choice is different from theirs.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1299 "2021-12-20T21:17:47Z")
Any tips for adjusting an N95 to fit my face so it actually works like it’s supposed to? I spent quite a while trying to punch the nose piece and shift the ear loops and I still feel like the fit was precarious, one head turn away from me feeling my exhaling from the top and fogging my glasses. I just couldn’t get it to a point where I felt confident that it was on as well as it could’ve been. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1300 "2021-12-20T22:26:57Z")
Is it a KN95? Certified N95s don’t have ear loops. Head straps are part of the standard. Different masks fit differently. I could never get a great seal with KN95 masks. You might look at some KF94, or N95s. N95s come in different styles, too. I get a great fit with the Moldex Airwave 4200, which has a foam piece on the inside of the nose area, but my spouse can’t get it to fit right. Just generally, for a mask with a nose wire, it often helps for me to put my glasses on top of the mask on my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1301 "2021-12-21T20:49:26Z")
Yes, KN95, sorry. I’m not familiar enough with the designations to know the differences. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1302 "2021-12-21T21:29:55Z")
Some people swear by folding the top edge of the mask under, so there’s a tiny bit that’s doubled there. That didn’t work for me, but we all have different faces. There have been some threads on mask recommendations. I’ll see if I can link one. > [@What is the most comfortable face mask for long-term wear?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-comfortable-face-mask-for-long-term-wear/951201): > > I have been using the ubiquitous blue paper face masks throughout the pandemic and they have worked fine for me. Thing is, I generally only need to wear them for less than 30 minutes at a time. That’s worked fine for me so far but I am looking at a long flight so will need to wear a mask for an extended period. Those blue face masks get wet fast from condensation and uncomfortable as a result. Does anyone have a recommendation for a comfortable mask for long-term wear? It needs to be suitab… This one is fairly recent and has some links for good masks. I think there have been some on mask fitting and wearing with glasses as well, which is more your question, I guess. I’ll see if I can find one of those. > [@Do you suffer from floppy ear? (mask fit)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-floppy-ear-mask-fit/932778): > > So these days the experts are recommending wearing two masks, or fastening the mask loops together with twist ties once it’s on your face for a tighter fit. So I’ve started wearing a cloth mask over a surgical type mask to the grocery store, but having two loops over each ear causes my ears to constantly threaten to fold inward, or actually fold, and let go of the masks. I also used to have a pretty tight fitting cloth mask that wouldn’t stay on because of this. Anyone else have this problem, … ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1303 "2021-12-21T22:11:06Z")
> **[Multnomah County deputy steals blank COVID-19 vaccination cards from jail,...](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2021/12/multnomah-county-deputy-steals-covid-19-vaccination-cards-from-jail-pleads-guilty-to-official-misconduct.html)** > > A Multnomah County jail deputy who stole vaccination cards from a clinic at the downtown jail where he worked pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to official misconduct and was sentenced to six months' probation. > Investigators said Deputy Robert James Haney, a nearly 23-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, also copied a co-worker’s completed vaccination card and intended to use the information on it to falsify his own card and the other blank cards that he planned to share with family, according to the sheriff’s office. > > Haney, 50, will resign from his job in one week and relinquish his certification as a sheriff’s deputy, according to the sheriff’s office. He also faces a $500 fine. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1304 "2021-12-22T03:39:41Z")
I’ve mentioned hubs’ anti-vax friend up thread. He is still in the hospital, he still needs stents and hernia surgery. The stents were going to happen today, but they weren’t able to put a medical team together for another un-vaccinated patient because nobody wanted to risk exposure enough to treat him for something that wasn’t killing him right away. Plus they were busy with the other idiots. Despite how angry I am at the idiot, if someone would hand me a filled syringe, I’d jab him despite his whining about rights and shit. People like him are the reason this shit is still going on. Give me a list and I’ll go undercover and jab all of the idiots I can get my hands on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=64) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=66)