# 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:** 71
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1405 "2022-01-19T10:21:08Z")
I ordered my free tests from the government yesterday. I would not be shocked to know I have Covid. My boss just got his second shot this week and his brother has tested positive. Every bone hurts. Even the little ones. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1406 "2022-01-19T13:00:26Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > And you pay for those out-of-pocket? Yup. You used to be able to get 2 for $14 from a couple of sources, but prices have gone up recently and i don’t think there are any for less that $10/test, except for this brand new government program, which is not yet proved. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1407 "2022-01-19T14:21:17Z")
I suspected the coworker who gave me the test kit was unvaccinated. I was chatting with her on my way out yesterday, and she mentioned two coworkers and said they’re ‘the only ones in the office not vaccinated’. So by implication, this coworker actually was vaccinated. Of the two unvaxxed coworkers, one is rather conservative and has had COVID. The other one is pregnant (due in Summer), and my coworker said she thought the pregnant coworker had been trying to become pregnant for a while. That may be the reason she has declined the jab. (The vaccine jab.) The vaccinated coworker who was out with COVID last week came to the office yesterday, feeling fine. (I wasn’t there.) She took a rapid test at the office, and it was positive so she went home. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1408 "2022-01-19T15:28:58Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > And you pay for those out-of-pocket? As of last Saturday, the cost is required to be reimbursed by my health insurance. But yes, up until then, it was out of pocket for home tests. PCR tests at testing sites are free, though. ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1409 "2022-01-19T17:09:29Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > PCR tests at testing sites are free, though. That’s the case here as well. Except when you want rapid results, then you pay extra (if you need a test to board a plane, for instance) good thing the home tests are being reimbursed, those things add up quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1410 "2022-01-19T17:21:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You used to be able to get 2 for $14 from a couple of sources, but prices have gone up recently and i don’t think there are any for less that $10/test Damn, there are lots in the Danish supermarkets. This evening I saw some at 25 DKK (a bit under $4). AFAIK they are not subsidised by the government, so I guess they make money on them. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1411 "2022-01-19T18:04:11Z")
When the first rapid test was approved, the news release said it would cost $5 per use. So you are paying about what they expected. They cost more in the US because… I think because the whole US healthcare system is fucked up. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1412 "2022-01-19T18:52:42Z")
[sorryantivaxxer.com](http://sorryantivaxxer.com) seems to be down. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1413 "2022-01-19T23:54:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [sorryantivaxxer.com](http://sorryantivaxxer.com/) seems to be down. It’s back up. In other chit-chat: Our admin is still not feeling well, but she’s testing negative. Her husband, who we’ve met and is a really likeable guy, has COVID, as do her daughter and Kindergarten-aged granddaughter. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1414 "2022-01-20T01:16:28Z")
> **[A Canadian restaurant had to close its dining room because it accepted dog...](https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/world/canada-restaurant-dog-photos-covid-requirements-trnd/index.html)** > > A restaurant in Alberta was forced to briefly close its dining room after the health department found patrons were showing photos of dogs instead of proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test, as mandated by the Canadian province. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1415 "2022-01-25T18:07:26Z")
[Neil Young wants his music scrubbed from Spotify because of vaccine misinformation on the platform - CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/25/entertainment/neil-young-spotify-joe-rogan-vaccine-misinformation-cec/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1416 "2022-01-25T19:26:50Z")
Boston hospital takes unvaxxed patient off heart transplant list. > **[Hospital refusing heart transplant for man who won't get vaccinated](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brigham-and-womens-hospital-boston-refusing-heart-transplant-man-wont-get-vaccinated/)** > > Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says its policy won't allow DJ Ferguson to have the surgery since not being vaccinated seriously hurts its chances for success and his long-term outlook. > “Post any transplant, kidney, heart whatever, your immune system is shut off,” Caplan said. “The flu could kill you, a cold could kill you, COVID could kill you. The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better chance post-surgery of surviving.” ---
**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:** [January 25, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1417 "2022-01-25T19:52:17Z")
If your “immune system is shut off,” does vaccination actually make a difference? ---
**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:** [January 25, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1418 "2022-01-25T20:07:50Z")
Ugh, sorry to hear that. Hope they recover soon. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1419 "2022-01-25T20:12:40Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > If your “immune system is shut off,” does vaccination actually make a difference? There are lot of parts to the immune system. What they try to shut off is that part that makes new antibodies to novel proteins. So… maybe if you get vaccinated before you need to go on immune suppressive drugs, the vaccine does you some good? I’m trying to imagine someone willing to take immune suppressive drugs for the rest of their life, and do all the other stuff you need to do to maximize the odds of a transplant working, but who is adamantly opposed to getting a vaccine. And… I’m failing. I wonder if this is just one of several red flags that the guy isn’t going to follow the playbook, but it’s the one that made the news? ---
**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:** [January 25, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1420 "2022-01-25T20:15:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m trying to imagine someone willing to take immune suppressive drugs for the rest of their life, and do all the other stuff you need to do to maximize the odds of a transplant working, but who is adamantly opposed to getting a vaccine. Not to mention getting some stranger’s body part. He doesn’t know where it’s been! ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1421 "2022-01-26T10:59:03Z")
…a story I missed: Anti-vaxxers in NZ tried to drive the Prime Minister off the road. > **[New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern shrugs off car chase by anti-vaccination...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/26/jacinda-ardern-shrugs-off-car-chase-by-anti-vaccination-protesters)** > > A car of protestors yelled ‘shame on you’ as they pursued the prime minister’s van but Ardern says she wasn’t worried for her safety Dangerous bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1422 "2022-01-26T21:17:48Z")
I’ve gone out to get takeout for lunch twice this week. Both places were pretty lax about masks for their employees. This has really disappointed me, because I like the food at both places, but now I’m inclined to avoid them until omicron subsides. It’s disappointing because eating takeout is just about the only thing that separates the days for me while I’m not commuting, and the sameness is kind of driving me bonkers. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1423 "2022-01-27T21:38:17Z")
Not sure where to put this. I don’t think it merits its own thread (but I might be wrong about that…maybe it does). What is the root of the anti-vaxxer movement in other countries, specifically countries I thought weren’t as stupid as we are, namely Germany, New Zealand, France, the UK. Over here, I assumed anti-vax was part of anti-science conservative Trumpers, groups that want Biden to fall flat on his face and otherwise fail at his job. _“Come & Take It!”_ frontier types, gun-totin’ redneck _deplorables_ and the like. But who are the anti-vaxxers elsewhere and what is their gripe? Are they the same as our home-grown anti-intellectual/anti-science types? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1424 "2022-01-27T23:33:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Are they the same as our home-grown anti-intellectual/anti-science types? … Te Pūnaha Matatini recently did a study on dis-info here in NZ. > [@](#): > > Since February 2020 a small interdisciplinary team, The Disinformation Project, has been observing and analysing open source, publicly available data related to Covid-19 mis- and disinformation on social media, mainstream media, and in physical and other digital forms of information and knowledge dissemination. > > Since 17 August 2021, when Aotearoa New Zealand’s Delta outbreak meant a shift into Alert Level 4 across the country, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity and intensity of Covid-19-specific disinformation and other forms of ‘dangerous speech’ and disinformation, related to far-right ideologies. The full study is here, and it’s worth a read. > **[The Disinformation ProjectStudying misinformation and disinformation in...](https://thedisinfoproject.org/resources/)** > > Media release: Disinformation Project concerned by statements from Winston Peters 27 October 2023: The Disinformation Project is concerned by statements made by Winston Peters over the last 24 hour… Some key parts: > [@](#): > > We have observed a critical shift from vaccine hesitancy to vaccine resistance within > the core groups we study on Telegram. Here, with no platform-level guidelines or > interventions such as the use of interstitials which may be present on other, more > mainstream social media platforms, the discourse has shifted over the period of this > study (from 17 August) from hesitancy and uncertainty to one of active resistance and > refusal. Counter speech in an environment of active resistance, where individuals have > attached identity to refusal, is difficult and in fact most often leads to further > entrenchment of identity within this framework. > [@](#): > > Memes and memetic material are highly popular across the platforms. So too is the use > of humour and trolling, as it is deemed psychologically more effective. Memetic material > pre-frames content for easy sharing. Common themes include encouraging people to > “take a stand” on one’s social media with vaccination messages, offer increasing > identity-based divisiveness, and ridicule public health guidelines. The in-group jokes > offered by memetic content offer strong in-group identity markers and provide the > opportunity to make fun of out-group members – either the vaccinated or the state > [@](#): > > Such emotive > testimonials are likely to be believed and sympathised with – and should be considered > as presenting genuine harm to ongoing efforts to increase vaccine uptake. Emotional, > and often disturbing content provided via testimonies tends to focus on vaccine harms > experienced by women and girl children – a known hallmark of ‘dangerous speech’ is > the presentation of harm or attack on women and girls. > [@](#): > > Other content tends to focus on a cluster of notions related to state versus individual > rights and responsibilities. It is here that international content, particularly from the US > and Australia, is repackaged and re-shared in Aotearoa New Zealand, framing a state > that is described as tyrannical, treacherous, and forsaking international and/or national > law. These frames are where some of the most extreme content is observed: violent > imagery and language, threats to groups and individuals, allusions to historic violent > events and war or crime. In the last month, we have observed more content which > connects events in Aotearoa New Zealand with the Q conspiracy, and with far-right > conspiratorial narratives more generally. These include white supremacist, incel or > extreme misogyny, Islamophobia and anti-migrant sentiment, and anti-Semitism. We > have also observed increasing levels of anti-Māori racism. > [@](#): > > The online mis- and disinformation content The Disinformation Project observes targets > key individuals and groups. This includes but is not limited to Māori, Pasifika, migrants > and ethnic minorities, women, gender minorities, LGBTQIA+ people, people with > disabilities, health workers, and government employees. In addition, leading public > figures and officials – including members of Parliament, journalists, health officials, > academics, and community leaders – receive specific targeting and abuse. > For example, mainstream media’s reporting on the uptake of vaccination by Māori has > increased a perception of Māori as vaccine hesitant and anti-vaccination, which has > been picked up within circles of disinformation in way that capitalises on racism and > further targets disinformation towards those groups. This allows for the targeting of > Māori, and the intensification of anti-Māori racism within mis- and disinformation > circles. > The ‘hīkoi’ that took place on Tuesday 26 October – Wednesday 27 October 2021 relied > on Māori motifs and symbols, such as the language of ‘hīkoi’ and the United Tribes flag. > A large number of individuals who appear cis-male and Pākehā dominated Telegram > and Facebook content about the hīkoi. This aligns with an increasing use of Māori > voices, narratives, and imagery for agendas of white supremacist individuals and > groups who make up one cluster we study. So where is it coming from? The same people seeding disinfo campaigns around the world. The Bannons, the Murdochs, the Mercers. Bannon even has his own conspiracy show here, “Counterspin Media.” David Farrier (from Netflix’s Dark Tourist) picks that apart here: > **[Inside Steve Bannon's NZ news division](https://www.webworm.co/p/fakenews2)** > > Counterspin Media, the kiwi news show hosted on Bannon's network The rapid surge in disinformation in August was one of the primary reasons why the August Delta outbreak was hard to eliminate and eventually lead to the change in strategies. And they are doing stuff like this: > **[New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern shrugs off car chase by anti-vaccination...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/26/jacinda-ardern-shrugs-off-car-chase-by-anti-vaccination-protesters)** > > A car of protestors yelled ‘shame on you’ as they pursued the prime minister’s van but Ardern says she wasn’t worried for her safety [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=72)