Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Florida: transfer to, assessment, health)

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I think most of the chains were reasonably good about it. Our nearest Stop & Shop closed one entrance and had a counter at the door that was open. Some of the smaller markets we visited definitely ignored the limits.

Walmart had a person counting but I believed to be nothing but for show.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Trader Joe’s in Cambridge and Allston had some significant lines as well.

The one in Foxborough definitely had a long line. That and Costco were the only lines I ever stood in.

[OutdoorLover]

I am not sure, but I think they stopped wiping down the handles of every cart at the front of the supermarkets here in Newburyport. I actually still grab an antiseptic wipe from the dispenser and wipe my hands plus the handle on my cart when I enter. I read the other day about some vaccinated people in Maine dying from Covid-19, so I guess while things are much improved, the vaccination is not a failsafe mechanism. Only takes me 30 secs to do that little routine, so I don't mind.

This article says that the Maine CDC reported 8 Mainers who were fully vaccinated have died from Covid-19. Haven't looked into it further yet.
https://wgme.com/news/local/cdc-says...lly-vaccinated

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

I am not sure, but I think they stopped wiping down the handles of every cart at the front of the supermarkets here in Newburyport. I actually still grab an antiseptic wipe from the dispenser and wipe my hands plus the handle on my cart when I enter. I read the other day about some vaccinated people in Maine dying from Covid-19, so I guess while things are much improved, the vaccination is not a failsafe mechanism.

From all the road warrior years, I adopted hand hygiene OCD years ago. I always wipe down carts. I’ve been wiping down the armrests and tray tables on airplanes for years. I started washing my hands any time I passed a restroom and used hand sanitizer. I stopped getting sick after every business trip.

I suspect most of the COVID-19 deaths among vaccinated people are people with compromised immune systems. I believe that’s at least 5% of the population. Of course, that’s why it’s our civic duty to get vaccinated. The vaccine isn’t effective for those people so they need to depend on herd immunity. It’s going to be a bigger deal as the Delta variant gets a foothold since it’s so much more transmissible.

[BostonMike7]

A week and a half out from Memorial day. Daily cases at all-time low. Here in MA and nationwide it seems.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

From all the road warrior years, I adopted hand hygiene OCD years ago. I always wipe down carts. I’ve been wiping down the armrests and tray tables on airplanes for years. I started washing my hands any time I passed a restroom and used hand sanitizer. I stopped getting sick after every business trip.

I suspect most of the COVID-19 deaths among vaccinated people are people with compromised immune systems. I believe that’s at least 5% of the population. Of course, that’s why it’s our civic duty to get vaccinated. The vaccine isn’t effective for those people so they need to depend on herd immunity. It’s going to be a bigger deal as the Delta variant gets a foothold since it’s so much more transmissible.

I wasn't thinking about that, but that makes sense. I have a family member with chronic leukemia for example, and while he is vaccinated, he doesn't likely have the same kind of antibody development from it, as his immune system is compromised. I have advised him to still be extra careful.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

I wasn't thinking about that, but that makes sense. I have a family member with chronic leukemia for example, and while he is vaccinated, he doesn't likely have the same kind of antibody development from it, as his immune system is compromised. I have advised him to still be extra careful.

I imagine the efficacy in nursing homes also isn’t all that great. It’s why it’s so important to vaccinate the staff. My mother is in a memory care facility in Connecticut. I asked the pointed question about how many of the staff were vaccinated. I got a “we’re working on it”. Not the answer I was hoping for. My news feed yesterday had a story about a big Houston hospital that just suspended all unvaccinated staff without pay and will terminate them in two weeks. My fiancée’s hospitals require a flu vaccination or you’re sent home without pay. I don’t see how this is any different. It would be helpful to get full FDA approval for the two mRNA vaccines so nobody can hide behind that. We’ve vaccinated more than half the country so it’s kind of BS at this point. The amount of safety and effectiveness data is enormous.

[mdovell]

I don't get how anyone can work in the medical profession and not have vaccines. That's like someone teaching high school or higher ed without a degree, a fireman/woman that smokes, a drivers ed instructor that doesn't use a seatbelt etc.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I imagine the efficacy in nursing homes also isn’t all that great. It’s why it’s so important to vaccinate the staff. My mother is in a memory care facility in Connecticut. I asked the pointed question about how many of the staff were vaccinated. I got a “we’re working on it”. Not the answer I was hoping for. My news feed yesterday had a story about a big Houston hospital that just suspended all unvaccinated staff without pay and will terminate them in two weeks. My fiancée’s hospitals require a flu vaccination or you’re sent home without pay. I don’t see how this is any different. It would be helpful to get full FDA approval for the two mRNA vaccines so nobody can hide behind that. We’ve vaccinated more than half the country so it’s kind of BS at this point. The amount of safety and effectiveness data is enormous.

I agree that healthcare workers refusing to get vaccinated is hard to get my head around, and they don't seem to mind risking their patients health, which should be a red line.

The other day I came across a member of Congress who was advising people not to get vaccinated, and saying that it was an unnecessary gamble and we wouldn't know for at least 10 years if the vaccine was safe! He was totally ignoring the danger of the pandemic as well as the benefits of the vaccine, and trying to say that a reasonable standard for caution would be to wait 10 years after the product rollout! No one ever does anything remotely like that - not for any drug, nor any vaccine, it's an absolutely ridiculous thing to assert. I mean lay people should be more critical in who they listen to I suppose, but there is just so much utter nonsense out there, I am not surprised that some are very confused.

[in_newengland]

I have a relative with dementia who is in a dedicated assisted living facility in WMass and they've recently had someone come down with COVID. The email didn't say whether it was a patient or an employee but they are now going to require everyone who works there to be vaccinated. I have a suspicion that even a few of their patients weren't vaccinated. I guess they'll kick the unvaccinated patients out if they won't get vaccinated.

I can't imagine someone working--even mopping the floors or especially doing the cooking not being vaccinated.

But they said lots of health care workers have quit their jobs during the pandemic and there are a lot of others who just won't get the vaccine. Shortage of health care workers.