Coronavirus in Massachusetts (homes, community college, wages)

[Amontillado]

It is a public health failure, but I'm not going to hold back on saying this--the people there are at fault. They're risking their lives and other people's lives by not doing what they should be doing, and at this point there aren't any excuses.

[lrfox]

I've been riding the T almost daily to/from work and mask compliance is still very good during working hours. But last night going to/from Fenway, I was surprised at how bad it was. Maybe 50% of riders were wearing masks. One Green Line driver made a few "Masks MUST be worn!" announcements, but there was little effort to enforce the requirement outside of that.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

…unless you’re somewhere like New Bedford with a 39% fully vaccinated rate. 38,563 fully vaccinated out of just shy of 100,000. It’s now worse than Springfield. A total public health failure.

Yeah, it’s definitely problematic.

There’s a handful of think-tanks/orgs from all political spectrums working in tandem to improve immunization rates within certain demographics. I know Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster, worked with some of these groups via the de Beaumont org to develop messaging for resistant Republican demographics and the initial data suggests that the right messaging can penetrate.

One hopes these groups can find success in other demographics.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I've been riding the T almost daily to/from work and mask compliance is still very good during working hours. But last night going to/from Fenway, I was surprised at how bad it was. Maybe 50% of riders were wearing masks. One Green Line driver made a few "Masks MUST be worn!" announcements, but there was little effort to enforce the requirement outside of that.

Given how hot it is I guess i'm not surprised that people aren't up for wearing masks even on the air conditioned train. Plus they may be vaccinated and dont care...or not.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Given how hot it is I guess i'm not surprised that people aren't up for wearing masks even on the air conditioned train. Plus they may be vaccinated and dont care...or not.

Probably all of the above. I think the difference between the 9-5 commuters and the people on the T for the Sox is mostly just habit. I use the T daily and know that it's one of the few places I'm supposed to wear a mask - everyone this morning had theirs on too. People riding the T for the Sox might largely be out of the habit of wearing them in their daily lives and either didn't pack one or didn't think to put it on. They make announcements every minute or two in the stations, but frankly, most people aren't paying too much attention to those. I'm sure some are also well aware and just not doing it on principal, but it's interesting to see the disparity.

Also, you can register for "Vaxmillions" today.

[msRB311]

I registered! lol

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Yeah, it’s definitely problematic.

There’s a handful of think-tanks/orgs from all political spectrums working in tandem to improve immunization rates within certain demographics. I know Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster, worked with some of these groups via the de Beaumont org to develop messaging for resistant Republican demographics and the initial data suggests that the right messaging can penetrate.

One hopes these groups can find success in other demographics.

No vaccination, no Mass Health benefits would be a good start in New Bedford.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I took a hard look at changing mountains to Sugarloaf when I lived in Portsmouth NH. It’s superb when it’s good but it has huge wind hold problems with nowhere to hide and it doesn’t see the skier visits to have acceptable snowmaking in lean snow years. Wickid pissah far from Rhode Island. The property tax rate sure is attractive compared to Vermont, though.

I found the newly reopened Saddleback to be a great alternative to Sugarloaf. They seem to have a much better handle on keeping the trails in good condition, and of course the lighter crowds help.

[GeoffD]

Massachusetts stopped publishing the weekly by-town COVID-19 infection data.

[msRB311]

This is interesting, not in MA but a group of nurses chose not to get the vaccine because they felt it was rushed:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nurses-fi...202817653.html