When I started asking about the potential of the virus mutating and becoming a new form that none of us are protected against, that idea came from an article that argued that there might be “pockets” of states that the vaccines numbers will be high enough that the state could be declared to have “herd immunity”. BUT, the reality is we are not going to close state boarders (again) and that is not the life people are fighting for with their choices.
I will say every day- I am haunted by the symbolism of Covid and Michael Myers. (Oh! HHN 30!)
Interesting, so you think it would have been better if he publicly contradicted the cdc? I am trying to imagine what the consequences of that would have been to everyone. How do you think it would have made you feel? Would you have trusted either him or the cdc more?
I think we will continue to disagree on what was needed by the country vs some individuals and how important a consistent united message is.
I think this is true in every sector. My personal experience is education. Decisions we make for our district impacts how we live our lives. My experience? I could not travel for 15 months- not because I was afraid, not because I did not have the time or means to quarantine, but because it was a united message.
I hear what you are saying and sincerely admire how your actions match your words. I respect you; your character is a positive influence on the kids and families you serve.
I don’t know. I do see some value in having a unified message, but would also expect the top expert on this to be able to say what he honestly believes about the science of masks and vaccination.
But he’s not even following the CDC now, so that kind of blows up the unified message argument. He was photographed Monday outdoors at the NIH headquarters masked along with another Dr and Sen Durbin (D-IL), both vaccinated and also masked. I watch what he says and what he does very carefully and want truth and consistency from someone in that position. He’s not a politician.
Is it possible that they were going to be around someone, possibly very high risk or unable to be vaccinated, that they knew would feel safer if they were all masked? Or that one of them has a household member with that status that they don’t want to take any chances with?
The CDC is saying the risk is very low, but we know it isn’t zero.
For a lot of us, masking just isn’t that big of deal anymore. If I’m in the car running between 2 errands where I will mask, I often just don’t bother to take it off. It’s just as easy to store it on my face!
I am still wearing my mask in stores even if not required because the staff have no way to know if I’m vaccinated and I want them to feel as safe as possible. I don’t know their personal situations. Some of them could very well not be able to be vaccinated and yet need the job. Or have someone extremely vulnerable in their households they will still be concerned for until spread is down.
There was also the very real issue that the vast majority of the scientific experts across governmental departments/agencies were censored and/or completely silenced for almost the first year of this pandemic. Messaging was out of the scientists’ control.
I still remember Anthony Fauci’s first interview with Rachel Maddow in late January. He was very forthcoming about being previously told that he wasn’t allowed to be interviewed by her. He seemed almost giddy throughout the interview!
And to what purpose are we interested in “exposing” these lies? I know the attitude is that people will wonder why they’d get vaccinated if they see leaders still wearing masks, but that doesn’t hold water for me. If someone isn’t convinced to get a vaccine in order to acquire immunity, I doubt examples set by our leaders are going to change their minds.
Seriously?
He was asked if the vaccine was effective and was the mask theater. He said yesterday he continued to wear it bc he wanted to go along with the CDC.
Look. I’ve never cared whether someone wore a mask or not. I don’t care if you wear a bathrobe and tiara. BUT when you wear one it absolutely does convey that you believe you need to. Up til now, I’ve assumed the person wearing it was trying to protect themselves from germs AND I will continue to think that otherwise.
HOWEVER - if someone is wearing a mask after vaccination bc they think they can still get someone else sick it means they don’t think the vaccine is enough.
A much better message would be that the vaccine is good enough.
The purpose is that this is the stumbling block for many people.
When people scream, “Follow the science,” and the scientists admit politics and messaging played a part in their public responses, I’m not inclined to believe it was a one time thing.
Again, qwerty and my views may be in the extreme minority here and we understand that. We are just pointing out some things that do matter to us and many people in our circles even if it means nothing to others here. I have many concerns about the psychology of masks in our society going forward that most here wouldn’t care less about, so I’m coming from a different place.
The “feelings over facts” method has it’s ups and downs. The ups are more short term, but the downside can be long term. Yes it may look good and appear to have a unified concept. But it has the potential to set a dangerous precident. Our nation was founded in personal freedoms and limited government. Are we prepared as a people to lose some freedoms for good? This control of our lives the past year or so was not warranted. This was proven by the fact that there was really little we could do to control the virus in the general public besides permenant lock down. And like I said before, it’s a tough situation and it takes guts to make decisions. But if I’d have to choose, I would pick facts & freedom over feelings every time.
I wear a mask when I don’t technically “need” to, because, as many people said: it’s not a zero risk, I have unvaccinated grandchildren, I don’t want to worry the people I come in contact with, because of variants, and honestly, to me it’s simply not a big deal. We spend a lot of time in Asia, and wearing a mask in certain situations there is a regular and normal part of public health, akin to wearing a shirt and shoes in a restaurant. If you are coughing in public and you are NOT wearing a mask, even pre-pandemic, it’s like taking a crap and going back to the buffet without washing your hands; people wonder why you are so rude about spreading your germs around. I certainly will not continue to wear a mask as much as I am now, once my grandkids are vaccinated, but I think I will always use them in the future in certain situations, especially seeing how low the rates of other diseases were this winter. I did enjoy not getting sick. None of this is an indication I do not trust the vaccine; it’s a recognition that nothing is perfect, just as I have air bags AND wear a seatbelt. I believe in seatbelts, and in airbags; but I recognize that nothing is 100%. I don’t need things to be 100% to be valuable; I just like to improve my odds where I can, especially when on one side is something that’s not a terribly big deal and the other side is death or long-term disability. (Wear my helmet when I ski, too, and ski under control. But I still ski. I know there’s still a chance that I will get injured, but it’s worth it to me. But I like to do what I can to reduce that risk.)
totally assuming your real name is Paul… LOL