General COVID-19 Topic

[Shindig]

37 minutes ago, iacas said:

BTW my wife sent me a study that shows that neck gaiters are actually worse, as they almost aerosolize the droplets, than no mask at all.

Neck Gaiters for COVID-19 Worse Than No Face Covering At All

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Neck gaiters weren’t the only face coverings tested: in all 14 were analyzed, from N95s (unsurprisingly judged to be the most effective in containing...

I've stopped wearing mine. I now wear regular masks.

Plus, honestly, the neck gaiters almost went "inside" your mouth when you talked and that bugged me anyway. I did it for two days, and then stopped, and weeks later I'm glad as she sent me that Duke University study.

This study? 

Are 'Neck Gaiters' Worse at COVID-19 Transmission Than No Mask?

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Rumors claimed that using neck gaiters instead of a mask may actually increase the transmission of the coronavirus.

10 minutes ago, mdl said:

My take away from that study was that it was the fleece material that aerosolized the droplets, not necessarily the gator design? Thought anything elasticized is also more or less worthless, as it'll stretch out over your mouth and the holes will be enormous relative to the droplets we care about.

Yes to the first, I'm not sure whether the droplet size or the virus size is the important one, though. 

[iacas]

59 minutes ago, Shindig said:

This study? 

I linked to it in the post. The Duke University one.

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

I linked to it in the post. The Duke University one.

Yep, that's the same one in the Snopes link.  The short story is that the study didn't say what some agencies reported it said.

[CarlSpackler]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

I’m hearing from a lot of schools (via my wife) that kids are being good about wearing masks because they want to be in school.

That’s good to hear. I can see it with older kids, but K-2nd or so... I could only imagine. 

[DeadMan]

FWIW, my 4 year old is really good about wearing a mask when he has to. Our zoo requires masks for kids 3+, and we've been there for 4 hours a couple of times. No issues with him wearing a mask the whole time. We do make sure to have a break or two from it in that time. But it surprises me how good he is with it. Better than some adults, that's for sure.

[Darkfrog]

1 hour ago, DeadMan said:

But it surprises me how good he is with it. Better than some adults, that's for sure.

My kids, 4 and 6, also have no problems wearing masks when required.

[iacas]

Kids adapt pretty well.

[iacas]

https://time.com/5883081/covid-19-transmitted-aerosols/

 

Quote

When it comes to COVID-19, the evidence overwhelmingly supports aerosol transmission, and there are no strong arguments against it. For example, contact tracing has found that much COVID-19 transmission occurs in close proximity, but that many people who share the same home with an infected person do not get the disease. To understand why, it is useful to use cigarette or vaping smoke (which is also an aerosol) as an analog. Imagine sharing a home with a smoker: if you stood close to the smoker while talking, you would inhale a great deal of smoke. Replace the smoke with virus-containing aerosols, which behave very similarly, and the impact is similar: the closer you are to someone releasing virus-carrying aerosols, the more likely you are to breathe in larger amounts of virus. We know from detailed, rigorous studies that when individuals talk in close proximity, aerosols dominate transmission and droplets are nearly negligible.

If you are standing on the other side of the room, you would inhale significantly less smoke. But in a poorly ventilated room, the smoke will accumulate, and people in the room may end up inhaling a lot of smoke over time. Talking, and especiallysinging and shouting increase aerosol exhalation by factors of 10 and 50, respectively. Indeed, we are finding that outbreaks often occur when people gather in crowded, insufficiently ventilated indoor spaces, such as singing at karaoke parties, cheering at clubs, having conversations in bars, and exercising in gyms. Superspreading events, where one person infects many, occur almost exclusively in indoor locations and are driving the pandemic. These observations are easily explained by aerosols, and are very difficult or impossible to explain by droplets or fomites.

Science, folks. Let's trust the science.

[Double Mocha Man]

17 minutes ago, iacas said:

https://time.com/5883081/covid-19-transmitted-aerosols/

 

Science, folks. Let's trust the science.

Agreed.  I go out most late afternoons for a convivial cocktail.  Oftentimes I meet up with friends for some lively conversation, but distancing is key. I select from a number of places near me... all within a mile.  I sit outside (religiously) in the fresh air and never downwind when aerosols are lurking about.  Though there is one indoor place I go that is on the 2nd floor and they open all their windows for a good cross-breeze.  The staff at these places always wear a mask, and so do I when chatting with them.  Major upcoming problem:  Soon it will be colder and wetter.  Might have to break out the raingear and warmth gear from my golf bag.  I will not sit in stagnant, potentially infected, air.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Double Mocha Man
typo

[Antneye]

I agree with both of the last posts but admit that I've been doing more indoor activities then I had in the past. Our restaraunts are open with reduced capacity and we have started going out more but I never feel really comfortable. I'm definitely not doing anything with large crowds. Indoors or outdoors. 

It's tough. I try to find a balance to reduce risk but part of me feels it is inevitable to get it at some point unless we get a vaccine. I think part of it is just fatigue from isolating so much for months 

[DewSweeper09]

Trumps tweet hurt badly. $SPY dumping. Wish so bad this pandemic would go. Wow the Markets suddenly in serious trouble.

[saevel25]

6 minutes ago, DewSweeper09 said:

Trumps tweet hurt badly. $SPY dumping. Wish so bad this pandemic would go. Wow the Markets suddenly in serious trouble.

Now when you consider over the past 5 years. That is off topic here 😜

[DewSweeper09]

I was referring to his tweet today.

Edited October 7, 2020 by DewSweeper09

[boogielicious]

Let’s keep away from politics please.

[DewSweeper09]

My post was more about the stock market and the need for stimulus during CoVID and the affects of not getting it after Jerome Powell spoke. I’m an active trader and follow the markets closely. Hope the markets rebound strong. I bought some inverse options to hedge positions just in case.

[saevel25]

3 minutes ago, DewSweeper09 said:

My post was more about the stock market and the need for stimulus during CoVID and the affects of not getting it after Jerome Powell spoke. I’m an active trader and follow the markets closely. Hope the markets rebound strong. I bought some inverse options to hedge positions just in case.

This thread about the actual COVID-19. There is another thread about golfing during COVID-19. Politics is discouraged in this forum. If you want to start a thread on the stock market, I am sure you could. In no way should it be about politics, since that is discouraged here. 

Edited October 7, 2020 by saevel25

[DeadMan]

First vaccine data is out, and it looks good. 90% effective:

Covid-19 vaccine candidate is 90% effective, says manufacturer | World news | The Guardian

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Interim analysis of vaccine by Pfizer/BioNTech far exceeds expectations of most experts

This is undoubtedly great news. However, it requires 2 doses and it has to be stored at -80 degree celsius. I'm not sure that's scalable to use this vaccine for the whole population. It might be a good candidate for vaccine specific high risk populations like health care workers, nursing home residents, teachers, etc. 

[DaveP043]

23 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

First vaccine data is out, and it looks good. 90% effective:

Covid-19 vaccine candidate is 90% effective, says manufacturer | World news | The Guardian

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Interim analysis of vaccine by Pfizer/BioNTech far exceeds expectations of most experts

This is undoubtedly great news. However, it requires 2 doses and it has to be stored at -80 degree celsius. I'm not sure that's scalable to use this vaccine for the whole population. It might be a good candidate for vaccine specific high risk populations like health care workers, nursing home residents, teachers, etc. 

Indeed, very good news, although interim.  These results apply only to the first 7 days after the second dose, so long-term efficacy is still being evaluated, as is the longer-term potential for side effects.  I read that they're studying whether the vaccine can survive for moderate time periods at normal refrigerator temperatures, if so it could be practical to use it more widely.  Fingers crossed, hoping for more good news.