Yay, the Covid pandemic is over.

[gab13by13]

I mean, we are getting people vaccinated. I hear on TV that we have turned the corner that kids getting vaccinated will be a game changer. My church doesn't require masks, only 3 or 4 people wear them, not counting me. Yippie I O Ky aye mother fucker.

So I go to the Covid tracker site and find out that around 1,5000 Americans are dying every day from Covid and I say to self, this must be wrong. I see that infections and deaths have dropped a little but I think back when 1,500 people a day were dying we were shutting down businesses and writing our last will and testament. We didn't have fans in the stands at sporting events, now the stands are full again.

WTF would our death toll be if we weren't vaccinated? It appears to me that I am in the minority, I don't believe that 1,500 Americans dying every day is acceptable. (with people being vaccinated) I went to watch my 8 year old grandson 4 weeks ago. The nurse at his school called and told me that my grandson had a fever and a headache so I went and picked him up and had him tested for Covid. His parents had come home 2 days later so I went home. My grandson tested positive, his parents tested positive and they wanted me to watch him again in 10 days so I got tested. I tested negative but I took the rapid test because I needed to know the results before I travelled to my grandson's. Grandson got better in like 3 days, went through his quarantine and went back to school. I felt shitty, nothing serious, but a tickle cough and tired and worn out. Only within the past week have I started to feel normal again.

I'm sorry for ranting, but I feel this cavalier attitude that is out there is wrong. This bs about kids losing their freedom because they have to wear masks in school drives me up a wall. My grandson got Covid and his school wears masks.

Rant off sorry. Just wanted to remind people that Covid is still out there.

[SoCalDavidS]

1. You're Preaching To The Choir

Unfortunately, America is a Shithole country, filled with Shithole citizens.

It is why we will NEVER NEVER NEVER be rid of this pandemic.

We'll be lucky to achieve 70% fully vaccinated when all is said and done.

We're pathetic. But hey, can't stop that economy, so Covid is over, so sayeth one, so sayeth all. Even if it isn't.

[niyad]

2. Rant away. You are quite correct. The casual, cavalier attitude is getting more

people killed. Glad that your grandson has recovered and that you are getting there.

About the only place that I go is the supermarket. All staff, vendors, etc. are masked. Patrons who are vaxxed are not required to mask, but are asked to do so per CDC guidance. Unvaxxed are required to mask. Yeah, right. I now operate on the assumption that those without masks are unvaxxed liars. Vaxxed people are generally following guidance. I don't like masks, but wear them because I am not stupid.

Be safe and well.

[bullwinkle428]

3. Thanks for the reminder to get my ass in gear and get the booster. CNN did

a report this morning saying that it's now like around 89% of Americans are eligible at this point! I'm only 57 and have been blessed by very good health throughout my life, but I still believe in doing everything in my power to prevent myself from picking it up, or more importantly, passing it along to someone else.

[gab13by13]

6. I scheduled my and wife's Moderna booster.

[bullwinkle428]

41. Got Pfizer the first time around. Debating whether to take a chance on Moderna

for the booster.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

63. Are you not in the US? I wanted Pfizer

Last edited Sat Oct 30, 2021, 04:20 AM - Edit history (1)

for my booster, on top of the initial 2 shots of Moderna, convinced the mix & match approach is superior, but thought I found out we cant get a Pfizer shot here.

On edit: it was Astra-Zenica I was thinking of. Pfizer is the same type of vaccine as Moderna, but Johnson & Johnson and Astra-Zenica are different.

[Heartstrings]

39. Got my Pfizer booster yesterday!

Everything A-ok!

[Johnny2X2X]

4. It is going to end

But there are still too many people getting sick and dying from a preventable disease. Here in Michigan, it's about 40% of people being masked at stores right now. I think the people wearing masks are probably 100% vaccinated. It's a pandemic of choice right now, 1500 people a day dying, probably 1490 of them made choices that led to their death.

But the good news is that nearly 80% of adults have gotten at least 1 shot. Only 1% of adults say a vaccine mandate would cause them to quit their jobs. And we're going to get to herd immunity one way or another.

We hit a major milestone yesterday on vaccinations, 66.7% of the total US population has been vaccinated with at least 1 shot. 2/3s! That number is rising steadily and will see a nice bump when children start getting it. And the vaccine mandates are working, we're at close to 80% of the adult population having gotten vaccinated. I think we can get to 85% now, maybe a little higher. Without the mandates I don't think we would have cracked 75%.

Covid will still be an issue in 2022, but it's going to fade away to a minor one soon enough.

[gab13by13]

7. I listened to one expert on TV

who opined that Covid may never end, that it may be like the flu with yearly Covid shots.

[Elessar Zappa]

20. It probably will be endemic like the flu.

The hope is that it eventually mutates into a less deadly version and we can treat it how treat the flu. Of course that might not happen, it could go the other way and become deadlier but I think that’s less likely knowing the little bit that I do about viruses.

[ananda]

29. Yes, periodic boosters or update shots are in our future.

...

[CrispyQ]

26. Laurie Garrett said we'll be dealing with some variant of Covid for the remainder of the century.

I notice Nicole Wallace doesn't have Garrett on as often as she used to & I wonder if it's cuz Garrett doesn't give a glowing report of going back to normal.

[Rebl2]

27. I have

to agree it will never completely go away and like you say may need a shot for it every year. I heard the other day people who are immunocompromised may need a fourth booster next year. Don’t know if that’s a done deal.

[Orrex]

21. 40% is an amazing figure

In Pennsylvania and Ohio, I am routinely the only person wearing a mask in whatever non-healthcare businesses I enter, other than some of the employees.

By “routinely” I mean “at 100% of businesses I’ve entered so far this week,” for instance.

If we somehow managed to get 40% of people wearing masks it would be a monuments; achievement.

[gab13by13]

22. Hey, I'm from central Pa.

and I live in Trump country. Most of the store employees in my area are mask-less. I doubt we have 40% of employees wearing masks in my area let alone patrons.

[Orrex]

28. Western PA here, also Trump country

Last edited Fri Oct 29, 2021, 11:49 AM - Edit history (1)

It’s sad and horrifying to see my poorly educated low income neighbors arguing so passionately for their sacred “right” to be fatally infected by an easily preventable disease.

My fully faxed 90 year old neighbor went to the ER the night before for a non-covid reason and had to wait 10 hours to be seen, thanks to the nearly continuous spread of covid locally.

I can scarcely dream of 40% mask use!

[gab13by13]

30. Yeah, we have a school mask mandate in Pa.

and a couple of months ago I was driving down the street and noticed a dozen people with all kinds of flags who were protesting because their snowflake kids had to wear masks. I drove by and gave them a thumbs down, I was polite.

I found out it's not the kids who hate wearing the masks in school, it's the parents. I picked up my 8 year old grandson at the bus stop, he got in my car and took off his mask. I asked him what that red mark was on his nose? He replied, it's from the mask it doesn't hurt.

[nolabear]

31. I forget what a bubble I'm in in WA sometimes.

I swear, we wear masks everywhere. We wear them through the drive-thru, both driver and server. We wear them anywhere inside. Big sports events are beginning to not have lots, which worries me, but they require vaccines. We have outlier objectors and I admit I’m in the liberal western part of the state but when I realize how some areas are (I used to live in PA but forgot how mid-state can be) I feel lucky.

[dugog55]

40. Western PA also, I am from Beaver County.

A couple of days ago we had the 4th highest new case rate in the state. Wow, that is something to be ashamed of. I wear a mask almost everywhere indoors and am definitely in the minority. I knew the County was a bit backwards and right wing, but did not know there were that many imbeciles around

[appleannie1]

38. Fellow PA person

I know what you mean. They walk around looking like then never heard of COVID and look at you like you are the crazy one.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. You aren't alone.

I, too, wonder about the same things you mentioned.

I still mask up even though I’m triple vaccinated and I avoid crowds indoors and all indoor dining, concerts, movies, etc. Going to a store, I dash in and dash out and keep my distance from people as far as I can. I don’t want to get sick! Seems like nobody else cares much around here, most life and events seem to be just as if there was no pandemic. I see maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of people masked up in public places.

[gab13by13]

9. Not only that,

it isn't just about not dying from Covid. I tested negative but felt like I had a cold. I took the rapid test because I had to travel 2 hours to watch my grandson. I have my doubts about how effective those rapid tests are. If I did catch Covid being vaccinated certainly saved me. I am pretty healthy, knock on wood, which also helps, but I didn't want to give Covid to someone else. Sure, I just have a tickle cough and sneeze once in a while but I don't want to accidently kill someone else.

Then there is long term Covid which is a horse of another color. We are still learning about Covid and its side effects which will take time to understand.

[OrlandoDem2]

8. More people will die when their original vaccines wear off and they fail to get a booster

Just watch. It’s gonna happen. I feel that’ll be the next big problem. This’ll impact states with large elderly populations like FL and Arizona.

[gab13by13]

13. I did something smart,

when I had my regular blood work done I had them add a Covid antibody check. It came back that I had antibodies. Now I understand that just knowing one's antibodies must be taken in context with one's immune system. I got the Moderna vaccine which I guess gives people more antibodies. My 2nd shot was back in March 23rd and I still had antibodies a month ago. But yeah, wife and I are scheduled for the booster November 11.

Absolutely get your booster shot.

[ChazII]

10. Glad that we still wear masks at my church.

Hand sanitizer on tables as you enter the lobby on your way to the sanctuary.

We had a trunk or treat festival on Wednesday. Cars were spaced and arrows on the ground to direct the flow of traffic as the families walked from car to car. Senior high students volunteered their time to help make sure that families didn't criss cross the parking lot but stayed in line as they visited each car. A few families balked at wearing a mask if their costume didn't have a mask. We were lucky that the city of Scottsdale told us that if we really wanted to have the Trunk or Treat even people needed to wear masks. The city even sent a few people to make sure we enforced the mask rule.

[gab13by13]

14. Our church takes precautions,

but doesn't require masks, which is dumb because of the age of the people there.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

11. Got my flu shot yesterday...

going to schedule my Moderna booster for next week.

[IronLionZion]

12. They've thought it was over several times now

As global as it is and with so many variants, it's something we have to learn to live with. I'm not looking forward to this winter.

Hoping I can get a Moderna booster soon. Probably when I go to Florida since there are no rules there.

[gab13by13]

15. Yeah, you shouldn't have to wait in line.

Oh wait, the Villages gets priority.

[jimfields33]

19. As it should. 99 percent are senior citizens who are taking it seriously.

At least 92 percent over 65 are vaccinated so why not reward them with the booster? Only one death in Florida yesterday. It seems corona has moved north.

[gab13by13]

23. So is Florida giving out real numbers now?

My Villages comment was meant to show the GQP hypocrisy. The GQP big shots get vaccinated and then rail against vaccines.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

64. Something the belligerently ignorant RW masses

are too brainwashed to comprehend.

Their extreme lack of reasoning skills never ceases to astonish me. How can anyone believe both that COVID is a hoax and that TFG got it and proved his miraculous strength by beating it?

And, of course, fail to see the significance of the fact that he's been vaccinated, but continues to rile up his cult to resist the vaccine?

[louis-t]

32. "Only 1 death " yesterday in FL?

FL has changed the way they report COVID deaths. Go back 2 weeks from now and look at the deaths for October 28. You will find the number has been modified upwards. DeSantis wants people to think his idea of ignoring a deadly virus and no mask/no vaccine policy caused the death rate to go down.

[Mariana]

36. DeSantis wants people to think ...

Apparently De Santis's plan to obscure the numbers worked, if someone on DU actually believes that bullshit. Unbelievable.

[louis-t]

46. The people in FL think it worked.

A news story from a legitimate source bought it, too. I'll try to find it. They were reporting it as if it were true.

[Mariana]

51. I was in central Florida a few weeks ago

and I was rather surprised to see the majority of people out in the stores were wearing masks and keeping distance. When I was in the same place last spring, and again in early summer, hardly anyone wore masks, and I even got heckled once for wearing one. The Delta wave there got some people's attention I guess.

[louis-t]

61. I had a snowbird tell me her and her friends all wear masks.

She came to con-ed for Real Estate in MI wearing a mask. She also said all the numbers in FL were bs. "Nobody I know got it." That's because they're wearing masks! Jeez!

[Mariana]

62. Yeah, well, my mother had to put off surgery for months

because the hospitals were jammed with unvaccinated Delta Covid patients all summer long. That's why I was there recently, because she finally could get it done and she needed to be taken care of afterward. It wasn't lifesaving surgery, but she was suffering from severe nerve pain for way too long. She's all better now and pain free.

[hamsterjill]

16. I agree with your rant.

It feels like that every time we make some progress, we let down our guard and it comes back. This is one time where I truly believe that a little paranoia might be a good thing.

No, that many people dying per day is NOT acceptable. Let us not be conditioned to believe that it is.

[gab13by13]

17. Something else I found out.

Parents are very hesitant about getting the vaccine for their younger kids. The % was pretty high. I also saw on TV, so I don't know if it is true, that kids will have to get their vaccines from their doctor or other health clinic. Kids won't be able to get the vaccine from pharmacies. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[Riverman100]

18. I hate football analogies but

I keep thinking of a rookie wide receiver making a fantastic catch on the one yard line, then spiking the ball before crossing the goal line

[gab13by13]

24. ...and the ball goes through the end zone,

and back in the Hands of the Covid team.

[hlthe2b]

25. My area hospitals are close to having to ration care because they are full of unvaxxed Wyomingites

Wyoming has overwhelmed our hospitals and those in NE and Utah for months now, just as Idahoans have overwhelmed those in WA state. Now, despite our own relatively high vaccination rates and reinstitution of mask ordinances (yeah), no one dares experience medical need because you aren't getting it. Telling someone to take their unstable parent or family member home or turning around an ambulance because there are no beds is the most devastating thing I could ever have imagined. Colorado has largely done all the right things to contain our own COVID and get our population vaccinated and yet we are paying the price for neighboring states that have done everything BUT.

I've been angry for more than a year now. I try REALLY hard to let it go because it is killing ME and others who CARE and I don't want it making me a miserable person to be around. Letting the unbelievably horrible GO is a necessity. Otherwise one only adds to the cycle.

[48656c6c6f20]

33. Like racism, sexism, any thing bad

We will use the American way of dealing with it. If we ignore it, it will go away. Trust me in another few months there will never have been a pandemic.

[gab13by13]

34. Maybe you are right,

but the weather here in Pa. is preventing me from golfing which tells me that winter is coming and Covid loves cold weather where people gather inside.

[appleannie1]

35. You are not in the minority.

I wear a mask in public, carry my sanitizer with me along with a small bottle of alcohol in case a store does not have something to wipe down the cart or basket. I also use it in bathrooms when out. I carry sanitizing wipes in my car and use them when I leave a store. If nothing else, I should not get any viral colds etc. this winter. If other people don't care if they get sick or not, that is their problem, not mine. Besides, it keeps my daughter making the big bucks since she is a travel nurse in ICU and step down units. She routinely tells me to keep on doing what I am doing no matter what they say and I figure she knows better than people on Facebook or Twitter.

[Marthe48]

37. I check the number of deaths every day

Here's a sobering bit of news: on worldometer, the total of deaths from Covid-19 in the world will probably hit 5 milion today.

In the U.S., there were 350,908 known deaths from Covid-19 on Dec. 31, 2020. So far today, October 29, 2021, there are 412,876 known deaths from Covid-19. Just in the U.S. We've got 2 months to go to 2022.

Covid is out there, and even with the vaccine in use, people are dying. I can't help thinking that in the past, vaccines seemed to do a better job of what they were supposed to. I am glad we have a vaccine for Covid-19, but it isn't the magic bullet I hope it would be.

I thought maybe if a myth was perpetuated that the Covid-19 vaccine helped you lose weight, or made you smarter, people would be more willing to take it.

The only good thing I heard is that only 35% of russians are vaccinated, and we are doing better than that.

Hope you feel entirely better by now and your family, too.

[hlthe2b]

48. Umm, today, 10/29/2021 there are 763,883 deaths from COVID-19 in the US

There are about 300,00 plus families that WISH there were only 412, 876 known deaths. ???

[Marthe48]

49. I divided the number 2020, 2021

350,908 in 2020
412,876 so far in 2021
__________________________
763,784

According to Worldometer, the number of deaths from Covid-19 worldwide is now 5,000,901

[hlthe2b]

50. Your post should be made more clear. I was horrified to see you so badly understate the true

mortality--which is already a grotesque undercount, given the majority of excess deaths in each year should be attributed to COVID-19 as well--(but politics have suppressed).

The world figure of 5 million deaths is cumulative as well--not an annualized total. So which you quote it and then state "so far today, October 29, 2021, there are 412,876 known deaths from Covid-19. Just in the U.S," can you see the problem?

[Marthe48]

53. I wrote the year beside each figure

You missed the sentence that preceded: In the U.S., there were 350,908 known deaths from Covid-19 on Dec. 31, 2020. So far today, October 29, 2021, there are 412,876 known deaths from Covid-19. Just in the U.S. We've got 2 months to go to 2022.

I am indicating that in agreement with the OP, Covid is not over. In the U.S. there were about 350,908 dead in 2020, without the vaccine being available. That number probably includes, but I don't know if it does, the deaths in Jan. and Feb of 2020.

The second number, 412,876, is how many, roughly, people in the U.S. have died so far in 2021, with the vaccine available. Totaled together they equal the number, or near to, the number you cited.

I agree with the OP that it is still out there, and by breaking the total number of deaths down to show the approximate total of deaths in 2020, when Covid-19 started being monitored and the total numbers of deaths so far in 2021, we can see that indeed, Covid-19 is still out there.

Researchers think that people were getting Covid and dying in late 2019. I don't think the exact number of people who will have died from Covid-19 will ever be known, but it might have been stopped at a handful of people, had some disease preventive protocols in place had been used.

I'm tracking the numbers on worldometer and the Ohio Dept of Health site for my state. Other sites do the analysis of increases in deaths and so on. For what I wanted to say to gab13by13, the numbers I mentioned are what I needed for my comment.

[hlthe2b]

54. You did NOT indicate your estimate was for a single year. You need to edit it!

It is an appalling underestimate of the impact of COVID-19, even while I'm sure unmeaning.

[Marthe48]

57. You don't understand what I'm saying

I'm leaving my post as is, because the two numbers are described as being so many on 2020 and so many in 2021. As I said, I am agreeing with the OP that Covid-19 is still out there and what better way to say that than so many Americans died in 2020 and how many died so far in 2021. Putting the total number of dead since this horror started doesn't offer a comparison of how many died in 2020 and how many have died so far in 2021, which is what I am doing and will leave as is. It is easy enough to add the 2 numbers and see that we are in a world of hurt.

[hlthe2b]

58. I understand that your post is misleading. Why you would want to downplay the

the real impact of COVID-19 is beyond fathoming. Statistics aren't just something to be manipulated. When you present them it falls to YOU to properly label what you are trying to convey. You did NOT and your refusal to clarify--when all you would have to do is add the words "for the year... " tells everyone here that your post is seemingly purposefully misleading and by extension that you therefore lack credibility on the issue. I politely tried to help you make it correct and clear. That you dug in your heals rather than accept the critique is incredibly telling. Maybe you have a reason to downplay the deaths associated with COVID-19, but I would hate to think why.

COVID-19 has already killed more than the official US death toll for the 1918 Pandemic of the so-called Spanish Flu. It has killed far more than US servicemen in WWII and is approaching surpassing WWII and Vietnam combined. Underplaying that fact either intentionally or unintentionally is a serious matter. As one who has lost two physician colleagues, scores of patients, and seen the lives of more families than I'd ever imagined have their lives destroyed by this pandemic virus, it matters.

[Marthe48]

59. You are insulting and it is you who've dug in your heels

I didn't manipulate any stats and the only person that the post is misleading seems to be you. You misread my post and don't want to admit that you missed the phrase that divided a total number you talk about into 2 parts. If you bothered to add up the numbers I put in my post, you'd see that my 2 numbers add up to your one number. But as I can repeat all day, I wanted to show that x amount of people died in 2020 and x amount died in 2021. Putting one number there doesn't do that for me and your complaints are nowhere near what I was trying to say. The information I wanted to convey is in my post, and if you don't like what I wrote, then you collect your information and you write what you want to, how you want to and maybe you'll have the pleasure of being critiqued by someone who doesn't get what you're saying.


You have no idea how Covid-19 is affecting me, so don't bring that up again. You don't know what I am doing to advocate for social-distancing, vaccination and testing, so don't bring that up again either.

[hlthe2b]

60. Your projection is quite interesting.

And I will point that out as long as you REFUSE to clarify your misleading post. Truth matters. Even if you wrongly conflate that as an insult.

[iluvtennis]

42. Love your rant. Glad grandkid recovered and you're getting better

[maxsolomon]

43. Fatalism

People have grown inured to the virus. They are casting their lot with Fate. That, combined with the fact that wearing them is simply unpleasant, is why masking is fading away (although here in Seattle people still go overboard on it - masking while alone inside their cars, while walking down empty streets, while bike riding).

Covid points:
1. it won't go away.
2. we're all going to need regular boosters.
3. we're all going to get it eventually.
4. it won't kill enough Republicans to make a difference in elections.

Stay healthy, stay boosted, don't get immunocompromised. Get out there and live.

[Initech]

44. Part of our problem is that anti-vaxxers are voluntarily killing themselves.

Because they choose to listen to Facebook memes over science and facts. Just read r/HermanCainAwards for a while and you will see how they get there.

[fescuerescue]

45. We are very fortunate that Biden completed the vaccine and distributed to it

He probably saved millions of lives.

[Tree Lady]

47. Nurse at doctors office yesterday told me

She had covid in July. She had the Pfizer vaccine, ended up in hospital for one day only because she needed fluids was dehydrated. Her husband who also worked in healthcare was going to get vaccinated but had delayed it, he ended up in hospital for 6 weeks on life support for 8 days and she thought he was going to die. It is now months later and he is still on oxygen and can't go back to work.

I said well I bet you two are really promoting vaccines now! And she said yes definitely we tell everyone. And she is switching to Moderna for her booster.

I live in a conservative town and covid has been going strong for months but I think the deaths and sickness are stating to wake people up. About fricking time!!

I am in southern OR.

[StarryNite]

52. I feel exactly the same way.

Why can't people see the truth? smdh

It's like some kind of weird multidimensional plane thing is going on.

[totodeinhere]

55. I don't think that they are saying that it's over.

They are saying that we may have turned the corner. That's different from being "over."

[obnoxiousdrunk]

56. Yes that is

what is being said.