Pandemic Thread (CoronaVirus etc.)

[Crazed_Insanity]

I get the feeling that we’re comparing apples and oranges. I hope you understand that I’m not an antivaxer...

Think of it this way, I have no doubt with Boeing engineers’ ability to design a safe airplane. However, management and regulators such as FAA can be corruptible...

When senior management cashes out after introduction of a new product before making any sales, does that really inspire your confidence?

[Rikadyn]

It looked suspicious but I believe I read that it had been in the works since August, as that isn't a type of thing that gets done instantly.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, perhaps my concern is wrong, maybe the CEO has been kicking himself for preplanning 60% stock sale just when his company’s announcement cause the stock to skyrocket... (I doubt that, I still believe he probably times the company’s announcement with his scheduled sale)

Anyway, I’m just glad there’s another company with vaccines in the pipeline. I’ve also heard an interview on radio with that Pfizer CEO, that dude just sounds very suspicious...

[FaultyMario]

We've kept a more or less strict self-containment since march.

But today we got a chance to go get our flu shots at the hospital. They started vaccinating in the latter part of October but it had been restricted to at-risk population and between that and shortages we hadn't been able to get ours. But we got word that there were a couple hundred doses available today at our local hospital.

I got a chance to see a positive case for the first time. 30-ish yo was being transferred from a private vehicle to a stretcher. Dude looked scared.

[speedpimp]

At work we're split into two sections(retail and wholesale). All throughout this retail has required masks on both customers and staff, no more than 25 people in the store at a time, 6ft social distancing(ya know the smart way). In the wholesale office it was as if nothing was going on. In a very small office where you're basically on top of one another none of the office staff wore a mask unless they were going over to the retail store.
Well about three weeks ago the day receptionist said she wasn't feeling well. The next day she was at home and quarantined. She got tested and came back positive. She suffered everything from total loss of appetite, high fever, hallucination dreams and her hair started falling out.
Flash forward a week and the owner's son(and the town's mayor) tests positive. A few days after that the owner and his wife both test positive. Now every person is wearing a mask(including those who thought that the whole COVID thing was blown way out of proportion and think that Gov. Whitmer is a tyrant).
Last week I scheduled a test and was going to take a day off to get the test done, but the owner told me(this was before he tested positive) that I couldn't take the day off because we didn't have the people to cover. So they switched my route so I would work and still get tested. Had the test on Weds and got a negative result on Sat. Even though I didn't feel any symptoms I still got myself tested.
As of right now it's a total shit show, but at least they're starting to take things seriously. It only took six months.

[Rare White Ape]

Wow, Spimp you’re lucky you didn’t catch it.

Be careful at work yeah?

[Tom Servo]

I'm a little shocked that my new job is actually allowing people in the office. Apparently you can go in if you feel like you need to for work. Previous job disabled everyone's access cards and you could only get in if you had a specific reason, and it was for just enough time to handle whatever that reason was (like retrieve something from your desk).

Glad to hear that you've dodged it so far, here's hoping that continues.

[Godson]

Billi

Re: apples and oranges.


...nevermind.

[neanderthal]

There's definitely some merit to that. There was a complete lack of leadership at the top that just kept trying to deny that anything was happening combined with non-committal messaging from states that suddenly found themselves facing a lack of federal funds if they took the threat seriously. That lead to both extended lockdowns/unemployment and a lack of solid answers that helped conspiracy theories thrive amongst those that suddenly found themselves with a whole lot of time on their hands, very little in the way of clear information, and a solid internet connection.

You end up in a situation like this. Local government *trying* to be pragmatic in what measures they think they can take but with a swirling conspiracy theory storm around them that has become so entrenched that it's nearly impossible to actually do the things we could do to get back to normal life, and the attempts to be pragmatic are so obviously the wrong moves that even the non-conspiracy people are thinking "why are we arbitrarily choosing these limits, which threaten a lot of people's livelihoods, when the real problems aren't being dealt with at all?"

Definitely want to make it clear that I think our local government is doing what they can to stop this spike, are well-intentioned, and acting in good faith, but I also think that we've found ourselves in a misinformation shitstorm that almost nobody knows how to get out of. A misinformation shitstorm that's so bad that not only have we backed ourselves into the corner where the only thing that might get us out of it is a vaccine, it has also made a significant portion of the population unwilling to take the vaccine.

Joe Biden has a COVID-19 team. Donald Trump's team has COVID-19.

[Tom Servo]

Totally. Just wish we didn't have to wait another two months before at-least-somewhat-competent leadership takes over. If things keep going like they have the past two weeks for the next two months...