Our re-opened society and a new normal post-covid

@lovendures oh dear friend. There are no words. We surround you and your beautiful daughter with protection. We send angels who keep her safe  and lead her on whatever path is the highest for her. 

@lovendures 

Tell your daughter that the other best way to prevent infection is to OPEN THE WINDOWS.

If her music room does not have windows, tell her to fumigate it with Lysol spray between classes.

And while she can't require masks, as the music teacher she can require that all horns have masks on them - I've seen pro musicians using them all this year. Horns really spew the virus all over the place, and they sell these foamy filtery covers for them to prevent that - kind of like a giant foam frisbee. If her school won't provide them and parents refuse, let me know and I'll help with a GoFundMe.

Here's a link to show what I'm talking about:  Stretchable Bell Covers

@lovendures

Yes, to open windows and also, I will put in a plug for HEPA room air filters.  After reading a recommendation from a Harvard team advising on classroom safety last fall, I purchased one for my granddaughter's daycare. The head teacher told me that because of the amount of dust and dirt that is collected in the outer filter every week, they will continue to use it even after COVID fades. (sigh...)

They should be sized appropriately for the room.

@raincloud @Laura-f these are wonderful suggestions. Laura-f you are a star for suggesting a GO Fund me for @lovendures' daughter. 

@laura-f 

Wow! Those bell covers are a great idea.

I will update you about how funding goes this year.  A GO Fund Me is a great idea!

Thank you very much!!

@lovendures  I have a friend, retired psychiatric RN, who says they reached full capacity over the weekend... only 8 ICU beds in the entire state were left on Monday.. so, you know it's a crisis level. It's pratically that way here... with capacity and diversions all over... It is so, so, so unnecessary - and  so many have been brainwashed or forced in to making poor decisions over a politicized Pandemic. I have reached a numb level - the hunker down, hide out and don't come out til its over stage.

I just had my own Wizard of Oz moment yesterday with my mom and 22 year old daughter. Actually, it was a Wizard of Oz moment sprinkled with how I imagine waking up 18 months after being in a coma and discovering something called Covid-19 had created a worldwide pandemic while you were "sleeping" would feel like.  

My mom was visiting us and we needed to run an errand at our local mall. To our recollection. we haven't set foot in our mall since November of last year.

We all felt like Dorthy Gale opening her front door and taking her first footsteps in OZ.  We definitely knew we weren't in Kansas any longer.  We also didn't enter Munchkin land or the Emerald city .

Walking through the mall to get to the department store was odd.  Familiar but changed. Stores had switched locations, disappeared entirely and some new ones had opened in their place. SO many changes we couldn't figure them all out. 

The strangest part was entering Macy's.  We entered on the second floor through the men's department or rather what remained of the men's department.  On the right hand side, instead of the men's upscale sportswear section  we encountered large blue Macy's signs hung from the ceiling and stark while shelves. The warm wooden shelves were gone. It looked like total chaos.

Our Macy's had turned part of their store into what we discovered was a Macy's "Backstage" store, a store within a store.  Think T.J. Maxx but with more of a cold blue Walmart feel.  It was sterile, disorganized and completely lacking any warmth.  Things were surreal and in disarray. Macy's looked so confused.  So did we.  We actually had to ask a sales associate what the "Backstage" area was all about. 

It was like entering the opposite of OZ but being just as confused and in wonder,  a bad sense of wonder. 

The regular store areas looked like they were catching the chaos bug too.  Last Chance final clearance sections were spread throughout the store and appeared to multiply.  Every area of the store had some form of disarray. New designer items were present but squished together.  The clearance areas front and center.    Nothing made sense. The holiday section was not near the home area it was inside the formal dress area.  If there was a junior section, we couldn't find it.  The Home area also looked very sterile.  Shoes and cosmetics were the only areas left relatively untouched.   Sure, there were some areas which looked somewhat familiar, but nothing invited me to consider lingering.  

I think flying monkeys live there, perhaps in the clothes racks. 

T.J. Maxx does what they do well and knows who they are and I understand them.    

I used to understand Macy's.

Now it is like trying to shop in a department store run by people drinking the Kool-Aid and eating magic mushrooms. 

Asking for an opinion. My parents and brother live in Metro Detroit they want me to come home for Christmas, I live in Houston. My parents are triple vaccinated and my brother is double vaccinated he's ineligible for the third and I'm triple vaccinated. Is it okay to go? 

@jsr78 Hi jsr78, the decision will have to be yours but you and your family are as protected by the vaccinations as it is possible to be. You could lower risks further by driving yourself there, being careful with hygiene and wearing masks. 

Here in NSW in Oz we have been vaccinating like crazy and now have over 90% vaccinated with nearly 95% 1st vax. Unvaccinated aren’t allowed into restaurants, homes etc and that has been extended to 15dec or when 95% of population is vaccinated whichever comes first, then masks will only be required for public transport and for hospitality staff. Then we will be completely open, so families will have to decide if the unvaccinated can join the family Christmas. 

I guess in your case how much do you want to see them and what more you can do personally to make you feel safer.

Regards Matildagirl

@jsr78 I appreciate your question, and I'm not giving you a psychic answer but an evidenced-based health answer which is what we do here when anyone asks a personal health-related question.

 If you are asking whether you can get covid on this trip, the answer is yes, but with triple vaccination, you are much less likely to get covid and to infect others than if you were not vaccinated.  

Airports now require masks, so that's good. But people don't always wear them and they do remove them to eat.  

If you decide to go, wear a good, well-fitting mask that has good filtration and wear it the whole time. Don't eat at the airport or on the plane because you'll have to remove your mask for that. That's absolutely key. People should wear a good mask and wear it for the whole time they're on a plane, anytime they're in a crowd, waiting to line up to board the plane, any public transportation that they might take to and from the airline.

While on the plane, they feed people and that's when most people remove their masks. I'd lay low during those times and not remove my mask at all. 

Here's one article I thought was good: https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/planning-to-fly-travel-requirements-guidance-from-top-boston-doctors/2516422/  

@jsr78 I would think yes, but suggest you give your doctor a call.  Wearing masks would cut the threat of infection and maybe the sense of anxiety.  I would think masking for the trip would be the best decision, but I'm not a medical pro in any capacity.

Posted by: @jsr78

Asking for an opinion. My parents and brother live in Metro Detroit they want me to come home for Christmas, I live in Houston. My parents are triple vaccinated and my brother is double vaccinated he's ineligible for the third and I'm triple vaccinated. Is it okay to go? 

I'd go, unless I or one of the family members had some risky health condition.  If you fly, wearing an N95 mask and be very careful.  With everyone vaccinated, even if someone did catch the virus they'd be at low risk of major illness(barring the aforementioned risky health condition).

And, I would suggest your brother try to get that third dose.  There are Walgreens stores in the Detroit area.  The word is that Walgreens is still letting anyone have a 3rd vax, no details needed.  Just have him check the box that says "18 to 64 years old with high-risk job or living situation". That's what I and my family members did. (And there is no reason to feel guilty about it-- there is plenty of vaccine available in this country for anyone who wants it.)

Posted by: @ana

there is plenty of vaccine available in this country for anyone who wants it.)

Unless you want the J&J booster, because I can't find it anywhere. ? 

@jsr78   Also it would be a good idea to get a COVID test before you leave, then again a few days after you return.   

My family, including my nonagenarian mom, had to take a 2 -hour plane flight in August for my late brother's memorial.  We all stayed masked up and got tested before and after.  (And the memorial service was restricted to vaccinated guests.)  No problems.  

@tgraf66   They probably will allow J and J boosters fairly soon.  But if it were me, I'd pretend I was totally unvaxxed and go get a Moderna or Pfizer ASAP

@tgraf66 Not sure where you are located, but I was able to get a Moderna booster (orig had J&J back in March) here in Michigan. From what I have read, the mix-and-match (Pfizer or Moderna) with J&J in particular seems to give a very strong protective response. 

Good luck with whatever booster you choose/are able to get!

https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/mixing-vaccines-the-study-weve-all?fbclid=IwAR0fC9ZLumcR4SgWTxIyrGQqbrz_mUKWoor9-jyBDaPw1WaN5GU909lxbYc

@ana I can't...I'm listed in the CA vaccination database, so when they do the digital paperwork, I pop up.  I have reasons for not wanting Pfizer or Moderna, but if I can't find the J&J by the end of the year, I'm not really going to have a choice.

@cc21 I've read the same things, but given how some of the members of my family reacted to both the P & M vaccines (and knowing how similar our reactions to medications are), I'm a bit leery of either of them.  I had no issues at all with J&J, and I'd like to stick with that if I can.

@matildagirl @jeanne-mayell @billy-mike @ana  Thank you very much for your opinions they really helped me out a lot. I'm not necessarily worried about myself, I'm worried more about my parents. I'm still in the thinking about it stage. 

@tgraf66 Totally understandable. I hope you are able to get the J&J!