Worcester Public Health has voted to lift their mask mandate on February 18th. Also now increasing pressure towards DESE to lift mask mandates in schools.
Joshua, Vicki…Does DESE already have a specific date in mind should cases drop significantly enough to make a determination?
And Thanks TK.
Philip, I don’t think there’s a specific case number that would trigger a change in mask policy.
My husband read that NBC says NJ might lift the mask mandate. So, I presume then, that the virus is disappearing; there are no more variants around; once you get your booster you are all set (for a few mos. which I believe is probably true in most cases) and in a few months we can be all mask free?! I know not all states, countries are not doing that but if enough people go mask free than what the . . .! All it takes is one person to infect many. The virus and its variants are still out there. If only we could get rid of the virus completely with a better vaccine that could last at least a year. We are trying, but until then precautions are necessary. I know we are “social animals” and we’re tired of the masks and distancing but until the hospitalizations and deaths get really low and STAY low then we would be making a big mistake to unmask. Just my opinion – off my soapbox!
There have been two camps just within the medical community itself 1. It’s time to remove mask mandates to get back to “normalcy”. 2. It’s a little too soon.
I have tried to see how this country is doing w/the pandemic and look at the numbers. Some say we are in a decline. Even so, if we are, we should not unmask as the virus is still out there. I will continue staying masked and hope the vaccine lasts a long time instead of having to get shots every few months. This virus and all its variants seem unbeatable. I think it will always be here – but at least take a break like the flu does each summer. Sure, there are colds and viruses around in the summer but covid doesn’t seem to take a vacation.
Depending on the municipality you won’t have any choice but to continue to wear a mask. Interesting that before the pandemic it was against policy for a customer to wear a mask, like in a bank for example.
On masks. I think we are unmitigated fools.
Four states have dropped mask mandates in schools.
There were roughly 12,000 positives in MA schools last week. Over 10,000 were students. Worcester had 309 students and about 60 staff
I’ve given up. The policy is or will soon be, just let it rip!
Whatever happens, happens. Get ready for it.
And I agree – we need to get ready for it. I’m beyond pissed at this point and don’t want to hear or even see anyone who supports eliminating anything as freaking simple as masks.
I have a reason for posting this other than just personal…. although it is horribly personal.
As most know, my sister in law had emergency surgery for a ruptured colon five weeks ago this coming Thursday. She has been fighting valiantly throughout. But as a cancer survivor with only one full lung and part of the second remaining, a bacterial meningitis survivor after days in a coma, undergoing emergency surgery for a collapsed vena cava (sp?), she has always been a fighter.
When the hospital she is in began a high focus on PT last week, out immediate thought was they wanted to move her from the ICU where she’d been for four weeks. And that is what they did. What we didn’t realize is they want to move her from the hospital.
She is still intubated. She has pneumonia in her one remaining lung and the partial lung has infection (whatever that means). She has a blood clot in one shoulder. There is more but that is enough. There are no rehabs in NH that both take patients on ventilators and have beds. She will have to move to Massachusetts and possibly CT or NY.
My brother is 81 and is in really good shape but has a back issue. Now he spends at least 8 hours a day sitting with his wife. If she is a distance away, he would not be able to see his wife. So she would be stuck alone. My guess is that she would lose a lot of her fight.
This is the fallout from just letting the virus go wild. There are so many horror stories attached to how we have handled this that we really are not aware of.
I am very sorry to hear this, Vicki. And you are right, this is the fallout from a let it rip policy.
It is strange that the only mitigation left – masks – is considered a restriction, and that so many folks want to “lift all restrictions and return to normal.” There really is no plural. Does anyone out there know of any other restriction besides masks? I don’t. Moreover, we’re actually been living normal lives for a long time in the U.S. Certainly since last May, with almost no restrictions in place except for masking (and even that was lifted for a time last summer).
Our Northern neighbor Canada has done a much better job than we have. Yes, part of this is a higher vaccination and booster rate. And here the fault lies with our state and federal governments, as well as a stronger anti-vaccine sentiment here. But, mitigations in Canada – NOT draconian, by the way – have also really helped to ease each wave crisis. I wish we had done this, too, for instance, with more indoor capacity limits, distancing in grocery stores and pharmacies, taking contact tracing seriously, etc … Alas. My efforts to persuade folks were futile. Not that what I write or say matters much to people. I also don’t think we’ve learned any lessons from this pandemic. If anything, our polarization is worse, and we’re less of a civil society than we used to be. To quote, Donald Trump, SAD!
Thank you, Joshua. Every word is truth. And it truly is sad.
U.S. case and hospitalizations are improving steadily, which is good. Deaths are still high and plateauing at very high levels. Omicron has NOT been a mild wave by any stretch of the imagination. Its impact on multiple organs in the body – brain, kidney, liver, and others – may be worse than its impact on the lungs and bronchi.
An extension of Omicron – BA.2 – is here accelerating in terms of spread and will bump up numbers soon across the U.S., I fear We see evidence of this across Europe where, after declines, case numbers in many countries have gone up along with hospitalizations. Thankfully, the rise in hospitalizations has not been steep. Let’s hope that we also don’t see a hospitalization rebound.
There’s a debate to be had about whether a company’s profits are egregious or not. I’m not one to fault a company to try and make a healthy profit. After all, some of the profit gets reinvested, can lead to more employment and innovation down the road. All good.
But, egregious profits from a pandemic. I’m not entirely comfortable with the numbers I’m seeing. Pfizer, for example, has made more than $ 90 billion already. Pfizer is NOT the main developer of the vaccine. Its German partner, BioNTech, is. And BioNtech received a ton of public money from the German government (German taxpayer). Moreover, Pfizer/BioNTech refuses to part ways with its patent, which keeps the price of each dose relatively high – around $20 for bulk purchasers. I’m uneasy about this.
Consider that Pfizer’s previous massive blockbuster Lipitor took 16 years to amass more than $90 billion in sales. Pfizer has also made a fortune from Viagra, but not as much as Lipitor.
The Covid-19 vaccines’ estimated sales 2021-2022: $90 billion.
Part of the problem is that high profits of firms like Pfizer tend to go increasingly towards stock buy-backs and massive pay hikes for CEOs and top management. In the last four decades, CEO pay is up 1,322% and median worker pay is up 18%. That’s a huge issue, and it’s gotten worse over the years, not better. It got better between 1945 and 1975, that is, inequality generally shrunk. Now, U.S. inequality is rivaling what we see in South America. It’s not quite that bad, but we’re getting there.
I cannot remember the last time I saw anything on TV promoting boosters, or even heard anything on the radio promoting boosters. This is really odd. I also do not see any use of convention centers for boosters. Mass booster campaigns overseas, on the other hand, have been very successful. Part of this is because the government can and will alert everyone when it’s their turn to get boosted. We have no such comprehensive, universal system. Here’s a very recent picture from a booster hall in the Netherlands. It’s no wonder they’ve boosted at 3 times the rate of the U.S. and have 9 times fewer deaths during the Omicron wave. https://cdn.nos.nl/image/2022/02/08/828519/1536x864a.jpg
BA.2 wave is inevitable. The `good’ news is that it’s an Omicron variant, and not Delta. The bad news is that it will find whoever wasn’t infected with BA.1 and will reinfect some others. After a continued decline for another week or so we will very likely see a moderate caseload and hospitalization increase soon (I’d say 2 to 3 weeks until BA.2 is dominant). This is why it’s not yet time to relax masking. https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1491226715854721026
BUT as you know, we have been reactive throughout and have yet to be proactive. How is every darned health professional not speaking out in unison.
I’d love one person to explain how a mask has become such a big deal. Despite my comments earlier, I promise to be polite
C-19 / 2-9 / ready.
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Worcester Public Health has voted to lift their mask mandate on February 18th. Also now increasing pressure towards DESE to lift mask mandates in schools.
Joshua, Vicki…Does DESE already have a specific date in mind should cases drop significantly enough to make a determination?
And Thanks TK.
Philip, I don’t think there’s a specific case number that would trigger a change in mask policy.
My husband read that NBC says NJ might lift the mask mandate. So, I presume then, that the virus is disappearing; there are no more variants around; once you get your booster you are all set (for a few mos. which I believe is probably true in most cases) and in a few months we can be all mask free?! I know not all states, countries are not doing that but if enough people go mask free than what the . . .! All it takes is one person to infect many. The virus and its variants are still out there. If only we could get rid of the virus completely with a better vaccine that could last at least a year. We are trying, but until then precautions are necessary. I know we are “social animals” and we’re tired of the masks and distancing but until the hospitalizations and deaths get really low and STAY low then we would be making a big mistake to unmask. Just my opinion – off my soapbox!
There have been two camps just within the medical community itself 1. It’s time to remove mask mandates to get back to “normalcy”. 2. It’s a little too soon.
I have tried to see how this country is doing w/the pandemic and look at the numbers. Some say we are in a decline. Even so, if we are, we should not unmask as the virus is still out there. I will continue staying masked and hope the vaccine lasts a long time instead of having to get shots every few months. This virus and all its variants seem unbeatable. I think it will always be here – but at least take a break like the flu does each summer. Sure, there are colds and viruses around in the summer but covid doesn’t seem to take a vacation.
Depending on the municipality you won’t have any choice but to continue to wear a mask. Interesting that before the pandemic it was against policy for a customer to wear a mask, like in a bank for example.
On masks. I think we are unmitigated fools.
Four states have dropped mask mandates in schools.
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/07/1078886017/new-jersey-and-delaware-set-timelines-to-end-mask-mandates-for-schools
There were roughly 12,000 positives in MA schools last week. Over 10,000 were students. Worcester had 309 students and about 60 staff
I’ve given up. The policy is or will soon be, just let it rip!
Whatever happens, happens. Get ready for it.
And I agree – we need to get ready for it. I’m beyond pissed at this point and don’t want to hear or even see anyone who supports eliminating anything as freaking simple as masks.
I have a reason for posting this other than just personal…. although it is horribly personal.
As most know, my sister in law had emergency surgery for a ruptured colon five weeks ago this coming Thursday. She has been fighting valiantly throughout. But as a cancer survivor with only one full lung and part of the second remaining, a bacterial meningitis survivor after days in a coma, undergoing emergency surgery for a collapsed vena cava (sp?), she has always been a fighter.
When the hospital she is in began a high focus on PT last week, out immediate thought was they wanted to move her from the ICU where she’d been for four weeks. And that is what they did. What we didn’t realize is they want to move her from the hospital.
She is still intubated. She has pneumonia in her one remaining lung and the partial lung has infection (whatever that means). She has a blood clot in one shoulder. There is more but that is enough. There are no rehabs in NH that both take patients on ventilators and have beds. She will have to move to Massachusetts and possibly CT or NY.
My brother is 81 and is in really good shape but has a back issue. Now he spends at least 8 hours a day sitting with his wife. If she is a distance away, he would not be able to see his wife. So she would be stuck alone. My guess is that she would lose a lot of her fight.
This is the fallout from just letting the virus go wild. There are so many horror stories attached to how we have handled this that we really are not aware of.
I am very sorry to hear this, Vicki. And you are right, this is the fallout from a let it rip policy.
It is strange that the only mitigation left – masks – is considered a restriction, and that so many folks want to “lift all restrictions and return to normal.” There really is no plural. Does anyone out there know of any other restriction besides masks? I don’t. Moreover, we’re actually been living normal lives for a long time in the U.S. Certainly since last May, with almost no restrictions in place except for masking (and even that was lifted for a time last summer).
Our Northern neighbor Canada has done a much better job than we have. Yes, part of this is a higher vaccination and booster rate. And here the fault lies with our state and federal governments, as well as a stronger anti-vaccine sentiment here. But, mitigations in Canada – NOT draconian, by the way – have also really helped to ease each wave crisis. I wish we had done this, too, for instance, with more indoor capacity limits, distancing in grocery stores and pharmacies, taking contact tracing seriously, etc … Alas. My efforts to persuade folks were futile. Not that what I write or say matters much to people. I also don’t think we’ve learned any lessons from this pandemic. If anything, our polarization is worse, and we’re less of a civil society than we used to be. To quote, Donald Trump, SAD!
Thank you, Joshua. Every word is truth. And it truly is sad.
U.S. case and hospitalizations are improving steadily, which is good. Deaths are still high and plateauing at very high levels. Omicron has NOT been a mild wave by any stretch of the imagination. Its impact on multiple organs in the body – brain, kidney, liver, and others – may be worse than its impact on the lungs and bronchi.
An extension of Omicron – BA.2 – is here accelerating in terms of spread and will bump up numbers soon across the U.S., I fear We see evidence of this across Europe where, after declines, case numbers in many countries have gone up along with hospitalizations. Thankfully, the rise in hospitalizations has not been steep. Let’s hope that we also don’t see a hospitalization rebound.
There’s a debate to be had about whether a company’s profits are egregious or not. I’m not one to fault a company to try and make a healthy profit. After all, some of the profit gets reinvested, can lead to more employment and innovation down the road. All good.
But, egregious profits from a pandemic. I’m not entirely comfortable with the numbers I’m seeing. Pfizer, for example, has made more than $ 90 billion already. Pfizer is NOT the main developer of the vaccine. Its German partner, BioNTech, is. And BioNtech received a ton of public money from the German government (German taxpayer). Moreover, Pfizer/BioNTech refuses to part ways with its patent, which keeps the price of each dose relatively high – around $20 for bulk purchasers. I’m uneasy about this.
Consider that Pfizer’s previous massive blockbuster Lipitor took 16 years to amass more than $90 billion in sales. Pfizer has also made a fortune from Viagra, but not as much as Lipitor.
The Covid-19 vaccines’ estimated sales 2021-2022: $90 billion.
Part of the problem is that high profits of firms like Pfizer tend to go increasingly towards stock buy-backs and massive pay hikes for CEOs and top management. In the last four decades, CEO pay is up 1,322% and median worker pay is up 18%. That’s a huge issue, and it’s gotten worse over the years, not better. It got better between 1945 and 1975, that is, inequality generally shrunk. Now, U.S. inequality is rivaling what we see in South America. It’s not quite that bad, but we’re getting there.
This is another curious fact.
https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-bought-sold-covid-19-related-stocks-during-pandemic-2021-12
I cannot remember the last time I saw anything on TV promoting boosters, or even heard anything on the radio promoting boosters. This is really odd. I also do not see any use of convention centers for boosters. Mass booster campaigns overseas, on the other hand, have been very successful. Part of this is because the government can and will alert everyone when it’s their turn to get boosted. We have no such comprehensive, universal system. Here’s a very recent picture from a booster hall in the Netherlands. It’s no wonder they’ve boosted at 3 times the rate of the U.S. and have 9 times fewer deaths during the Omicron wave. https://cdn.nos.nl/image/2022/02/08/828519/1536x864a.jpg
Interesting comment on masks and mask mandates from Trump’s former Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams. https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1491012864945324033
Wow. And wow again. Interesting to be sure
BA.2 wave is inevitable. The `good’ news is that it’s an Omicron variant, and not Delta. The bad news is that it will find whoever wasn’t infected with BA.1 and will reinfect some others. After a continued decline for another week or so we will very likely see a moderate caseload and hospitalization increase soon (I’d say 2 to 3 weeks until BA.2 is dominant). This is why it’s not yet time to relax masking. https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1491226715854721026
BUT as you know, we have been reactive throughout and have yet to be proactive. How is every darned health professional not speaking out in unison.
I’d love one person to explain how a mask has become such a big deal. Despite my comments earlier, I promise to be polite
C-19 / 2-9 / ready.