Amen and seconded. While our hospital is not at all time levels yet, covid hospitalizations have doubled in a week to about 20% of the total beds, surgeries are deferred and the ED is looking like a MASH unit. And we do not have any confirmed omicron yet.
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On a personal note: I agreed to visit the family weeks ago.
We phoned yesterday ready for some blow-back from our cancellation of 
but all family were philosophical about it. My Dad said he wanted to disagree with me, but couldnât think of a reason.
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Following up on rapid testing: my brilliant wife was spot on and a day or two ahead of the Toronto Star in her warning note on rapid testing. Unfortunately, the Star buried the key message at the end of an article on profiteering, on page 3. The governmentâs thin guidance and poor messaging on rapid tests betrays a lack of comprehension. One is left with the impression, again, that the Ontario 
Government is making this up as they go along, in a reactive fashion. 
But stocking up on rapid tests and using them to justify gatherings is a problem, [Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatrician and an infectious disease physician at the University of Toronto] explained.
âIf youâre going to someplace where you have to go, like a long-term-care facility, it makes sense ⌠but having them as an excuse to be at larger events, thatâs not what it was meant for,â she explained.
It could give a false sense of security.
âYou might not be symptomatic, and the test is not perfect. People still need to be cautious,â she said.
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Cool!
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Weâre two years in on this. Why is this still a problem? Does someone have big investments in Purell?
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Hasnât this been common knowledge for quite a while?
This summer we would have outdoor movie nights with, at most, 2 other couples. The deal was only one person in the house at a time with a mask to use the bathroom.
When our 1400 sqft house was built about 28 years ago I decided at the last minute to put in a whole house fan. The builder said you go get it weâll put it in. The look on his face when I brought home a fan for a 4000 sqft house.
I can change the air in my house in seconds, so when we have those gets togethers I just crack a couple windows and the air is constantly changed out.
A simple fan in a window facing out with one other window cracked across the room will go a long way to swap out air.
Setting up schools with some simple window fans, if the classroom has windows, would go a long way to keep the air moving out.
Iâve tried for almost two years now to convince a couple businesses I work in to leave the bathroom fans on when ever the building is occupied but for some reason they refuse. Or leave the hvac fan on even when itâs not heating or cooling. There are all kinds of smart thermostats that could cycle the fan on and off but, nope, even that simple thing is too much trouble.
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And if the ventilation is a problem, a bunch of HEPA filters might be a stopgap to keep the levels down. (With someone assigned to keep on top of the filter changes, or itâs just more theater.)
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Okay, prove it.
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She very much could get her wish thereâŚ
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I wonder if that could be because every single religion, from Bahaâi to the Church of Christ, Scientist, have said âno, yeah: weâre fine with it. Vaccinate with all due speed.â
Sure, theyâre open to âvalid religious exemptionsâ. Itâs just that all the religions have said that they donât need an exemption, so none of the exemptions being sought are valid.
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Also Iâm thinking about the religions that took a while to come around on vaccinesâŚand itâs kind of hard for me to imagine one in the sweet spot of âNo, vaccinations violate our very specific and strict interpretation of the ancient texts. Youâll need to opt out if you want to go overseas and shoot some brown people.â
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Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.
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Cory Booker too.
Hopefully they both recover soon, but Iâm feeling like this absolutist statement from Biden over the weekend may eventually come back to bite him:
I feel that statement was a mistake, at least the âperiodâ part. Since when is anything in medicine a sure thing? If and when any people who were boosted start dying then his credibility on the issue will take a hit, even if boosters are indeed helpful for many people.
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If youâre not an absolutist, then itâs a perfectly accurate statement. If youâre fully dosed and boosted, then you are less likely to get infected (except for omicron), and you are less likely to be seriously (as in: âhospitalised on a ventilatorâ) ill or to die. People with boosters have been dying, but not nearly as many per case as those who havenât been vaxxed.
Thatâs not a guarantee that it canât happen, just that youâre protected from the worst of it. If you wear a seatbelt, then youâre protected from instantly dying in a car accident, but that doesnât mean youâre impervious to harm if you cut in front of a triple articulated truck with bald tyres in the rain.
But then, the sort of people who are going to take up umbrage at this are not the sort of people who could spell ânuanceâ if they had it tattooed on the back of their hand. And it doesnât matter a half a damn what he says, theyâre going to take umbrage at something.
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â âItâs frustrating,â she said. âPeople just seem to want to leave home less these days.â
Maybe thereâs a reason?
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Iâm guessing that houses of worship that continue streaming have higher attendance rates?
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