Just when you thought travel back in time wasn’t a thing… Ontario 
shows the way… 
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This weeks Masking on Airplanes Report: on both West Coast US to East Coast US and return flights, I can report a significantly higher mask ratio than I’ve seen in over a year, pushing 50%. Reflective of both a COVID resurgence but also encouraging sign that people are aware of it and reacting to protect themselves and others.
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There have been previous studies linking Neandethal genes with increased risk of autoimmune diseases. So this would fit that theory pretty well.
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Somewhat tangential, and a familiar theme to regulars here, but I think possibly useful as a point for discussion.
The movement “is really destroying the fabric of society,” Hotez said.
Which is exactly what the money and resources, much of it from hostile international sources, want to happen.
Edit: This article is spreading the word about Dr. Hotez new book:
I had the vaccine discussion just the other day with a person I consider to be very honest. He raised the risk of cardiac damage from vaccines, and we talked about how the risk was 1/10th the 25% risk of cardiac damage from getting COVID.
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I’ve been recently getting a lot of pushback from some of my friends and family. Almost as if they want me to get covid intentionally. They’ve all had it, some multiple times, and I’m probably the last person that they know who has managed to avoid it. “It’s just a bad cold,” they say. “The world has moved on. You’re still stuck in 2021. Covid is over. Get with the rest of humanity. You can’t live your life in fear.”
Have you heard this from the people around you, and how do you deal with it?
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I stay friendly, work from kernels of truth in the objections, try to empathize, counter with relevant facts to try and build a bigger picture… but generally fail to really connect or make any inroads… then I quietly lose patience, politely excuse myself, go back to my hole and try to overcome the lingering despair.
In a word: poorly. 
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I hear it all the time, usually in relation to the fact that I am still masking. I give facts and let it lie. They are usually utterly impervious to factual arguments, and I am too tired of their shit to put forth the effort.
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I hear it all the time.
They are assuming because we wear a mask indoors or don’t eat out or avoid indoor parties that we’re not living life or living in fear.
We’re actually really enjoying our life right now.
I also wear a seat belt, motorcycle/bicycle helmet, take all my heart medication, just had a prostate exam/colonoscopy all because I want to stay out of a box for as long as possible.
I know they all do the same but for some reason wearing a mask in certain situations is missing out on life.
Just ask them why are they living in fear over everything they do to avoid ending up in a box.
I’ve also been known to ask them why they have guns or why a few of them conceal carry. To which they reply, that’s different.
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covid was the final break with my family. when i expressed concern that one of them had gotten sick and asked if they had gotten tested for covid, i was told i had to stop talking politics with them or not talk to them at all
on the plus side, that helped me get back into therapy, and made me realize it’d been years if not decades since any of my family had shown any interest in my life, my partner, my cats, my hobbies, my job, what i was reading - or really anything at all about me. still sucks but relationships - even with families - should be a two way street
potentially, you could set some boundaries and see how they react. for example, “i don’t want to get covid, so i’m going to wear a mask in these situations. as my friend/sibling/etc. i would like you to respect my decision.”
if they’re not able to do that, then maybe the relationship isn’t what you think it is. that doesn’t make things easier per se, but at least you’d know where things stand
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I get that vibe, too. Reminds me of the point in SF flicks where people pretend to be infected to avoid detection/being singled out. That’s one option - to say you caught it and recovered. If they ask why you’re masking after that, tell them your symptoms were so bad you don’t ever want to catch it again.
Some folks try the religious angle with me, saying it was “just their time” to catch it. 
I use a version of this old joke on them. God wouldn’t have sent us vaccines and masks if we weren’t intended to use them, right? 
Others seem to respond to more practical concerns. For older folks, I mention that people younger and in better shape than us have gotten really bad cases and/or long COVID. So, why would we risk it? Another tactic that works in the US is financial fear-mongering. I’ll say something like, “Maybe you can afford weeks off from work, time in the hospital/hospital bills, and getting rejected by insurance because you’ve got a pre-existing condition…but I can’t. Wearing a mask is way cheaper than all that.” 
I went kinda brutal with a single cousin who repeated some “get back to normal/don’t live in fear” foolishness from our aunt and uncle. I pulled her aside and said, “Yeah they can talk, but you live alone. If you fell out on the floor, what would happen? If you got really sick, who’ll play nurse until you’re back on your feet?*” Since we lost family members and friends during the pandemic in scenarios just like that, it kinda sickened me to have to remind any of my relatives, but here we are. 
*Ok, she knows I would, but she started masking again after that. Mission accomplished.
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In case this is useful:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html
The program is also supposed to help uninsured people, as well as those whose insurance doesn’t cover the shot.
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Ok, deleted.
And I will attempt to let the OP know.
Thanks!
And having had COVID once (the first few days of January 2020), I would not wish this virus on anyone.
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No, that’s not what I was suggesting. Please restore your post! It’s better that we know about these organizations (and what they are willing to do to establish legitimacy) than to ignore them.
I completely believe that such an org exists. I just sincerely doubt that Andy Slavit is a member (at least that he knows about!)
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Checks out here.
My tinnitus is so bad right now it’s like being inside a fire alarm.
Also don’t forget that humans respond more strongly to narratives than to reason, so it helps to sprinkle in the anecdotes and a few good dad jokes. But realistically if it only takes one person one conversation to turn an antivaxxer around, then it won’t last, they will turn around again as soon as they return to their disinformation bubble because they have no strength of conviction. So it’s really a good thing if they can’t be convinced without multiple interactions with multiple people, don’t be discouraged. You are probably doing more good than you know, and sowing even a tiny seed of doubt is a triumph!
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All of this hassle about wearing a mask started because he was worried about his spray-on tan.
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… I just had a brocialist Kennedy-voter-type guy try to play “debate me” about vaccines IRL
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