Scott ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ฆ WILL NOT COMPLYOne in ten US deaths last week were due to pneumonia, flu, or COVID-19.
That's about a 50% higher rate than the CDC's epidemic threshold.
Bottom line: this country is in the midst of a severe respiratory disease epidemic that nobody's talking about.
Robert Wilson, III ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ๐ช๐ธ๐ธ๐ฎ@escott Probably more like a severe nutrition epidemic.
CurrentBias & the Open Source Eschaton@Gundam_net @escott we already knew americans were widely deficient in many micronutrients but the one thing that has changed to make that situation even worse is the circulation of a virus that causes immune dysfunction
@currentbias @escott It's hard to walk the line between truthfulness and brutal honesty, but even vegan diets are lacking important micronutrients that involve immune response such as the zinc:copper ratio which can't be balanced well without eating meat. Besides taking zinc supplements daily. Along with vit. b12, unless they eat seaweed regularly which is not a cultural norm so it is doubtful.
@Gundam_net Well, no, more like a respiratory infection epidemic. Although I'm aware there are studies suggesting a link between poor nutrition and weak immune response.
Mickiโs Mom@Gundam_net @escott I eat extremely healthy. Iโve been on a whole food plant based diet since 2010. I got covid before anyone was wearing a mask and have had long covid since March 2020. Diet and sleep play a role in immunity but it doesnโt make you immune from infection and blaming someoneโs diet for catching covid is just not right.
@MickisMom @Gundam_net Agreed. Very few of us operate at peak physical health; and even if we did, we'd still get sick. Microbes have numbers and some pretty effective strategies on their side.
Anne Miller@escott Staggering. And govt not talking about it (still)
@crosscutanne I mean, I learned about it from a government web site. And to be fair, it's not like the population has been real open to hearing about surges in infectious diseases recently. . . ๐โ๐โ๐โ
Krystle the Actor@escott And it continues to spike each winter. It will continue to do so until people are killed off or have reached an effective enough level of herd immunity.
@clearlykrystle It's unnecessary to have so many deaths. Getting vaccinated, staying at home when sick, frequent hand-washingโnone of these things are too much to ask.
Or at least, I used to think so.
@escott Yeah, people are way too selfish. Even someone in their families getting it or themselves doesn't necessarily change anything.
Especially now that there ARE vaccines, a lot of people getting it are comparing it to a cold. Meanwhile, people are still dying.
Matthew Burton@clearlykrystle @escott our household is wrapping up eight straight weeks of respiratory viruses right now. Covid was easy compared to the flu, which walloped us. Still not done recovering. The beginning of this was conspicuously timed with the beginning of the school year, with masks no longer required.
@matthewburton @escott I had a 101.7F fever when I tested positive for Covid ๐ Highest fever of my life.
@clearlykrystle @matthewburton Ugh glad you're feeling better (I hope)
@clearlykrystle @matthewburton Every year I tell my friends and employees: the flu isn't a bad cold (I just came off a bad cold, and it sucked, BTW). Nobody who has had influenza ever wants to go through it again.
And they're still discovering chronic sequelae of even mild Covid cases.
Vaccination is free, effective, and painless (or nearly so). It boggles the mind that people resist it.
Exiled New Yorker- Connie@escott You should have seen what happened in the month of November in my husbandโs SNF. Influenza tore through it, infecting residents, staff, visitors and Iโm sure others they came into contact with.
I was in bed for a week. Some of the staff were hospitalized. Most of the residents were better off than us because they were swabbed and on Tamiflu as soon as the results got back, thank goodness.
I was in bed for a week. Some of the staff were hospitalized. Most of the residents were better off than us because they were swabbed and on Tamiflu as soon as the results got back, thank goodness.
@Pagan_Activist The SNFs have really taken it on the chin since 2020. Sorry that happened.
StillKindaHoping@clearlykrystle
Between the #socialmedia #brainflood and growing #disinformation we are seeing the limits of the #humanbrain. When people can no longer reassess fact versus opinion then it is no surprise they grab onto #ideologies (including a vaccine stance) that let them stop the noise of change and the endless questions. Life is a bit quieter, if innacurate. #society #socialparadigm #paradigmshift
@escott
Between the #socialmedia #brainflood and growing #disinformation we are seeing the limits of the #humanbrain. When people can no longer reassess fact versus opinion then it is no surprise they grab onto #ideologies (including a vaccine stance) that let them stop the noise of change and the endless questions. Life is a bit quieter, if innacurate. #society #socialparadigm #paradigmshift
@escott
@stillkindahoping @clearlykrystle This isn't as much about information overload as it is about denial and cognitive dissonance. Getting vaccinated and boosted is much simpler than the energy it must take to constantly dig for reasons why doctors, scientists, and Federal officials can't be trusted.
@escott
Well said. It doesn't help that opinion now seems to rank as high as expertise and facts. Whatever it is, we are witnessing a large scale failure of people to do the right thing. ๐ฅฒ
@clearlykrystle
Well said. It doesn't help that opinion now seems to rank as high as expertise and facts. Whatever it is, we are witnessing a large scale failure of people to do the right thing. ๐ฅฒ
@clearlykrystle
@clearlykrystle @stillkindahoping Thank you. You're right on opinion vs facts, but I think it's even worse than that. People aren't just giving them equal credence: they literally don't know the difference. It's a truly stunning indictment of our educational system that so many Americans matriculate without developing the critical analysis skills so vital to citizenship in a participatory democracy.
@escott
True. I suspect the blurring of facts and opinion was hastened by 24 hour "news" stations, where they quickly run out of facts and then nod at each other's blatherings. I suspect many people enjoy seeing experts out-competed by opinion, because now less-knowledgable folks are getting their 1.93 cents in. They are participating, but don't yet see how this is likely to lead to increased authoritarianism.
@clearlykrystle
True. I suspect the blurring of facts and opinion was hastened by 24 hour "news" stations, where they quickly run out of facts and then nod at each other's blatherings. I suspect many people enjoy seeing experts out-competed by opinion, because now less-knowledgable folks are getting their 1.93 cents in. They are participating, but don't yet see how this is likely to lead to increased authoritarianism.
@clearlykrystle
@escott
They were not too much to ask until the #CoronaVirus mutated (fortunately) into a milder version as #Omicron, and many people found their new personal #riskacceptance tolerance. Should it #mutate lethally and spread we will likely all wish we'd put the masks on sooner.
@clearlykrystle
They were not too much to ask until the #CoronaVirus mutated (fortunately) into a milder version as #Omicron, and many people found their new personal #riskacceptance tolerance. Should it #mutate lethally and spread we will likely all wish we'd put the masks on sooner.
@clearlykrystle
@clearlykrystle @stillkindahoping There are 1000s of deaths in the US each week from Covid right now. And researchers are discovering a variety of chronic conditions arising from even mild bouts of Covid. People can decide on their own risk tolerance but should not be deciding that for others.
mindstalk@stillkindahoping @escott @clearlykrystle Omicron isn't really milder. Still kills 15% of immunonaive 80+ year olds. It's had a milder _effect_ because so many people have some immunity from vaccines and/or prior infection.
@mindstalk
You are right. I didn't mean to minimize the danger or the terrible burden on families and our health care workers. ๐ท
@escott @clearlykrystle
You are right. I didn't mean to minimize the danger or the terrible burden on families and our health care workers. ๐ท
@escott @clearlykrystle
Clive Weeks
Rahulg86@escott there is also a marked rise in rsv since September. Pediatric hospitals are overwhelmed.
@rahulg86 My little 3yo cousin just spent ten days in hospital with RSV. It's awful.
Karoli@escott it would be awesome if people would deign to wear masks indoors. I donโt understand the resistance to it.
@karoli After nearly three years, I get the reluctance. Masks are a minor annoyance, sure. But really: how hard is it for people to take 15 minutes every six months or so to get a booster vaccine?!
@escott honestly, no one has been wearing masks for the last 6 months. Iโve gotten all the vaccines and wear a mask indoors. Itโs not that inconvenient. Compared, that is, to long COVID or blood clots or worse.
@karoli I only stopped routinely wearing masks a few months ago (I still wear them in crowded spaces [in theoryโin practice I avoid crowded spaces like the. . . well you know], healthcare settings, airplanes, etc.). But I wore one the past two weeks because I had a cold.
But I live in a place where people absolutely refused to mask even at the peak of the pandemic. And I'm still pretty pissed about it.
Voron@escott but hey we have the best medical system in the world right? So everything will be fine Iโm sure. That was sarcasm. I do apologize but I have experienced far too many friends & family whose lives have been shattered by our healthcare system while listening to how great it is
@voron Like all other human endeavor, health care in the US is flawedโvery seriously, in some ways. I've lost people I love to medical error. But I've also had many more years with those I love thanks to American medicine.
@escott Iโve had a dear friend have to divorce her husband to get on Medicaid to pay for a needed neck operation. I know two others that had to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. Something that either doesnโt happen in other 1st world democracies or is an extreme rarity.
Add to the above the issues I have personally run into in regards to records being spread all over, which doesnโt happen in national healthcare countries and yeah not a fan
Add to the above the issues I have personally run into in regards to records being spread all over, which doesnโt happen in national healthcare countries and yeah not a fan
@voron All definitely significant issues, I agree.
MichelleRN, Former CHPN, Ret.@escott
And no one listens to those of us who saw it coming.
And no one listens to those of us who saw it coming.
Tellio@escott Classic, in denial, don't wanna know mode.
DawnK (she/her)@escott Wow! Iโve gotten all the Covid shots I can get and my annual flu shot.