Chelsea’s indoor mask mandate went into effect this morning at 5:00 am.
Joshua, any idea as to why the State House still remains closed to the public? I believe it’s the only one in the entire nation to remain closed since the pandemic began.
What is Baker afraid of?
Makes sense to me
I read recently that there is a group that camps outside Baker’s house daily. I know he signed up to be part of the political wheel, but I cannot begin to imagine how anyone can function with that kind of nonsense. And it is utter and complete nonsense and disgusts me. Yes, I know they have a right to protest. No one has a right to destroy another persons life.
As we get closer and closer to a fascist police state
If we don’t act and these remarkably dangerous folks gain power next election, this will become the new norm. I’m interested in Mrs. OS’s view on this. Mine is not a good one.
Anagram:
omicron = “moronic”
Hadn’t seen that. Thanks!
As Tom posted last night, the numbers are in for school positives for the past 7.5 days, and they are horrific.
On 9/18/21, Biden signed a memorandum for safe return to schools. In my wildest dreams I cannot believe anyone considers positives in MA alone numbering 28,934 students, 4,799 staff, totaling 33,713 in 12 weeks safe. I have no problem if folks chose to send their kids to school. I have an enormous problem forcing parents to send kids to school. It may not be constitutionally mandated, but we are guaranteed a right to Education.
I have been fortunate through my lifetime to have friends who are school admins. What I’m hearing from too many is this year is far more disruptive and stressful than last. I understand some schools may not be struggling. But we have to stop making this about some kids and make it about all. Below are the positive numbers and graph and an article on long covid in children.
So first of all – thanks so much everyone here (and double to Joshua!) for this incredibly informative forum.
I have been struggling to create a comment here that I feel should be said – especially to this reasonable and highly intelligent group of friends – but I worry it risks sounding inflammatory. My apologies if I inadvertently offend anyone with this post.
So first – let my lay my own cards on the table face up – I am fully in favor of vaccines & mitigation and am personally flabbergasted as to why anyone won’t take advantage of our unfettered access to the vaccines and boosters and as to why so many aren’t compassionate enough to simply wear a mask for others if not themselves.
However I know as a country we are approaching everything lately at extremes with no one seemingly willing to meet anyone else halfway.
So I wanted to reflect among this group I respect so deeply that perhaps we should be more diligent in remembering to acknowledge the reality that to a significant degree certain things still are completely unknown about covid and the vaccines – and that fact coupled with the idea of right to choose – that decisions regarding personal health are and should be personal (I believe in Roe v Wade) that absent knowledge that something is an absolutely and positively known fact – we shouldn’t go to extremes on one another and or try to force another’s medical decisions to align with our own.
I think it’s important to remember the other side of this vaccine debate – more accurately the words we seem so unable to say out loud – we still don’t know a lot of stuff yet. We just don’t know. There are no long term studies to examine because it is a novel virus and a new vaccine.
I really try to understand and sympathize with vaccine hesitancy because – let’s be totally honest – we don’t know with certainty the potential long term effects of these new vaccines. A new vaccine using a new approach with the new technology. My own calculus was easy for me personally – in my opinion it’s much better and smarter to avoid a marked risk we already know exists (covid) rather than focus on a hypothetical risk that may/may not even exist.
But that is my own reasoning / decision and I don’t feel comfortable forcing that reasoning on someone else or certainly in attacking them personally if they don’t agree with my own reasoning.
That is what I detest in our culture right now – unabashed and unapologetic intolerance of other viewpoints. On either side.
Regarding the concern regarding the risks posed to others by unvaccinated bc unvaccinated people can create mutations – I agree it’s a real risk but find it not a – how do I put this – a strong argument (or timely) until/unless we have many more vaccinated worldwide. My understanding is the biggest petri dish for variants is actually immunocompromised HIV patients in Africa right now. And we are so far away from having an effective percentage of the global population vaccinated to limit this risk that it’s a bit of a transparently weak leg to stand on at present.
I very much agree with allowing government and private entities to elect to impose vaccine mandates on employees (and honestly I’m grateful for them bc it aligns with my personal beliefs and my own preferences) but I also won’t attack someone personally who believes strongly enough in their hesitancy to opt to lose their job to honor their health care decision. That is their choice – their belief – their right to stand up for it if – provided they are willing to take the consequences.
I hope this post doesn’t sound inflammatory – it’s actually meant as the opposite – that maybe if we start trying to reach out in compassion- understand the other side and meet others halfway we can help educate one another and reason together. This pandemic is scary as sh*t – everyone is scared – but it seems to me that a global catastrophe like this should create more compassion for others, not create more intolerance and decisiveness to the point of aggression towards one another.
Such a hard – and unclear – time for everyone. No easy answers.
Wow and wow. I think you read here enough to know I have believed this all along. I can’t find It in my heart to support anyone who refuses to vaccinate simply for some fools political reason. I absolutely support a person who is hesitant for the exact reasons you named….especially when it comes to children. I supported the green pass program but then added a caveat re the risk of vaccinated folks who can transmit.
I’m reading many of our health folks on Twitter now stressing this is not a pandemic of unvaccinated. It is a pandemic of all.
I don’t know the answer but I do know we have to stop pointing fingers and work together. I wish everyone, everywhere could read your post. Thank you!
My son just tested positive for covid. He has been vaccinated and he had it once already at the start. But he is so exposed on the times he works in the jail (just when he does OT) that it Is hard
I wish all the best for your son.
So sorry Vicki. Hope he recovers soon.
Thank you both very much. Fortunately, this is the weekend his eight year old son stays with him so he hasn’t been with him. Just hoping his wife doesn’t pick it up.
Vicki I hope your son feels better soon.
Thank you, JJ 🙂
Oh No, I hope he only experiences mild symptoms
Many thanks. Me too.
Massachusetts new Covid cases OVER 5,000 again today!
Vicki, I’m sorry to hear about your son. Keep in mind that your booster won’t kick in fully for another 12 days. So, try and isolate from him as best you can until he tests negative.
Mama Mia, I sympathize with your position. There are unknowns. It’s why I wish Novavax would get approved, because it’s a vaccine that runs on a tried-and-true platform. We have many decades of experience with these kinds of vaccines.
Massachusetts is surging. Worse than I anticipated. It’s not only in the posted numbers (5,000 cases a day; hospitalizations up 110% in one month). I see it in my daily interactions. I went to two CVS pharmacies today to get tests. Both were out. And, at one I saw two customers asking for a self-test, and another I saw one. The reason I went to try and find tests is that a friend of mine was exposed to a person – the 100 year old I’ve mentioned before – who has Covid-19 (symptomatic, though not severe – she’s been boosted). I saw this friend soon after she was in contact with the person who has Covid-19. So, it’s important I test soon, especially since I have periodic visitors, including my son and my ex-wife (who’s in Boston to see my son).
And here’s where Biden made another bad error. The government should send free tests to people on a monthly basis until we’ve got a much lighter caseload. Don’t do this through insurers. Good lord. The government can incentivize a ramp-up of production of tests by guaranteed contracts.
Thanks, Joshua. We are very cautious when my son is concerned since he is always at risk. We sadly have not been inside with him since he suggested we postpone his birthday get together in March of 2020. Little did we know how long the postponement would be. Even their wedding was outside. But thank God we were able to attend. This is the one part of covid isolation that truly breaks my heart.
He and family are planning on home tests before Christmas so we can hopefully be together.
Adding. We have three kids in the house who are not vaccinated.
Re Biden. I saw he did that. My heavens. WHAT THE HECK was he thinking
Vicki, I’m sorry I reminded you of the isolation you’ve experienced from your son for so long during this pandemic.
I hope you can be together at Christmas.
Oh my goodness, Joshua. Never be sorry. I know your heart. And you were thinking of me and us.
I am fortunate that I get tested (mandatory) every other week where I work at Mass. Art. In fact, I got tested today. Last year and up until this past summer, testing was done every week. The results come back within 24-48 hours, no later. Most workplaces should have testing available. I would be curious if the major grocery chains have testing for their employees.
One of the earliest reports on the coronavirus. See link below. I remember reading it then and thinking that the situation wouldn’t be bad. It would be contained. I continued to believe this for another 7 weeks. Italy (Bergamo) changed my mind. But even then I thought it would never get as bad here. New York City then changed my mind. Then I thought that hard-hit cities would not get hit again (I even wrote an article in Forbes about it). Well, then London happened again, followed by a slew of other cities that had already experienced massive outbreaks, such as Madrid. Then, once the vaccines were out, I thought – and wrote another Forbes article – that the pandemic would gradually peter out by the second half of 2021. Look where we are now. SARS-CoV-2 has humbled me. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51047576
C-19 for 12-4 is ready.
Comments are closed.
Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
Thanks TK.
Chelsea’s indoor mask mandate went into effect this morning at 5:00 am.
Joshua, any idea as to why the State House still remains closed to the public? I believe it’s the only one in the entire nation to remain closed since the pandemic began.
What is Baker afraid of?
Makes sense to me
I read recently that there is a group that camps outside Baker’s house daily. I know he signed up to be part of the political wheel, but I cannot begin to imagine how anyone can function with that kind of nonsense. And it is utter and complete nonsense and disgusts me. Yes, I know they have a right to protest. No one has a right to destroy another persons life.
As we get closer and closer to a fascist police state
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/02/politics/florida-state-guard-desantis/index.html
This had better not happen!
If we don’t act and these remarkably dangerous folks gain power next election, this will become the new norm. I’m interested in Mrs. OS’s view on this. Mine is not a good one.
Anagram:
omicron = “moronic”
Hadn’t seen that. Thanks!
As Tom posted last night, the numbers are in for school positives for the past 7.5 days, and they are horrific.
On 9/18/21, Biden signed a memorandum for safe return to schools. In my wildest dreams I cannot believe anyone considers positives in MA alone numbering 28,934 students, 4,799 staff, totaling 33,713 in 12 weeks safe. I have no problem if folks chose to send their kids to school. I have an enormous problem forcing parents to send kids to school. It may not be constitutionally mandated, but we are guaranteed a right to Education.
I have been fortunate through my lifetime to have friends who are school admins. What I’m hearing from too many is this year is far more disruptive and stressful than last. I understand some schools may not be struggling. But we have to stop making this about some kids and make it about all. Below are the positive numbers and graph and an article on long covid in children.
https://imgur.com/a/PZrHA45
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/long-covid-in-kids
So first of all – thanks so much everyone here (and double to Joshua!) for this incredibly informative forum.
I have been struggling to create a comment here that I feel should be said – especially to this reasonable and highly intelligent group of friends – but I worry it risks sounding inflammatory. My apologies if I inadvertently offend anyone with this post.
So first – let my lay my own cards on the table face up – I am fully in favor of vaccines & mitigation and am personally flabbergasted as to why anyone won’t take advantage of our unfettered access to the vaccines and boosters and as to why so many aren’t compassionate enough to simply wear a mask for others if not themselves.
However I know as a country we are approaching everything lately at extremes with no one seemingly willing to meet anyone else halfway.
So I wanted to reflect among this group I respect so deeply that perhaps we should be more diligent in remembering to acknowledge the reality that to a significant degree certain things still are completely unknown about covid and the vaccines – and that fact coupled with the idea of right to choose – that decisions regarding personal health are and should be personal (I believe in Roe v Wade) that absent knowledge that something is an absolutely and positively known fact – we shouldn’t go to extremes on one another and or try to force another’s medical decisions to align with our own.
I think it’s important to remember the other side of this vaccine debate – more accurately the words we seem so unable to say out loud – we still don’t know a lot of stuff yet. We just don’t know. There are no long term studies to examine because it is a novel virus and a new vaccine.
I really try to understand and sympathize with vaccine hesitancy because – let’s be totally honest – we don’t know with certainty the potential long term effects of these new vaccines. A new vaccine using a new approach with the new technology. My own calculus was easy for me personally – in my opinion it’s much better and smarter to avoid a marked risk we already know exists (covid) rather than focus on a hypothetical risk that may/may not even exist.
But that is my own reasoning / decision and I don’t feel comfortable forcing that reasoning on someone else or certainly in attacking them personally if they don’t agree with my own reasoning.
That is what I detest in our culture right now – unabashed and unapologetic intolerance of other viewpoints. On either side.
Regarding the concern regarding the risks posed to others by unvaccinated bc unvaccinated people can create mutations – I agree it’s a real risk but find it not a – how do I put this – a strong argument (or timely) until/unless we have many more vaccinated worldwide. My understanding is the biggest petri dish for variants is actually immunocompromised HIV patients in Africa right now. And we are so far away from having an effective percentage of the global population vaccinated to limit this risk that it’s a bit of a transparently weak leg to stand on at present.
I very much agree with allowing government and private entities to elect to impose vaccine mandates on employees (and honestly I’m grateful for them bc it aligns with my personal beliefs and my own preferences) but I also won’t attack someone personally who believes strongly enough in their hesitancy to opt to lose their job to honor their health care decision. That is their choice – their belief – their right to stand up for it if – provided they are willing to take the consequences.
I hope this post doesn’t sound inflammatory – it’s actually meant as the opposite – that maybe if we start trying to reach out in compassion- understand the other side and meet others halfway we can help educate one another and reason together. This pandemic is scary as sh*t – everyone is scared – but it seems to me that a global catastrophe like this should create more compassion for others, not create more intolerance and decisiveness to the point of aggression towards one another.
Such a hard – and unclear – time for everyone. No easy answers.
Wow and wow. I think you read here enough to know I have believed this all along. I can’t find It in my heart to support anyone who refuses to vaccinate simply for some fools political reason. I absolutely support a person who is hesitant for the exact reasons you named….especially when it comes to children. I supported the green pass program but then added a caveat re the risk of vaccinated folks who can transmit.
I’m reading many of our health folks on Twitter now stressing this is not a pandemic of unvaccinated. It is a pandemic of all.
I don’t know the answer but I do know we have to stop pointing fingers and work together. I wish everyone, everywhere could read your post. Thank you!
My son just tested positive for covid. He has been vaccinated and he had it once already at the start. But he is so exposed on the times he works in the jail (just when he does OT) that it Is hard
I wish all the best for your son.
So sorry Vicki. Hope he recovers soon.
Thank you both very much. Fortunately, this is the weekend his eight year old son stays with him so he hasn’t been with him. Just hoping his wife doesn’t pick it up.
Vicki I hope your son feels better soon.
Thank you, JJ 🙂
Oh No, I hope he only experiences mild symptoms
Many thanks. Me too.
Massachusetts new Covid cases OVER 5,000 again today!
https://ibb.co/34npZGX
Vicki, I’m sorry to hear about your son. Keep in mind that your booster won’t kick in fully for another 12 days. So, try and isolate from him as best you can until he tests negative.
Mama Mia, I sympathize with your position. There are unknowns. It’s why I wish Novavax would get approved, because it’s a vaccine that runs on a tried-and-true platform. We have many decades of experience with these kinds of vaccines.
Massachusetts is surging. Worse than I anticipated. It’s not only in the posted numbers (5,000 cases a day; hospitalizations up 110% in one month). I see it in my daily interactions. I went to two CVS pharmacies today to get tests. Both were out. And, at one I saw two customers asking for a self-test, and another I saw one. The reason I went to try and find tests is that a friend of mine was exposed to a person – the 100 year old I’ve mentioned before – who has Covid-19 (symptomatic, though not severe – she’s been boosted). I saw this friend soon after she was in contact with the person who has Covid-19. So, it’s important I test soon, especially since I have periodic visitors, including my son and my ex-wife (who’s in Boston to see my son).
And here’s where Biden made another bad error. The government should send free tests to people on a monthly basis until we’ve got a much lighter caseload. Don’t do this through insurers. Good lord. The government can incentivize a ramp-up of production of tests by guaranteed contracts.
Thanks, Joshua. We are very cautious when my son is concerned since he is always at risk. We sadly have not been inside with him since he suggested we postpone his birthday get together in March of 2020. Little did we know how long the postponement would be. Even their wedding was outside. But thank God we were able to attend. This is the one part of covid isolation that truly breaks my heart.
He and family are planning on home tests before Christmas so we can hopefully be together.
Adding. We have three kids in the house who are not vaccinated.
Re Biden. I saw he did that. My heavens. WHAT THE HECK was he thinking
Vicki, I’m sorry I reminded you of the isolation you’ve experienced from your son for so long during this pandemic.
I hope you can be together at Christmas.
Oh my goodness, Joshua. Never be sorry. I know your heart. And you were thinking of me and us.
I am fortunate that I get tested (mandatory) every other week where I work at Mass. Art. In fact, I got tested today. Last year and up until this past summer, testing was done every week. The results come back within 24-48 hours, no later. Most workplaces should have testing available. I would be curious if the major grocery chains have testing for their employees.
One of the earliest reports on the coronavirus. See link below. I remember reading it then and thinking that the situation wouldn’t be bad. It would be contained. I continued to believe this for another 7 weeks. Italy (Bergamo) changed my mind. But even then I thought it would never get as bad here. New York City then changed my mind. Then I thought that hard-hit cities would not get hit again (I even wrote an article in Forbes about it). Well, then London happened again, followed by a slew of other cities that had already experienced massive outbreaks, such as Madrid. Then, once the vaccines were out, I thought – and wrote another Forbes article – that the pandemic would gradually peter out by the second half of 2021. Look where we are now. SARS-CoV-2 has humbled me. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51047576
C-19 for 12-4 is ready.