Uplifting COVID News

[easyas123]

Another uplifting anecdotal report from a coworker who went to Bob Evans this weekend. Customers who are vaccinated do not need to wear masks. This was in DE.

 

[mom2rtk]

I grocery shopped maskless over the weekend for the first time in over a year! (second shot mid March). It sure takes some getting used to.

And we returned to the rebel Mexican restaurant that never did follow the mask mandate. I don't hold a grudge. I've been going for 30 years and missed them the past year.

 

[hulagirl87]

Same. Fortunately, our school has already made the decision that no matter how the advice changes, our current protocols are going to stay in place through the end of the school year simply because it makes no sense to start changing rules with a couple of weeks left. I doubt we'll require masks in the fall, but that will ultimately depend on community spread over the summer months and a final decision won't be made until August. But right now, community spread is declining but still fairly substantial in our area (15 to 20 daily cases per 100K) so it doesn't make sense to drop the mask mandate for an entirely unvaccinated group. Especially not with only 14 days left in the school year.

Same here. K through 5 was able to go back full time last month, but grades 6-12 they were hoping to get back full time, but with the numbers the way they are and being so close to the end of the school year, they said they won't be changing anything. But that they have high hopes to get everyone back full time in the fall.

Then today they gave a new mandate for day care centers that kids 2 and up now have to wear masks indoors and outdoors. I don't see this going well.

 

[amylevan]

I got to grocery shop maskless yesterday for the first time in over a year! It was wonderful to be able to smile at people!
(Yes, I’m fully vaccinated, yes that adhered to state and store mandates, and yes there were plenty in the store still wearing masks, just a few of us without and yes it was GLORIOUS!)

 

[billlaurie]

I went to the store for the first time without a mask (Sam's) over the weekend! I would say about 60% were still wearing masks and I didn't witness any confrontations. Pet Smart still had the sign up so I wore my mask there. We ate at a restaurant indoors and the majority were not wearing masks at all. It was so hot this weekend that going maskless was heavenly.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I grocery shopped maskless over the weekend for the first time in over a year! (second shot mid March). It sure takes some getting used to.

Which store did you end up going to? My husband went to our closest Walmart over the weekend and said it was still majority masked but slightly more unmasking than the week prior

And we returned to the rebel Mexican restaurant that never did follow the mask mandate. I don't hold a grudge. I've been going for 30 years and missed them the past year.

I'm guessing it was busy too. Places do not seem to have any issues with patrons but every place we've been to has had staff shortages (some severe).

 

[OhBother1984]

You are wrong! Children are not super spreaders of the virus. Many schools have been in session ALL year, with no mask mandates and very, very few cases. All of the schools in my state have dropped the masks and there will be no masks next year. You need to talk with a therapist about your paranoia of the virus.

I agree. She is using kids as an excuse to not get rid of masks since obvisouly is not ready for them to go away for her own personal reasons.

 

[easyas123]

Looks like Vegas is set to host it's first big convention since the shutdown...World of Concrete! I was actually at the last WOC convention...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/24/las-vegas-pandemic-shots-casinos/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Looks like Vegas is set to host it's first big convention since the shutdown...World of Concrete! I was actually at the last WOC convention...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/24/las-vegas-pandemic-shots-casinos/

And today I found out there was a convention for concrete .

Back in 2017 I tagged along (actually my mom did too) and stretched it out to a mini vacation to the air cooled condenser conference in Vegas (my husband's district builds power plants). I had to go to the cocktail they went to though I'm blanking what hotel that was in. Anyways never even knew there was a conference for air cooled condensers and Vegas is home to a lot of these conventions and conferences that so many don't even know exist but the niche community.

 

[Heather07438]

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that New Jersey will lift the indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people starting Friday -- just in time for Memorial Day Weekend.
"We did not act in a knee-jerk fashion, I do not for one minute regret our taking these extra two weeks," Murphy said.
Also on Friday, New Jersey will lift the requirement for maintaining 6 feet of social distancing in indoor and outdoor settings. Murphy says every business can continue to require social distancing as they choose.

Prohibitions will also be lifted May 28 on dance floors at bars and restaurants and ordering and eating/drinking while standing at bars and restaurants.

Additionally, one week later, on Friday June 4, New Jersey will remove all indoor gathering limits and lift the 30% limit on large indoor venues with a fixed seating capacity of 1,000 or greater.

Murphy said. "Together, we have made tremendous progress in crushing this virus, and the last two weeks have shown significant decreases in key areas of our data, including new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, spot positivity rates, and rates of transmission. These data points, coupled with a dramatic increase in our vaccination efforts resulting in over 4.7 million (pop 9m) New Jerseyans with their first shot*, allow us to lift major restrictions and move forward with our most significant reopening steps to date."
*eta- NJ is 4.2m fully vaccinated... should pass 50% of total population this week.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc7ny.com/amp/nj-covid-vaccine-numbers-cases-postivity-rate/10686276/
Yeha! Also...
All students will be back in school for full-time, in-person instruction for the start of the 2021-2022 school year. Full-time remote learning will not be an option for most families.
From FAQ 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR
https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-info...schools-open-what-are-the-safety-requirements

 

[Colleen27]

Same here. K through 5 was able to go back full time last month, but grades 6-12 they were hoping to get back full time, but with the numbers the way they are and being so close to the end of the school year, they said they won't be changing anything. But that they have high hopes to get everyone back full time in the fall.

Then today they gave a new mandate for day care centers that kids 2 and up now have to wear masks indoors and outdoors. I don't see this going well.

We're fortunate that we've been in person all year, but everyone is required to wear masks indoors and out, with the only exception being while seated at assigned seats in the lunchroom and on distanced, outdoor "mask breaks" (usually storytime) for some of the younger grades. We're not changing that to reflect the new guidance, not even for recess and outdoor activities. We only have 13 days of school left, so why mess with what's working? I'm sure the kids are looking forward to fall being more normal but they've done really well with the way things are this year.

 

[mom2rtk]

Which store did you end up going to? My husband went to our closest Walmart over the weekend and said it was still majority masked but slightly more unmasking than the week prior
I'm guessing it was busy too. Places do not seem to have any issues with patrons but every place we've been to has had staff shortages (some severe).

We went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market. Went on Saturday afternoon, something else I've avoided for the past year.

Don Chilitos was indeed pretty busy. It was nice to see. When we went that one time during the pandemic (before we realized they weren't wearing masks and swore off for a while) business was very slow. Maybe they'll make it to the other side of this after all. Our son was in town, so all 5 of us got to go. It felt so normal. It was great.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market. Went on Saturday afternoon, something else I've avoided for the past year.

Don Chilitos was indeed pretty busy. It was nice to see. When we went that one time during the pandemic (before we realized they weren't wearing masks and swore off for a while) business was very slow. Maybe they'll make it to the other side of this after all. Our son was in town, so all 5 of us got to go. It felt so normal. It was great.

Oh you were brave going on a Saturday afternoon but glad that first step was made for you I know I'll be a tad longer but I can say that being fully vaccinated did give a level of ease I didn't have before. Now we just have a ton of hand sanitizer...my husband just had to buy a big huge bottle at Costco in the late fall because it was a good price (we didn't need it lol).

I've seen pretty much all the places be busy enough just not enough staff (which is good that places are busy though) I think wherever places did patio expansions that should help out too though this rainy weather hasn't been working for that!

So nice that y'all had that little slice of normal

 

[easyas123]

Popped into Kohls last night- no mask required w/ vaccine. I’d say about half of us in there were maskless-

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh you were brave going on a Saturday afternoon but glad that first step was made for you I know I'll be a tad longer but I can say that being fully vaccinated did give a level of ease I didn't have before. Now we just have a ton of hand sanitizer...my husband just had to buy a big huge bottle at Costco in the late fall because it was a good price (we didn't need it lol).

I've seen pretty much all the places be busy enough just not enough staff (which is good that places are busy though) I think wherever places did patio expansions that should help out too though this rainy weather hasn't been working for that!

So nice that y'all had that little slice of normal

Well, I didn't set out to go on a Saturday afternoon. Just had a really busy weekend and my son come home spur of the moment and no food in the house. So off we went! I'm working hard on retraining my brain to be OK without the mask. I will say that I have not shied away from going the places I wanted/needed to go, but with masks and lots of caution for the past year. So I've been in an out of Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, JoAnns and the like many times during the pandemic. Sometimes many times a week. Sometimes all in one day! But it still feels strange to do it maskless. I can't even imagine the adjustment for people who have stayed home and only used home delivery all that time. People are in for a big adjustment.

Don Chilitos is a cafeteria style restaurant, so they at least didn't have to maintain wait staff. Maybe that helped? Who knows. But they seemed to be doing just fine. At least from our side of the counter.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well, I didn't set out to go on a Saturday afternoon. Just had a really busy weekend and my son come home spur of the moment and no food in the house. So off we went! I'm working hard on retraining my brain to be OK without the mask. I will say that I have not shied away from going the places I wanted/needed to go, but with masks and lots of caution for the past year. So I've been in an out of Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, JoAnns and the like many times during the pandemic. Sometimes many times a week. Sometimes all in one day! But it still feels strange to do it maskless. I can't even imagine the adjustment for people who have stayed home and only used home delivery all that time. People are in for a big adjustment.

Don Chilitos is a cafeteria style restaurant, so they at least didn't have to maintain wait staff. Maybe that helped? Who knows. But they seemed to be doing just fine. At least from our side of the counter.

Same for us we went out too armed with masks, hand sanitizer and all though sometimes we went through lulls in eating out.

I didn't really shop for clothing (aside from Costco) for quite a long time but I had done other types of shopping. It wasn't until early last month that I went full blown shopping going to Khol's, JCP, Macy's, Dillards, etc over a few weeks where I just got a big urge to do so. I actually went to Dillards at the mall and their fitting rooms were open but Khol's wasn't at that time (and neither was Walmart) but I think they may have reopened them by now. It did feel really nice just to treat myself with a few new skirts and tops. I didn't really shop before not because of concern over covid but just didn't have the need. Now I'm on the hunt for some casual shoes (which is proving harder than I thought) although I need to replace my Ryka tennis shoes too.

We did use DoorDash and restaurant delivery a lot more than before (which wasn't hard because we really never used delivery) but honestly it was more laziness (or free delivery lol) than anything.

I do agree it will be harder for those who really didn't get out. I've def. been more risk adverse than my husband so I can sympathize with people but I've also gone out, seen certain family members, went to the Lake last year for Labor Day, went to Vegas in March and are presently trying to plan a beach vacation right now which was something we were supposed to do last year (we're all over the map in recent days from Belize, to Greece, to going back again to Hawaii). Much of our consideration is looking at restrictions in place. We can't see spending the money only to be quarantine as part of the country's rule for 5+ days and masks are kinda 50/50 (we'd love to not worry about wearing them if we traveled). I absolutely support them doing all that they can I just don't want to worry about it. Hawaii would likely be our safest best not only because we can more easily get there (SWA just added the ability for us to get home from Hawaii in 1 day to KC) but costs too and covid restrictions but we'll see.

I agree on retraining my brain. I seem to be better when done with steps than ripping it all off at once but I think my husband would be fine just ripping it off. Can't blame him he's the one who has been in the office since August with the mask.

 

[wenrob]

Watching the hockey game last night it was both uplifting and alarming to see all those people there. It’s going to take me awhile to retrain my brain that it’s okay for that to happen.

Las Vegas is down to less than 200 cases a day, 239 for the entire state. Very encouraging!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Watching the hockey game last night it was both uplifting and alarming to see all those people there. It’s going to take me awhile to retrain my brain that it’s okay for that to happen.

We watched the very end of the PGA tournament on Sunday when Phil Mickelson was on his last hole and my goodness not only the crowd but how congested they were AND probably most surprising was they were barely letting Phil even get to the hole. Security had sorta lost the control there for a minute. It was so strange seeing how close everyone was and to the golfers (who normally they keep some sort of distance to the golfers). That is def. going to be an adjustment. Both my husband and I remarked it was probably pent up demand and excitement (not that golf hasn't been going with crowds but just all the recent CDC adjustments more of what we were thinking).

 

[easyas123]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/25/cov...ve-in-teens-plans-to-seek-fda-ok-in-june.html
and it would seem about half of us are fully vaccinated!

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/politics/half-of-americans-fully-vaccinated-covid/index.html

 

[Heather07438]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/science/moderna-vaccine-teens-efficacy.html
More results coming in on adolescents. Great news!

“
The Moderna results, which the company announced in a statement, are based on a clinical trial that enrolled 3,732 people ages 12 to 17, two-thirds of whom received two vaccine doses. There were no cases of symptomatic Covid-19 in fully vaccinated adolescents, the company reported. That translates to an efficacy of 100 percent, the same figure that Pfizer and BioNTech reported in a trial of their vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds.

“These look like promising results,” said Dr. Kristin Oliver, a pediatrician and vaccine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “The more vaccines we have to protect adolescents from Covid, the better.”

Moderna also reported that a single dose of its vaccine had 93 percent efficacy against symptomatic disease.

“Those cases that did occur between the two doses were mild, which is also a good indicator of protection against disease,” Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, said in an email.

The side effects were consistent with what has been reported in adults: pain at the site of the injection, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and chills. “No significant safety concerns have been identified to date,” the company said.”