Welcome to sick season.
According to the CDC, New York City — along with New Jersey and at least 16 other states — is now experiencing “high” to “very high” levels of respiratory-illness activity as measured by the number of weekly visits to health-care providers and emergency rooms by people having symptoms of fever, cough, and sore throat.
The culprits are the usual suspects: this year’s strains of influenza, COVID, and RSV. And though flulike-illness levels have been above baseline nationally for several consecutive weeks, the CDC warns that we still haven’t hit the peak.
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As always, seniors remain the most at-risk demographic for severe outcomes from respiratory illnesses, which is why the low vaccination rates for that group remain troubling.
Beyond vaccination, for everyone, the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like the flu and RSV is regular handwashing; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; and staying home if you get sick. High-filtration face masks still work great, too, and not just for avoiding COVID.
Saw a guy on the subway having a cough the whole ride, two weeks later I have COVID again. I find myself wearing a mask this month cause I don’t want a flu or anything, and not a single person has a mask on and is looking at me like I’m a psycho for wearing a mask.
I have seen so many sniffly and sick people out and about recently and not a single one had a mask. It’s like everyone just said fuck it, forgot about the pandemic and just went back to no masks and looking at masked people like they’re crazy
I’m so glad I live in the Seattle area. Plenty of people still wear masks.
for robberies doesn’t count. lol
Why are you being down voted I had a chuckle. C’mon
Fret not. Votes don’t matter, this is not reddit!
In the fediverse, votes are much like life itself. Any meaning or value comes from within, lol.
Bc laughing at and enabling this shit is how we have an open Nazi on the doorstep of the White House. What you do matters.
I moved to Portland over a year ago and I’d say about 25% of people at the grocery stores here are still wearing masks to this day and nobody makes a fuss about it. It’s been great.
A significant portion of the population still believes masks don’t work because their favorite talking heads told them they don’t.
I made the mistake of going back to Reddit ONCE and got in an argument with an alleged “MPH” (master of public health) who was adamant masks don’t work, despite the overwhelming evidence they do. He ended up threatening to stab me with an icepick. Multiple times across various, unrelated threads. Reddit actually banned him.
These motherfuckers are out there and they’re some combination of stupid and crazy.
The good news is that it’s likely you didn’t get COVID from that guy. Gestation period is on average 5 days.
Key word is average
This reminds me that I have to get more N95 masks. People don’t give a shit here in Seattle. Most grocery store workers wear one and about 10% of the public still does.
My local grocery store took down the plastic shields between The customer and the cashier this month, after they’ve been up for years why take them down during flu season? It’s just so foolish how everyone is letting their guard down