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Post by Morgan on Jul 18, 2021 5:42:03 GMT -5
Are numbers picking up in your area/state/country? We had a huge spike a few months ago and went into lockdown again. Right now our numbers are pretty low, with no new cases in my region for some time now, but people are talking like we should be prepared for the Delta wave that will be coming soon. Are any of you experiencing the Delta wave in your region right now? Oh yes, Delta's here, all right... They were expecting the 4th wave here in France for September or October, but it is here now... Right as summer vacation start... About 35% of the French population is vaccinated. Not anough for herd immunity. But the French being French, less and less people were getting their shots. So instead of a new lockdown which vaccinated people would have neither understood nor followed, our government decided to incite non-vaccinated people to get their shots by restricting access to bars, restaurants, cinemas, nightclubs, theme parks... We now have to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR Test to get in. So far, PCR tests have been free here, and unfortunately, many people took advantage of this by getting tested every couple of days. As of september, tests will not be free anymore. Since the President annouced the new restrictions last monday, millions of people registered for the vaccine. So it worked! I personnaly agree with the new restrictions. I know controle is gonna be very difficult to implement in such short notice, and I'm pretty sure that there will be delays in the process, but we had to act tough, to get people moving again in the right direction. We've been very fortunate in France, most people got to keep their jobs and their salary. I work in tourism, we've been hit really hard, and I've been getting 84% of my salary for more than a year now, without even working full time, and I'm grateful for that. I think some people here are getting comfortable and feeling that working part-time and still getting paid nearly as usual wasn't so bad after all; they got to stay home, mostly, have some free time at the government's expense. It's almost as if they didn't want the situation to eventually go back to normal... We really act like a spoiled child sometimes...
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 18, 2021 7:45:38 GMT -5
Do the French like your president, Morgan? From my outside perspective, he seems pretty cool, but I don't know any French political issues that may not be publicized on this side of the world.
Our PM has gotten a lot of positive publicity in the states (while they were dealing with Trump, though, so I bet he looked amazing with that perspective), but a lot of people don't much like him here. He's made some terrible mistakes, and the way he talks - he hems and haws a lot - bothers me, but I don't think the conservative leader would have done a better job. It probably would have been worse.
We're doing well in Canada in terms of vaccinating people. I think 70% has at least their first shot now and second shots are about 50%. I do know it's starting to slow down. I'm afraid that people refusing to get their shots will end up hurting everyone. I have several co-morbilities. I am doubly vaccinated, so I know I'm somewhat protected. But there are still breakthrough infections, especially for people who are immunocompromised. If unvaccinated people keep the virus circulating, it might just be a cold for them, but it can kill me. I'm a single mom of three.
Delta is in our most populated area right now and the government just opened up completely, so I imagine Delta will be in my region soon. People think we're winning the pandemic war due to vaccines, so they've become complacent with their relaxing of rules, but they have to remember it's summer and we haven't had any time since fully opening up to see what infections that'll bring. We're going to be hit so hard in September - especially with all the unvaccinated children grouped together in school.
I think restrictions on unvaccinated people will have to be the way to go. I did hear, though, of a party that you could attend if vaccinated... I think it was in the UK... And the young adults all just copied one person's proof of vaccination and they all went. Result? A super spreader event.
We are going to introduce another new class system to society: the vaccinated and unvaccinated. My son went out to play yesterday and I only allowed him to play with the other child because both my son and him were double-vaccinated. He asked to hang out with a different kid today, but knowing that kid isn't vaccinated, I said not yet. My reaction was innocent, but it made me think of how that's going to escalate in society.
Once again, my cousin has decided not to get the shot because she's afraid it'll give her cancer in a few years (yet smokes a pack a day) and my sister revealed to me yesterday that the reason her family isn't getting the shot is because she thinks they'll get covid from the vaccine. I can't engage with either of them on the topic. I don't have the energy.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 18, 2021 8:17:47 GMT -5
I've had the vaccine for months, as has my wife, so that's good here. We live in a pretty rural area where most people have not gotten it, so I'm waiting for spikes. It's concerning for us because we have two kids with advanced autoimmune conditions and they are too young for any of the vaccines. It's disappointing to me that there are people out there advancing the idea that they won't get the vaccine for any reason. It just puts my family at more harm, especially when they refuse any type of masks, etc. It would be nice if people cared about others.
I see more countries authorizing vaccines and getting them into arms. That's great to hear and I hope it continues before we get plunged into another round of spikes.
They are going up in a lot of states...
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amyk
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Post by amyk on Jul 18, 2021 17:28:56 GMT -5
I'm kind of concerned that I got vaccinated so early in the course of the pandemic (my first vaccine was in January) that my immunity may already be waning. I would like to get a booster vaccine if that becomes possible. I just don't think they know enough yet about the length of immunity.
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 18, 2021 18:12:00 GMT -5
Please still be careful, amyk, just in case. Wear a mask in public indoor spaces still. When a booster is available here, I'm going to be getting it as well. I hope the States turns things around soon. I'm actually really scared what Delta is going to do to you.
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Post by Morgan on Jul 19, 2021 0:53:50 GMT -5
To answer you Sidney, I do like President Macron. He has the guts to do what other presidents didn't dare doing over at least the last 30 years to try and change things! In France, it is very difficult for him. He is neither Left nor Right, so both the Left and the Right are against him, even when he tries to implement policies one of the two sides should agree with...
As for Amyk's concern, I agree that a 3rd shot should be proposed. Here, they are already planning to get people a 3rd shot 6 months after the 2nd one, at least for vulnerable people. I too have comorbidities, so my 3rd shot should be around Xmas. And I won't hesitate one second. If we must get one shot a year after that to protect us from future variants, then so be it. As long as the whole world isn't fully vaccinated, we will have to keep protecting ourselves.
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 19, 2021 6:38:03 GMT -5
On the news this morning. they're talking about finally opening the Canada-US border. It's been closed for over a year. It would just be for fully vaccinated people to move either way.
Delta is ripping its way through the UK and the US. I know it's just a matter of time until we get our fourth wave. Apparently we've passed the US for % of the population that is fully immunized, but we're still not enough to reach herd immunity.
With anti-vaxxers, I don't think anywhere can reach herd immunity while they're still not vaccinating the under 12.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 30, 2021 9:57:56 GMT -5
One of my friends in Portugal just told me she got her first dose of the vaccine. She was worried it would be a while since the US had purchased most of the vaccines out there. And Portugal was definitely an epicenter a few different times.
Any word on how vaccine distribution is going in Canada, Sidney?
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 30, 2021 10:10:07 GMT -5
Overall, Canada is 81% with one shot and almost 66% with two. (Of eligible. These numbers don't include the under 12 population. Of our whole population, that's: 70% with one and 57% with two.)
It's slowing down now.
There's fewer and fewer people going to the clinics now.
It's going to have to get higher. We know Delta is coming our way. I hope the remaining 19% get to a clinic and get a shot.
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 30, 2021 10:18:51 GMT -5
Remember that our population is a drop in the bucket compared to the US. You guys have something like 350 million and we have 35 million.
I don't understand the politics of the purchasing the vaccines.
I do think the States and Canada should, if they haven't already, donate all their Astrazeneca and Johnson&Johnson vaccines, if they're not going to use them, to countries who have approved them for use. But I wonder about that. Is that ethical? They cause blood clots, so let's send them to a poor country? That can't be alright. But then again, the risk is so much smaller than from Covid itself, might as well let them have choice. The UK still believes in AZ and are still using it, aren't they?
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 30, 2021 21:45:33 GMT -5
Remember that our population is a drop in the bucket compared to the US. You guys have something like 350 million and we have 35 million. I don't understand the politics of the purchasing the vaccines. I do think the States and Canada should, if they haven't already, donate all their Astrazeneca and Johnson&Johnson vaccines, if they're not going to use them, to countries who have approved them for use. But I wonder about that. Is that ethical? They cause blood clots, so let's send them to a poor country? That can't be alright. But then again, the risk is so much smaller than from Covid itself, might as well let them have choice. The UK still believes in AZ and are still using it, aren't they? I believe they are still being used, but I know the US purchased several thousand or more vaccines and put them out to other countries.
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 30, 2021 23:21:36 GMT -5
Right now, I don't think it's a good idea for any to sit in freezers.
I can't remember where you guys are in the States. Are you in one of the places with low vaccination rates? Is Delta bad where you are?
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 31, 2021 11:11:47 GMT -5
Right now, I don't think it's a good idea for any to sit in freezers. I can't remember where you guys are in the States. Are you in one of the places with low vaccination rates? Is Delta bad where you are? I'm in Iowa. Our vaccination rate isn't bad, but it's not enough, especially with the state government passing laws that don't allow mandatory vaccines for some fields and that schools cannot institute mask mandates. Delta is here but not super widespread yet, although we are starting to inch up daily on infections and hospitalizations.
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sidney
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Post by sidney on Jul 31, 2021 12:55:59 GMT -5
One of the Canadian provinces has decided that masks are no longer necessary; social distancing is no longer necessary; and isolating if you test positive is no longer necessary.
You can honestly knock me over with a feather about the last one.
Seriously? You don't have to do anything if you test positive? You can still go to work or whatever?
How dangerous is that?
It is a province that didn't ever get to be as bad as we did. I'm in Ontario which was hit the worst of all of Canada. But still... Keep the law that if you are positive, you MUST stay home.
We don't know what school will look like in the fall yet. I hope they keep the masks. That's going to be the congregate settings for the unvaccinated here. We will end up with a lot of sick children, and the more sick children, the more REALLY sick children that might end up in hospitals. No one wants to see a child get hit hard with this.
Sometimes I get so frustrated with governments and their allegiance to the big companies and rich friends. If governments truly just cared about the people, things would be so much better. And I'm not talking about spending irresponsibly, I'm just talking about not doing things corruptly because of favours you owe or whatever.
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amyk
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Post by amyk on Jul 31, 2021 18:02:57 GMT -5
I'm in Illinois. I don't know how many cases here are now Delta, although just about a week and a half ago, I think the gamma variant was still the most prevalent (but expected to change to the Delta variant).
That does sound goofy that if someone tests positive they aren't being required to quarantine. Why wouldn't you quarantine in that case?
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