Are you wearing a mask re Covid

Quite agree Far North!

Baggs whatever you do dont give them evidence that masks dont work. Most have taken to them like babies with dummies and anyone who disagrees are awful people who don't care about others

Some sort of madness has taken hold of people if they are fretting about re-introducing masks for Covid and not worried about the excess thousands of non-Covid deaths.

Which people?

Those posting here can't do anything about those deaths other than try to protect themselves from illness as much as they can.

If I am foolish to wear a mask in shops etc, why should anyone else care?
It may protect me a bit and won't harm me, or anyone .

For anyone interested in following up the stats quoted, see Jamie Jenkins' Twttr account @statsjamie

The following is from: lauradodsworth.substack.com/p/midsummer-mask-madness?utm_source=email

In a speech in August 2020, after the WHO’s policy change on masks, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “the mask has come to represent solidarity”. (My emphasis.) What he did not mention was any new evidence behind the policy change. In fact, the WHO’s guide, ‘Mask use in the context of Covid-19’, published in December 2020, said,

“At present there is only limited and inconsistent scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2”.

This has not been updated with new evidence.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) concurs that,

“evidence regarding the effectiveness of non- medical face masks for the prevention of COVID-19 is scarce”.

The idea that masks work is lodged in some people’s brains and they can’t change tack. They are trapped by their own confirmation bias. (I’m sure they would say the same to me, but I think my mind could be changed with hard evidence. I’m still waiting.) I imagine it would be very difficult now for people who pushed for restrictions and masks to change their minds at this stage.

What’s the panic based on? Jamie Jenkins (who formerly worked in health statistics at the ONS) has dissected the latest hospitalisation figures from NHS England. Most recently, there were 10,658 patients in hospital with Covid, up from 3,835 on 5th June. That sounds like a big increase over a month but we have to remember most of those patients are in with not because of Covid. Most pertinently, according to latest data, there are an estimated 70 patients are in critical care beds in England primarily for Covid-19 out of 4,187 beds. This is just over a quarter of the number this time last year when it was 255.

This is the occupation of critical care beds in the 7 days to 28th June:

4.4% of critical care beds had a patient with Covid
72.3% of patients not with Covid
23.3% of beds were unoccupied
This is the occupation of general beds in the 7 days to 28th June:

2.6% of general hospital beds in England have patients being treated for Covid
4.3% of beds have patients with Covid but are primarily treated for other conditions/injuries
87.9% of beds patients without Covid
5.3% of beds are unoccupied
(With thanks to Jamie Jenkins who is worth a follow on Twitter.)

Dame Sarah Gilbert who developed theAstraZeneca vaccine said in The Times that pandemics do “rumble on” before they come to an end. We need to learn to live with this.

But there is an urgent health situation that too few people are talking about. Non-Covid excess deaths are worryingly high. In the last week’s reported ONS data, there were 10,836 deaths in England and Wales in total. Covid was the cause of 166 of them and involved (mentioned but not main cause) in a further 119. The concerning part is that this total is a staggering 1,432 deaths above the five year 2015-2019 average.

Deaths registered in May 2022 were 5,873 above the average seen pre-pandemic in 2015-2019. Of those 4,357 were not due to Covid. Of the main causes of death, heart disease had the largest number of deaths above average.

If these excess deaths were due to Covid, it would have been all over the media. You would not be able to avoid red graphs, blaring headlines, panicked demands for restrictions, so why is no one talking about these non-Covid deaths? Although the causes are multi-factorial, these deaths are inconvenient and cast blame on lockdowns and the quality of healthcare.

Some sort of madness has taken hold of people if they are fretting about re-introducing masks for Covid and not worried about the excess thousands of non-Covid deaths. Reicher said “closing our eyes and pretending it's not there, that's the most dangerous strategy of all,” but that is exactly what people are doing.

Well, I had a doctor's appointment two weeks ago and the doctor told me I didn't need to wear a mask unless I had symptoms of covid.

Very few people seem to be wearing them now.

MayBee Thank you ?

I had every intention of starting to wear a mask again but went to Tesco's yesterday and completely forgot. I must try harder!

Direne3
(which I feel rather silly about now) not asking HIM to wear a mask too when I entered the room.

I'd think the air in the room would be full of the virus anyway.

growstuff

Oops! Just noticed the typo in my last post! "loving" should be "living" (although I don't want to stop loving either! ).

Oops my quote was meant for the above comment.

Il n’y a qu’un bonheur dans la vie, c’est d’aimer et d’être aimé.
The only happiness in life is to love and be loved. ❤ ❤
George Sand

i have continued to wear a mask in shops doctors and hospitals or anywhere indoors where there are a;ot of people this is due to having COPD and heart problems which could make catching covid bad for me and my partner who also still wears a mask

humptydumpty

Am I not right in thinking that wearing an 'ordinary' mask will not stop you getting Covid? These masks are to protect other people from you. If you want to protect yourself from other people, you need to wear a clinical-grade mask.

You are right humptydumpty

I haven't been but have just started again. Not ending up in ICU again if I can help it.

Oops! Just noticed the typo in my last post! "loving" should be "living" (although I don't want to stop loving either! ).

We’re you given the non live shingles jab?

Long post so maybe checkout last paragraph for advice.

DH has been shopping locally whilst I've been incapacitated with Shingles but despite wearing a mask and using hand gel managed to catch Covid for the first time last week. So, since we are both Clinically Vulnerable I set about caring for him, carefully following all advice (came as quite a shock to him when he was confined alone to bedroom with ensuite ). However, despite my stringent actions of PP2 mask & gloves, all clothing, dishes immediately despatched to relevant machine etc. 2 hourly temperature checks on him at night (yawn) because he had sepsis 2 months ago - here am I with Covid (my chap shot out of his 'prison' like a rabbit). Not too bad at moment perhaps because we've both had all four jabs. Worst is not being able to see family but thanks to Skype, phone and texts all is good and I do get to have my at-home hugs again.

HERE'S WHERE IT MAY HAVE GONE WRONG
1. Various and multiple medical questionaire persons requiring him to give permission for me to speak for him (despite my having PofA) when wanting access to anti-viral treatment (now sorted). This involved me having to move far too near because he is hard of hearing.
2. (which I feel rather silly about now) not asking HIM to wear a mask too when I entered the room.

Unrelated; Get an uptodate Shingles jab its a horribly painful condition (ask anyone who's had it), I had one ages ago but thought it covered for life - it didn't. Stress is a major factor and we've all had some of that the last few years.

I agree Growstuff, I too want to go on living and have adapted to the new way of life quite happily. A few precautions to keep us all safer won’t hurt.
Masks indoors, and even outdoors in a crowd, hand washing and reasonable distancing wherever possible.
As an aside I’m aware that Whitewave recently had covid. Haven’t seen any posts from her recently. I would appreciate a little wave just so that we know you’re okay.

Let's start living again.

Songstress I never stopped living! Even through lockdown I lived - I just adapted to the circumstances and lived differently, as many people did.

The mantra "never stop living" is ironic. It's because I don't want "to stop loving" (ie die or have serious life-changing health conditions) that I continue to be careful, which includes wearing a mask in enclosed spaces. Life's great!

I have PMR and have been taking steroids (Prednisolone tablets) since 1st August 2020.
Consequently my immunity is severely compromised. I have taken up any vaccination offered to me. I've had 2 AstraZeneca, 2 Pfizer and 1 Moderna.
I'm careful, having a Waitrose delivery every week. Go out occasionally to garden centres or Wisley, Savill Gardens,Virginia Water. Once a month I go with 2 friends to Book Club, but there's only us 3 in it now. The pub we go to is extremely quiet, sometimes only 2 other tables in use over 3 eating areas, so very safe. I'm careful but not paranoid. If I get covid symptoms I have the special tests to post from a 'fast track' postbox. Medication will be sent to me by return. I'm told that the medication acts fantastically quickly. I hope that I never need it but it's nice to know that it's available if needed.
My husband and I are on the ONS covid survey and we are tested monthly with swabs and blood samples. Neither of us have ever had covid and my husband always has antibodies from his 3 vaccinations but sometimes I don't have any but sometimes do. I guess that's why immunity compromised people are offered extra vaccinations.
I wear masks in medical settings or in indoor crowded places but otherwise for the most part I go unmasked wherever it's sensible to be.

Am I not right in thinking that wearing an 'ordinary' mask will not stop you getting Covid? These masks are to protect other people from you. If you want to protect yourself from other people, you need to wear a clinical-grade mask.

I've just had covid, I thought it was just a cold, couldn't believe it when I tested positive 10 days ago. I had terrible sinusitis, which is lingering, and I now have an annoying persistent cough. I have COPD so have been concerned about longterm impact on that, but I had got complacent and stopped wearing a mask. I will be going back to wearing one in all shops again, because these new variants seem to be highly transmissible. I'm hoping the cough will subside in another few days, fingers crossed!

Our GP surgery insists on masks unless exempt but, other than that, I am not wearing them - they are awful in warm weather, especially given I am heading into the menopause. I don't personally go to crowded places and live alone so my chances of catching covid are extremely small.

songstress50, I do not have the right to tell you what to do or not do.

However, saying "we should get back to normal" actually means that en route to normal, you don't mind ill people such as myself popping their clogs.

Do you understand that there are very sick people in ITUs because they have Covid (and yes, they will have had their vaccinations)?

It is within the realms of possibility that some of these very sick people caught Covid from a maskless asymptomatic person wanting to get back to normal quickly.

Never stopped, we live with my FinL, aged 92