The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has been the biggest story of the year and the virus has ravaged the world. There are several coronaviruses, COVID-19 is the latest but most likely not the last.
This new virus has divided people depending on what your personal beliefs about it are.
Oregon got the first vaccines shipped here yesterday and I am not considered to be in a risk group so me rushing to get the vaccine is not on my to do list. Actually I do not want to take the vaccine. Never say never but no vaccine for me for AT LEAST one year but most likely more than that. Or never. Why? Simply because I am not volunteering myself as a lab rat.
I have also never taken a flu vaccine. My advice to the people that do get the flu vaccine is to ask for a thimerosal free version. Thimerosal is mercury. I do not get why mercury needs to be an ingredient in any vaccine, supposedly it kills fungi and bacteria in the vials and added for preservation or something like that. OK....so adding mercury is a good thing? Doesn't sound like it to me. So no thank you to flu vaccines for me. I would like to know all the ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine. And I would like to see all elected officials that preach about the virus and the vaccine to take it with proof that they did. I have also noticed that many elected officials have not followed their own COVID-19 restrictions. If anything they are the ones that should be leading with example.
My concern is that in the future, perhaps the not so distant future you won't be allowed to do certain things if you can't show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination but I will handle that issue if that day ever arrives. Hopefully it won't.
I am not an anti-vaxxer but I do think that vaccination has brought on problems in some cases.
If you read up on poliomyelitis (polio) and how it transmits you will think a bit about people and their personal hygiene and feces. I am thankful that there is a vaccine for polio and other diseases.
I do not think this is the end of corona type viruses and we will get faced with more outbreaks of other viruses and diseases as the world's population increases daily. I do think that better interactions with animals is a key factor to lessen outbreaks and lessen new strains.
Wet markets should be banned and how animals are treated leading up to slaughter and the handling of the meat before it ends up on a plate is crucial. The culling (SLAUGHTER) of the minks in captivity due to COVID-19 was horrible and I read that the virus has been found in minks in the wild as well. Other animals have been found to carry the virus, supposedly it transmitted from infected human to animal. If all humans were vegetarian there would be so much less suffering on many levels.
How we have related to the COVID-19 shut downs and restrictions have varied wildly, again it depends on what you believe and where you live. Some believe this is all a hoax, others take it very seriously but in the end humans do what they think is best and most convenient for them, everybody (with a few exceptions) is an egoist. Included myself.
So before I point my finger in any direction let me point it at myself first.
I visit various grocery stores on a regular basis. Some stores are better than others in enforcing some sort of limitation on crowds and how they sanitize. But we all need to eat and I am NOT going to order my food online and let a person that I do not know and trust handle my produce and food. No, I just won't do that. Have you ever paid attention to random people in the produce section? I have. Touching all over fruits and vegetables....like squeezing 10 tomatoes or apples or whatever before finally picking a few or deciding not to is just gross to me. Like I do not know if those fingers scratched a poopy butt crack or were deep inside a crusty nostril five minutes ago. There are some seriously repulsive people out there that do sick shit. I do not touch produce with my bare hands (not because I scratch my butt before I enter the grocery store but out of consideration for others). HELLO......put your hand inside a bag, yes the plastic bag you put your fruits and vegetables in and then touch the produce.
I also went back to work once things opened up around here (I actually enjoyed three plus months of not doing much of anything) and some places I worked have been very strict on following restrictions but one place that I worked twice is basically a great place to either catch the virus or pass it on. People there were very careless and it was actually a bit disturbing. So yes I have been breathing near people while wearing a mask.
I ate inside a restaurant once (an almost empty restaurant I should add, only one other person in there besides me and my friend and the server) since all of this happened and I ate at outside food cart areas a few times.
I had one hair cut and yea maybe I could had waited but the cut before this last one happened at least two years ago (I guess I must be lazy) and after inspecting my hair I decided that it was time. So I am good for another year at least. Only one person was allowed in the salon so it was just me and the hair dresser and she took my temperature first.
I had aesthetic acupuncture a few times and yes I could had skipped on that but vanity took over. That and a Groupon that would expire if I would not make use of it. Same scenario here, it was only me and the acupuncturist and temperature was taken plus a health screening in advance.
No pedicures though, I decided before the virus shut things down the first time back in March that I would not have a pedicure and nail polish on my toes for at least a year. It’s good to let your nails breathe. I still take care of my feet, at home.
No gym visits for two years....again I must be lazy.
I drove to San Francisco to see if a Burning Man type event would happen at Baker Beach which me and about 1000 other attended. I was there for maybe 1 1/2 hour before I left and talked to like three people and majority wore masks and kept an OK distance. The mayor of San Francisco was not happy with us Burners the next day but it was OK that large crowds were hanging out at some other local beach during the day. By now we all know that the rules for gatherings differ depending on what kind of gathering it is which of course makes no sense.
Oh and let me not forget that I went to the store to get Excedrin when I could not stand having a headache anymore although there was a chance that MAYBE the headache and a stuffy nose meant that I had COVID. I did not find out if I had it or not because I did not get tested. I felt normal the day after I took the Excedrin.
I committed these COVID-19 sins when things were opened up (so the restaurant was open for inside dining, the hair salon and the acupuncture place as well). Opened up BUT with COVID-19 happening. Irresponsible? I guess. Depending on how you look at it. During the lock downs there has been only the grocery store for me. Gas station once a week.
And volunteering two, sometimes three Sundays a month with the Pet Pack. No other extra stuff.
As far as flying for leisure during a lock down? Why? Or going to bars, sex parties and other things that were still happening somehow during lock down.....ummmmmm no. Your needs are obviously more important for you than anybody else's. This is human behavior. This is why we have this thing called COVID-19 lingering for most of the year because people do what they think is best for them.
I wanted to go to Sweden this summer and Japan in the fall but of course that would had been unnecessary.
Some countries have been strict during COVID and others more lenient. People in Sweden are are complaining and freaking out when in fact they have handled the pandemic poorly compared to their neighbor countries. The US in my opinion have been rather lenient but stricter than Sweden and people are freaking out here as well. Some countries have been imposing fines for breaking the restrictions and use a text message system where you have to report an outing and get it approved before being able to leave your residence.
Imagine that. People would lose their shit if that happened here in the US. The US would be deemed a socialist communist country by it's inhabitants, when in fact maybe if we would had been extra firm at the very beginning of this things would had been different today.
Do restrictions help? I don't know but if it is possible that they can curb the spread and the deaths then perhaps listening to the recommendations and following them would be a good idea.
A lot of the information we have been getting about the virus make no sense. One week we get told one thing and the next something completely different. So I get it that people are upset, confused and frustrated. People have clashed verbally and physically over this. I've had a few discussions about it as well. The information about COVID-19 has shifted wildly to where it first started (Wuhan or somewhere else?) and from when to how it is transmitted and how to prevent getting sick. Who is more at risk for getting sick and who is not. I have always been a rather clean person but I upped my hand washing and my hands got really dry at first. Got more mindful about not touching my face when I am out in public. Coughing and sneezing in public is something a lot of people don't know how to do properly. So gross. I wear a mask where I have to but I am not going to wear a mask while driving in my own car (sorry if I offend some of you that might do this but that is just weird to me) and I also do not wear a mask when I am outside, like walking, hiking, going from my car to my house. I have seen that some sit at home during online meetings with a mask on. Like why? You are inside of your own residence. I don't get that.
Back in March when the first shutdown happened for the first two weeks I disinfected most of the surfaces at home a few times but it's good to wipe down surfaces now and then anyways COVID or not....like doorhandles, light switches, cabinets etc. I would wipe my hands with alcohol wipes after being in the grocery store but that lasted about two weeks. No more.
I do think some exaggerate, a neighbor did not open her mail box for FIVE weeks thinking the mail could possibly harbor the virus and sprayed down all her groceries with some sort of disinfectant. That is just way too much hysteria for me....perhaps if this was Ebola but not COVID, unless it mutates and becomes deadlier than Ebola. It will probably mutate though. It probably already has.
Now to the three people I personally know that got the virus. I will call them A, B and C.
A is the biggest germaphobe I have ever met. So how A got COVID is a mystery to me. A is the ONLY person I know that isolated when this first happened back in March. Did not go outside AT ALL for three full weeks. No interactions with people. And when A finally had to go outside (grocery store and other necessary stuff) A would take off the clothes A worn outside and washed them immediately. Wiped everything down that was touched.
Anyhow, A got infected when A went back to work. Got tested only because somebody at A's work tested positive, no symptoms at the time of the test. A did experience fatigue and flu like symptoms, recovered and is feeling fine now, did not take any meds to recover. A did not infect the person they are in a relationship with although they got close. A is 46 years old.
B leaned towards the Covid is a hoax theory, thought masks were stupid and still does. B's live in partner got sick first but not tested and most likely infected B. B was so sick that B wanted to die for three days, their own words when talking to me about this. Lost taste and smell for about a month. Both B and their live in partner attended a wedding and infected several people at the wedding. One of the people (the bride of all) ended up in the hospital. B shared drinking glasses with several people at the wedding, not all of them got sick. B got prescribed antibiotics and took zinc, vitamin D and C. Recovered and is feeling fine now. B is 44.
C only got tested due to a runny nose. No other symptoms. Recovered fast and without meds. C is 22.
There you go....those are the three people I personally know that had the virus. Then I have of course read about several cases online, some that recovered and others that didn't.
Most people I have talked to do not understand the meaning of quarantine and isolation. I never quarantined because I went outside and I to the grocery store during shutdown when only essential places were open in Oregon. If you stayed inside and did not go anywhere for a certain duration of time (usually 14 days) you can say you quarantined. Yes perhaps it makes you feel good about yourself to say you quarantined but most likely you didn't....Quarantine is a word that people throw around while not understanding what it means.
I am not sure what to make of all of this. I do know that I won't be rushing to get a vaccine, I do believe that our treatment of animals is linked to our health including the spread of diseases. I feel that hand hygiene and overall cleanliness is important (I am aware that some do not have access to soap and running water). I think that majority of people emphasize their own wants and needs and do not care about the impact of their actions. I think that masks can hinder the spread of germy droplets if worn correctly and changed out or washed on a regular basis. I like the way some Asian countries adapted to the wearing of masks long before COVID was an issue, due to consideration of others.
I know I have said this many times already, human beings will bring on the end of life as we know it. Humans are the biggest plague on this planet.
Having said that....CHEERS, be mindful and take care!
I have been holding on to this pic since the beginning of March. I can finally put it to good use.
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