Jan 11, 2022Liked by Chris J. Karr, David Thornton, Jay Berman
Last week, I could not get or find a COVID test. I searched Ga from Carrolton to Augusta, Athens to Macon, Fayetteville to Sandy Springs. Maybe in a store, somewhere, I might have lucked up, but nothing available for pickup. Fortunately, my fever and headache abated after 2 days and I am fine, now.
My nephew notified me, yesterday, that he tested positive using a home test, but that his employer would not accept his home result and he had to go somewhere for testing or face disciplinary action for being out. No testing slots available for 3-4 days. It is my guess that this employer rule about using home tests led to employees coming to work infected, hence my nephew getting sick.
Jan 11, 2022Liked by Chris J. Karr, David Thornton
I know some jobs require more sensitivity than others when it comes to health. But, in general, I can't see the reason for mass testing for an illness, omicron variant, most people will get no matter what precautions they take. That assumes they are vaccinated.
Some are more sensitive to health concerns than others but almost any job that isn’t done in isolation has the opportunity to spread an airborne virus.
Jan 11, 2022Liked by Chris J. Karr, David Thornton
Understood. Again, I am talking about vaxxed and boosted people who aren't pilots or healthcare workers or nursing home workers. Why the panic demand for testing if the virus is going to spread no matter what?
I have the same question regarding quarantines. Even five-day quarantines could shut down nuclear power stations and other vital infrastructure where there are minimum staffing requirements for specially trained and licensed individuals.
We also have to keep in mind that tests are not bulletproof, and depending on how the numbers are distributed, false positives may end up sidelining folks who should otherwise be working.
The BMJ has an interesting interactive page on their site where you can plug in your own numbers to get a sense (probabilistically) of what might be actually happening:
Why sideline workers with minor symptoms of a mostly harmless variant when do not sideline workers with common colds or common flu? The common flu can have very unpleasant symptoms and make you feel like crap and the vaccine is only about 50% effective.
I don't expect an answer. Workers are sidelined because of federal decree. Even if the courts rule that unconstitutional, big business will continue to appease the party in power.
I don't have an answer to your sidelining question (all the folks I work with are remote, so it's not a live issue for me), but regardless of the OSHA mandate, I would have expected big businesses to do what they are currently doing.
In the building I'm in, I have 9 floors between me and my meals. When I take the escalators, I get to see the front doors of quite a few businesses, and a good third - if not more - aren't demanding tests for entry, they're demanding full vaccinations, which goes beyond the OSHA mandate (tests are not sufficient) as well as Chicago's own mandate (which does not apply to private workspaces).
I suspect that the function the federal mandate is serving will vary by geography (if enacted, which is dubious). In places like Chicago, it will serve as a scapegoat where business owners can point to the Feds and say that they compelled the mandate. In other areas where a mandate would not emerge on its own, then I can see a good case for blaming the Feds for keeping otherwise productive workers at home.
I'm not surprised you would expect it. I would too, but only because they want to be on the same page as the feds, not because of logic. But why when a few visitors with the seasonal flu might do more harm than the omicron variant?
I know what you mean about the signs on the doors. I recently visited an office building in north Fulton County about twelve miles from downtown Atlanta to talk with an interior decorator. There were dozens of signs about masks and vaccinations including on the door of the firm I was visiting. The e-mail confirming my appointment said I must absolutely wear a mask, so I put one in my pocket. I saw no one entering the building wearing a mask. When I entered the office suite, no one was wearing a mask. There was another sign on the receptionist's desk stating that if I would feel more comfortable, the staff would don masks.
My cardiologist requires masks, but his practice rents a space in my local primary care doc's building for once-a-month visits which sometimes saves me a hundred-mile round trip. The waiting room is common but the sign on the door says to wear a mask if you are there to see the cardiologist and to wear a mask if you are sick when seeing the PCP. I do what the sign says.
Last week, I could not get or find a COVID test. I searched Ga from Carrolton to Augusta, Athens to Macon, Fayetteville to Sandy Springs. Maybe in a store, somewhere, I might have lucked up, but nothing available for pickup. Fortunately, my fever and headache abated after 2 days and I am fine, now.
My nephew notified me, yesterday, that he tested positive using a home test, but that his employer would not accept his home result and he had to go somewhere for testing or face disciplinary action for being out. No testing slots available for 3-4 days. It is my guess that this employer rule about using home tests led to employees coming to work infected, hence my nephew getting sick.
I know some jobs require more sensitivity than others when it comes to health. But, in general, I can't see the reason for mass testing for an illness, omicron variant, most people will get no matter what precautions they take. That assumes they are vaccinated.
Some are more sensitive to health concerns than others but almost any job that isn’t done in isolation has the opportunity to spread an airborne virus.
Understood. Again, I am talking about vaxxed and boosted people who aren't pilots or healthcare workers or nursing home workers. Why the panic demand for testing if the virus is going to spread no matter what?
I have the same question regarding quarantines. Even five-day quarantines could shut down nuclear power stations and other vital infrastructure where there are minimum staffing requirements for specially trained and licensed individuals.
I think it’s about limiting the spread to avoid everyone getting sick at once.
Could be. So far it's not working.
We also have to keep in mind that tests are not bulletproof, and depending on how the numbers are distributed, false positives may end up sidelining folks who should otherwise be working.
The BMJ has an interesting interactive page on their site where you can plug in your own numbers to get a sense (probabilistically) of what might be actually happening:
https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1411/rr
Why sideline workers with minor symptoms of a mostly harmless variant when do not sideline workers with common colds or common flu? The common flu can have very unpleasant symptoms and make you feel like crap and the vaccine is only about 50% effective.
I don't expect an answer. Workers are sidelined because of federal decree. Even if the courts rule that unconstitutional, big business will continue to appease the party in power.
I don't have an answer to your sidelining question (all the folks I work with are remote, so it's not a live issue for me), but regardless of the OSHA mandate, I would have expected big businesses to do what they are currently doing.
In the building I'm in, I have 9 floors between me and my meals. When I take the escalators, I get to see the front doors of quite a few businesses, and a good third - if not more - aren't demanding tests for entry, they're demanding full vaccinations, which goes beyond the OSHA mandate (tests are not sufficient) as well as Chicago's own mandate (which does not apply to private workspaces).
I suspect that the function the federal mandate is serving will vary by geography (if enacted, which is dubious). In places like Chicago, it will serve as a scapegoat where business owners can point to the Feds and say that they compelled the mandate. In other areas where a mandate would not emerge on its own, then I can see a good case for blaming the Feds for keeping otherwise productive workers at home.
I'm not surprised you would expect it. I would too, but only because they want to be on the same page as the feds, not because of logic. But why when a few visitors with the seasonal flu might do more harm than the omicron variant?
I know what you mean about the signs on the doors. I recently visited an office building in north Fulton County about twelve miles from downtown Atlanta to talk with an interior decorator. There were dozens of signs about masks and vaccinations including on the door of the firm I was visiting. The e-mail confirming my appointment said I must absolutely wear a mask, so I put one in my pocket. I saw no one entering the building wearing a mask. When I entered the office suite, no one was wearing a mask. There was another sign on the receptionist's desk stating that if I would feel more comfortable, the staff would don masks.
My cardiologist requires masks, but his practice rents a space in my local primary care doc's building for once-a-month visits which sometimes saves me a hundred-mile round trip. The waiting room is common but the sign on the door says to wear a mask if you are there to see the cardiologist and to wear a mask if you are sick when seeing the PCP. I do what the sign says.