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>I don't know what that chance is The people who do know, the CDC aren't recommending you stay home.

by 99_00 7y ago

Johnny555 7y ago
Yes, the agency that bungled the testing program by telling states they had to use federal testing kits, then sending out faulty kits, then saying that the kits were fine after all, then sending out such a limited quantity of kits (200 for the entire state of California) that only the most serious cases would be tested, and now it's possible that the lab that assembled the kits as contaminated so they may be tainted after all. Finally they gave states permission to use their own kits so now we should get some real figures for infection rates. The same agency that tells me that all I need to do to remain safe is to wash my hands frequently, while they also say that will only reduce my risk of infection by 16 - 21%. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.htm https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.htm Oh, and the CDC was effectively silenced by the White House, so now all communications will be tainted by politics. So, I'm not putting too much credence in the CDC right now, other than to assume that if they say to do something, then it should be taken seriously. So meanwhile, I'm continuing to go to work, and washing/sanitizing my hands frequently but all things considered, I'd rather stay home until the full scope of the outbreak is known. It seems that some mild over-reaction is better than under-reaction, at least until we have a good sense for how many people are infected, how quickly it's spreading, and what the USA mortality rate is (which may differ than other countries due to different standards of health care)
- 99_00 7y ago
  >I'm not putting too much credence in the CDC right now Then who is your goto source?
  - Johnny555 7y ago
    My own mental aggregation of news sources both local (which includes US government/CDC releases) and foreign sources to see what's happening in countries harder hit than the USA (Italy and Korea) to get a sense of what may be coming here. It's hard to put much credence in the news out of China since the government has such a tight hold on information. Remember that public health policy is not about keeping you healthy, it's about keeping the general population healthy even if it puts some people at a higher risk, so you've literally got to take your own health and safety into your own hands. It's arguably good for public health to keep people going to their jobs, keeping shops and grocery stores open, keeping gas stations open, etc. But that grocery store cashier is exposing himself to hundreds of people every day, so he may be putting himself at risk even as he helps reduce the impact to others by helping them to buy food. And now we're in an even worse situation where public health has been politicized in order to protect the current administration, so keeping people healthy may be sacrificed to keep the stock market healthy. That doesn't mean people should abandon society and run for the hills, but when you see deaths and signs of community spread near you and it's clear that there's not enough testing to determine the scope of the illness, it's probably best to avoid large social gatherings, maybe skip going to the movie theater for a while. And if your company allows it, stop going to the office and work from home.
    - 99_00 7y ago
      >It's arguably good for public health to keep people going to their jobs, keeping shops and grocery stores open, keeping gas stations open, etc. But that grocery store cashier is exposing himself to hundreds of people every day, so he may be putting himself at risk even as he helps reduce the impact to others by helping them to buy food. I really don't think the CDC's agenda includes sacrificing individuals for the greater good. But a variety of opinions is what makes life interesting!

>I don't know what that chance is The people who do know, the CDC aren't recommending you stay home.

by 99_00 7y ago

>I don't know what that chance is The people who do know, the CDC aren't recommending you stay home.

Yes, the agency that bungled the testing program by telling states they had to use federal testing kits, then sending out faulty kits, then saying that the kits were fine after all, then sending out such a limited quantity of kits (200 for the entire state of California) that only the most serious cases would be tested, and now it's possible that the lab that assembled the kits as contaminated so they may be tainted after all. Finally they gave states permission to use their own kits so now we should get some real figures for infection rates. The same agency that tells me that all I need to do to remain safe is to wash my hands frequently, while they also say that will only reduce my risk of infection by 16 - 21%. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.htm https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.htm Oh, and the CDC was effectively silenced by the White House, so now all communications will be tainted by politics. So, I'm not putting too much credence in the CDC right now, other than to assume that if they say to do something, then it should be taken seriously. So meanwhile, I'm continuing to go to work, and washing/sanitizing my hands frequently but all things considered, I'd rather stay home until the full scope of the outbreak is known. It seems that some mild over-reaction is better than under-reaction, at least until we have a good sense for how many people are infected, how quickly it's spreading, and what the USA mortality rate is (which may differ than other countries due to different standards of health care)

99_00 7y ago
>I'm not putting too much credence in the CDC right now Then who is your goto source?
- Johnny555 7y ago
  My own mental aggregation of news sources both local (which includes US government/CDC releases) and foreign sources to see what's happening in countries harder hit than the USA (Italy and Korea) to get a sense of what may be coming here. It's hard to put much credence in the news out of China since the government has such a tight hold on information. Remember that public health policy is not about keeping you healthy, it's about keeping the general population healthy even if it puts some people at a higher risk, so you've literally got to take your own health and safety into your own hands. It's arguably good for public health to keep people going to their jobs, keeping shops and grocery stores open, keeping gas stations open, etc. But that grocery store cashier is exposing himself to hundreds of people every day, so he may be putting himself at risk even as he helps reduce the impact to others by helping them to buy food. And now we're in an even worse situation where public health has been politicized in order to protect the current administration, so keeping people healthy may be sacrificed to keep the stock market healthy. That doesn't mean people should abandon society and run for the hills, but when you see deaths and signs of community spread near you and it's clear that there's not enough testing to determine the scope of the illness, it's probably best to avoid large social gatherings, maybe skip going to the movie theater for a while. And if your company allows it, stop going to the office and work from home.
  - 99_00 7y ago
    >It's arguably good for public health to keep people going to their jobs, keeping shops and grocery stores open, keeping gas stations open, etc. But that grocery store cashier is exposing himself to hundreds of people every day, so he may be putting himself at risk even as he helps reduce the impact to others by helping them to buy food. I really don't think the CDC's agenda includes sacrificing individuals for the greater good. But a variety of opinions is what makes life interesting!