The Mayo Clinic is urging people to ditch the cloth masks:
Updated 12-30 for additional clarity Due to the growing wave of infection from the omicron variant and the urgent need to strengthen all layers of protection against COVID-19, Mayo Clinic is asking all patients and visitors to wear surgical/procedural masks. Several studies have demonstrated the...
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org
The Ontario Science Advisory Table is saying the same thing too:
If you are using a single-layer cloth mask to protect yourself from a new COVID-19 variant that is believed to be up to six times as infectious as Delta 'ditch it, full stop.'
toronto.ctvnews.ca
It makes sense considering there's been more and more research being done that suggests that cloth masks might fair as well against Omicron. For those who don't want to wear a surgical mask, or can't like me, they make cloth masks that allow you to put a surgical mask inside of it. Also, for cloth masks, you'll want to make sure they fit properly since so many of the ones you see on Etsy and whatnot are awful. You can loop the strings before putting it around your ears and that will seal it better to your face. In addition, don't be afraid to try a myriad of different masks. It took me some trial and error to find one that worked with my beard and still provided coverage.
If you're also like me and wear glasses, visit your local SCUBA shop and get the anti-fog stuff that divers put on their masks. It works great and I've been using it for some time now.
KN95 or N95 masks will still be your best defense, but those are uncomfortable to wear for any length of time without ear savers.
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In other news, hospitalizations are going HAM in most of the country. In DC hospitalizations are up 168% over the last 14 days with a 796% increase in cases and they still haven't felt the Xmas surge yet. Also, going by the US data you're 5x more likely to get COVID if you're unvaccinated and 13x more likely to die.
The "hottest" spot in the country right now is arguably Florida where Miami-Dade has seen a whopping 1,800% increase in cases. There are some oddities though due to population and test lagging, which leaves some areas of Puerto Rico with a 20,000% increase. If you see news stories (or your Uncle Steve posting on Facebook to show vaccines don't work), just be aware that the data is pretty skewed coming from those areas.
The NYT has a pretty good breakdown of all the data:
It's sufficient to say that this isn't going well.
Thankfully, it's now thought that 2022 will be the end of the pandemic:
The acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic could end next year but the coronavirus will not disappear, the World Health Organization's Mike Ryan said on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com
However, it doesn't mean COVID will go away, it'll just end up being another virus that causes something similar to the common cold. With a vaccine though, getting a yearly shot should prevent some of us from getting it or at least reducing how crappy it makes us feel. I could see Pfizer expanding its mRNA vaccine to cover other viruses that cause the common cold as well. We could very well be on the cusp of having a realistic prevention for the cold and that would be a historical breakthrough in medical science.
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As for what it's like in the hospital at the moment based on my experience. It's a complete cluster. I saw more patients yesterday be absolute scumbags than I've seen in probably my entire 10 years of being in healthcare. And this is coming from someone who once worked in a clinic where the doctor was arrested for dealing drugs and having to tell those patients to take a hike or we were calling the police. I was called some pretty unique insults when I told people to put their masks over their nose and mouth since Mormons do their best not to swear but still want to get their point across. The best? A suburban mom said I was an "empty-headed fetcher". It took my whole being not to say:
So ya be safe for New Year and use your head. You don't want to catch the fetching rona.
apnews.com
