Westerly

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Posts posted by Westerly

  1. 17 hours ago, Stumpy said:

    The irony score of this coming from you is pretty high.

    Yet I am still the only actual medical professional in this thread. I spend 50 hours a week in a hospital. How often are you there? Anyone who argues 'some rando PCP said this, so it must be true' clearly hasent spent much time around doctors.

    (Moderator warning - Westerly has demonstrated that he is not a reliable source of information on COVID-19 and the issues surrounding it.)

  2. · Edited by Westerly

    36 minutes ago, billvon said:

    I talked to an actual working primary care doctor and she said that's a load of bull.

    You use that sentence like it implies some level of authority. The general population may look to MDs as experts and among the smartes of us all, but in the medical world being an MD/ PCP doesent mean shit. The true 'experts' are surgeons and very experienced specialists. MD-PCPs and NPs are basically just garden gnomes comparatively. There are 'plenty' of MDs who are absolutely off their rocker and it's a complete misery how they even have a medical license to begin with. Being a PCP doesent mean you have it all figured out. Many barely have anything figured out and they have general knowledge of all medical subjects, but they are not experts in any specific field. That's why your average RN who, say, works in the NICU probably knows a shit load more about babies than most MDs who work in family medicine.

    • Like 1

  3. · Edited by Westerly

    On 7/21/2021 at 7:00 AM, wmw999 said:

    And if you recover, insurance should take into account whether you refused the vaccine. 
    Wendy P. 

    Sure ,the problem with this though is most people who end up in the hospital are there by their own fault. Injured? Well, thats your fault, you should have stayed home where it's safe. Heart disease? Maybe you should have ate healthier. Diabetes? Maybe you should have exercised more.  Cancer? Maybe you should have smoked less. ect. ect. ect. I know plenty of people who would argue that anyone who is stupid enough to jump out of an airplane should have to pay their own medical bills if they get hurt.

  4.  

    On 7/14/2021 at 6:08 PM, JerryBaumchen said:

    Hi folks,

     Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, and have not been fully approved, the military cannot legally mandate that all service members get the vaccine.

     

     

    LOL active duty servicemembers are government property and any so-called 'laws' dont apply when terms like 'national security' are involved. The military can order their troops to take the vaccine if they want. I understand why they havent yet, but the idea that 'they have no legal authorization' to mandate it is complete BS. The president and commanders of the military services can order literately anything without restriction if the order is in support of mission readiness. Hell, they can order that their troops are no longer legally authorized to consume alcohol or smoke if they wanted to (which is a real example that has actually occurred)...

    (Moderator warning - Westerly has demonstrated that he is not a reliable source of information on COVID-19 and the issues surrounding it.)

  5.  

     

    4 hours ago, headoverheels said:

    I was at a lumber yard today.  16 people inside, I was the only one wearing a mask.  Nobody outside was either.  San Jose, California.   At two grocery stores and a liquor store, I only noticed one person without a mask.  We have gone back to having masks recommended for everyone indoors, vaccinated or not, because of upswing in cases.

    Great. Sounds like people are getting with the program. At this point people have made their choice. 99% of all new infections are among those who are unvaccinated. Get the shot or take your chances. The unvaccinated need to stop bringing down those of us who have made the smarter choice. Time to cut the dead weight and let them take the risks they so desperately want to take. They want to be on their own and do their own thing, so let them. Drop the masks and precautions and let nature sort things out. Everyone had a chance to protect themselves. They made their choice.

  6. On 7/11/2021 at 11:58 PM, Baksteen said:

    Correct, actually.

    It's therefore in the rich countries best self-interest to stop hogging the vaccines and start making the vaccines available to second and third world countries.

     

     

    The vaccines are sold by private firms who are welcome to sell their product to anyone they want. The government cannot legally restrict them from selling their product to other countries, nor would it.

  7. On 7/11/2021 at 2:56 PM, billvon said:

     

    Nope.  In any given year, the flu kills tens of thousands.  60,000 deaths is a really bad year for flu deaths.  COVID killed 360,000 people last year. 

     

     I dident say per year. I was speaking in absolute terms. Covid has existed for one year. The flu has existed since before your great grandmother was born. The flu has killed many millions of humans in its existence.  The cumulative damage of the flu far exceeds that of Covid, yet as I pointed out no one seems to give a shit about the flu. Half of those deaths could have been prevented from masking, but until 2020 no one in America would even consider wearing a mask even if they were actively sick.

    That's something you see easily if you go to Japan. Since well before the pandemic it was common that the japaneese would wear a mask if they thought they were even marginally sick. But in America, you could be hurling vomit from infection and it would still be the standard to show up to work and shake everyone's hand.

  8. · Edited by Westerly

    12 hours ago, billvon said:

    Yep.  In fact, the US Constitution calls out that the government has a responsibility to protect the common welfare - twice.

     

    Great, so why are we only getting around this some 200 years after said document was written? Where were all the bleeding hearts when the flu was around? You know how many people have died from the flu? FAR more than COVID. Buy a factor of dozens. Yet, no one has given a crap about that for the last hundred or so years. This year had the lowest prevalence of flu deaths of any year in recorded history--largely because of all the COVID precautions of course. If we would have enacted these precautions for daily life a long time ago, millions of lives would have been saved from flu deaths. But we dident. No one cared. Even in an actual hospital, during peak flu season, no one wore masks. OR staff were the only ones that wore masks 100% of the time while at work. No other unit did-not even the ICU.

    I just find it convenient that all of a sudden we have a societal obligation to help people now, but it took a pandemic to figure that out. Prior to 2020 that wasent a thing and no one cared.

  9. · Edited by Westerly

    On 7/8/2021 at 10:59 PM, headoverheels said:

    What about the people who have been vaccinated, but have immune system problems that make the vaccines ineffective?  What you suggest will make it more likely that they will die.

    There is no evidence that someone with a medical condition will render the vaccine ineffective. Stop making shit up. In any case, the answer is simple. They need to take the appropriate precautions. It’s not society’s job to protect everyone else. It’s your job to protect yourself. No one cares more about your safety than you do. What we are doing is not sustainable and needs to end at some point so sooner is better than later. 
     

    also I’d add that medical conditions are not new. The flu is a leading cause of death amongs the elderly. Yet where was all the ‘think about others’ prior to COVID? That’s right, no where. No one gave a fuck. Funny suddenly everyone cares about saving lives during COVID but prior to that no one gave a shit. Don’t get too comfortable on your high horse. It’s a temporary position. 

  11. · Edited by Westerly

    98% of those currently in the hospital with COVID are unvaccinated. So in essence we’re required to wear a mask to protect people who don’t want to protect themselves. That’s like the literal definition of completely bullshit. I say thin the heard. Our fastest way to immunity is to just let them all get infected since it will happen eventually anyways and then we can truely be immune as one whole country. It’s absolute horseshit that in required to make sacerfices to help people who aren’t willing to do the same thing to help themselves. 

  12. 19 hours ago, gowlerk said:

    A 90% vaccinated population is one that is safe. A 65% vaccinated population is one that will have the virus on a slow simmer waiting for a chance to evolve and thrive again. We can wish that the mostly selfish people who won't do the right thing would simply become subject to Darwin's law. But the reality is that most of them will do fine and just spread it around. 

    Even if every human in America was vaccinated, that wouldn’t change the fact that there are still some 120+ countries who have a 0% vaccination rate and the virus could very easily mutate there and then travel to the USA. Vaccinating just one country in a world of 240 countries means little to nothing in the grand scheme of stopping mutations. 

    • Like 1

  13. · Edited by Westerly

    time to end the bullshit pandemic restrictions. there is a vaccine widely available to everyone who wants it and at this point if you choose not to get it and you get sick, that's entirely your fault. there is no real reason to keep moving forward with restrictions at this point.

  14. · Edited by Westerly

    these people need to sack the fuck up. getting a shot is literately no big deal. Do you know how many times I have drawn my own blood with one hand? like more than 30. I have given myself an arterial blood gas measurement before. Literately stabbed my artery with one hand and drew arterial blood. i guess being around people all day who have nasty diseases that can be debilitating, I see first hand that getting stuck with a needle is a wet dream compared  to what some people have to deal with on a daily basis. most people have absolutely no idea what real pain actually feels like.

  16. 11 hours ago, kallend said:

    Those who are immune compromised should speak with their doctors before giving up their masks, officials said.

    That's pretty funny. A PCP is absolutely not an expert opinion on the topic. The CDC is much more qualified to comment on that piece than some rando PCP is. And you dont even need to ask, any doctor worth their salt is not going to recommend anyone stop wearing a mask. There is no point in even asking.

  17. · Edited by Westerly

    Part of the problem is that all these Covidoits are not only putting their safety at risk, which frankly no one gives a shit about, they directly and indirectly harm others. Aside from the obvious risk of infecting others, they are creating a massive burden to the general medical community creating massive lines for ALL doctor services. Need a cardiologist? well now you have to wait 2 months because there are tons of covidioits who damaged their heart from the virus and now need a cardiologist too.

    Its not just medicine either. Even mental health doctors are maxed out. Try to get a mental health appointment? The wait is 8-10 weeks in most cases. If you actually need mental health services, you absolutely cant wait that long. So in short, I think anyone who chooses to not get vaccinated and then subsequently gets infected should medical service only on a space available basis with the lowest possible priority.
     

  18. · Edited by Westerly

    4 hours ago, DougH said:

    I disagree with that statement. No one is denied care at an emergency room, they will admit you if you have a serious problem, and basically every hospital writes-off bills of the poorest individuals. 

    Now I don't think that it is an efficient or equitable system, and medical bills from one incident can potentially bankrupt a middle class earner that doesn't qualify for subsidized care, but I don't think it is an accurate statement to claim that the poor aren't receiving care because they can't pay.

    Sure, but that only covers acute injuries and exabradations where they treat you to the point of stability. That is not sufficient to treat any chronic condition, any illness or any injury. All of those things require follow-up care, sometimes very extensive follow-up care, which is not handled at the ER. The ER does not diagnose or treat illnesses. They check the Hs and Ts. That's it.

    I do agree that the poorest do get Medicaid though which is pretty good insurance. It has no deductible or copay which is better than even the most expensive plans that you can purchase on the marketplace.

  19. · Edited by Westerly

    Well on the upside, Covid is on the downhill and soon people can get back to remembering the old days. Specifically, we can get back to our massively over strained, overly bureaucratic and extremely overpriced healthcare system that largely accomplishes little except making shit loads of money from sick people who want nothing more than to just feel better. I had a patient the other day who told me he has spent $300,000 on testing and fees over the last two years for a disease that he still has no diagnosis or treatment plan for...

  20. 9 hours ago, billvon said:

    There are legal issues in requiring people to get an experimental (i.e. not approved) vaccine.  It's illegal for the military to require soldiers to participate in experimental treatments, for example.

    So it sounds like it's time to just approve it. What are they waiting for anyway, the entire world population to take it before it gets approved? Half of Americans have already taken the vaccine. There is no other experimental drug on the planet that has had even 1/50th as many participants. You cant really call it experimental anymore when literately the entire population has taken it... Safe to say if there was something serious we need to know about it, we would already know it.

  21. · Edited by Westerly

    On 4/24/2021 at 11:58 AM, gowlerk said:

    Almost all states are at the very least close to matching supply and demand. I am not hearing of any asking for more right now.


    Regarding people who dont want to get the vaccine, put it on businesses. There is no reason why an employer cant mandate it. Employers already have the ability to mandate other vaccines. You cant work in heath care if you refuse the flu shot for example. So easy, get the shot or lose your job. Also make it a requirement for travel. Want to get on an airplane? You have to show your COVID card then.

    Of course not all employers are going to give enough of a shit to mandate it, but if the big 10 employers did, that would cover a large percentage just right there. The US government could mandate all of their employees get it, and that's the largest employer in the US right there.

    In the end, make it so inconvenient to not have the shot that you basically have to get it.

  22. 11 hours ago, kallend said:

    Might I remind you that a number of counties (almost all of them in "red" states) are currently declining their full quota of vaccines because of insufficient demand.

    Great then transfer the vaccines to the states that want them. There are plenty in that category. 

  23. 14 hours ago, kallend said:

    Which is why it is in our best interest to supply vaccines to other countries.

    We cant even supply vaccines to our own country. Might I remind you half of all Americans still dont have the vaccine. I'd say we have more pressing issues at hand.

  24. · Edited by Westerly

    10 hours ago, gowlerk said:

    North Dakota now has enough vaccine available that they will make it available to Canadian essential workers (mostly truckers) who cross from Manitoba. I'm getting my first shot of Pfizer on Friday in Winnipeg, but likely my second will come from this program.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-north-dakota-vaccine-essential-workers-1.5994519

    Makes sense. North Dakota was also the same state that refused to issue a mask mandate when they had the highest concentration of Covid infections of any place on the planet. More than 1% of the entire states population was getting infected every week. Covid shots are still really difficult to get. There are plenty of people who have been trying to get one since they were first available and they STILL havent been able to actually get an appointment.


    north Dakota is the Florida of the north...

  25. 4 hours ago, gowlerk said:

    Not hardly. I don't think virtual on line cruising is going to take over. The cruise industry will come back very strongly. Their order books are already filling up. Cruising has always been stupid, and there is no shortage of stupid people with money to spend.

     

    I have always wondered what the point is in going on a cruise. Like, lets pay a ton of money to be stuck on a boat. If you really like boats join the fucking Navy. Then they will pay you to be on a boat. Seems kind of stupid to me.