<
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/covid-isnt-going-anywhere-masking-up-could-save-my-life>
"The answers lie in poop. Based on the latest national sample of wastewater
taken on January 13, 2024, the concentration of the SARS-Cov-2 virus is 1,132
copies/mL of sewage, an alarming increase compared to 280 copies/mL six months
ago. This is one sign that cases of COVID infections have been rising,
resulting in more hospitalizations, deaths, and people developing long COVID.
Like millions of other high-risk people who are service workers, older,
chronically ill, disabled, or immunocompromised, I have done everything I can
to remain as safe as possible. Due to neuromuscular disability and respiratory
failure, my chances of surviving an infection are slim to none. With the latest
JN.1 variant likely even more contagious – or better practiced at evading
immune system defenses – than previous ones, I wonder if this is the surge when
I will become infected, which is terrifying.
In 2022 a series of medical crises left me even more vulnerable: I now have a
tracheostomy, a hole in my throat where a tube enters that is connected to a
ventilator full-time. Since I can no longer breathe through my nose and mouth,
masks are less effective, and the filter attached to my ventilator does not
provide the same protection as a K95 mask. When I am in public spaces and see
most people unmasked either because they think the virus is a hoax, that
masking is virtue signaling and a sign of weakness, aren't thinking about it,
or that they simply don’t care, I feel like an expendable burden not worth
saving."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: January 18, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-96725565
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
