I don't know if it's by mandate or custom that you must wear a mask in Virginia when you're in a medical facility. I'm pretty certain it's by mandate. Do you happen to know if there's a marked difference in COVID contraction rates in the two regions?
No mask requirements here, but there is a fight in Anchorage between the mayor and the assembly over the entire thing. I had to drive in there last Wednesday to get my hearing aids checked at the VA. VA demanded masks but only a certain type of mask, so they provided masks to everyone entering the facility. No big deal to me, but we usually go to dinner and shop when we make that trip, but not this time. It was the first trip in since Covid became a big deal except to go to the airport in July, and I am now back secure in my space and don't plan to leave the local area unless it is absolutely necessary.
I think most people's lifestyle had to change due to the rules and regulations coming from the politicians mandates in response to what they were fed about this virus.
Exactly. All of the damage that has been done has not been because of the virus decimating our populations, it's because of what governments have done. "It would have been worse" is a universally applicable yet non-provable statement that any of us can safely say about anything.
I'll dump this here rather than start a different thread. It's as much to organize my thoughts as anything else. I was at my friend's business (Joe) yesterday just chatting (I stopped by to get eggs and hung around for over 4 hours), and for once we talked about everything except COVID and Biden, except as COVID overlaps church matters. (I gotta inject here that I am so grateful to have him in my life, as we share our disagreements in a respectful adult manner.) Of course, there are always a few customers walking in and out who take time to sit down and chat as well (this is not his busy season), so that fills the time. And I learn a lot about local history, since he is the informal local genealogist and gathers data through such interactions. Part of the COVID/church conversation was that during peak COVID, the UMC told pastors that under no circumstances were they to minister to the ill and dying...too much legal risk of carrying a disease when visiting the infirmed in their homes. A friend of mine died of colon cancer and I just found out that our pastor visited her...not formally as her pastor in violations of the rules, but informally "as a friend" (I thought he had snubbed her, so this was a relief to hear...and he unfairly took a reputation hit.) Joe's father passed during Peak COVID (he was close to 90 years old) and when he requested last rights, his UMC pastor (a different church) showed up but admonished those in the room to not breath a word to anyone ("I'm here as a friend, not his pastor.") Real nice denomination, huh? People also recently found out that the Virginia UMC organization spent over $1,000,000 of state church money on lawyers and consultants to come up with their 64 page recommendation on dealing with COVID at churches in Virginia. That document included the "Thou shalt not visit thy dying flock lest thy infect them" rule. Folks are angry. I've mentioned elsewhere that there are 3 affiliated churches in our charge (meaning we share the costs of a pastor and support each other elsewhere), and I used to go to Joe's church then started going to a different one in the charge. The reaction to COVID (at the corporate and local levels) and what it did to the Sunday experience made me stop going to that second church altogether. Joe's church has less than 6 attendees per week...often just 2 of them; my ex-church has 25 or so attendees per week; the 3rd church also has 25-30 attendees per week. Joe tells me with a smile that he's "not sure" that everyone who claims to be vaccinated is telling the truth (declaring one's status is not a church requirement.) I didn't press for details other than to ask if this is first-hand info or just his general observations on human nature. It seems there are others not yielding to the general vax pressure. My ex-church has a few openly pro-vaxers, so I understand why some are compelled to lie about it. Besides...HIPPA. I am just surprised to hear that there are others like me there, because I assumed I was the sole outlayer. The 3rd church is full of people in open defiance, which also surprises me because there are folks in their mid 80s there. So yesterday I found comfort in discovering that other people there were not being browbeat into submission. Eight days ago I got an email from a friend in my ex-church in the spirit of a wellness check, and my draft reply was lacking so I let it sit and then forgot. I got an urgent "are you still alive" email today (which I do appreciate) so I picked up the phone and called her to apologize for my lack of response. Of course, COVID was on her mind, because it's the reason I stopped attending. "If you get vaccinated you can join our pickleball group." "I know a couple in Fredericksburg who both died and left their children parentless." "I don't tell people what to do, but it's not about you...you're putting others at risk." *sigh* She spoke of "99% of doctors got it so it must be OK." She also said that the unvaxxed were producing the variants. (None of this was done in with a mean demeanor, she is genuinely trying to be helpful in her clumsy way.) When I mentioned The Resistance in the medical community and the likelihood that modified immune systems produce modified viruses, she was in disbelief, as her local news and print media never mention it...those sources all blame The Unvaxxed for everything. So she asked me to send her some info on this stuff. I need to organize my thoughts and decide what to do. Of course, she did open the door and I'd like to get her some data to digest. On the other hand, what's the point? None of the sources of info are gonna be CDC-related. Nor are they gonna come from places she trusts (NBC, CBS, etc.) The best I'm aware of that is authored by a respected institution is the study done by the NIH in England, and it's devastating news for The Vaxxed. Not only do I not feel like engaging in a ever-ending debate, I'm not certain I want to give her what I think may be bad news regarding the decision she already executed in her own body that she cannot undo. Besides, she can always search for herself. Anything I send her is gonna be tainted with my fingerprints. Maybe I'll start putting references together without any editorializing on my part and then decide if I'll share them with her. We're never gonna get our "normal" back.
Tough situation if it is someone you are about. You can give her the NIH study, the Israeli study, or the one done by the VA here in the San Francisco area. They all show the failure of the vaccine program. I don't know if there are definitive studies on the vaccine causing the variants, but many experts believe that, and it makes sense since the variants and the virus situation have gotten much worse since the population became mostly vaccinated--except India, where they just treat the virus and have mostly gotten over the Covid pandemic. You got me a bit confused with the three churches and the rules governing your old pastor, though. Are you back attending one of those churches, or are you sticking with a Bible study group you mentioned earlier?
I guess I rambled. Won't be the last time... No, I've not gone back to those churches or to any other one.
We have some friends that are very very anti vaccine types nor will be, yet had covid awhile back they inquired if we were coming for Thanksgiving dinner this year, we replied NO and told them why also we just differ on views and have so far tested clear and both been vaccinated a good free meal is just now worth it to us to chance it. So yes it did stop us from going this was a regular thing for us also to go. I was just tested this week before surgery again, my 8-9th test all clear so far.
Worry- especially since hardly anyone wears masks. Doing more shopping than usual online. Work is down to virtually nothing, so my income is, too.
Has the virus changed my lifestyle? Not much. I still ride around NE taking pictures, don't wear a mask (except when going into dr./dentist office that require it) and generally ignore the brouhaha.
I posted a few music videos in the Protest Music thread that are relevant to this issue. I thought I'd leave a link to the post for the benefit of those of you who won't otherwise follow the music section. Some of you will love them, while others might be triggered.
My wife has a visiting nurse come in and the regular had a day off today. So the replacement asked if we could put masks on. Being in our own house we said NO