Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[chaka]

Aw, thanks - but catching a flight to ABQ an hour after landing.

Next time.

ABQ was pretty mellow yesterday, most people respectful of masks in the airport, crowds not bad

[altasnob]

So I can get delta today - and then travel - and then bring omicron onto the plane with me for the return trip by skipping the testing requirement. Awesome.

Thanks for pointing out how dumb of a law it is. The exemption applies if you have had COVID (any variant) within 90 days of your departure. So as you state, the law allows people to get sick from Delta and then bring Omincron on the plane with them to share with everyone without any testing requirement.

[bennymac]

That part is dumb yes.

Therefore test.

Even if traveling from a cherry picked low incidence country to a cherry picked high incidence area in the US.

Are tests perfect? No. But it’s better than nothing. At least try to limit the number of covid positive people getting onto a long flight.

[summit]

Thanks for pointing out how dumb of a law it is. The exemption applies if you have had COVID (any variant) within 90 days of your departure. So as you state, the law allows people to get sick from Delta and then bring Omincron on the plane with them to share with everyone without any testing requirement.

The 90 day stipulation is now outdated but it existed for good reason: 1. we didn't expect any reinfection in that window 2. people could still easily be PCR positive but not infected.

If I was in charge I'd say the 90 day rule is changed to say you need a negative antigen to come back, unless you were infected while abroad.

[seano732]

On a related note, my hotel here is literally a half block from……..PFIZER WORLD HQ. DUH DUH DUH!!!!!!!! I think I can hear the building humming from my room……

[Rideski]

On another related note, a triple vaxxed friend from Denver, who wore a kn95 to fly to Seattle and back, now has bad chills.

[seano732]

What did he do in Seattle? Or did he touch the tarmac and fly back?

[funkendrenchman]

On another related note, a triple vaxxed friend from Denver, who wore a kn95 to fly to Seattle and back, now has bad chills.

And did your friend eat on the plane; perhaps in the airport? What did you friend do while traveling? This means nothing besides that being boosted isn't 100% - which we know.

[summit]

^Seattle chills booster guy... so is it Rona? Flu is rampant around here too (mostly A some B)... RSV and hMPV compete for distant 3rd.

INSANE COVID #s - THANKS OMICRON!
Summit County 7 day case incidence: 2400/100K
Positivity yesterday: 37%

[Adolf Allerbush]

On another related note, a triple vaxxed friend from Denver, who wore a kn95 to fly to Seattle and back, now has bad chills.

Is your friend dead or on a vent?

[seano732]

^^^^^^^

[Rideski]

Well I think that's part of the bummer of the situation is that they don't know yet. Out trying to PCR now. No rapid tests available that they've found as of yet.

[The SnowShow]

On another related note, a triple vaxxed friend from Denver, who wore a kn95 to fly to Seattle and back, now has bad chills.

Are his arms tired?

[skiJ]

" At some point we need to balance the worldwide economic well-being with hospitals being crowded. If not now, when? "

There are some good posts here today - Danno, Summit - Good thoughts, Thank you.

it saddens me that this is how covid is perceived - don't disrupt my Vacation Because others might be hospitalized ;
Really (?)

As has been noted, the (Return) testing requirement is to try to prevent Travel from being the super-spreader event ;

remember Delta ?
remember September ?
What If the next variant has omicron's immunity evasiveness and is more deadly (?)

crowded hospitals is an outcome -
The goal /// I believe the goal should be to limit the spread of the disease
( that is going to be impossible with Twenty percent of the population Unvaccinated, And new variants being immunity evasive ) .


'billion dollar airlines or consumers (?)'
I am pretty-sure without the Government subsidies, most of the airlines are broke
( two trillion dollars (twelve zeros) was added to the national debt last year alone ) .

I don't understand the idea that travel planned in 2021 should be guaranteed to the customer
( you can probably expect that If you pay 7x or 10x what 'regular' airfare costs, but to expect changes requested by the passenger to be absorbed by the airline, ) no.
it used to be called 'travel insurance'. and it was reasonably inexpensive.

I urge you to maintain your vaccination immunity -
I will be looking for another booster after four months
( I'm old. have a history of respiratory disease. ... )

Good luck -
my thanks to those who continue to work to limit the spread of covid, promote vaccination, and my thanks to medical care providers.

Good luck. tj

[Rideski]

Y'all just jealous she made it home after only a one day delay

[SumJongGuy]

On a plane might be the least likely place to contract COVID assuming the mask requirement is mostly enforced... The HEPPA filters are as good as it gets. Hopefully everyone's not eating all at the same time. I'd certainly wait if the person next to me took off their mask to eat. I'm gonna wait until they're finished and masked again before I take mine off to eat.

[Rideski]

I thought our resident aviators said the airplane filtration was a joke? Despite that, there's the while airport to get through as well.

[summit]

The plane itself has great ventilation once it is turned on (if they don't have the ventilation system on while on the ground.... oh well. Once on, airplanes have complete air exchange every 4 minutes, Ceiling to floor ventilation pattern, and all air is fresh or HEPA.

It's the mass transit to the airport, terminal, TSA lines, airport trains, restaurants, bars, and concourses/gates/jetways that are the worry.

[SumJongGuy]

I thought our resident aviators said the airplane filtration was a joke? Despite that, there's the while airport to get through as well.

Ya the lines at TSA and folks eating at the gates is covid soup. Wonder what the mortality rate of shuttle bus drivers is during this shitshow?

[MakersTeleMark]

My county is just exploding.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...vid-cases.html

https://www.vaildaily.com/news/eagle...-as-next-week/

Cases in Eagle County are at an all-time high in the pandemic right now. According to Lindley, across all testing sites in Eagle County, 40% to 50% of tests are coming back positive.

“Essentially one out of every two people getting tested in this community is coming back positive,” he said.

[Ted Striker]

I thought our resident aviators said the airplane filtration was a joke? Despite that, there's the while airport to get through as well.

The plane itself has great ventilation once it is turned on (if they don't have the ventilation system on while on the ground.... oh well. Once on, airplanes have complete air exchange every 4 minutes, Ceiling to floor ventilation pattern, and all air is fresh or HEPA.

It's the mass transit to the airport, terminal, TSA lines, airport trains, restaurants, bars, and concourses/gates/jetways that are the worry.

Yeah, it's the time on ground that's bad.

That said, while flying, if the person seated next to you (or possibly just behind or ahead) has their mask off and is exhaling virus, it is possible that it will reach you before the air inlet.

From a health standpoint, the theoretical passenger vaccine mandate is not a terrible idea.

[Rideski]

Well that's good to know. 2 years ago when this started, I thought someone said the filters were seldomly changed and therefore not very functional. Maybe that was speculation.

[bennymac]

Yeah, it's the time on ground that's bad.

That said, while flying, if the person seated next to you (or possibly just behind or ahead) has their mask off and is exhaling virus, it is possible that it will reach you before the air inlet.

From a health standpoint, the theoretical passenger vaccine mandate is not a terrible idea.

Exactly. Yeah the filters and air refresh makes sense on a grand scale - but on a local scale (the people around you) that prolonged exposure in a small “indoor” space is likeky significant unless you’re wearing a N95 that’s been fit tested for proper seal.

My non expert opinion is that this “airplane air is very safe” is just wishful thinking

[summit]

My county is just exploding.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...vid-cases.html

https://www.vaildaily.com/news/eagle...-as-next-week/

ECPH puts together one the best county level dashboards in the nation and you are linking the NYT?

Yea... Eagle is messed up. So is Summit (case rate is now higher than Eagle) and Pitkin. Pitkin and Summit are #1 and #2 in the USA for highest rates according to the NYT. Summit is 2400/100k!

The problem for both Eagle and Summit is the cases are now plateauing due to testing limits and long lines!

[summit]

Exactly. Yeah the filters and air refresh makes sense on a grand scale - but on a local scale (the people around you) that prolonged exposure in a small “indoor” space is likeky significant unless you’re wearing a N95 that’s been fit tested for proper seal.

My non expert opinion is that this “airplane air is very safe” is just wishful thinking

What the good ventilation does is limit your exposure to just a few people maybe just one or two, instead of the 300 in the cabin or thousands on the way too/from your seat.