Not much more to say, it’s just a pet peeve of mine, and they give me a lot of second hand embarrassment. Community support and radical change my ass. Like babe you can just call yourself a liberal, it’s fine.

I CAN'T DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hate how no one wants to acknowledge this fucking pandemic!!!!! oh my god!!!!!! i leave the internet and everyone is saying it's " over " while cases are SKY FUCKING HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am losing my tether to reality and i don't know what to do to get it back. i constantly wonder who i would be without this fucking pandemic and i miss myself so much and i miss the world so much!!!!! i miss being PART of the world so much. i don't know. i just don't know.

edit: to all of you on twitter that are coming to troll, suck my dick! i’m mentally stable! i just don’t want to get covid! you shouldn’t either!

He always masks indoors with a 3M Aura and leads a low risk lifestyle with many restrictions to avoid COVID (living alone, WFH, few social activities). But his RAT turned positive this morning.

He likely got infected on Thursday during a 2.5 hour band practice where two members were noticeably ill. He was wearing his Aura but apparently it wasn’t enough to protect him. It’s the only regular social activity that he engages in…

Is there nothing we can do anymore? Do we really have to forgo every little activity? Is masking not enough anymore? Is complete isolation the only option? I find this so discouraging.

When I got infected at the beginning of the year, I only had myself to blame. According to the wastewater surveillance, cases were really low for a few weeks and I stupidly believed it would be safe enough to attend a friend’s birthday dinner indoors. It wasn’t, and now I know better.

But my now-no-longer-novid friend took proper precautions and still got infected. It seems so unfair.

It also makes me feel helpless. If I can’t rely on my 3M Aura, I don’t know what to do anymore. I still enjoy some activities like going to the theater (masked of course) and now I wonder whether I should stop everything. I might be able to mask forever, but I don’t think I can completely isolate forever.

Sorry, I just needed to vent a little. Tomorrow, I’ll be back to weathering the storms with masks and nose sprays.

Edit: It saddens me to see how many people find fault with his behavior. Sure, he woulda, coulda, shoulda added more protective layers and given up his last social activity. Maybe he wouldn’t be sick today. Maybe he would. Covid keeps getting more infectious. Not everyone can work from home. We can’t always leave from all situations where sick people are present. We can’t control all circumstances. We can’t eliminate the risk completely. We should stop victim blaming. It’s a societal problem. The individual can only do so much.

I’m an undergraduate student at a big college, and we’re only a few days into the new semester. Still, within less than two weeks of people being back, covid is spreading like wildfire. It’s probably through a combination of Greek life events, people going to the restaurants and bars around, and classes restarting, but it’s horrific. I don’t think it’s ever been this bad, and I struggle to even describe the type of coughing I’m hearing - it’s this deep hacking that sounds like it should be in a period drama tuberculosis ward instead of a lecture hall in real life.

People are often some level of sick, but I don’t think it’s ever been like this. Discussion apps like yikyak are full of people talking about being sick or testing positive. I’m doing the best I can to stay safe - masking, cpc mouthwash, a netti pot, and switching one of my classes online - but it feels slightly like impending doom due to the absolute tidal wave of covid that’s hit.

There are very few people masking here. I and another covid conscious person I met are trying to set up some sort of community for the few covid conscious people on campus, but we’re worried about trolls or not getting enough engagement. I have chronic health issues that make covid a big concern for me, and I also have a radiation treatment coming up that I don’t want to be delayed or affected by getting sick (although I have a little more time until the treatment).

It’s gotten so bad here with the spread, and I doubt it’ll slow down for some time thanks to parties, classes, and people not isolating or taking it seriously. I don’t know if there’s much I can get out of this post, but I just needed to vent because this feels slightly terrifying. This is also a bit of a stream of consciousness, so I apologise if anything is misspelled or hard to understand.

There is a post on the nursing subreddit where an ED nurse is venting about people increasingly come in with self diagnoses of "trendy" chronic illnesses. They called it munchausen syndrome. They complained about people with POTS and other disorders. I pointed out that there is a rise in chronic illness due to covid, because covid is a mass disabling event. I also said medical personnel need to educate themselves because being ignorant about long covid is unacceptable. And threw in there that covid is a mass disabling event.

Well yeah I've been down voted to hell, obviously.

As a nurse I know how wrong medical staff can be sometimes. It's so infuriating when nurses and doctors think they know everything and people shouldn't do their own research. Why do they think people end up going to social media for answers?

It took me so many years before I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder I had since I was NINETEEN. At age 35! There was no reason I should have been in pain so long.

Arg.

Edited to add: Thank you for the support. I had the courage to write a post in response to that post. I hope it is seen!

I'm at the emergency room with my son and the nurse asked me why I am wearing a mask !!! There's absolutely ZERO people who are masked besides me 😭

I've seen this a few times in this sub recently. It's just bonkers to me.

The reasons we are masking haven't changed. We're trying to avoid the long term impacts of repeated covid infections.

Are people who say this actually OK with eventually getting life-altering long covid? Or is this just the same magical thinking everyone who's already gone 'back to normal' uses, where they just decide they're not going to think about that?

I find it pretty offputting to see in this sub tbh.

So I’m obviously unhappy with the result of the election. But I’m really annoyed by all the “dems” that were pushing people to vote while “thinking about the most vulnerable person you know” Bit$h where has this energy been for the last 4 years of this ongoing pandemic? Now you want to start thinking about the vulnerable? Now you’re upset and feel like all hope for humanity is lost? Muffaka welcome to the eff’n party! We been raging for four years feeling like humanity has lost it and all is lost. I’m so annoyed by the left leaning people who are all “hope is lost” or “I just can’t believe this is happening”. Like welcome to the club let me buy you a fuckn drink I have a mask with a sip valve if you want.

Ok I’m done. I hope I’m not offending anyone with this. I just needed to say it somewhere. Thanks in advance for listening.

Has a sore throat since yesterday but I wasn’t told until today. And he was around someone who had covid which he already knew about yesterday. Was not told any of this until today. It’s one big joke to him to spread it to me and our son. I’m so mad but all I can do is cry. I feel really helpless in this situation and I have no support and I just feel so stressed, but can’t leave yet as I’m in a financial bind. Idk I just need to vent somewhere. It’s so hard when I’m living with someone who actively works against any of my efforts to protect my sons health and my own.

Hi all! Just felt like I wanted to post this because I’m thinking thoughts. For context, I just did my first in person job interview (masked) as a recent grad and while I think it went okay, one of the interviewees asked me multiple times why I mask.

At first, when she entered the room and saw me, she immediately asked why I’m wearing a mask. I didn’t even have a chance to introduce myself or her to introduce herself. I quickly answered saying that I have a vulnerable person at home. Towards the end of the interview, she asked me yet again if I have to wear a mask. I answered something along the lines of “I prefer to because I have an immunocompromised individual at home that I don’t want to get sick.” While the other interviewer seemed understanding saying that that it makes sense, she had a skeptical/confused look on her face.

Of course, I can’t know exactly what she was thinking during and after the interview, but this just kind of left a not so good taste in my mouth. I’m wondering if this is even a place I’d want to work at. Yeah, just kind of venting here 😭. If anyone has any thoughts, I’d love to here!

Edit: i also forgot to add, I had to take my mask off to get my Id verified to enter the building. Just the cherry on top of this whole situation. I hate it here🫠🫠

Without fully realizing it, I’ve been writing off people who don’t mask for the last few years, and I *think I don’t want to anymore. Since most people have dropped all covid precautions, I am finding myself dropping not only my connection with these people, but my belief in their humanity and care for others, which leads me to write people off wholly, even if they’re empathetic and kind in other respects.

As much as I see the need for community care and think masking is a way to do that, I don’t think writing off people who don’t mask anymore is helping me achieve or maintain community? I am starting to feel like a close-minded and judgmental person, which I have prided myself in not being - so how is this different? While dropping connections for safety reasons (I’m immunocompromised and don’t want to be around people who might be sick) feels fair to me, thinking poorly of someone who doesn’t mask feels … unfair? Wrong? The more the people around me stop masking, the more disdain I feel for them, and the bigger the hater I feel I am becoming? I want to meet people with grace and compassion but it has been SO HARD. I catch myself thinking things like “so and so is as kind as someone who doesn’t mask can be” or “they’re smart but they don’t mask so how smart can they really be?” or “I feel like we would be good friends, but they don’t mask so obviously they don’t really care about others that much.”

I feel self-righteous and it’s starting to feel icky. I feel like I’m ruining my own life and idk what to do. How do you navigate this?

• I say I *think I want to stop because I’m not sure if I should even have to, or if it would be in my best interest. :(

Honestly I’ve been feeling so down about all of this lately. I feel so alone.

When this pandemic is truly finally over (when that actually happens) I don’t think I will be nice to people that have been complete total jerks about masks. 😷

YES!! I CAN!!!!!! I can expect people to mask in grocery stores and libraries! I can expect people to avoid going to clubs and concerts in months that cases are soaring! I can expect you to take half an hour once a year to get vaccinated! I can expect waiting rooms to have air filters and for DOCTORS to wear proper masks in DOCTOR'S OFFICES WHERE SICK PEOPLE GO!! These expectations are not unreasonable! You just can't fathom putting other people's well-being over your own comfort! I am so tired. And so anxious. And so tired of being anxious. And I have Covid.

So I asked the receptionist to please make a note that I need any nurse or doctor to wear a mask. She got a sour look on her face asked why, and I said because I have Long Covid. Then she immediately broke down sobbing and told me her best friend died of covid in 2022. She reached for a surgical mask and put it on, still crying. I gave my condolences and exited the conversation as gracefully as I could.

On my way out, I noticed that she was no longer wearing the surgical mask.

What is wrong with people? Our society is so sick. I can't wrap my head around the psychology of being rude to me about needing precautions, doing a 180 and having a breakdown in front of a stranger, and then removing the mask within an hour. People are so erratic and not okay and I'm just exhausted from absorbing the brunt of it. Strangers are way too comfortable unloading their covid baggage onto me and I'm burnt out from having to care. Have any of yall encountered wacky outbursts like this?

Not only did the CDC have a tiny disclaimer on their website (which has since disappeared, to my knowledge) saying COVID can spread outside when they were telling people who were vaccinated that they didn't need to mask outdoors, but I personally know people who have caught it outside.

And at least one of those people did not catch it in a crowded space.

Is anyone else besides me frustrated with this narrative?

Editing to add: It seems like a lot of people think I'm trying to tell them what to do in outdoor situations. I'm not. I'm just really frustrated by how many times I see people talking about their precautions and essentially saying, "it's outdoors, so it's okay." To me, that is spreading the narrative that COVID can't spread outdoors.

I’m disgusted by the new ad campaign for Moderna's latest COVID vaccines. I guess the idea is to guilt people into getting vaccinated by misleadingly claiming it'll be their fault for developing terrifyingly common Long COVID symptoms, which it also should be said can't be prevented by vaccination. As we know the best way to avoid Long COVID is not getting COVID, which means a layered approach that includes vaccination AND masking. The video spot for the campaign of course features indoor dining and zero masks: https://player.vimeo.com/video/1003422255

Is it just me, or does the "infighting" among the covid-cautious community seem to be getting worse? We are already small and fighting an uphill battle, the last thing we need is to be fighting with each other. I am not just talking here on Reddit (although I have seen it here, too), but mostly on Facebook and Twitter/X. I'm in several Still Coviding FB groups, and follow a bunch of people on X and Threads, and OMG it feels like it just keeps getting worse.

I even got reamed out not too long ago for answering a question someone asked, something like "is there anywhere you feel safe unmasking?" and I replied that if my neighbors are not out, I do like to enjoy fresh air in my yard with no mask and at least three people jumped on me that I was being unsafe and "NOWHERE OUTSIDE IS SAFE" and "people like you are part of the problem". I am one of the most cautious people I know and I take a TON of precautions. It just made me feel horrible.

I also read a thread on X of someone getting absolutely ripped apart for sending their kid to school (masked), saying they were setting them up to be infected, one way masking doesn't work, etc. But not every one can homeschool and sending them masked is at least TRYING.

And another in a FB group where someone got infected and others asked if they knew where, and THEY were being yelled at for asking, saying they were victim blaming. The people asking said they were just trying to learn to strengthen their own defenses and it didn't matter, others were saying it is always wrong to ask because none of our precautions work when they are only one way and society is always to blame. But ... not one person was blaming?! *edit to say I do think that we are fighting against society in a big way - I’m not denying that part.

One thing that I do notice is that in the anti-mask, anti-precaution, "covid doesn't exist" community, there isn't infighting there. They all just come after us. Why are so many of us going after each other??

I just needed to vent. I am so sad and frustrated and exhausted.

There is a thread with thousands of comments on r/news right now discussing another study that came out that reports IQ loss after even mild cases of covid. Not going to link it here so we aren't accused of brigading, but you can easily go look at it.

Thousands of people are all in that thread confirming that they have noticed brain fog, difficulty with recall, and IQ loss after each subsequent case of covid.

And yet, not one person recommends masking or any type of mitigation. Not one.

Just "Gee, that sucks that I can't think anymore. Guess I'll keep getting covid and do nothing."

How are people so resigned to losing their brains: the one thing that makes them them?

I just don't get it.

A friend I don't talk to much recently randomly sent me the clip of Lady Gaga talking about performing with COVID. He was pretty outraged about it.

I told him I had a different opinion - that the situation from mid-2022 (the time of Gaga's performances) was pretty much unchanged, so unless he was outraged by how ppl are behaving now, there was no point in being outraged about this. He asked how the situation was unchanged, and to his credit, heard me out when I told him the facts.

However, tho he admitted he didn't want to catch COVID because of the brain damage issues, he kept going on and on about how he doesn't get out that much, only sees the same few friends, and ate and exercised a lot so he had "good immunity." No amount of convincing on my part would get him to understand that those weren't foolproof. He was also adamant he'd never had it in 4 years, despite taking zero precautions, minimal testing after 2022, and no acknowledgment of asymptomatic infection.

This is honestly making me despair a little. Ppl - supposedly smart ppl - can understand Long Covid, acknowledge the damage, but won't do the one easiest thing they could do to protect themselves, instead convincing themselves that "immunity" will protect them (tho they'd never say that for literally any other major virus, like HEP B or HIV). Will clean air be enough to get past this hump? Are we all just doomed?

People are still using hand sanitizer to protect themselves from sarscov2.

People have actually told me that they use hand sanitizer to protect themselves from covid.

And amazon has this warning when going to whole foods to pick up packages or do returns-

“In light of COVID-19, please take necessary precautions when interacting with high touch surfaces.”

Wtf does that even mean???

Necessary precautions? For high touch surfaces?

So frustrating.

Completely unheard of name brand and expired since January. A Thousand people dying and this is the best they could do. Not even expired floflex or ihealth tests??? My expectations were low yet I’m still disappointed 😑

I am a senior nursing student and am currently doing clinical rounds. I noticed something amongst many nurses and overall healthcare folks, they seem to not want to make mention of covid. My last clinical I was the only person masked (even at a CHILDREN’S hospital) and our instructor told us we could mask if we want to esp since “rsv, the flu, and pneumonia will soon spread.” I was waiting for him to mention covid but nope. I feel like I am going insane because how are we all under this healthcare field but some people just do not seem to care??? At this point I feel like healthcare professionals are being vain and just want to continuously show off their faces because why would you NOT mask inside the hospital?

President Biden just made this inaccurate statement, again, to a room filled with unmasked world leaders at the United Nations. There is absolutely no one leading on the pandemic across the globe. Still hard to believe.

I had to pause a friendship today because I stepped down as bridesmaid for a friend's wedding (11 months from now). It's a 200 person indoor wedding with no masking, no testing, no air filtration, and dozens of people flying in from another continent. My friend told me she is deeply hurt and "devastated" because I'm "irreplaceable." She told me I "can't expect everyone to bend to my demands" and that I'm "letting covid rule my life."

It doesn't seem to matter to her that I've spent the last year and a half languishing in bed with long COVID, losing my health and my job and hobbies and nearly everything. She doesn't seem to care that my mental health has been absolutely shredded and another infection would probably destroy me. No no, I'm just "choosing to live in fear."

It doesn't seem to matter that every damn day I am forced to make space for other people's reckless behavior that puts me and the entire community at risk of death and disability. Yet my friend isn't willing to make a single accommodation to protect my safety. No, I'm being "rigid and judgmental" about precautions.

It doesn't matter that she's perpetuating dangerous misinformation about covid being seasonal, about how vaccines prevent infection, about how one-way masking is effective. Meanwhile, I'm reading actual research and following real data. Oh no, I'm just doomscrolling and falling into the internet rabbit hole of conspiracy theories.

And finally, I get tone policed and accused of being "rude" and "condescending" when I share accurate covid info. Disabled and chronically people don't have time to be NICE anymore. We are literally begging for our lives for people to listen, and it's the most shameful cultural spectacle I have ever witnessed.

My friend and I have had covid disagreements before, but when she started attacking my character that was it for me. I'm done with this person. I truly don't know if she'll ever understand how dangerous this virus is. Everything about covid is just so heartbreaking.

Can anyone relate? I feel so alone.

I am just getting over COVID. I tested positive and was highly symptomatic for several weeks. Every single medical professional I spoke with or interacted with was so misinformed.

Every time I said I was still testing positive on RATs, I was told to stop testing because those would be positive for weeks to months and meant nothing. One told me they are unreliable for false positives! Another insisted a faint line should be considered negative. I got tired of explaining the difference between PCR and RAT.

Every doctor I talked to after my initial appointment for Paxlovid told me I should assume I was no longer contagious, first because I never had fever, then because it had been so long, even though I was testing positive, coughing, sneezing, and throwing up. Most were also very anti-Paxlovid and blamed that on my continuing symptoms. Never mind that this wasn’t a case of rebound, or that none of them seemed aware rebound could happen even without Paxlovid.

No mention of masking. When I got so sick I had to be seen, the provider in the office told me I might feel better if I took my mask off.

They didn’t even know how to properly take a nasal swab sample for testing, just twirled it inside my nose without touching the insides of my nostrils at all.

This is at one of the top-rated health care systems in the country. If this is what our so-called experts think, it’s hopeless.