cgWerks
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Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they're vaccinated
Yep, and that stuff fogging up your glasses would contain those dastardly little Covid-19 viruses, sneaky little devils. I guess the argument is that there are *less* of them with the mask, and then if you're distanced, not staying still for long, and not in too enclosed of a space, it *might* (at least on paper) reduce transmission. One wonders, though, if Fauci told people to stick a florescent pink cue tip up one nostril because it would cut down transmission, if they'd just blindly do that, too.tylersdad said:
I wear glasses. When I wear a mask, my glasses fog up. There are masks which minimize fogging, but they do so at the expense of airflow.
So my choice, if I'm wearing a mask is, be able to see or be able to breath.
It's not just some minor inconvenience. I used to work in a wafer fab. I had to wear a mask 8+ hours a day. When I was able to leave the fab for an office job, I was very happy.
Yeah, unfortunately I have a bit too much mask wearing experience as well. While I don't have a medical condition which makes it especially dangerous to me, I can absolutely feel the effect, especially when having to do physical labor. (I got a kick out of the YouTube girl with the O2 meter sitting in a chair and taking measurements after a couple min with and w/o, and saying, see no difference. LOL)
Now they are really in trouble, as there are all kind of Vaxxed people roaming around who could spread Covid to them, and they'd be less likely to even know they are in danger. Hopefully they and I won't have to try and bury all the dead when the next virus hits (cf. ADE).crowley said:
What about those who are unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons? Does your proud self regard and dismissal of other people's circumstances and lives extend to them too?
Not sure about the UK, but I think Israel is in the high 80s, and the majority hospitalized are vaccinated.tylersdad said:
It would be interesting to know what percentage of that 40% are fully vaccinated (either with both doses of Pfizer/Moderna or one does of J&J).
re: 1 - no, it's not clear, which is why studies were done. I'd say, tradition, outside a few cases where fluids, etc. are flying.Xed said:
1) It is clear. Masks and distancing work, which is why surgeons wear masks.
2) Assuming you mean "why" do I care, I care because the risk is to society as a whole, not just to people like you. You and your ilk are the reason this was an issue. You and your ilk are the reason we had to endure the lockdowns and drop in commerce for so long. You and your ilk are the reason there is a resurgence. You and your ilk through your spread of lies and spread of viruses have caused the death and destruction of countless lives.
re: 2 - Well, that's the narrative, for sure. You restated it well. It just runs counter to the science and history of respiratory viruses and pandemics. it IS quite effective for dividing people up and putting them against each other, though.
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Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they're vaccinated
Except that isn't data or studies, but speculation... maybe a hypothesis.tmay said:
You would be wrong.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/flu-has-disappeared-worldwide-during-the-covid-pandemic1/
It was almost certainly a combination of social distancing and mask wearing that drove that low number of flu deaths this flu season. Americans are only now understanding the benefits of wearing masks during flu season, something that has been standard procedure in Asia.
Here is an actual study (there are a few more, but they are unfortunately all in medical settings, not general public. They all have similar results.):
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577.full
"Results The rates of all infection outcomes were highest in the cloth mask arm, with the rate of ILI statistically significantly higher in the cloth mask arm (relative risk (RR)=13.00, 95% CI 1.69 to 100.07) compared with the medical mask arm. Cloth masks also had significantly higher rates of ILI compared with the control arm. An analysis by mask use showed ILI (RR=6.64, 95% CI 1.45 to 28.65) and laboratory-confirmed virus (RR=1.72, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.94) were significantly higher in the cloth masks group compared with the medical masks group. Penetration of cloth masks by particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%.Conclusions This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. Further research is needed to inform the widespread use of cloth masks globally. However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated."
Here was the pre-2020 WHO guidance (from a PDF called "Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza guidance" which they've pulled down... I think I have a copy if you'd like).
p26 "OVERALL RESULT OF EVIDENCE ON FACE MASKS Ten RCTs were included in the meta-analysis, and there was no evidence that face masks are effective in reducing transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. "
- "Reusable cloth face masks are not recommended."
crowley said:
If it’s not going to do anything then it’s not going to do any harm. And there are other opinions that say they have a significant effect.No, not really. In some people, it can do a lot of harm. In the rest of us, it ups our chances of respiratory disease. Of course, that's just medical. There could be other issues like psychological ones going on, especially in kids, or developmental ones.
tmay said:
I'm a democrat, and at this stage of vaccination in the U.S., I'm all for Darwin to have his day. The only negative is that the U.S. medical system is getting pretty tired of dealing with these hospitalizations of the unvaccinated. Myself, I'm concerned about the continuing pool of mutations that the world has yet to experience.Can you name a respiratory virus that has been stopped via vaccination? (I'll be waiting...)
As for mutations, respiratory viruses generally become more contagious and less deadly as they mutate.... UNLESS they are pushed by a driver like mass vaccination. If you're worried about more deadly mutants, then we're doing exactly the wrong thing.
BTW, the hospitals are in trouble due to staffing problems, not lack of space to treat the sick.
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Apple plans under-screen sensors to include both Touch ID and Face ID
Yes, I was initially skeptical about FaceID, but now that I have it, I do like it in maybe even a majority of cases. But, for all those other cases, it would be nice to have TouchID as well. Having both would be perfect.MplsP said:
In general, Face ID is quicker, more accurate and more reliable than Touch ID was, but there were definitely times where touchID was nice, and adding it would also give the option to combine the two for increased security. As far as the wet finger issue, IME simply wiping my thumb on my pants was sufficient to allow TouchID to work.
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Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they're vaccinated
No, it actually can't, unless you cherry-pick. That's the problem with the science on this one. Both sides have data.canucklehead said:
Mask wearing has been proven to help reduce spread and the data can be easily seen when comparing places with and without mask mandates (along with how seriously the people take these rules).
The actual controlled studies (pre-Covid) showed masks were neutral to slightly ineffective, while posing certain health risks, but they were done mostly in medical environments. That's the science. (As with about anything else, observation and theoretical studies get poo-poo'd.)
The observational studies since Covid, seem to show some effectiveness, but of course we could be looking at correlation, not causation. The theoretical studies also seem to show they *should* have an impact, but real-world and theoretical often vary.
It isn't so much that they do nothing (even a 2% improvement for cloth masks is something), but that in the grand scheme, once you factor in everything else (like air circulation, particle densities, what the threshold of infection is, etc.) they end up not mattering too much.
That's aerosol, though. If we're talking droplets, then yes they work (at least to a greater extent). But, hopefully we don't have a bunch of symptomatic people running around coughing on everyone. (I suppose that could be the case, but I've not seen it anywhere. I think even people with coughs are afraid to go out in public, even WITH a mask these days.)
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iPhone survives three days underwater in turbulent Idaho river
Wow, I am a bit surprised the battery lasted that long. I wonder if he had WiFi/BT and Cellular disabled? Anyway, the poor fish were probably going insane.
