#covid safety

[newlevant]

New zine that's free for anyone to print and distribute! Read the whole thing at newlevant.com/COVIDzine or in the rest of this post.

UPDATE 4/11/2023:

I swapped out the colloidal silver nasal spray info for xylitol nasal spray info. I originally included colloidal silver spray because of the linked study and recommendation from RTHM, but I don't want to be pointing people toward something with notable health risks. Xylitol spray (Xlear) is also cheaper and more widely available!

#covid safety #covid isn't over #covid is airborne #mask up #covid zine #covid infozine #anti-covid

[damnyousubdermalirritants]

Hey everyone - if you live in or are near the US , you're over the age of 12, and it's been +2 months since your last jab you're eligible for a covid booster and Novavax is finally being rolled out! It's not an mRNA vaccine and has been shown to possibly be more effective against new variants than mRNA vaccines. It doesn't have the crappy side effects the day after either! It's the safest vaccine for anyone who has had adverse effects from the covid shot before. Here's a solid compilation of studies and news on it if you want to learn more

https://www.okdoomer.io/a-little-bit-of-good-news/

It'll be more widely available in a few weeks but many CVSs, RiteAids, and Costcos are carrying it nationwide. Costco doesn't require a membership. If you call your local pharmacy and ask them if/when they'll have it that might get them to sooner. Most of these have Novavax availability on their appointment scheduler websites but it's still worth calling to check or checking in person in case they're out of date. You can also search for it on vaccines.gov. Happy to help folks look locally where y'all are if you want. Important to check if the location will take your insurance because boosters are now >$100 out of pocket if you go out of network 🙃 If you don't have insurance there is also the Bridge Access Program. To be clear, the mRNA vaccines are still very good and getting boosted before the holiday season spike is the best thing to do regardless. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html

#signal boost #boost #covid19 #covid 19 #covid #long covid #covid boosters #novavax inc #covid safety #covid conscious

[ripleylarue]

From the ripley archives

#masc4masc #butch4butch #masking #covid safety #queer art #lesbian art #dyke

[bees-in-my-brain-hive]

#disability justice #COVID #COVID safety #covid isnt over #COVID19 #Long COVID #wear a mask #able bodied #ableism #eugenics #coronavirus #fuck ableism #anti ableism #wear a fucking mask

[ezratheunready]

Being chronically ill is so fun because I’ll go to the doctor and they’re like great so let’s just double check your kidneys aren’t shutting down yet, oh damn forgot you have to get your tuberculosis test.

I’m fucking over here worrying about fucking consumption like some Victorian child or tragic soprano in a Puccini opera because I’m immunocompromised, while y’all are raw dogging covid world not giving a fuck about wearing masks or taking any precautions, y’all said fuck these disabled people and their stupid little lives.

I’m so sick of this shit.

My own fucking family doesn’t even care enough about my health to take precautions so I have to isolate and quarantine in my own fucking home.

Fuck every one of you that thinks your convience is worth more than disabled people’s lives.

#wear a fucking mask #I’m so fucking tired of y’all #fuck everything #sorry I think disabled peoples lives are actually inherently worth something #physically disabled #chronic illness #Covid safety #disability #disability rights #immunocompromised

[spooniestrong]

#spooniestrong #spoonie #Covid #covid safety #wear a fucking mask

[barkbrained]

Sorry I haven’t been super active recently (not that I really need to apologize) I have covid for the first time and it’s kind of wrecking me emotionally and physically. I’ve been in bed almost constantly since my first positive test on the 14th, and am still testing positive. The fatigue is crazy.

As cases are on the rise again, I’m posting this as a reminder to everyone that it’s still SO important to protect yourself and your community by wearing a mask when you’re out of the house. Preferably with a kn95 or better, but any protection is better than none! (You can find quality, legit masks here, btw!)

I’ve been masking since the beginning of the pandemic, and I know taking precautions is taxing, and it’s tiring, and it’s stressful, and it’s so so bleak, but it’s still so important. as the government continues to drop the ball on supporting the public and keeping us safe it falls on to the collective to care for each other and stay informed.

So stay safe and support each other, please!

#my art #if any idiots get ahold of this post you will be blocked and I won’t be engaging with you 👍🏻 #if this post urges just one person to start masking again that is enough for me ;-; please guys #covid #covid conscious #mask up #wear a mask #covid safety #furry #anthro #furry art #furry artist #furry community #sfw anthro #furry fandom #furry anthro #furry character #covid mention

[tilting-at-windmills]

Keep wearing your fucking mask and testing yourself after exposure people x

#covid #covid safety #wear a mask #get vaccinated #covid testing

[angels-heap]

I would love any advice you have for protecting yourself against covid in a work environment where no one else cares, because I’m in the same boat.

That really, really sucks, friend. As I said, I don't have all the answers, but here's what I've learned over the last few years and what's worked for me and my inner circle so far. Note that much of this advice will be US-centric because that's what I know best.

First, some light reading: This Covid Safety 101 flyer/infographic includes a ton of helpful info, and I've had some success using it as a conversation starter in my workplace. TL;DR: COVID is airborne, it's a SARS virus, its effects can be devastating, and your risk of Long COVID increases with each infection. We should all be taking steps to contract COVID as few times as possible and spread it as little as possible, with or without the support we should be getting from our public health institutions.

As for practical suggestions, many of them unfortunately cost a non-inconsequential amount of money because we live in a capitalist hellscape, but here are some things you can try, roughly ordered from least to most expensive.

Awareness: COVID is airborne!

A lot of folks, including people in the medical field (!!!) seem hesitant to believe/accept that COVID is airborne, even though this has been understood by researchers since fairly early on in the pandemic. Since most lingering "infection prevention" protocols focus on things like handwashing, disinfecting surfaces, and keeping a six foot distance from other people (all good for public health, but not particularly helpful for COVID), you'll need to gauge your own safety and comfort when around others.

As a general rule, if you're close enough to someone that you could smell their vape or cigarette smoke if they were engaging in such an activity, you're probably close enough catch COVID from them. Also, like smoke, COVID can linger in the air for a while after someone leaves a room. Adjust your habits accordingly and keep your mask on as much as possible (see below).

CPC Mouthwash and Nasal Sprays

I haven't had time to do a ton of research on these options, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt, but it sounds like there's some research coming out that suggests certain nasal sprays and mouthwashes containing CPC (Cetylpyridinium Chloride) may help neutralize viruses or block them from entering your body (or, at the very least, they may help reduce your viral load). I've been using Crest Pro-Health Clinical Rinse mouthwash before and after interacting with people for the last few months; I don't know how much of a role it's played in keeping me safe, but it might be helping, and even if it's not, it was cheap and my breath is always minty fresh. Here's some more info about nasal sprays, since I don't know enough about them to make any specific recommendations.

Testing

Keep a few rapid antigen tests on hand, if you can, but know their limits as a diagnostic or preventive measure, especially as new variants continue to evolve. My current understanding is that many new variants won't show up on a home test until day 3-4 of symptoms. What this means for you is:

Testing when you're completely asymptomatic and don't have any known recent exposures is probably not the best use of your resources.

If you have any unusual symptoms that might indicate illness, stay home (or wear a high quality mask, if you must interact with others). A negative test doesn't necessarily mean you're in the clear, and if you're sick, you can transmit COVID for several days before you test positive.

Swabbing your mouth and throat in addition to your nose (in that order, obviously) may increase the sensitivity of home tests.

Any sign of a positive test line counts as a positive! If the test line is very, very faint, that still counts.

If you feel sick, but your first test comes back negative, try again in a few days and keep testing periodically until you feel better and are no longer testing positive.

Vaccines

They're not perfect, and they won't get us out of this mess on their own, but if you have access to vaccines, get them. Any vaccine is better than no vaccine, but FWIW, I personally opted to get Novavax this year, after learning that it was the jab of choice for many COVID safety advocates and researchers. Pros of Novavax, specifically, include lower risk of side effects, possibly more durable immunity, and it's not an mRNA vaccine (great option for the vaccine skeptics in your life). But in the end, get whatever you can get.

Masks

If you're not already wearing an N95 respirator or similar, such as KN95, FFP2, KF94, etc., anytime you're indoors (or outdoors in a crowd), now's the time to start. One-way masking isn't perfect, but it's a lot more effective than no-way masking. As someone with a fairly petite face, I've had a hell of a time finding N95 masks that fit me. Through my many expensive mistakes, I have learned:

Avoid buying masks on Amazon, if at all possible. There are a lot of fakes out there.

If most masks fit you comfortably and you're comfortable wearing masks with headstraps (which tend to have a better seal than earloop masks), the 3M Aura is fantastic.

WellBefore sells masks in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors for affordable-ish prices. If you have a more petite face and have found that blue surgical masks and most N95s are huge on you, try their small or child sized masks.

BreatheTeq makes great masks in 4 sizes, and they sell a sample sizing kit for $7 + shipping to help you avoid wasting money.

Masks with headstraps generally form a better seal than masks with ear loops, but the most effective mask is one that you can/will actually wear semi-comfortably. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. I've been wearing earloop masks for 3.5 years and have made it through multiple known exposures unscathed.

If you can afford to keep a few extra masks on hand to offer to colleages who have to be in your space, people who are coughing in public, or people who seem to be trying but they're still wearing inadequate surgical or cloth masks, do so. More often than not, people will take and wear them when offered!

Air Filtration

If we lived in a society that believed in public health and safety over profits, we'd have spent the last 3 years improving air filtration in public spaces. Alas, most places did not do this, so your next best options are as follows:

Open windows and prop doors whenever you can! Your goal is to keep fresh air moving through your space and minimize the amount of air that will be "re-breathed" by multiple people.

Build a Corsi-Rosenthal box with furnace filters and a box fan. Pros: Fairly cheap and easy to do; Cons: Boxes are large and can be loud. Some sites also provide instructions and/or sell kits to make smaller, more portable C-R boxes out of desktop computer fans.

Buy a HEPA air purifier (or 2, or 3), or try to get your workplace to shell out for one. While many brands sell small, portable purifiers that are around the size of a lunchbox, I would personally recommend that you buy the largest one you can afford. The smaller ones are probably better than nothing, but you really want a more room-scale solution, if possible. I've had good experiences with Medify Air and Coway air purifiers, but I'm sure there are other great brands out there as well.

If you buy an air purifier, you want one with a HEPA filter and without an ionizer, as ionizers aren't as helpful as the advertising would lead you to believe and they can pose health risks (ozone exposure, etc.).

Measuring Air Quality

If you can afford it, buy an Aranet 4 CO2 monitor. Yes, they're expensive, but I haven't heard of any cheaper products that compare in terms of accuracy or portability. (And they do occasionally go on sale on Amazon.) The Aranet 4 measures the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air around you. This reading is a great proxy for how much COVID might be in the air, and it can help you identify which areas of your home or workplace are the safest, and which ones would benefit the most from fresh air, an air purifier, or other safety measures.

#covid safety #covid #long post #god I hope I do not regret tagging this #I'm also probably forgetting important stuff but I know if I don't answer this tonight I won't get to it for 2 weeks #asks #anon

[laurenmitchellwrites]

A heap of my description vanished on the Redbubble preview, so I wanted to put it somewhere safe.

COVID is not over. But neither is comedy.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is one of the highlights of my year. Before COVID, and Melbourne's shutdown, I would go almost every night after work and see dozens of shows. When COVID came onto the scene in 2020, I was one of the people who asked MICF if we would be able to opt to give the costs of our tickets to the artists instead of receiving refunds.

I ventured out between lockdowns when it was held in a much more subdued fashion to see some of my die-hard favourites. In 2023, I planned my schedule to ensure plenty of time outside between shows, away from crowds, and masked at every show. I was cautious as hell, as were friends who I attended with, and yet I had an absolute blast—and I didn't get sick.

COVID is not over. But neither is comedy. I designed this work to showcase that feeling of joy I still get from attending live comedy, while also remaining mindful of the risks, in hopes that other people will enjoy this design as well.

I purchased the original stock art of the laughing people from iStock (credit: jesadaphorn) and added the masks myself in Photoshop, also recolouring some of the people to reflect the diversity in MICF performers and audiences.

I don't know what, if any, profit I will make from this, but I will donate 10% of any profit I earn to Oxfam, selected due to its ties to MICF and its COVID-19 response.

Thank you for reading and for considering this design. It came from the heart.

#comedy #art #masks #micf #covid-19 #covid is not over #comedy is not over #pandemic #coronavirus #melbourne international comedy festival #my art #my design #oxfam australia #oxfam #covid safer practices #covid safety #lauren arts as well as writes

[disorderlytrans]

🚨I NEED MORE BLOGS TO FOLLOW! if you’re into:

90 Day Fiancé (and the spin offs)

shit posting

if you have or suspect you have BPD

weed/cannabis

are or suspect you are ADHD/Autistic

are trans/nonbinary/gay/queer in general

Covid Safety/Covid ranting (i support masking indoors and also in crowded outdoor spaces! i am also vaccinated but Masking is #1 for me)

reality TV

disability advocacy and activism

if you want to be friends (lol) :)

#cannabis #need more blogs to follow #follow me if #90 day fiance #audhd #adhd #autsim #lgbtq #queer #covid safety #covid pandemic #reality TV #transgender #trans gay #trans #disablity #disability activism #myself

[winglesshopeful]

has anyone else who still masks encountered any whackjobs who scream and berate anyone who isn't delusional enough to believe COVID either no longer exists or "Is Just The Flu" and still wears a mask to protect themselves and loved ones?

bc ive had at least two instances of people nearly having aneurysms over me just. existing while wearing a mask within the past couple of months, and ive no idea what drives these people to act so deranged over a fucking mask lol

#covid #covid isn't over #face mask #mask up #anti maskers #covid 19 #covid safety #covid still kills lol #what the hell causes these people to get so enraged by masks lmao

[hoziersdirt]

I really feel crazy for still masking because I believe it's the right thing to do. I do not want to get COVID or unknowingly give it to someone else. This really shouldn't be so isolating and it makes me want to give up on everyone I know who doesn't mask.

Edit: But in the end I'm choosing to keep those friendships because they mean so much to me. And none of us are in a high risk group as of now. It still feels fucking awful.

#covid #fuck capitalism #masking #covid safety #friends #friendship #values #community #ableism #im still complicit af in so many things

[thoughtportal]

toot

#toot #toots #mastodon #COVID #covid safety #safety #oceangate

[bnyrbt]

wear a mask. wear a KN95 mask. replace your filter regularly.

get a mask like the flo mask pro, with replaceable filters and adjustable top and bottom straps, if you can afford it.

mask up on public transit. mask up at work and school. mask up at parties. mask up at funerals. mask up on dates. mask up on outings. mask up at your friends’ homes.

don’t remove your mask indoors. don’t remove your mask to speak. don’t remove your mask to cough or sneeze.

you can’t eat or drink with your mask on, so avoid eating or drinking indoors. try to hold your breath if you have to.

30-50% of COVID cases result in long COVID. long COVID can destroy your life. any stranger could be immunocompromised or have regular contact with an immunocompromised person. wear a mask. wear a mask. wear a mask.

#op #covid #covid safety #covid-19 #pandemic #post-covid #post covid #god please wear a mask. please wear a mask it’s not over i don’t want to lose my health i don’t want my mom to die #covid isn’t over

[anxiousleftist]

COVID-conscious folks - what is the general scientific consensus on the protective value of a wet mask? Because of my job/the climate where I live/my chronic illness, I’m often in situations where my choice is wearing a mask, but sweating so profusely that it is immediately soaking wet, or not wearing a mask.

What’s the most COVID-safe approach here?

#covid conscious #still coviding #covid safety #covid isn't over