There are some recurring themes to some posts here.
One is the phrase “Living with it”.
Yes, Covid is gonna be around for a long while, we are going to have to live with it.
We all in transport live and move around heavy moving vehicles. We live the risk of injury from them, but because we arent loons we dont (often) get knocked down.
What would be a risky environment for a 3 year old is less so for us because we manage the risk. We look all around when we are walking in a yard, we dont run (!) around blind corners. We mostly are so used to it, we dont even know we are doing the sensible thing.
It *isnt* common knowledge, but most of us have been doing it so long, it seems like it is. That is why we cant understand cars squeezing past when we manoeuvre, it seems crazy to us, but we are living with theses risk permanently, some of them aren`t.
People working on gas tanker ships are living with greater risks. They manage those risks by following procedures even more strictly than us. They learn until after months it is just “normal”.
“Living with Covid” is not pretending it isnt there. It isnt reverting to how things were three years ago.
It is adapting in some fairly minor ways. After time those changes will become everyday, and no great issue. We will be “living with it”.
We dont complain that we need eyes in the back of our heads when we are in a busy transport yard do we? It is normal to keep vigilant. We look out for loons on bikes etc when we drive, sure itd be nice if they werent driving under our wheels, but that is the environment we work in. We have learnt to "live with them". We dont pretend problems arent there, we dont ignore them.
Another one: “some say masks are good, some say masks indifferent, or even bad”?
Can we lump the that into Good/Not Good? Just for ease of language.
There are many surveys and studies out there. Many of them are older ones, as the wearing of masks (in the west at least) by the public hasnt been on the radar, so until recently wasnt looked at.
There are now more studies, they are being discussed by those who understand the questions to ask, and in the best “Peer review” principles ripped apart if wrong.
What was learnt by experts, years ago, may not be recognised now. I know lots have problems with this.
Maybe think of it like this: we drive cars that do 50mpg. Years ago we drove cars that 20 or 30mpg.
What has changed?
Crude oil is the same. Iron ore is the same. Electricity is the same electrons shuffling along bits of copper.
So its easy enough to see that we have learnt more over time and developed more and more. Easy to understand when we look at things isnt it. A caveman had the same basic resources and brain as us (doubtless some cavemen had better brains than some drivers) but we do understand much more as time goes on.
We have learnt to refine fuels more precisely, make stronger & lighter metal alloys, design electronic management systems. Bit obvious really?
So when we look at what experts are saying about masks who should we be listening most to?
Those who took a degree 50 years ago, and more importantly stopped in job training, and retired 20 years ago?
As we look at studies and surveys used by experts we look at the knowledge applicable to Covid.
Saying a particular mask doesnt stop paint fumes is....irrelevant... To protect against Covid we need to stop the moisture the Covid virus travels in. The virus doesnt transmit by itself, only via water droplets.
It doesnt matter if the holes in a mask are ten times bigger than the virus itself. If the mask stops the much bigger (though still tiny) drops of our spit that is worthwhile. Saying a mask doesnt stop the virus itself or doesn`t stop paint vapour is pointless.
So because of the debate earlier on there have been lots of studies made of masks transmissions etc.
Now there are so many that they can be meaningfully combined in big meta-studies.
Those that are already peer reviewed and stand up to criticism are bundled together in much more robust studies.
Do we read reviews from 20 years ago when we are buying a commuter car tomorrow?
So why listen to those who left research or medicine years ago? The old codger in the local pub may be OK for a laugh and maybe he was a mechanic before retiring years ago, but how much does he know if he hasnt picked up a spanner for 20 years? His stories about carburrettor Jags may be good, but his advice on buying modern shopping trollies wont be as good as the 30 year old still with her hands under the bonnet every day, reading all the latest stuff to keep on top of everything.
Well, the latest studies combining results from all over are all out there to be seen: they may not be as cuddly as a bloke in a cardigan telling you “Dont worry I know what is really going on. Trust me and youll be ok.” Nice as woulkd be to relax and be happy trusting him, the world isn`t made that way.
google.com/search?q=meta+st … nt=gws-wiz
Check for yourselves.
Extracts for those who don`t want to scroll through too much, top of the list the British Medical Journal
bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-068302
“Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence covid-19. Public health efforts to implement public health measures should consider community health and sociocultural needs, and future research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of public health measures in the context of covid-19 vaccination.”
There are pages of explanations and open analysis of data. for those who understand and have time and resource to check it, it`s all open.
It doesn`t say all will be OK if we do X,Y and Z. It does say that mask wearing is a going to reduce C-19 cases.
In the very messy real world we live in that is as good as it (honestly) gets. Anyone saying they really know the answers is a fool or a liar.
There is no simple fix. It is a complicated world where “■■■■ happens”.
Let`s all grow up and learn to live with that thought.
) maybe I’ll even actually listen to the propaganda, b/s and hysteria, but I’ll have a good go of separating it all from the truth and reality,.and from what I SEE myself…and at the same time maintain a normal life.
instead of listening to official bodies telling you how things are as they want you to believe them to be (for whatever unknown reason.)