Would you fly right now if you really want to avoid Omicron

[+ tassojunior]

'

9 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I notice you didn't answer my question regarding which airline you've been on. Maybe that's what you get for flying Spirit or Frontier airlines... 😉

I really don't mind flying with poor people and Blacks; they can be nicer than people you meet online. I've flown Spirit once, pre-covid. I was the only non-Black person on the almost-full plane, it was just $45 extra to FLL for the Big Front Seat and the Club lounge, the only lounge at BWI, is in the Spirit terminal for some reason. Never flown Frontier but the DCA-DEN nonstop is appealing and friends use it and like Frontier.  I've flown Allegiant to Sarasota and to Clearwater a few times and the people on it are also very nice people. Otherwise I'm on the majors and noticed Delta to have less fully-masked than others.  

Anyway during the worst of the pandemic I don't see why people didn't have to show vaccination to fly in the US, why they couldn't go a 1,2, or 3 hour trip without carried-on food or why airlines didn't insist on masks and provide straws for drinks. People packed like sardines during Delta taking masks on and off was dumb. I suspect enforcing any "masked between sips or bites" was probably the cause of a lot of fights we heard of. I haven't seen any. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

4 hours ago, tassojunior said:

I really don't mind flying with poor people and Blacks; they can be nicer than people you meet online. I've flown Spirit once, pre-covid. I was the only non-Black person on the almost-full plane.

I know it's only February, but can we start nominations for Most Uncomfortable Post of 2022 yet?

Edited February 10, 2022 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Some of us have to keep flying, pandemic or not.  It's just a part of what we do.

While my airline mileage has gone down over the last 15 months, I'm still going to do 140k miles this year with American.  After awhile, masking up becomes second-nature and if you can find a good stockpile of KN95s, they're easy to wear for long periods of time, even sleeping.  

Ambien and a couple glasses of red also help.

 

[Guest MikeThomas]

1 hour ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

Some of us have to keep flying, pandemic or not.  It's just a part of what we do.

While my airline mileage has gone down over the last 15 months, I'm still going to do 140k miles this year with American.  After awhile, masking up becomes second-nature and if you can find a good stockpile of KN95s, they're easy to wear for long periods of time, even sleeping.  

Ambien and a couple glasses of red also help.

 

... and with your status you're upfront where its not as crowded 🙂.  Probably safer on the plane than in the terminal.

[Todd Jenkins]

I haven't stopped flying. So, yeah, go. 

[RadioRob]

Just landed from a flight. It was crazy finding parking at DCA. It took almost 30 minutes to get parked. 

[+ tassojunior]

1 hour ago, RadioRob said:

Just landed from a flight. It was crazy finding parking at DCA. It took almost 30 minutes to get parked. 

Use the Westin across Rt 1.  Their garage is on one of the discount sites. A lot cheaper. Their van wisks you to your terminal and picks you up. Wait until you see the traffic on lower level returning. 🤑

[BeamerBikes]

7 hours ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

I know it's only February, but can we start nominations for Most Uncomfortable Post of 2022 yet?

It could have been much worse. There was no reference to an old Shirley Q routine. :::cringes:::  That'd definitely get folks canceled now. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

Some of us have to keep flying, pandemic or not.  It's just a part of what we do.

While my airline mileage has gone down over the last 15 months, I'm still going to do 140k miles this year with American.  After awhile, masking up becomes second-nature and if you can find a good stockpile of KN95s, they're easy to wear for long periods of time, even sleeping.  

Ambien and a couple glasses of red also help.

 

You have a gift if you can go to sleep in one of those with just some wine and Ambien. It would take a lot more than that to get me to go to sleep wearing one of those...

Of course, why you're wearing KN95's is something you'll have to explain to me.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Unicorn

[+ Lucky]

I just got some great N95 masks. I've been using KN95 until now, but the N95s have a great fit.

Oh, wait, we don't need masks anymore? Speak for yourself!

[RadioRob]

Men’s Health != Political Issues

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Lucky said:

I just got some great N95 masks. I've been using KN95 until now, but the N95s have a great fit.

Oh, wait, we don't need masks anymore? Speak for yourself!

I still don't understand N95 or KN95. I showed a study some time ago showing surgical masks have similar efficacy to these in preventing transmission. Is there a more recent study (real life study, not a study on particle size, since the transmission depends on the size of the infectious material, not the virus itself) that I'm not aware of? Also, since the only currently present form of the virus, omicron, is less hazardous to fully vaccinated people than the common cold, what is the concern? That you might transmit it to someone who isn't vaccinated?

[+ WilliamM]

34 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

I still don't understand N95 or KN95. I showed a study some time ago showing surgical masks have similar efficacy to these in preventing transmission. Is there a more recent study (real life study, not a study on particle size, since the transmission depends on the size of the infectious material, not the virus itself) that I'm not aware of? Also, since the only currently present form of the virus, omicron, is less hazardous to fully vaccinated people than the common cold, what is the concern? That you might transmit it to someone who isn't vaccinated?

Just we aren't as advanced in our thinking as a retired doctor.

[BeamerBikes]

2 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I still don't understand N95 or KN95. I showed a study some time ago showing surgical masks have similar efficacy to these in preventing transmission. Is there a more recent study (real life study, not a study on particle size, since the transmission depends on the size of the infectious material, not the virus itself) that I'm not aware of? Also, since the only currently present form of the virus, omicron, is less hazardous to fully vaccinated people than the common cold, what is the concern? That you might transmit it to someone who isn't vaccinated?

Bandana -> cloth -> surgical -> n95(kn95) -> rubber half face respirators with canister filters(think black mask with purple cans) -> full face respirators(gas mask) -> the PAPR (helmet with powered filtered air) 

As I understand it from both science education and family experience taking care of hospitalized covid patients, wearing a surgical mask or double cloth masking were about the same in preventing transmitting the virus TO someone... N95(American standard) KN95(Chinese standard) are designed to protect the wearer FROM someone else. 

Basically, healthcare workers wore N95s to protect themselves from known infected patients.  Patients wore surgical masks to prevent spreading it to others.  Of course in practice, patients would take off the surgical mask when they were alone in their room. Hence the workers needed to wear the N95 going into a room with virus particles.  

With omicron, everyone had to be assumed infected and N95 supplies were stable so recommending upgrades to N95 was the best advice. Knowing that a large percentage was going to be non-compliant regardless, the guidance was issued to provide the best advice for those that would listen.  In the end,get vaccinated, don't lick door knobs, go live your life.

 

[BeamerBikes]

The infected flu/TB patients wearing surgical masks to prevent them from transmitting it to others, and hospital workers wearing n95s to protect themselves from TB patients was pretty widely accepted as a prevention technique inside care settings. Most people never saw that because airborne infectious disease such as TB is rare in most developed nations now. 

[+ Tygerscent]

If you don’t want to get coronavirus avoid any airport that has any kind of a train where you’re locked in with a group of people between stops in the airport. Especially if there’s a lot of anti-maskers on the train and you hear people coughing and sneezing and obviously sick. Even if it’s not coronavirus, who wants to get sick while you’re traveling

[Guest]

On 2/11/2022 at 5:24 PM, BeamerBikes said:

Bandana -> cloth -> surgical -> n95(kn95) -> rubber half face respirators with canister filters(think black mask with purple cans) -> full face respirators(gas mask) -> the PAPR (helmet with powered filtered air) 

As I understand it from both science education and family experience taking care of hospitalized covid patients, wearing a surgical mask or double cloth masking were about the same in preventing transmitting the virus TO someone... N95(American standard) KN95(Chinese standard) are designed to protect the wearer FROM someone else. 

Basically, healthcare workers wore N95s to protect themselves from known infected patients.  Patients wore surgical masks to prevent spreading it to others.  Of course in practice, patients would take off the surgical mask when they were alone in their room. Hence the workers needed to wear the N95 going into a room with virus particles.  

With omicron, everyone had to be assumed infected and N95 supplies were stable so recommending upgrades to N95 was the best advice. Knowing that a large percentage was going to be non-compliant regardless, the guidance was issued to provide the best advice for those that would listen.  In the end,get vaccinated, don't lick door knobs, go live your life.

 

In spite of the theoretical benefits of N95 masks, there are links from two other strings on this forum from SIX randomized controlled trials and one meta-analysis which compared N95's to surgical masks for the transmission of the virus. None show a benefit for N95's over surgical masks, so there is no reason to recommend one over the other for the purposes of Covid-19 spread. Also, surface transmission such as doorknobs doesn't occur for this virus. Inhalation of droplets needs to happen in order to induce infection. 

[+ WilliamM]

On 2/10/2022 at 12:50 PM, tassojunior said:

'

I really don't mind flying with poor people and Blacks; they can be nicer than people you meet online. I've flown Spirit once, pre-covid. I was the only non-Black person on the almost-full plane, it was just $45 extra to FLL for the Big Front Seat and the Club lounge, the only lounge at BWI, is in the Spirit terminal for some reason. Never flown Frontier but the DCA-DEN nonstop is appealing and friends use it and like Frontier.  I've flown Allegiant to Sarasota and to Clearwater a few times and the people on it are also very nice people. Otherwise I'm on the majors and noticed Delta to have less fully-masked than others.  

Anyway during the worst of the pandemic I don't see why people didn't have to show vaccination to fly in the US, why they couldn't go a 1,2, or 3 hour trip without carried-on food or why airlines didn't insist on masks and provide straws for drinks. People packed like sardines during Delta taking masks on and off was dumb. I suspect enforcing any "masked between sips or bites" was probably the cause of a lot of fights we heard of. I haven't seen any. 

I only know Bobby Seale casually, but strongly believe he would be proud of you.

Mr. Seale doesn't mind flying with WHITE people!

Edited February 23, 2022 by WilliamM

[BeamerBikes]

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

In spite of the theoretical benefits of N95 masks, there are links from two other strings on this forum from SIX randomized controlled trials and one meta-analysis which compared N95's to surgical masks for the transmission of the virus. None show a benefit for N95's over surgical masks, so there is no reason to recommend one over the other for the purposes of Covid-19 spread. Also, surface transmission such as doorknobs doesn't occur for this virus. Inhalation of droplets needs to happen in order to induce infection. 

When in doubt, I'll follow what the hospital folks do when in high risk covid heavy environments.  When they enter known covid positive patient rooms, they don a n95. 

That being said, I'm willing to risk exposure with just a surgical mask at this point. I've had it once, triple vax'd. 

I'd argue to see the study sources, but frankly I'm meh over it all. There's vaccines, there are basic, good, better and best masks, we know how it's transmitted. (Don't lick doorknobs was a joke) I'll go overboard on mask protection if the hospitals start filling up again. Otherwise, be a responsible adult. Play by the rules set forth by local health officials or better. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by BeamerBikes

[BeamerBikes]

Ha, karma is a bitch. Got back from New Orleans and past 3 days has been head cold fun!  Covid tests came back negative.  Forgot how much colds suck after 2 years of semi isolation.  

Wore a mask on the plane, but New Orleans bars were pretty much a free for all.  Vac status checks and masks ("required" meaning you have one, but not needing to wear it in the bar.)