Our daycare had a poll, and apparently some parents were “vehemently opposed” to masking indoors during drop off or pick up, so the owner decided that we all still wait outside for both 
Vaccinated staff don’t have to wear masks during the day.
1 Like
Once most of the staff was vaccinated they drop masks for vaxxed staff, and kids. (Only 3+ was in them, so my 2 year old hasn’t worn one at school, just my 4 year old)
Parents were allowed in for the first time since last summer, with masks.
Now anyone vaxxed, or lying, is allowed in unmasked.
They said they would allow parents to ask that their kids wear masks, but center wide it was 5 kids, and for my daughter was causing major behavior issues, since she was the only one in her class. So I gave up.
2 Likes
This really surprised me! Yay Chicago Public Schools!
5 Likes
June 18th, total US new Covid cases - 11,495
July 21st, new Covid cases just in Florida - 12,647
I’m wondering at what point do I go back to hunkering down at home. My test showed antibodies from the vaccine, but I’m still on immunosuppressants. I’m picking up some n95 masks to wear out and about while I continue to puzzle out what to do.
23 Likes
Hey, I’d like to know what you’ve decided, esp if you talk to your rheumy. I’m without a rhemy for a few more months, and I don’t really know what to choose. I’m doing a lot of large group rides lately unmasked, but they’re all outside.
7 Likes
I’m planning on messaging her to ask today, so I’ll let you know what she says! Some of my concern is that we have just been reclassified as high community transmission and students aren’t even back yet for the Fall semester. Florida is now only releasing numbers on a weekly basis and this past week we had 11.4% positivity rate and 243.4 new cases per 100k population. I’d put indoor mask wearing at about 20% based on my mid day grocery run yesterday.
7 Likes
I’m sorry Florida is the wild west. 
3 Likes
Because I got J&J and I’m about to travel internationally, I may see if my doctor will allow me to get a second shot of Pfizer or Moderna as is possibly recommended
13 Likes
There’s a lot I love about living here, but there’s a lot that is absolutely heartbreaking.
Gonna point out that the numbers I posted are just for my county which has 58% vaccination for eligible population. Neighboring counties are doing much worse and because they are more rural, those folks come do their shopping here. There was a piece in our local newspaper showing that we currently have almost 200 hospitalized vivid patients in the 3 area hospitals. The spokespeople for the facilities are practically begging folks to get the vaccine.
13 Likes
@anomalily just got off the phone with my rheumie. She said that while she doesn’t think I need to go back into full hunker down don’t leave the house for 10 months mode, she does think that upgrading my mask to an n95 and limiting indoor time with the general populace is a good idea.
She has seen a few breakthrough cases in her immunosuppressed patients, but their symptoms have been mild and none have been hospitalized.
10 Likes
reading up on J&J, it really is looking like I need to get a second shot of a mRNA vax. it’s really not looking effective against Delta, and the one study on it shows even less of an immune response in patients on DMARDs than the mRNA ones … and I’m getting on a plane to Europe in a few weeks.
The issue is I might have is getting a vax is I have to technically lie. ugh.
9 Likes
Yeah, Madison schools are going to require masks inside, which I think is a good decision. They can always change later if it seems things get there.
I need to start sewing masks again next week.
1 Like
WWYD? Kiddo has a stomach ache but that’s all, could it be Covid? Do we send him to camp again tomorrow? Should I at least call the after hours nurse line and ask them?
Kiddo has a stomach ache that started yesterday morning when he woke up and is still going today. Energy levels on the low side of normal for him but still in a normal range. No other symptoms, he’s felt normal warm when we were cuddling earlier but I didn’t specifically feel his forehead. The only stand out symptom is that he doesn’t run (normally running is his default speed) and when he walks he holds his stomach like it’s tender.
Input/output details
He’s eating okay, we’ve been erring towards softer foods like noodles but he grazed on a bagel as a late snack and then polished off a whole plate of beefy noodles at dinner shortly afterwards so his appetite level seems fine. Bowel movements were on the looser side of normal but still definitely poops.
He’s been going to camp for a few weeks and he wears a mask but half the kids don’t and they eat inside together. County vaccination rate is 50%ish and all the camp kids are too young for the vaccine. OH! And, almost forgot, his camp field trip last Wednesday was to an outdoor pool, if there was fecal whatever grossness Wednesday to Saturday seems like a reasonable time frame for it to start affecting him?
If this were two years ago I wouldn’t think twice about sending him to camp tomorrow.
5 Likes
Here you’d have to keep him home, test, and quarantine. So I’d do that
1 Like
Thank you. We kept him home today and I just got off the phone with the local peds line and she said since it’s just a stomach ache but no diarrhea, fever, coughing or anything like that we can carry on like normal. She did give me some tips to check for an upset appendix which I’ll try tomorrow since he just went to bed.
On the one hand I feel like we’re probably fine and I’m glad he doesn’t have to do the nose swab test, but on the other I feel like there’s a giant asterisk for “This is Florida. Your reality may vary.” Like, I’m not nervous about him, but after the last sixteen months it seems like precautionary tests would be more of a thing. 
4 Likes
My county is ticking up slightly. Several friends are concerned about breakthrough cases. I’m unsure how to feel/think, and once again the exhaustion of having to be my own statistical risk analysis machine for a global pandemic is settling in.
A 98% increase SOUNDS scary. But the hospitalizations are stable. Our positivity is up, but not crazy high (2%). But also, our 7 day average is 5/100,000 people.
So IS it scary??
THAT doesn’t sound scary.
Math, ya’ll.
Math.
I feel like I don’t have the education needed to make decisions. And if I feel that way, I bet 98% of the USA feels that way, too. 
10 Likes
I just got done making my new decisions about what I feel comfortable with and NOW WHAT
10 Likes
This Provincetown spike sure is fun, isn’t it? I am willing to bet the majority of our current cases in the entire vicinity stem from it. Still, NE is still looking pretty good. Vax rates are high. Hospitalizations and deaths are nearly all unvaccinated. Though, we are only getting deaths once a week now since our rates were below 1/day for the entire state (3.5 million), and since it is a lagging indicator it remains to be seen.
2 Likes
We aren’t wearing masks at work any more and that was fine, but two of my coworkers are out today because their kid is either sick with respiratory symptoms or a close contact of a case from daycare so…. … blah
4 Likes
I’m more concerned that the infection rate/R value/ whatever it’s called has ticked up above 1 in Dane County. We’ve got such a high vax rate, too.
Anyway, I rounded up all the masks and washed them and we’re going to wear them in stores again. (Plus, we’ve been to mask free S. Dakota and who knows what we’ve picked up.)
3 Likes