MASKS and WHO they protect. Yes, the mask you wear DOES protect you. Link enclosed for education of mask types and protection they afford.

Stacy, thanks for the suggestions.  I did check out each source and was surprised how reasonably priced they are.    I think I'll check at Lowe's or Home Depot before ordering online; that way I can get the glasses sooner.    Harbor Freight may have them, but I don't think the quality is up to par.  

I need a new pair of work glasses anyway.



Alva, interesting and analytical observations on the state of and survival of the human race.    I wouldn't share the idea of self culling though. Some greedy ambulance chasing attorney might adapt that to an excuse/explanation for a client who's a serial killer.

Garden artist, that's what I meant by "we have no natural enemies." Therefore we MUST act to cull outselves. And we DO. Or at least when we did hand to hand combat we did act to cull ourselves. WWI as I said took out the breeding stock of Western Civilization. We killed ourselves. We do the same with pandemics. The great Spanish Flu killed the most people in the last two weeks of the epidemic. People were "tired" of it. Just couldn't absorb fighting it with "masks" anymore. And down they went. Boom.
Yup, we are our own "worst enemies" because we are the only enemy we have. Of course we don't recognize that a depleted earth will act as somewhat our enemy as well, and is doing so already.

The glasses you refer to can be purchased from Airgas, Fastenal or Granger. I had an appointment and got regular glasses at Sams, they are doing a 60 day guarantee on lenses so as my eyes improve, they will replace lenses at no cost.

A friend of mine's wife has Covid and is in ICU at the hospital up north that she is the RT manager. I talked to him last night and they are not giving her staff the time off.

My dr states that I cannot get the vaccine until late summer due to antibodies and age. I know someone else who was in I CU and their doctor will not let them get the vaccine for 12 weeks to let the body heal.

EDIT: I should add my doctors advice is for me only and not for others. While much is known about the disease, much is not. I had a weak case and there are no studies on long term effects.

Stacy, you make a good point about eye protection.   I used hardware store working masks, like I wear when I work with tools.   I wasn't particularly impressed though, as mine are quite old and not that clear. 

Gov. Whitmer and a few others have clear glasses that are like sunglasses with wrap around sides, but I haven't figured out what they're called or where to get them.  

Alva, you opined that "We have no natural enemies." Not to challenge you, but I think people have created their own enemies, and sometimes our enemies are other humans.    We're certainly far from being a peaceful lot.

As to the med pros who refused vaccines, how many of them are Trumpers?    Scuttlebutt I'm hearing is that the med pros who support Trump are more inclined to refuse vaccinations than those who don't support him.   And he's certainly thumbed his nose at mask protection.

Siplegacy, I think the reason early advice was to the effect of protecting others was to invoke a sympathetic reaction and concern for others as opposed to what some might consider a self centered interest.   I found that insulting; I wore a mask to protect myself from people who wouldn't.   And I don't need to be "tricked" into doing something b/c someone thinks he knows more about human nature than a medical person, or even a person who cares about people. 

That was also a period though when frank advice was constrained b/c of political positions.

Thank you Alva for the common sense you bring!

Even though I had Covid, have antibodies, I always wear a mask. To be honest, most of my symptoms were like pink eye and it is horrible. The drops, not covered by insurance run a little over $400 for prescription then the OTC other drops. I wish they would encouage eye protection.

SJPlegacy I have long ago given up trying to change others. During our last election I always teased that I hoped that the "other side" didn't mask up and attended lots of rallies.
And the truth is I have reached the point where I will protect myself and any I can convince to protect themselves, and then just look at this as Darwinian. As I said on another thread yesterday, we aren't losing many. Statistically. We aren't losing what amounts to the size of my small city, or anywhere near that. We are seeing today 200,000 new cases a day and only 1,500 deaths on average. So most are surviving. The odds, if you get it, are greatly in your favor. But you are gambling with your life.
I can't change anti-vaccers and some day there will be a price to pay in human death. Think back to WWI which took out the breeding stock of western civilization and was followed by a pandemic that makes this one look like a bad joke. Had not all those young folks gone down, where would we be today? Wall to wall with human life, I suspect. We have no natural enemies.
I had, as a nurse to adapt the attitude of T.S. Eliot's quote "The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree are of equal duration". I think he meant every life matters, no matter how long a life, or how short; to that person and their family it was A LIFE.
During the beginning they did say that the masks don't protect the wearer and I was laughing already then. Dr Fauci has apologized for that and said he was wrong, but was driven in the early days to get us to give our masks to those on the front line. I still remember kids on street corners with cardboard boxes full of construction masks and so on for the front line workers.
It's too bad when politics gets mixed up with medicine, but I guess it is inevitable in times of great division that it gets mixed into just about EVERYTHING. I am quite liberal, but there are many times I don't know which necks I want most to wring, those on the far left or those on the far right. When you actually sit and talk with people most of us have the same concerns, the same feelings, the same grief and joy and fear, and would help one another much as we can.

During the early days of the pandemic, the experts were saying the masks don't protect the wearer, only others. I never understood that. Certainly it protects the wearer... if you wear it! And there is no penalty for ignoring a mask mandate. There should be. Hitting people in the pocketbook is a good first step. This is not a passing fad, it is a health emergency.

I don't understand the mentality of those who are refusing the vaccine either. In a neighboring county almost 60% of FRONT LINE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS refused the first dose of the vaccine. What!!?? These are the same people who are so stressed because the ERs are at max and people are dying. Some claim religious objections (to those I ask WWJD?), some say the vaccine was rushed thru, some are just anti vaccine. So far the virus is winning this fight and at this rate of objections, the war is all but lost.

Our odds are good. Every day now 200,000 new cases are showing up in the USA currently. However our death rates remain between 1,000 and 1500 on average daily and more is learned about treatment daily.
Most who get Covid will survive, so your chances of survival are very good. However, there are some lasting affects being seen, even in the young. Recent biopsy investigation is showing brain changes in brain stem and in centers for smell, as well as some small vessel damage that may or may not be permanent. And good as your odds are, you are still gambling with something precious, your own life.
The guidelines are easy and they are simple for anyone to follow. Follow them. Stay as safe as you can. Vaccine is here. There are the glitches in administering it that we all suspected we would see. But it will get done. Hang in there everyone.