CR: COVID-19 --Political Talk

[DDD Dad 14,400]

2 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Is this a joke? There’s no chance Trump has never paid for an abortion for one of his mistresses before. How upset were these friends of yours when Trump reinstated federal executions and tried to get as many prisoners executed as he could before he left office? How bothered were they when Trump excused the Saudis’ butchery of Jamal Khashoggi as ‘just one life,’ or something to that effect? It was more important to him to make a huge arms deal with the Saudis. (Who pay him a lot of money at his properties and, as Trump said, “They pay cash.”)

Your friends are full of shit. My assertion stands. No decent person supports Donald Trump. Find new friends.

[WhatTheBuck 28,852]

1 minute ago, DDD Dad said:

Oh boy. Here we go.

Fify.

[Pods 7,595]

Back to actual discussion. 

I've been reading a lot about Israel's outbreak, because they are ahead of us both in vaccinations and delta exposures. Some things of interest broken down by cases, hospitalization and long covid risk. 

1) Cases- Israel is in exponential spread, 2000 cases a day 4 days in a row now, while the UK, Gibraltar and Malta all look to have peaked. Those data points are incongruous and I've been trying to rationalize them for a bit. Israel started vaccinations early, so that may be a factor as a lot of the infections anecdotally seem to be happening in people 4-6 months + from their vaccination. 

2) Hospitalizations- The good news, so far the vaccines are squashing hospitalizations and deaths in Israel. They were at 143 hospitalizations on July 21 and are at 167 now. Hospitalizations trail by 2 weeks or so, so that's something to keep an eye on next week, but so far it's excellent news.

3) Long Covid Risks- Breakthrough cases can lead to long covid symptoms, 19% of breakthroughs still had symptoms at the 6-week mark in a recent Israeli study of healthcare workers. This study was healthcare workers, who are likely exposed to relatively high viral loads compared to the normal populations, but 85% of the cases were alpha variant and delta has a much higher viral load, so that may be a wash. 

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109072

 

Quote

Most breakthrough cases were mild or asymptomatic, although 19% had persistent symptoms (>6 weeks). The B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant was found in 85% of samples tested. A total of 74% of case patients had a high viral load (Ct value, <30) at some point during their infection; however, of these patients, only 17 (59%) had a positive result on concurrent Ag-RDT. No secondary infections were documented.

 

If you are vaccinated, if you can, avoid crowds and keep your mask on. We're about to collect a shitload of real world data on delta and we'll know a lot more in a few weeks. 

If you aren't vaccinated, prepare your anus. 

 

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

I got the booster to the J&J; thanks to those of you who went before for giving me the courage to join you.

[DDD Dad 14,400]

6 minutes ago, Pods said:

Israel started vaccinations early, so that may be a factor as a lot of the infections anecdotally seem to be happening in people 4-6 months + from their vaccination. 

Lovely.  I will be at 6 months next week.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,293]

Casa de Fudge is full-vaxxed except for the youngest who doesn't turn 12 until December.  Hopefully the she doesn't die before then because Karen and Brett can't be bothered to get off fucking Facebook and get vaxxed.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5,810]

Just now, DDD Dad said:

Lovely.  I will be at 6 months next week.

Yeah that's the perfect storm of healthcare workers, first responders, teachers etc

[Pods 7,595]

Fortunately, the western vaccines do seem to be reducing severity and mortality past 6 months. Keep viral loads low and you'll almost certainly get through it. 

I would certainly be wearing an N95 if I was a teacher though, vaccinated or not. Schools are about to be a shit show. 

[Js1 85,929]

33 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Is this a joke? There’s no chance Trump has never paid for an abortion for one of his mistresses before. How upset were these friends of yours when Trump reinstated federal executions and tried to get as many prisoners executed as he could before he left office? How bothered were they when Trump excused the Saudis’ butchery of Jamal Khashoggi as ‘just one life,’ or something to that effect? It was more important to him to make a huge arms deal with the Saudis. (Who pay him a lot of money at his properties and, as Trump said, “They pay cash.”)

Your friends are full of shit. My assertion stands. No decent person supports Donald Trump. Find new friends.

Thank you. Pro-life should also be pro-vaccine, pro-masks, anti-death penalty and pro-social programs that help young families and things like infant mortality rate and equal access to healthcare. And pro-sex education Bc it decreases abortions.

Dare I say, I also have more respect for the anti-vax far left than I do anyone on the right?  bc Thats at least a consistent position with being pro-choice (my body, my choice). I don’t agree with the anti-vax thing at all, but I can appreciate a belief consistency. 

[SubliminalHorn 6,845]

Seriously, any drawbacks to just going and getting a third shot pretending you haven’t had one? I’m at the 6 month mark now and figure effectiveness if waning

[DDD Dad 14,400]

12 minutes ago, Pods said:

Fortunately, the western vaccines do seem to be reducing severity and mortality past 6 months. Keep viral loads low and you'll almost certainly get through it. 

I would certainly be wearing an N95 if I was a teacher though, vaccinated or not. Schools are about to be a shit show. 

Daughter is a 3rd grade teacher.  Good thing the schools can mandate masks.

 

Wait. Never mind.

[Pods 7,595]

1 minute ago, DDD Dad said:

Daughter is a 3rd grade teacher.  Good thing the schools can mandate masks.

 

Wait. Never mind.

Sorry man, that sucks. So many people are needlessly going to be put at risk to satisfy the desires of a fucking lunatic set on destroying the country. 

Probably a good idea for her to use eye protection too. There's been lots of minimization of aerosolized spread, but it's been one of the biggest issues the whole time, especially in those conditions. Glasses reduce eye touching and reduce aerosolized contact with the eyes. 

Doesn't have to be the big face shields, even non-prescription Zero magnification glasses from Walmart will help. 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00040-9/fulltext

Keep out of direct line from the AC ducts as best she can to reduce it further. 

[DDD Dad 14,400]

Sorry man, that sucks. So many people are needlessly going to be put at risk to satisfy the desires of a fucking lunatic set on destroying the country. 
Probably a good idea for her to use eye protection too. There's been lots of minimization of aerosolized spread, but it's been one of the biggest issues the whole time, especially in those conditions. Glasses reduce eye touching and reduce aerosolized contact with the eyes. 
Doesn't have to be the big face shields, even non-prescription Zero magnification glasses from Walmart will help. 
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00040-9/fulltext
Keep out of direct line from the AC ducts as best she can to reduce it further. 

Yeah she managed to get through last year but it’s just a beating.

My guess is that she will get her kids on board to mask up in class (she’s very persuasive).

[HenryJames 66,370]

3 minutes ago, Pods said:

Probably a good idea for her to use eye protection too.

[Born to Run 6,591]

Is this a joke? There’s no chance Trump has never paid for an abortion for one of his mistresses before. How upset were these friends of yours when Trump reinstated federal executions and tried to get as many prisoners executed as he could before he left office? How bothered were they when Trump excused the Saudis’ butchery of Jamal Khashoggi as ‘just one life,’ or something to that effect? It was more important to him to make a huge arms deal with the Saudis. (Who pay him a lot of money at his properties and, as Trump said, “They pay cash.”)
Your friends are full of shit. My assertion stands. No decent person supports Donald Trump. Find new friends.

No, they are against All that shit and were horrified. They got 3 justices and then voted for Biden. They are very passionate about the issue. I'm not saying their beliefs on abortion are not wrong and unhelpful. I think it's fucked. But they are Good people otherwise.
It's not helpful to always paint people with a broad brush of hate and derision. Nuance man, we are complicated critters.

It's fucked that a settled wedge issue still driving voters to vote for shit, which is why the Right rely on Bortion/ Guns. It's all they have. Blame the GOP bro.

My Maga brother is mostly a good dude, but a selfish fuckhead. He voted Trump twice and can go fuck himself. We are cordial. But he's a dick that cares more about his tax bill than his nephew's future. If he was a friend he would be out like many others I've dropped for being toxic, racist, shitty, or in his case a self centered bore.

I'll curate my own list of friends, bro.

[Js1 85,929]

1 minute ago, HenryJames said:

Ze goggles! 

[SubliminalHorn 6,845]

Just now, Born to Run said:

No, they are against All that shit and were horrified. They got 3 justices and then voted for Biden. They are very passionate about the issue. I'm not saying their beliefs on abortion are not wrong and unhelpful. I think it's fucked. But they are Good people otherwise.
It's not helpful to always paint people with a broad brush of hate and derision. Nuance man, we are complicated critters.

It's fucked that a settled wedge issue still driving voters to vote for shit, which is why the Right rely on Bortion/ Guns. It's all they have. Blame the GOP bro.

My Maga brother is mostly a good dude, but a selfish fuckhead. He voted Trump twice and can go fuck himself. We are cordial. But he's a dick that cares more about his tax bill than his nephew's future. If he was a friend he would be out like many others I've dropped for being toxic, racist, shitty, or in his case a self centered bore.

I'll curate my own list of friends, bro.

Got news for you, your brother isnt a mostly good dude; and I think you know that

[Born to Run 6,591]

Thank you. Pro-life should also be pro-vaccine, pro-masks, anti-death penalty and pro-social programs that help young families and things like infant mortality rate and equal access to healthcare. And pro-sex education Bc it decreases abortions.
Dare I say, I also have more respect for the anti-vax far left than I do anyone on the right?  bc Thats at least a consistent position with being pro-choice (my body, my choice). I don’t agree with the anti-vax thing at all, but I can appreciate a belief consistency. 

Agree completely. "Pro life" pisses me off and demonstrates how the right always wins at branding. I'm pro life in that I would like a world with as few abortions as possible, it's often tramatic as fuck, but I'm fully Pro Choice and vote accordingly. Implement policy to reduce demand ffs.
Btw I'm also largely anti war, anti death penalty excepting treason, anti violence.

[Born to Run 6,591]

Got news for you, your brother isnt a mostly good dude; and I think you know that

Oh trust me. It's been eye opening. But don't underestimate the divide we have in media consumption. It's two realities.

My mom voted for Trump twice. Try digesting that shit.

To keep it topical all masked up heavily, my mom rarely left the house for the last 15 months, and all got vaccinated asap.

[Neonmoon 38,130]

55 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Casa de Fudge is full-vaxxed except for the youngest who doesn't turn 12 until December.  Hopefully the she doesn't die before then because Karen and Brett can't be bothered to get off fucking Facebook and get vaxxed.

Pro Tip: She’s 12 today if you tell them she’s 12 

[Nivek 17,081]

7 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Yes. It's fascinating how propaganda and certain "facts" burrow into the minds and consciousness and fabric of our country. I guess that's why it's called a mythology, because with time, oral and written history, stories and traditions are unreliably passed down and bleed into both apocrypha and hagiography.

Here is a link below, but seriously, anyone with 10 minutes and access to Google can debunk this myth if they are an honest person.

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/plag/5240451.0001.009/--did-the-us-army-distribute-smallpox-blankets-to-indians?rgn=main;view=fulltext

Don't you believe in Trickle Down economics?

[BrickHorn 18,333]

1 hour ago, DDD Dad said:

Daughter is a 3rd grade teacher. 

…with DDDs, amirite?

[Biff Tannen 45,786]

39 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

Oh trust me. It's been eye opening. But don't underestimate the divide we have in media consumption. It's two realities.

I feel if someone isn’t smart enough to realize that the right wing media is full of shit then they just aren’t trying. Seriously, all they have to do is look at, I don’t know, ANYTHING outside of that realm and be able to figure it out. 
 

These people do not want to face reality. They want to be lied to. They are bad people. 

[DDD Dad 14,400]

4 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

…with DDDs, amirite?

 deltas not d cups. 

[Pods 7,595]

58 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Seriously, any drawbacks to just going and getting a third shot pretending you haven’t had one? I’m at the 6 month mark now and figure effectiveness if waning

Not that I've seen. Very few data points to go on, but everything I have seen said side effects no worse than second dose. Pfizer just released data and it looked pretty good. I'd personally be on the fence, but leaning towards it. If I was exposed to high viral loads frequently, I'd get a booster. 

If I was J&J only, I'd definitely do a booster. 

I'm not a doctor, so that's not medical advice etc., but my read on the data trends. 

 

[Pods 7,595]

24 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Don't you believe in Trickle Down economics?

It's piss. 

[Willfully Horn 8,104]

So, if an infected person is likely to infect eight folks, as I heard on today’s news, does that make the R number 1.8, or 8?

[Pods 7,595]

12 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

So, if an infected person is likely to infect eight folks, as I heard on today’s news, does that make the R number 1.8, or 8?

The latter. Delta's R is between 5-8. 

[Willfully Horn 8,104]

Welp.

Thanks.

[Pods 7,595]

3 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

Welp.

Thanks.

Don't  worry, the R-value drops substantially with effective test/trace programs, targeted shutdowns, universal mask wearing and avoiding crowded indoor conditions with people outside your immediate social bubble.

Good thing nothing that would change any of those things is happening, or is about to happen, all across the country. 

[washparkhorn 9,939]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

I feel if someone isn’t smart enough to realize that the right wing media is full of shit then they just aren’t trying. Seriously, all they have to do is look at, I don’t know, ANYTHING outside of that realm and be able to figure it out. 

One would think . . .

The right wing media silo has become its own alternative universe. They are checked out of reality. facebook and Fox sowed the seeds and are now trying to walk it back, but Pandora's Box of right wing populism was opened (again).

Spoiler

• The COVID-19 public health crisis is arguably being driven as much by behavior as by germs.
  • A recent Pew Research Center reported the effect of increasing polarization of attitudes toward the pandemic (Mitchell et al., 2020).
  • Among the findings reported in the study,
    • 38% of respondents believe the seriousness of COVID-19 is being exaggerated, and
    • 36% of all respondents across the study reported believing that it is definitely or probably true that the outbreak was a planned conspiracy.
• In addition, Mitchell et al. (2020) reported that Americans who rely on Trump and Republican-leaning media outlets for news about the outbreak were more likely to believe the disease is exaggerated, and people who get a lot of their news from social media were more likely to believe that the outbreak was a planned conspiracy.
  • The last finding is alarming in light of evidence that social media bots are actively being used to spread misinformation about the virus (Ferrara, 2020).
  • Recent investigative journalism has revealed how the collection of social media data can be effectively used by political organizations to target propaganda to specific audiences based on personality and behavioral data collected online (Cadwalladr and Graham-Harrison, 2018).
• Public knowledge about the type of personality variables that can be targeted may give individual citizens and public policy makers some means of defending themselves against this kind of manipulation. Forewarned is forearmed.
• Psychological scientists could play an important role in understanding which personality factors contribute to negative health behaviors during the outbreak.
• If policy makers are going to craft effective messages that encourage people to wear masks and take virus science seriously, they must have an idea of which personality types are more susceptible to ignoring the recommendations of experts and believing in conspiracies.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7732680/

[Biff Tannen 45,786]

23 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

One would think . . .

The right wing media silo has become its own alternative universe. They are checked out of reality. facebook and Fox sowed the seeds and are now trying to walk it back, but Pandora's Box of right wing populism was opened (again).

  Reveal hidden contents

• The COVID-19 public health crisis is arguably being driven as much by behavior as by germs.
  • A recent Pew Research Center reported the effect of increasing polarization of attitudes toward the pandemic (Mitchell et al., 2020).
  • Among the findings reported in the study,
    • 38% of respondents believe the seriousness of COVID-19 is being exaggerated, and
    • 36% of all respondents across the study reported believing that it is definitely or probably true that the outbreak was a planned conspiracy.
• In addition, Mitchell et al. (2020) reported that Americans who rely on Trump and Republican-leaning media outlets for news about the outbreak were more likely to believe the disease is exaggerated, and people who get a lot of their news from social media were more likely to believe that the outbreak was a planned conspiracy.
  • The last finding is alarming in light of evidence that social media bots are actively being used to spread misinformation about the virus (Ferrara, 2020).
  • Recent investigative journalism has revealed how the collection of social media data can be effectively used by political organizations to target propaganda to specific audiences based on personality and behavioral data collected online (Cadwalladr and Graham-Harrison, 2018).
• Public knowledge about the type of personality variables that can be targeted may give individual citizens and public policy makers some means of defending themselves against this kind of manipulation. Forewarned is forearmed.
• Psychological scientists could play an important role in understanding which personality factors contribute to negative health behaviors during the outbreak.
• If policy makers are going to craft effective messages that encourage people to wear masks and take virus science seriously, they must have an idea of which personality types are more susceptible to ignoring the recommendations of experts and believing in conspiracies.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7732680/

But my point is I know these people go out into the real world on a regular basis. They are exposed to other stuff. They don’t care. They want to be lied to. It’s a psychological issue. 

[washparkhorn 9,939]

1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

But my point is I know these people go out into the real world on a regular basis. They are exposed to other stuff. They don’t care. They want to be lied to. It’s a psychological issue. 

Agree 100%.  Personality disorder. 

[cactusflinthead 27,615]

 

[cactusflinthead 27,615]

Goddammit

 

[UDontKnow 10,515]

52 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Goddammit

 

I hope Texas Tribune runs with this and never stops. All the media outlets should be harassing Hot Wheels, Patrick, Paxton, and all these other corporate owned mofos about how it looks to have passed New York for COVID deaths. And oh yes, New York has plenty of illegal immigrants too. So what's the excuse for letting Texans die?

[Pods 7,595]

1 hour ago, cactusflinthead said:

Goddammit

 

[tx 3 putt 78,010]

2 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

Goddammit

 

 

great job abbott !!!!!!!!!!!

[Bookman 4,731]

Quote

Many of my patients exhibit stunning levels of ignorance when it comes to this disease and the vaccine, which, it's worth noting, has so far saved an estimated 275,000 lives and prevented over a million hospitalizations in the US alone, according to research from Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/30/opinions/unvaccinated-americans-self-inflicted-wound-busko/index.html

Wow, no shit.

[WhatTheBuck 28,852]

5 hours ago, Pods said:

Congratulations on your promotion.

Watch your backs, though. Florida isn’t going to just sit by and let that stand. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by WhatTheBuck

[Anastasis 23,520]

Texas is 24th in total COVID death rate. NJ, NY, Mass, RI, and Miss are the top 5. 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Anastasis

[HenryJames 66,370]

 

[Bateshorn 9,969]

14 hours ago, Js1 said:

Ze goggles! 

They do nothing!!!

[heso 2,834]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

Texas is 24th in total COVID death rate. NJ, NY, Mass, RI, and Miss are the top 5. 

 

So you have a group of states connected to the NYC metro area where the virus was spreading unmitigated for several months at the start of the pandemic and 6 states where the deaths were mostly preventable. 

[Brisketexan 105,701]

So you have a group of states connected to the NYC metro area where the virus was spreading unmitigated for several months at the start of the pandemic and 6 states where the deaths were mostly preventable. 

Well….you obviously didn’t get the memo that illegal immigrants are to blame. That is the obvious explanation for Covid deaths in [checks map] places like Michigan and Mississippi, which are overrun with dirty illegal beaners.

[Celery Man 21,036]

10 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

Goddammit

 

 

[Homercles 10,206]

10 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

Goddammit

 

But what about the teachers unions? 

[Js1 85,929]

48 minutes ago, heso said:

So you have a group of states connected to the NYC metro area where the virus was spreading unmitigated for several months at the start of the pandemic and 6 states where the deaths were mostly preventable. 

Ana came to defend his boy with the “BUT DEATHS PER CAPITA” argument that the GOP started throwing out when the TX numbers came out 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Js1

[Francisco 2.0 32,442]

Here's an interesting way to get others vaxxed.  Probably belongs elsewhere in this esteemed place, but figured it could go here too.  The link has a few borderline NSFW images.

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bdsm-dommes-subs-vaccination-covid19-1201121/

 

Quote

When the Covid-19 vaccine came out earlier this year, Bob, who also goes by the sobriquet Mannish Boy, was on the fence about getting it. He was wary about the speed at which the vaccine came to market, and he’d heard about preliminary data suggesting the AstraZeneca version in Europe had a rare side effect of inducing blood clots, which made him anxious. “I think I had the same reservations that many people had,” Bob, who requested that his last name be withheld to protect his privacy, tells Rolling Stone. 

 

Quote

Then Bob saw a tweet from Goddess Alexandra Snow, a professional dominatrix and dungeon owner who operates Wicked Eden, a BDSM collective based in Columbus, Ohio. The tweet stated that any submissives who wanted to session with Snow in person would have to show proof of vaccination. Bob had been subscribing to Goddess Snow’s OnlyFans and “tributing” her (giving her money) for almost two years, and he got in touch with her to discuss whether or not he should get the vaccine. “It was less about convincing me and more about her confirming to me that it was the right thing to do,” he says. He got his final shot three weeks ago. “It [feels] good to know that I’m (hopefully) contributing to others not falling seriously ill,” he says. “And of course, it’s gratifying to know I’ve done something that Goddess Snow approves of.”

 

Quote

Anthony Fauci probably never considered that dommes convincing subs to get jabbed would be an effective way to boost the U.S. vaccination rate. Yet dommes across the country, who are slowly opening up their dungeon doors as lockdown restrictions lift, say that their efforts to persuade subs to get the shot have largely been quite successful.  “I’ve had at least a dozen [subs] who have said, ‘If this is what I have to do to see you, I’ll do it.’ And that makes me happy,” Snow tells Rolling Stone. “If I’m the reason someone is getting vaccinated, that’s one person less who can impact our community.”

 

Spoiler

Dommes using their considerable persuasive powers on their subs to serve the common good is not new: in the lead-up to the 2020 election, for instance, some dommes told Rolling Stone that they were commanding their subs to vote for now-President Joe Biden. But the dommes I spoke with didn’t see instituting vaccine requirements as a political issue at all, or even an ethical one; rather, they see it both as a self-protective measure (indeed, most sex workers are independent contractors, and thus risk having to pay exorbitant amounts for health care out-of-pocket if they get sick). It’s also a concrete way to measure subs’ devotion. “Someone who’s in service to us should respect our boundaries,” says Daddy An Li, a domme based in Los Angeles who requires proof of vaccination from subs. “Either you want to serve us and you respect us, or you don’t.”

Others, like Goddess Snow, also see it as something of an educational opportunity. “For me, I don’t want someone to do what I tell them to just because I told them to do it. I want them to do it because I’m right,” she says. She will often supply vaccine-hesitant subs with literature attesting to the safety of the vaccine, so they can make their decision for themselves. “It’s one thing to tell someone, ‘you cant masturbate for a week.’ It’s another thing to say ‘I want you to take this foreign substance into your body,'” she says. “I don’t want to be responsible for that. So much of BDSM is about bodily autonomy, and I need them to have bodily autonomy there.”

Mistress Manouche, a domme based in East Sussex, United Kingdom, also requires proof of vaccination if subs wish to session with her. She has specific health concerns: a former leukemia patient and bone marrow transplant recipient, she lives with elderly parents and operates her dungeon from their shared home. Though she initially asked subs to wear masks, she found that wasn’t feasible in a dungeon space. “What we do is very intimate,” she tells Rolling Stone. “I spit in my subs’ mouths. I’m touching them. I use bullwhips, but you can’t just bullwhip someone 10 foot away. You’re in a closed space, and it’s not always practical to just wear masks. I couldn’t work properly and do what I normally do if I have to keep my distance.” 

Indeed, depending on what their specialty is, some dommes just don’t feel comfortable enough doing in-person work unless subs are vaccinated. “I specialize in toilet play” — essentially, “shitting on dudes” — “and I can’t do it with people who are unvaccinated,” says Daddy An Li.

Like many dommes, Mistress Manouche’s in-person business was decimated by the pandemic; though she tried to transition her business to online, she found that she got quickly burnt out by the content churn, and shifted to selling cards and chocolates just to make enough money to buy cigarettes. “It was absolutely awful,” she says. After she got her first Covid vaccine shot in January and her second in April, Mistress Manouche started opening her doors again and requiring proof of vaccination at her sessions. At first, “they were a bit iffy,” she says, citing one in particular who begged for an exemption from the requirement, saying he would get a test every day if it meant he could see her. But she managed to convince him to get the shot, as well as five other subs who were previously on the fence. “If it meant not sessioning with me, they’re going to get their jabs,” she says. 

In many ways, the BDSM community has been uniquely equipped to deal with the curveballs thrown by the pandemic, says Mistress Marley, a Manhattan-based professional domme and financial dominatrix who also requires her subs to be vaccinated to session with her. “The BDSM industry is really big on safety protocols in general. It’s all about safety and consent. We have safe words and we want to make sure people are safe. We look out for each other because things can get really physical,” she tells Rolling Stone. “The industry overall has been about safety way before Covid.”

That said, not every domme is making vaccination a requirement, particularly when doing so could negatively affect their bottom line. Snow says the subject often comes up in a Slack channel she runs for sex workers, and that during the peak of the pandemic, there was a long-running debate regarding the ethics of seeing clients in-person. “The sticky thing is, in-person sex workers’ incomes were decimated during the pandemic,” she says. “So there was a lot of shame that was happening: certain people who were more privileged were shaming others for taking sessions.” Similar conversations have been taking place since the vaccine became widely available: “some people don’t have the ability to say ‘If you’re not vaxxed, you can’t come.’ They have to make decisions based on money rather than safety,” she says.

Indeed, adopting a mandatory vaccination policy has hurt Wicked Eden’s bottom line, and Snow estimates she’s seen about a 30 percent reduction in session bookings since instituting the mandate. She also says that since announcing the policy, she was “inundated” with angry emails citing misinformation related to the vaccine. “It was link after link after link to all of these very strange websites trying to convince people vaccinations were fraudulent, to the point where we were like, ‘is this going to be an issue?'” she says. 

Yet the vast majority of vaccine-hesitant subs, she says, have agreed to get the vaccine. And afterward, “I’m always like ‘good job, I’m proud of you! Good boy!,'” she says. 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Francisco 2.0

[Anastasis 23,520]

1 hour ago, heso said:

So you have a group of states connected to the NYC metro area where the virus was spreading unmitigated for several months at the start of the pandemic and 6 states where the deaths were mostly preventable. 

I think that the data lends to a few different story lines. 

 

But when a NY politician starts tweeting about Texas surpassing NY in COVID deaths, and posters here start masturbating over that tweet, I think that's is appropriate to point out how foolish it is to compare the NY death rate to Texas'.