Vaccination importance, enthusiast & pro

cuddleaddict

In your opinion, how important is it that both people are vaccinated? Or is just one vaccinated person safe enough? Please consider the Delta variant & indicate which vaccine you're commenting on & where you live. Particularly interested in New York State where I live, but think this is a topic we all need to consider.

natickben

I would not cuddle with anyone who was not fully vaccinated, nor would I cuddle with anyone if I was not.

If they are in process, I would when they are complete. If they refuse to vaccinate-barring a real (not anti-vax imaginary) medical condition which prevents vaccination, I would presume them reckless and unconcerned with the health of others which is not a scene or a cuddlier with which I want to be involved.

I would hold this true for all parties.

I live in Massachusetts but would hold the same standard anywhere.

Lovelight

I don't mind about one's vaccination status either way, everyone has the freedom to get it or not. I (plan to) follow other safety precautions such as social distancing, washing/sanitizing hands/things, wearing a mask and eye wear, being selective about who I accept into my social circle. Spacing out my meetings with people, not accepting to meet if I suspect I've covid symptoms until that's cleared. Limiting my contact with others overall, etc. I look for just about the same in return. If someone thinks I am reckless and not concerned with the health of others, they are free to feel how they feel. I didn't essentially isolate myself for like 3 years and counting, deprived of in person social interactions, having to wear a mask which is possibly why or one of the reasons why I developed shortness of breath, and just about the whole 9 yards of being covid safe out of not caring about others.

For those who aren't trying to vilify people like myself as like the epitome of the devil and just don't feel comfortable with my approach, they are free to get back in touch if they become comfortable or when the pandemic is over.

Lovelight

I think a borderline "take this shot or you're a heartless --- (unless you've a health issue)" is quite counterintuitive when it comes to influencing people to accept what you think is right. And thinking one knows it all and that everyone who doesn't think like him/her is a ___ is no good either.

CuddleWho

At this point I am basically not worried about this at all. I'm vaccinated. My area is pretty much completely open now, with minimal mask wearing rules. I don't think the transmission risk from individual one-on-one interactions is very high.

quixotic_life

The fact that it's not 100% preventative on it's own, and that I could still potentially be one who infects another, freaks me out. I'm vaccinated (Pfizer) but I still take precautions as if the plague might be somehow be drawn to hitching a ride on me until the moment I bump into an at risk, unable to vaccinate, individual.

Portland, OR

CuddleDuncan

Don't think about vaccination on its own, it's just one tool in the box. Handwashing, masks, social distancing and ventilation are all important too. Cuddling with masks on a windy mountaintop is very different from cuddling in a broom cupboard without them.

Everybody's covid risk profile is different and so there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

The Delta variant is a big problem. It's going through Britain like wildfire. It's more transmissable and tends to have different symptoms. However, the vaccines appear to work very well against it.

Mike403

Fully vaccinated here with the J&J vaccine and I couldn't wait to rip that dirty mask off of my face.

@Mike403: You didn't clean your masks?

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - Most people don't wash their masks multiple times a day. They set it down and let it pick up God knows what, then put it back on their face.

TheFunCartel

As the variants spread and start to infect more and more unvaccinated people like it is doing in my state, those who are vaccine hesitant will become vaccinated, hospitalized or dead. The Delta hit here and one hospital went from 8 Covid patients to 83 in two days. In addition, these patients are much younger. I am vaccinated and I do not live in fear of Covid or the variants. I think those that hesitated are like those who stay behind during natural disasters after being told to evacuate—the ones you see on the news who say, “we have been through this so many times and nothing has ever happened so we are not changing now.” Problem is, it only takes one time and close counts with horseshoes, hand grenades and Covid.

CuddleDuncan

@Mike403 I have several masks and the only places they ever go are my face, a dedicated pocket (while I'm out but not wearing it), the laundry and the drying hook. I almost never touch the mask itself while putting it on or off, only the straps.

The commonest ones used here are disposable, and they do appear to be disposed of.

But what I don't understand is, why did you rip your mask off when you got vaccinated?

Mike403

@CuddleDuncan - Why would I continue to wear it? I got the shot. Now I'm done with masks.

@Mike403: Ew. So you're most people? Groooss.

I'm with folks like @CuddleDuncan—multiple masks, face, bag, laundry, drying hook, touch straps only. Or wear disposables and trash old for new rather than putting the old one down, then back on.

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - Not being a germaphobe is also probably why I never get sick. My immune system got plenty of practice. It's been 10 years since I even got the flu.

@Mike403: ...I think it's probably the other way around.

I wasn't a germaphobe when I nearly died of German measles at eight months, or when I had whooping cough for a year at age eleven, or for any of the other horrible diseases I had in between.

If I were to guess, I'd say you don't think much about germs because you've got a strong immune system. Which is great for you.

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - As a famous comedian George Carlin once said, "If you drop a pizza on the floor, pick it up and eat it." Not that I ever did that.

@Mike403: I used to crawl on the floor of my parents' house and eat bugs. Grew up into a kid who rubbed dirt into skinned knees and licked spilled ice cream off the sidewalk. No fear of germs whatsoever!

Didn't help my health any, though. Heh. Turns out germs don't care whether you're scared of them or not. Who woulda guessed?

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - If I die of something, at least I lived a good life doing what i love to do. Nobody lives forever and I'd rather not live in fear.

@Mike403: Yeah, sure. I can see that. Just don't take along (or send ahead) anybody who doesn't want to go on your way out, and I figure you're doing just fine.

Not all of us have immune systems like yours.

Lovelight

@Mike403 there's a difference between "living in fear" and practicing good hygiene by taking care of your body and what you put on it. Especially what you put on one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. Bro, it is better to breath through a properly cleaned mask. Good luck.

@Lovelight: Well, he's fully vaccinated now. So unless he's one of the rare breakthrough cases, the people around him are probably safe... probably.

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - I did mask up for a year for other people's benefit, but wasn't planning on continuing that forever. The virus isn't going anywhere. It's gonna be like the flu that we'll have to learn to live with. I got the shot and there are plenty who won't even do that for some reason.

@Mike403: The virus isn't going anywhere, you say? Not with that attitude, it's not!

...More seriously, measles is back. People can keep pretty much anything in circulation if they really want to. (Or, in some cases, if they're just plain stupid enough.)

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - If you want to continue to wear a mask, go right ahead. I don't appreciate those who shame others who just wants to go back to living a normal life.

@Mike403: As a shameless nerd, I openly confess that I love wearing a mask because it makes me feel like a ninja. And it protects me from germs a little bit. Just a little bit, though.

I mean—when somebody coughs on me, "germs on mask on face" is obviously one step better than "germs on face," right?

But even better is when they're wearing a mask, so I don't get germs anywhere near my face at all.

Mike403

@DarrenWalker - One place where it's nearly impossible to be comfortable in a mask is the gym. Working out causes you to need to breath harder and a mask restricts some of that airflow.

@Mike403: True, true. Fortunately, gyms aren't places people have to go. Which is why I work out at home.

Anyway, I don't have to worry about Ted picking up something from Bill at the gym, and then breathing it onto me at the grocery store (where I do have to go, alas) if Ted wears a mask at the store. Even if he doesn't wear one at the gym! Hooray!

Lovelight

@DarrenWalker

Even if vaccinated, I think it is safer to continue keeping up with other precautions such as wearing a mask and socially distancing * as much as possible.

The vaccines aren't 100%, so the more one can increase their success the better. I remember the time big figure(s) lied about the general public not needing to wear a mask and I saw through that, while some people were still trying to defend it. I understood the reason before they came out with it and I could sympathize with what I understood. Still pissed about them lying. Now it may just be an incentive to get vaccinated by saying you don't have to wear a mask minus exceptions or maybe some other motive if vaccinated. Why the exceptions for such places though not for the rest of living that can virtually in a lot of ways be identical? Seems they require for certain indoors/workplaces. However, then that would raise the questions for me, is it not better that one wears it indoors if cuddling with others as an enthusiast? Even if they got vaccinated. Or not cuddle indoors til it is all over?

"Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html

Just because one can, doesn't mean one should. And everyone needs to make that decision for themselves after thinking about the issue critically. For some time, I could go without a mask as it wasn't enforced/required because "only those dealing with the covid/ill need it" they said. Though I still chose to wear a scarf or pull up my t-shirt till I could get a mask. And took other safety precautions quite seriously such as social distancing and isolating minus needing to be out for essentials. I also tried to help others see the truth whether they took it or not, up to them. Maybe that's one of the biggest factors that still kept me alive and the people around me safer. Heck as soon as I heard it reached the US, I started taking as much precautions as I could. If the there was no lies and the people telling others about the safety were consistently honest and serious about the threat I think we'd be out of this a lot sooner. There's just so much we can blame the general public when the information they are getting is inconsistent and could use improvement.

midnightblue3

Flagged, reviewed, and removed. Covid remains a world wide public safety issue, and as such, disinformation, anti-science, and anti-vaccination posts will not be tolerated nothing site, @midnightblue3 . [-Sid]

bekah_cuddles

At this point, I will only cuddle with those who are fully vaccinated. If someone's health is so compromised that they can't get the vaccine, I probably shouldn't be in close proximity to them anyway.