What did you do today?

[Ed Mack]

2 minutes ago, Mathew said:

Curious how is the car wash business in general?  Pre covid included. My parents were self employed while I was growing up but aside from a small business venture I haven’t really done the same. Tired of the corporate world though. 

It's a prison with no walls, but I like water and cars and it pays the bills, so I deal with it. It's a 7 day a week hands-on job if you want it to operate correctly.  Big investor money is flowing into it right now.  Costs in NJ are very high, but we do have cars so it balances out.  We have been lucky this past year considering what other businesses have gone through.  I also have a quick lube and the help situation is terrible.  Workers are scarce and NJ minimum wage is nearing $15 per hour.  This is not good news for a small business.

[exciter1]

1 minute ago, Ed Mack said:

It's a prison with no walls, but I like water and cars and it pays the bills, so I deal with it. It's a 7 day a week hands-on job if you want it to operate correctly.  Big investor money is flowing into it right now.  Costs in NJ are very high, but we do have cars so it balances out.  We have been lucky this past year considering what other businesses have gone through.  I also have a quick lube and the help situation is terrible.  Workers are scarce and NJ minimum wage is nearing $15 per hour.  This is not good news for a small business.

We have local restaurants apologizing for poor service and turning to Facebook to try to find workers.  With the recent stimulus checks and unemployment perks, people prefer to stay at home, zone out, and buy collectibles.

[Ed Mack]

11 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

We have local restaurants apologizing for poor service and turning to Facebook to try to find workers.  With the recent stimulus checks and unemployment perks, people prefer to stay at home, zone out, and buy collectibles.

100% correct.  Every business I know of in my area has help wanted signs out.  We are all running the best way we can with limited resources, both employee wise and material wise.  Until the Feds stop handing out money, the economy will never get back to full strength.  

[Mathew]

7 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Until the Feds stop handing out money, the economy will never get back to full strength.  

If you watch or read the news then you’d believe that there are no jobs. I honestly believe that the government wants a subclass of the population to remain unemployed. More democrat voters I guess. 

[legorunner]

29 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

.but that was just the 1st dose, which is typically mild anyway.

Just glad to see folks here getting the vaccine...

The second dose of of Pfizer rocked me for about 24 hours a couple of weeks ago, similar to what @exciter1reported. I'd estimate that for every one of us that felt sick, there were three of my fellow teachers who had mild to no side effects from the second dose. Regardless, anyone who is on the fence about getting the shot b/c you don't want the side effects, they are well worth it compared to what the real deal can do to you...I was able to hang out with my Grandma for Easter, that alone was worth it. 

Stay safe and keep getting vaccinated BP'ers! 

[BricksBrotha]

For those curious of the reactions;

The Pfizer vaccine contains approximately 30 ug (micrograms) of vaccine in each shot.  Each Moderna shot contains 100 ug.  This is why many more people have expressed more symptoms for the Moderna shot and has reported the most reactions (allergic and fever related)  

The J&J single shot contains more ug of vaccine of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but it does not use MRNA like the other two, rather uses viral vector vaccine technology similar to that of the ebola vaccine.  J&J  modified the common cold virus to be harmless and also encoded the Covid spike protein to train the Immune system.  All quite fascinating to me really. 

[BricksBrotha]

Since the Moderna vaccine is essentially equivalent to Pfizer with more than triple the viral load, the government has asked Moderna if they could decrease the viral load with the same results in order to to create more vaccines. Moderna has agreed to begin feasibility testing. 

[exciter1]

12 minutes ago, BricksBrotha said:

For those curious of the reactions;

The Pfizer vaccine contains approximately 30 ug (micrograms) of vaccine in each shot.  Each Moderna shot contains 100 ug.  This is why many more people have expressed more symptoms for the Moderna shot and has reported the most reactions (allergic and fever related)  

The J&J single shot contains more ug of vaccine of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but it does not use MRNA like the other two, rather uses viral vector vaccine technology similar to that of the ebola vaccine.  J&J  modified the common cold virus to be harmless and also encoded the Covid spike protein to train the Immune system.  All quite fascinating to me really. 

Still not full proof, but maybe they let their guard down after the 2nd vaccine?  It still takes a few weeks to build the antibodies.

https://nypost.com/2021/04/06/246-fully-vaccinated-michigan-residents-get-covid-3-die-report/

[Ed Mack]

24 minutes ago, Mathew said:

If you watch or read the news then you’d believe that there are no jobs. I honestly believe that the government wants a subclass of the population to remain unemployed. More democrat voters I guess. 

Anecdotally, I will tell you there are plenty of jobs, but they are all jobs that pay $12-$18 an hour to start.  Many will choose unemployment plus $300 weekly bonus over working for similar money.  But the free money will end and then these people will have start from scratch somewhere, with cellar dwelling on their resume for the last two years.

[SpaceFan9]

34 minutes ago, legorunner said:

keep getting vaccinated BP'ers! 

 

 

Based on all I've read and discussions with people that have had covid (both mild and difficult cases), I don't see that the benefit outweighs the risk for me.  I think there are people that could benefit from it, but I don't land in any of those demographic categories. 

There is no evidence (yet) that the vaccine helps reduce transmission---as far as I've read it only reduces severity of symptoms, and there are plenty of alternatives for symptom mitigation.

I won't disparage anyone that wants to be vaccinated.  But the evaluation of my personal risk-vs-reward equation leads me to say "no thanks".

Edited April 6, 2021 by SpaceFan9

[$20 on joe vs dan]

3 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

 But the free money will end and then these people will have start from scratch somewhere, with cellar dwelling on their resume for the last two years.

Xactly this...I hire for a small business and I will definitely value anyone who was working (when they "didn't need to")...that tells me a lot.

[SpaceFan9]

It sounds like folks might be interested in this talk on April 8th at 4:00 pm EDT: http://web.mit.edu/webcast/vaccine/

The MIT group that helped develop the J&J vaccine will present, and be open for questions.

Edited April 6, 2021 by SpaceFan9

[Ed Mack]

5 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

Still not full proof, but maybe they let their guard down after the 2nd vaccine?  It still takes a few weeks to build the antibodies.

https://nypost.com/2021/04/06/246-fully-vaccinated-michigan-residents-get-covid-3-die-report/

That is correct...No foolproof, but close.  This recent real world study by Pfizer on some of the original essential workers to get vaccinated shows 90% effectiveness at stopping the virus completely.  10% can still get it and some may die.  

Here is the study...

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html

[Brystheguy]

36 minutes ago, Mathew said:

If you watch or read the news then you’d believe that there are no jobs. I honestly believe that the government wants a subclass of the population to remain unemployed. More democrat voters I guess. 

You need to rethink who the poor are in America. 

https://www.brookings.edu/research/poverty-crosses-party-lines/#AL

 

[Ed Mack]

2 minutes ago, Brystheguy said:

You need to rethink who the poor are in America. 

https://www.brookings.edu/research/poverty-crosses-party-lines/#AL

 

Honestly, the people I know who have chosen to stay home and collect checks instead of working have no political preference and do not vote.

[$20 on joe vs dan]

2 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

That is correct...No foolproof, but close.  This recent real world study by Pfizer on some of the original essential workers to get vaccinated shows 90% effectiveness at stopping the virus completely.  10% can still get it and some may die.  

Here is the study...

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html

yes; many don't fully understand the scale Covid has hit the world.  Pretty much ANY medical treatment will not be 100%...so since there are literally 100s of millions going thru this, there will be some small number of the population that fall "victim" to the 1% or so.

same thinking goes into the variants issue we all see in the headlines...typically viruses mutate all the time w/ very few ever being meaningful...yet again with 100s of millions getting infected, it makes that low chance come into fruition...this is the downside to so many getting infected...each infection is a roll of the dice of a super mutant being formed...roll that dice a billion times and voila...extinction event pandemic is around the corner.

[Ed Mack]

9 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

Based on all I've read and discussions with people that have had covid (both mild and difficult cases), I don't see that the benefit outweighs the risk for me.  I think there are people that it could benefit from it, but I don't land in any of those demographic categories. 

There is no evidence (yet) that the vaccine helps reduce transmission---as far as I've read it only reduces severity of symptoms, and there are plenty of alternatives for symptom mitigation.

I won't disparage anyone that wants to be vaccinated.  But the evaluation of my personal risk-vs-reward equation leads me to say "no thanks".

This study...

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html

And it's not always about you.  It's about your family members and others you care about.

[Mathew]

10 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

This study...

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html

And it's not always about you.  It's about your family members and others you care about.

Well said. If the government would quit moving the goal posts. There needs to be light at the end of the end tunnel to get most people on board. Interesting that military personnel are not exactly on board either:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.military.com/daily-news/2021/02/17/almost-one-third-of-us-troops-are-refusing-covid-vaccines-officials-say.html/amp

Edited April 6, 2021 by Mathew

[SpaceFan9]

8 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

This study...

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html

And it's not always about you.  It's about your family members and others you care about.

 

Yeah, I've seen that one.  I would like to read the study details, and not just a press release, though before giving it full credit.  Particularly, this graph

Quote

One of this study’s strengths is its design: participants self-collected nasal swabs each week for RT-PCR laboratory testing, regardless of whether they had developed symptoms of illness.  Researchers were able to look for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection irrespective of symptoms. A small number (10.7 percent) of infections in this study were asymptomatic (i.e., did not result in symptoms). However, the majority of infections (58 percent) occurred among people whose infections were identified by testing before they developed symptoms or knew they were infected. The study demonstrates that these two mRNA vaccines can reduce the risk of all SARS-CoV-2 infections, not just symptomatic infections.

 

does not give me confidence in it.

[legorunner]

18 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

I think there are people that could benefit from it, but I don't land in any of those demographic categories. 

I appreciate that your response was level and judgement free. In addition to the posts above about the benefit to others as well as the reduction in opportunities for the virus to infect and mutate, it's also a numbers game. I'm mid 30s and like to run. Most folks in that category that I know had mild Covid, but I also know a guy my age who felt like he had someone sitting on his chest for months whenever he tried to run afterwards. Another friend my age still can't taste anything months after recovering. Yea, I felt like I had the flu for 24 hours, but I personally felt that was worth it. Target demographics are out the window if you are the otherwise young and healthy person who ends up with long term effects, or worse. 

[minicoopers11]

15 minutes ago, legorunner said:

I appreciate that your response was level and judgement free. In addition to the posts above about the benefit to others as well as the reduction in opportunities for the virus to infect and mutate, it's also a numbers game. I'm mid 30s and like to run. Most folks in that category that I know had mild Covid, but I also know a guy my age who felt like he had someone sitting on his chest for months whenever he tried to run afterwards. Another friend my age still can't taste anything months after recovering. Yea, I felt like I had the flu for 24 hours, but I personally felt that was worth it. Target demographics are out the window if you are the otherwise young and healthy person who ends up with long term effects, or worse. 

I'm mid 30s and love to run and am getting jabbed tomorrow. I've always had the philosophy of "take all the shots offered."

[Ed Mack]

6 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

Yeah, I've seen that one.  I would like to read the study details, and not just a press release, though before giving it full credit.  Particularly, this graph

does not give me confidence in it.

Well, how about this...my personal experience.  Twice in the past month, a family close to me (lube manager, business partner) had Covid enter their home.  One from a kid's playdate and another thru work (my business partner's son is electrician.  He is 24).  In both cases, the one person from each family that came back Covid negative had the vaccine (one nurse, my business partner who is 65).  The others (including kids) all got pretty sick and still have issues weeks later.  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I would like to think that the vaccines not only stop the worst symptoms, but help stop it altogether.

[Phil B]

33 minutes ago, minicoopers11 said:

I'm mid 30s and love to run and am getting jabbed tomorrow. I've always had the philosophy of "take all the shots offered."

Just like you don't wear a mask to protect yourself necessarily, you wear a mask to protect others from yourself potentially being infected/asymptomatic - you take the vaccine not necessarily to prevent getting infected, you do it to help create herd immunity which leaves the virus with less targets to jump to, which causes it to die down and hopefully not infect those who are too frail to get the vaccine or at risk for getting severe side-effects from an infection.

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Phil B
added image

[$20 on joe vs dan]

27 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Just like you don't wear a mask to protect yourself necessarily, you wear a mask to protect others from yourself potentially being infected/asymptomatic - you take the vaccine not necessarily to prevent getting infected, you do it to help create herd immunity which leaves the virus with less targets to jump to, which causes it to die down and hopefully not infect those who are too frail to get the vaccine or at risk for getting severe side-effects from an infection.

also less rolls of the dice for the virus to mutate into something worse...which will impact EVERYONE in a real bad way

[SpaceFan9]

Just now, Ed Mack said:

Well, how about this...my personal experience. 

 

I'm sorry to hear that people close to you have been so sick.  Your experience mirrors my own.  Some families get hit hard, some get hardly a sniffle. It's a Sofie's Choice: take your chance with the vaccine or with the virus---both have risks.

And, I'm not saying 'do nothing'.  The vaccine is one potential solution, but I believe there are others.  The people that I know that had mild symptoms stayed on a steady vitamin and OTC drug regimen both pre-infection and during, and that's what I've chosen to do.  Is my risk of transmission greater than if I got the vaccine instead? I don't think one can say at this point. 

I'm not against the vaccine per se.  I am against the mob mentality that everyone should take it, though.  I think that way lies a dangerous path.