if I was immunocompromised I would simply swoosh the virus away
Ventilation is one of the most underrated ways to fight against airborne disease spread, there's a reason why outside spread is much rarer than inside spread and that's the draft of fresh air. Of course, opening a single window is unlikely to do too much but an actual draft will drastically lower the odds of you catching anything.
Opening some windows in a crowded space is a far cry from proper ventilation. The problem with the advice is that it makes people believe they are safe in situations that are not safe.
It has nothing to do with what I want or don't want people to do, it's just that opening windows is not providing much safety at all. Nothing about the human condition changes that fact.
There's nothing to disagree with. You "thinking" it provides a meaningful amount of safety is not the same as it providing a meaningful amount of safety. It's a thing that you should do if possible in situations where you can't do better, but it won't "keep covid away" and if it's nice enough that the windows are open, you could be safer outside.
According to the EPA, you shouldn't make these decisions yourself and should hire an HVAC professional to determine the best way to ventilate a space in order for it to be safe
In general, increasing ventilation and filtration is usually appropriate; however, due to the complexity and diversity of building types, sizes, construction styles, HVAC system components, and other building features, a professional should interpret ASHRAE guidelines for their specific building and circumstances.
https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/ventilation-and-coronavirus-covid-19
This is a post about a comic made by WHO where three people are clearly eating at a restaurant and it's okay the "keep the party going" because they have kept "covid away" by opening windows. You are equivocating two things that are entirely different.
You're thinking about it in terms of what will keep me safe.
But that's not what the designers of this comic are asking. They're asking "what simple, reproducible practice will reduce viral spread throughout the whole population."
People are more likely to open a window than move gatherings outside. So it's a better intervention.
It's like how narcan administration gets taught. Technically, intravenous admin is more effective, but intramuscular also works and is much easier. Because of this, narcan trainers usually teach intramuscular injection. It's the same principle.
I'm saying that this will not reduce viral spread throughout the whole population. If there's a crowd of people staying in one building for long periods of time, an open window will not mitigate the spread of covid. That makes this a dangerous comic to share, because it is convincing people of safety in a situation where safety does not exist.
It's been really depressing. This was the last community I had where people weren't being willfully ignorant about covid.
did you know COVID is a type of bird? spreads just like bird if you think about it.
Lateral ventilation helps if it’s a room visited by people, then those people leave and other enter in new fresh air. If it’s consistently packed room, one could argue draft would do more harm than good. Ventilation should be either downwards or upwards to really help with particles.
Like those smoking room in airports, if you have ever been there, the smell and smoke is noticeably reduced inside
but opening a window does help reduce the risk of transmission
I came here to say this. But can I add: although not enough to make an immunocompromised feel comfortable. It may reduce the possibility of infection by, IDK, 50%. But that's not enough to make an at risk person feel safe (nor should they feel safe).
ok but immunocompromised people have a disability that means that gatherings where they could get infected are especially dangerous for them and thus should interpret advice aimed at the general public in this light.
the advice aimed at the general public is that covid is over and its okay immunocompromised people are dying
Top panel would make a good emoji imo. Worried about dying of a stroke? Just :swoosh: it away.
They needed to do a more serious campaign around this and they neded to do it 2 and a half years ago.
By opening windows and doors, masking up, limiting room occupancy, and using air filters and purifiers (in descending order of importance), you can go a long way to prevent any airborne contagion transmission. The people I organize with did this and we were able to go on using our space almost as normal past lockdown with no one getting the virus for over a year (and once they did, it was caught from elsewhere). I don't think we were lucky, I think we found out how to make the best of it.
I know people in the policy circle (italian guy adjacent). They’ve known this since the beginning but if they recognized it publicly (and made it part of public policy) they’d be on the hook for funding better air filtration in schools, etc. Higher air circulation is also more costly from an HVAC perspective.
What’s the size of the room? What’s the size of the window? How many people are in the room? There are too many variables to just say open a window as simple advice
Perfect advice for winter temps. I love getting snow inside
When WHO is literally not allowed to tell the truth because it lost the culture wars.
