Links: Managing pandemic risks
Aug. 16th, 2021 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaThe Delta Variant Has Warped Our Risk Perception by Gregory Barber.
Linked from there, the microCOVID project, a calculator which helps you evaluate the risks of different activities in units of microCOVIDs, a millionth chance of catching COVID.
It didn't have current COVID data for my county for some reason, so I searched on the CDC COVID data tracker and entered the numbers myself.
I just bought a mask from Open Standard Industries that should seal well to my face. I was hoping it wouldn't have the chemical odor of N95s, but it does, despite being made mainly of silicone. I'm letting it air out.
Managing pandemic boundaries is a whole new business task for massage therapists. Thank goodness I already had a planned week off (for a fun online singing camp) as cases went through the roof here. I had time to think about how I wanted to address that. In mid-March 2020, I shut down abruptly because I had vague symptoms that did turn out to be (probably) COVID. This time I'd rather not shut down, but I don't want to ignore this huge surge.
I already require clients to be vaccinated and masked. Just before my week off, a new client canceled her upcoming appointment when I said she would need to wear a mask (seriously?!), so I put a pause on new in-person clients. Now is not the time to spend an hour up close and personal with strangers in a relatively low-ventilation space. Especially strangers who seek out bodywork in the middle of a pandemic surge.
I decided to start double-masking (despite being sensitive to the chemical odor of surgical masks), and asking clients to double mask (or wear a KN95 or N95). I already have masks available to give people as needed.
I've resisted querying people about their risk-taking choices outside my office, but now that breakthrough asymptomatic cases are becoming more common, I decided it was time to do that. I'm texting each client a few days before their session to ask them to reschedule if within the last two weeks they have
Two weeks allows time for an infection to incubate and then clear past the point of being infectious. My list doesn't cover all risky behaviors, but hopefully it gives people a sense of what I'm asking for.
Immediately someone asked about spending time with their grandkids, who are too young to be vaccinated. I don't want to exclude everyone with young kids, so I said apply the same questions to the unvaccinated people. We delayed their appointment a week because one of the kids had returned from in-person camp the week before. (And then someone else said their young kid will be unmasked at school for lunch and snacks, so sadly I may end up excluding people with kids after all once school starts.)
So far people have responded well, and either thanked me for keeping everyone safe, or said they've eaten at a restaurant and will schedule with me when the surge is over. It's working exactly as desired, letting people freely choose what risks they want to take, and also managing my risk exposure. And that of my clients, since if I get an asymptomatic delta infection, clients are at risk of catching it, even with vaccines and masks and an air filter.
It also frees me from stressing quite as hard about whether each little blip in my health is a COVID infection. I wish there were reliable home tests I could take to reduce that worry.
It ends up being a soft shutdown. About half the clients are canceling, and I imagine there will be more attrition over time. I'm glad I can stay available for the clients who make bodywork a priority in their risk-taking decisions.
Linked from there, the microCOVID project, a calculator which helps you evaluate the risks of different activities in units of microCOVIDs, a millionth chance of catching COVID.
It didn't have current COVID data for my county for some reason, so I searched on the CDC COVID data tracker and entered the numbers myself.
I just bought a mask from Open Standard Industries that should seal well to my face. I was hoping it wouldn't have the chemical odor of N95s, but it does, despite being made mainly of silicone. I'm letting it air out.
Managing pandemic boundaries is a whole new business task for massage therapists. Thank goodness I already had a planned week off (for a fun online singing camp) as cases went through the roof here. I had time to think about how I wanted to address that. In mid-March 2020, I shut down abruptly because I had vague symptoms that did turn out to be (probably) COVID. This time I'd rather not shut down, but I don't want to ignore this huge surge.
I already require clients to be vaccinated and masked. Just before my week off, a new client canceled her upcoming appointment when I said she would need to wear a mask (seriously?!), so I put a pause on new in-person clients. Now is not the time to spend an hour up close and personal with strangers in a relatively low-ventilation space. Especially strangers who seek out bodywork in the middle of a pandemic surge.
I decided to start double-masking (despite being sensitive to the chemical odor of surgical masks), and asking clients to double mask (or wear a KN95 or N95). I already have masks available to give people as needed.
I've resisted querying people about their risk-taking choices outside my office, but now that breakthrough asymptomatic cases are becoming more common, I decided it was time to do that. I'm texting each client a few days before their session to ask them to reschedule if within the last two weeks they have
- traveled
- eaten in a restaurant
- attended a gathering unmasked
- spent time with someone who has COVID.
Two weeks allows time for an infection to incubate and then clear past the point of being infectious. My list doesn't cover all risky behaviors, but hopefully it gives people a sense of what I'm asking for.
Immediately someone asked about spending time with their grandkids, who are too young to be vaccinated. I don't want to exclude everyone with young kids, so I said apply the same questions to the unvaccinated people. We delayed their appointment a week because one of the kids had returned from in-person camp the week before. (And then someone else said their young kid will be unmasked at school for lunch and snacks, so sadly I may end up excluding people with kids after all once school starts.)
So far people have responded well, and either thanked me for keeping everyone safe, or said they've eaten at a restaurant and will schedule with me when the surge is over. It's working exactly as desired, letting people freely choose what risks they want to take, and also managing my risk exposure. And that of my clients, since if I get an asymptomatic delta infection, clients are at risk of catching it, even with vaccines and masks and an air filter.
It also frees me from stressing quite as hard about whether each little blip in my health is a COVID infection. I wish there were reliable home tests I could take to reduce that worry.
It ends up being a soft shutdown. About half the clients are canceling, and I imagine there will be more attrition over time. I'm glad I can stay available for the clients who make bodywork a priority in their risk-taking decisions.
