What did you learn from the COVID pandemic?
Posted by Creepy_Session6786@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 206 comments
I’m curious what changes you made to your preps due to COVID? I’m a not as prepared as I’d like prepper. I started after hurricane Katrina and seeing how many people had to wait days and longer for assistance. Back then I made a point to get a two week pantry plus bottled water and medical supplies and I just kept adding from there. The whole H5N1 thing has me thinking some more about the holes I plugged in our preps after COVID craziness died down. I feel good about things but I’m sure we could do better. So what did you learn? What holes did you plug? Thanks for your input!
Hot-Profession4091@reddit
Masks were not a thing we kept stocked before Covid. The other thing we learned was that we’re pretty content on our little piece of property.
IngenuityIll1858@reddit
N95 and above were moderate to highly effective when clean and tight fitting. Surgical and cloth did next to nothing.
Dirty reused masks were proven to cause respirtory issues in some cases. Having a good supply is critical.
adoradear@reddit
Actually not true. Surgical masks in well ventilated spaces were quite effective (source: am a HCW and spent MONTHS working in small rooms with covid positive patients wearing only a surgical mask, and didn’t get the vid until the world opened up and my kid brought it home from daycare)
IngenuityIll1858@reddit
Studies show cloth masks allow about 97% viruses to pass through and surgical about 44%, but Ive seen even worse results for surgical in different studies.
I wore no mask most of the time in public from 2021 on and only caught covid once.
Led_Zeppole_73@reddit
Same here, although I had to wear a mask per my employer’s policy when entering care homes, businesses and residences. I never caught covid.
StarlightLifter@reddit
I had a crusty good ol boy country sergeant I worked with before Covid started. By the time it did I’d been transferred units. I called him one day on some admin issue, and I’ll be damned if my mind wasn’t blown when he started GOING OFF on anti maskers like “in Asia they’ve been using masks for years if they even suspect as much as a COLD because that’s being courteous as can be to their fellow man.”
My preconceived notions on his beliefs were shattered and I was so glad to hear it. SFC F (hopefully MSG or 1SG now), keep on keeping on man I hope you’re good
JoyKil01@reddit
I really hoped this would become normal in the states—especially to wear a mask when you’re sick. Needless to say, I’m pretty disappointed in how that played out.
Whole-Lengthiness-33@reddit
When I worked in Asia in the 2010s, people would wear masks when they were under the weather or didn’t want to spread communicable diseases.
It’s just that in North America there was no culture for it, so people were not used it unless their job required it before (like surgery and certain trades). People are more likely to resist something if they’re simply not used to it, even if it’s for bad or stupid reasons.
Awesome_hospital@reddit
Same to both. Masks never even occurred to me which is a weird oversight in retrospect. I was in a suburb during the pandemic but I was watching all these people freak out about it meanwhile I'm like this has been the best year of my life. It also got my ass in gear to get away from more developed areas and I got 40 acres and a house and everyone can keep their nasty asses way far away from me.
Started_WIth_NADA@reddit
Masks were and are a waste of time, the “science” has proven that.
No_Character_5315@reddit
This is probably the best answer have enough preps to stay home and don't panic buy items we are told we need. Just stay calm and make decisions from a non panicked state of mind.
Led_Zeppole_73@reddit
My family didn’t prep any more than usual for covid. I found it unnecessary. For some, covid did not have much impact on our lives.
hockeymammal@reddit
I worked on a critical care ambulance during Covid. One thing I noticed is that nobody knew the warning signs of when a sick loved one needs to go to the hospital. A large percentage of Covid deaths were due to people waiting too long to go to the hospital, and thus were too sick to be helped affectively.
B8690@reddit
Can you share what some of the warning signs are?
hockeymammal@reddit
Extreme shortness of breath, blueish/purplish lips/face, confusion or altered mental status, no urine output in 8 hours, chest tightness, pale skin, fever > 102.5 F, leg and feet swelling
STEMpsych@reddit
Jesus. I thought you were going to say "SpO2 <93%". Yes, indeedy, when the hypoxia is visible to casual inspection, you have in fact waited too long.
Ellekib@reddit
Panfemic is still going..n95 tight fit work for many. People are easily duped and cruel at their own expense. Ignore them. Don't think politics isn't using you and your body with excess exposure to a level 3 BSL pathogen. You only get one brain. Terrible thing to waste on repeated asymptomatic and Mild symptomatic viruses. Lesson is stay out of the way.
ruat_caelum@reddit
Post covid most of my preps that had to deal with the baseline reasonability of other people were reevaluated.
I was dumbfounded at the thoughts/actions/education/and willful ignorance of millions of people. I made massive assumptions about my fellow Americans. I've been correcting those assumptions and planning accordingly.
Responsible-Annual21@reddit
Growing up learning about German SS and Russian KGB I always thought it was crazy that family members and neighbors would turn on each other and report each other to the government. I learned who’s who during Covid…
ProfessionalWhile818@reddit
People are not smart enoug to replace minced beef with ciken, beans, pork or salmon when making tacos. The store was empty for beef for taco friday, during the early panic buying when covid got to norway. My collegaues ate taco only with salad and torilla.
equinox_magick@reddit
Never trust the official story the government tells you (although I already knew that) And roughly just over half of our citizen are freakin idiots
MinerDon@reddit
I learned that living anywhere in or near town was the worst possible place to be. I bought property 60 miles from the nearest town deep in the woods and moved there. My only regret is I didn't do it sooner.
I also learned that government will do all sorts of illegal shit because "emergency." Biden mandating (via executive fiat instead of an actual law) that everyone had to get multiple jabs or you couldn't have a job or participate in society was the final straw.
Dyslexic_youth@reddit
Government information is based on liability not safety. Everyone will act in there own best interests. Panic and fear are bad places to make decisions from.
DateResponsible2410@reddit
I told my daughter in law that it would be the biggest mistake in the US history to stop this machine . Her answer “ if it saves only one life I’m for it “ … good God almighty … there is nothing you can do about stupidity
catullus-sixteen@reddit
You may as well let it rip…. The pretense of protection is a laugh.
MrPeanutsTophat@reddit
People will blindly follow what strangers on the internet tell them to do. Even if it's at their own peril.
bardwick@reddit
I wonder how many people died from being told they couldn't get covid after getting the vaccine.
His retirement community started socializing again if you were vaccinated. Lot of folks didn't make it.
YardChair456@reddit
Seems like they will also believe whatever the government tells them is the truth.
MrPeanutsTophat@reddit
Covid also taught me that the government was more trustworthy than strangers on the internet. Which went against like twenty years of what strangers on the internet were telling me.
YardChair456@reddit
Sure maybe a random stranger on the internet, but there are people on the internet that you can trust not to lie to you, unlike the government. They will tell you actual facts and data because they dont care about you taking an action, they just like the truth.
MrPeanutsTophat@reddit
Nah, everyone on the internet has an agenda. I worked bedside on a Covid unit and was able to see with my own eyes the disinformation that was wildly spread on the internet by people who were "telling the truth". Those people you trust were lying to you. Sadly, the government wasn't,
ii_zAtoMic@reddit
You don’t seriously believe that the government has your best interest in mind, do you?
YardChair456@reddit
Yes of course there were lots of people on the internet lying, but what about the whole government lying to us? You cant possibly think the government was telling you the truth when we have verified lies and mislead things.
n12m191m91331n2@reddit
When you say this, this is what I see.
Fogomos@reddit
Entertainment and socialization. We had our city with a hardcore blockage for some months (only allowed to go to the supermarket and inside your neighborhood) and entertaining kids and adults was a challenge.
The depression of not being able to see people for days can be quite hard, specially if you or your family were sick and didn't want to get older/kids sick.
So, boardgames, teach old folks how to video call, phone lines, and be friends with the neighbors
localdisastergay@reddit
It reinforced the fact that a lot of the scenarios I think about preparing for have similar needs. A deep pantry, basic medical supplies, personal hygiene supplies, household goods like TP and a good supply of cleaning and disinfecting products are helpful for pandemic, major storm or any other disruption to the supply chains or my ability to get to the store.
Definitely working on expanding the garden this year, and pandemic is only one of the many reasons for that.
Pandemic specific preps are basically just a good stash of PPE (mostly masks but maybe also gloves for bird flu) as well as a ton of air purifiers in my house and backup filters.
Frosti11icus@reddit
TP is a waste imo. Just get a lot of rags and a bidet. If water is an issue you were never going to make it through all the TP anyway.
PossiblyOrdinary@reddit
No women in your household? 😂 j/k friend
MagicToolbox@reddit
While my wife is not particularly on board with prepping, she does like the idea of reducing waste. Having a deep pantry means less wasted time shopping, so there is some synergy.
Just prior to lock downs, one of her waste reduction ideas was to reduce our paper product consumption. We bought a couple dozen cloth napkins, some Swedish dish cloths, and cut some old towels into 3x5 squares.
Dinner is still served with cloth napkins, cleanup is done with Swedish dishcloths, and when my wife takes a leak, she uses the 'peepee pads' all of which go in the laundry. (With some OdoBan sanitizer / virucide.)
Our paper usage dropped to less than a quarter. We still use a few paper towels, and TP for the 'messier business'. The additional laundry load is trivial.
PossiblyOrdinary@reddit
I’m not a prepped, just follow this. I don’t use paper towels, paper napkins. They are all cut and sewn from new or old fabrics. I use Wettex ( the original “Swedish cloth”). I fold, save and reuse wrapping paper and tin foil. I don’t use plastic wrap. I’m not going to give up my tp though! 😂
Rare_Bottle_5823@reddit
Hair dye, games, crossword puzzles, triple the cold meds stock.
JennieCritic@reddit
That is a good question. But notice there is no documentaries, government studies, academic studies, or even public health reports that dare challenge the government approved narrative... yet.
The dog that doesn't bark tells you a lot.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Uh... which narrative, and what studies do you expect to reveal something that thousands of studies done all across the world didn't already show?
You DO realize that almost every nation on earth studied Covid and the results were pretty much the same, right? It was a novel virus, it was contagious, masking provided some protection, vaccination vastly decreased the odds of death.... government that agree on just about nothing else all found the same facts about Covid because those were the facts to be found.
You're implying every government on earth with a lab conspired to bury some dark truth. Does that make sense to you?
I mean no study ever showed that aliens landed on Earth and that everyone in NYC is actually an alien. No barking dog there, so that confirms it?
JennieCritic@reddit
The question was whether the reaction to the COVID panic was appropriate and should be followed in the next epidemic.
With all those studies you read, where did COVID start? Your answer will say a lot.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Your question doesn't have an answer because it depends on what you prioritize. Remote learning (schools were not "shut down" for two years as far as I know) had a lot of bad consequence for educational and social development. On the other hand, kids are known champions at spreading illness that aren't a huge risk to them, but are a hug risk to their pregnant mother and grandparents, teachers and doctors. Remote learning saved some lives. Was that worth it? Depends in whether you think pregnant moms are more important than educational gaps and social development.
Here's another example of a government call. Early in the pandemic, ventilators were desperately needed and in short supply. Different states came up with different rules for who got a ventilator and who didn't. Some simply went with sickest first. Alabama went with denying ventilators to people with mental disabilities because those lives weren't worth saving. Good call? (They eventually backed down.)
It's easy to demonize a government that's dealing with a novel pandemic in novel circumstances. The 1918 pandemic didn't go well and we learned some lessons from it, but a lot of them didn't apply to 2020. But if your argument is that no one has pushed back on school closures, that's absurd. It took me fifteen seconds in google to find papers on studies questioning whether school closures helped or hurt more and the three I opened all felt they did more harm than good - but one claimed that they were bad at the beginning because original Covid wasn't all that contagious, but would have made sense after Omicron, which was.
Of course it was studied. And published. Your conspiracy theory doesn't fly.
JennieCritic@reddit
Really? The fact that the dog isn't barking is the total lack of curiosity in the press about those totally important questions. Why is the press and academia not interested in the answers? Why isn't the dog barking?
Capital_Push5557@reddit
That people are incredibly gullable to misinformation and bad advice.
RestartTheSystem@reddit
That's more true then most realize because it's a two way street. They had people washing their produce with soap and wearing an almost worthless peice of single ply cloth on their face.
mariashelley@reddit
Damn, didn't manage to learn anything, huh? Lol
iwerbs@reddit
Only the word “almost” saved you from joining the misinformation train: the facts are that masks reduce the spread of respiratory viruses because the virus-bearing droplets sprayed out from sneezing and coughing are significantly reduced - but that’s medical science and physics, most ppl can’t be bothered to understand it. The viral particles don’t travel independently from the droplets.
AZULDEFILER@reddit
No. Surgical Masks had prophylactic properties. Cloth was highly disputable as they are water soluble. Most uneducated people can't be bothered to understand that
Cherimoose@reddit
I agree with the other poster that washing veggies was silly advice for a respiratory disease. The focus should have been on social distancing, using or making an N95-type mask, and increasing indoor air flow. Lesson learned - don't assume news writers are experts on their topic
joremama72@reddit
Indeed. Even the common cold was significantly reduced because people were not breathing on each other or cleaning things that were touched and killing the germs. Also, it isn't a shocker that many Asian countries survived COVID much better than other nations because they were already inclined to wear masks.
RestartTheSystem@reddit
All true. Better then nothing. Hell I learned this as a professional painter 20 years ago. They gave us all an information pack including which masks to use for various hazards. Explaining particulate matter and microns. A bandanna helped with some fumes while a small respiratory was often needed. Tough job being a painter. Don't recommend. Definitely not as tough as being a doctor during covid in a major city I'd imagine though. Shame people didn't wear the right masks sooner. Who knows how many lives would have been saved.
chemical_outcome213@reddit
Given the seemingly constant recalls for food lately, washing it all definitely isn't a bad idea.
But yeah, I think my mom, who's a germaphobe, is still decontaminating all her delivered groceries and living on her own personal lockdown. It's pretty wild.
williamwchuang@reddit
Better to fail safe than fail dangerous.
ChumboChili@reddit
False dichotomy.
williamwchuang@reddit
I'm literally saying that when you have two choices and you face uncertainty you should choose to err on the side of caution.
RestartTheSystem@reddit
Sure. As of now though if you are still locked down washing your produce with soap then you look a bit nutty..
williamwchuang@reddit
Still not a false dichotomy. Words have meaning. Learn them.
RestartTheSystem@reddit
That's why I said sure then addressed your previous statement. Guess that wasn't clear. If you are still failing safe by being in a lockdown then your are completely failing life usually.
FruitiToffuti@reddit
Or people can use common sense
williamwchuang@reddit
Common sense is trying to stay alive.
LudovicoSpecs@reddit
How old is your mom?
RestartTheSystem@reddit
That's sad to hear. Are you even really living if you take such extreme precautions? Does she ever leave the house?
LudovicoSpecs@reddit
Initially, they weren't sure how the disease was transmitted. So that's when everyone was washing their hands till they were raw and washing the produce.
Once they figured out it was primarily airborne transmission, they shifted emphasis to masks.
Because hospital staff and first responders needed N95's more than everybody else and there was a shortage, they told people to use single ply masks.
And for the record, members of the public wearing masks are doing it to prevent giving their illness to you. Wearing a mask keeps respiratory viruses from traveling as far when you exhale. A single ply mask won't do much to keep you from inhaling a virus. But if you're exhaling them, it'll help (unless you're being an ass and wearing the mask under your nose where it's not blocking anything).
Moist-Golf-8339@reddit
I don’t think many people understood the point of the masks. The single-ply masks were to prevent spreading of YOUR disease, and since the contagious period started before the onset of symptoms, nobody knew if they had the disease.
Before you call bull on me, plz understand I am repeating what I heard from actual doctors not on YouTube. They said the same principle is true with surgical masks. While they’re obviously better than a paper mask, they are not intended to block out disease, they are intended to prevent airborne droplets from leaving the surgeon’s body and entering the patient’s body.
But to be fair I don’t know sht about sht. I’m just a random dude.
macbeefer@reddit
I wouldn't equate mask wearing and scrubbing down groceries. One was a CDC recommendation.
RestartTheSystem@reddit
Those are just two quick small examples.
Morgue724@reddit
Ain't that the dam truth, I have found the harder someone wants to shove something be it a story or policy down your throat the more you should question it.
iwerbs@reddit
Sorry to bust your dam Morgue it wasn’t the truth.
Morgue724@reddit
Your opinion and you are by all means welcome to it, I wasn't talking about covid really but read it how you want.
iwerbs@reddit
Sorry if I got you wrong Morgue but medical facts about the spread of respiratory viruses through aspirated droplets isn’t my opinion. The problem we face is that most people can’t understand why Dr. Oz is a snake oil salesman, absolutely unfit to be head of a real health agency. Both sides-ism might get a lot more people killed. Stick to the facts and the science so that you don’t have to watch your loved ones die.
Morgue724@reddit
And I am sorry you think I am talking about covid, I am not. You asked what I learned and what I learned for it is the more that that people yell you that you can't question what they say, the more you should question what they say. No matter what it is about. Covid had plenty of that pushed by people that honestly I wouldn't trust to mow my lawn much less take health advice. They was plenty of good info also bit a lot was pushed that was more about control than health. My take away was question everything and vet even more info. Even those that you trust because they can be wrong also.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
I hope you mean misinformation from government and big pharma and legacy media because that's the only reason I have your post a like.
n12m191m91331n2@reddit
The beauty of his post is that it can be interpreted by both sides as applying their political opponents.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Right. And still be safe in the shadows.
Fheredin@reddit
Almost everyone participated in the disinformation war, such that I seriously doubt anyone believes all completely accurate information. At the start of COVID I intentionally trained my YouTube feed to give me high quality medical opinions, and by this I mean people who held relevant degrees, cited their sources, and said things you didn't hear on TV (TV interviews almost never cite sources).
Even with these very high criteria there was still disinformation. This was in part because some of the academic studies were intentionally designed to produce specific outcomes, but you wouldn't recognize that unless you know a thing or two about clinical trial design.
But some of the medically trained people on that list were also pedalling lies via omission. I can only assume they were in the take. Other opinions are too concerned with their own public reputation to give you complete information.
The lies are actually kinda useful.
Most disinformation outlets mix in good information to earn trust, and use set patterns and presentation formulas to mix in the lies, so once you figure your that this particular source tells one or two lies at the two-thirds point (which is what most of them actually do) you basically have them dead to rights.
Ryanwiz@reddit
Pretty easy to see what’s what in hindsight.
MCMamaS@reddit
As far as preps go:
I had a well-stocked medical kit, including masks. However, what I never had planned was needing to isolate someone/myself while also being confined in home. In the early days of COVID we weren't too sure what was safe or not.
There are plenty of communicable ickies that can be transmitted in a bug-in situation. So now we have a whole kit set up if we need to isolate someone while also living with preps.
egg_static5@reddit
I'd love to know more about your isolation kit
GareBear415@reddit
Communicable ickies 😂
costanzashairpiece@reddit
Authority figures are dying to take your freedom.
AZULDEFILER@reddit
Don't let people have medical opinions
Habanero_Eyeball@reddit
I never once would have ever expected to have shortages of paper goods, paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and more. WTF?! These are items that are lightweight, bulky but easy to store for long periods of time. SO HOW THE F*** did these get so rare so quickly? Yes yes, I saw the pickup trucks stocking up but I guess I'd just expected that it was a short term issue. I'm still not convinced they didn't withhold some stocks to drive up the price but that's another issue.
SO now I have plenty of all these
Also how people will blindly follow any rule from "the authority" now matter how silly. That's really sad that so few just don't even use their fucking brains. "Oh the man on the glowing screen said to do this so OK, we'll do that."
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Follow their BS science. Hope you didn't get the damn jab. Tried to tell everyone not to and I would have gladly lost my job if I was forced.
Habanero_Eyeball@reddit
Nope never got the jab and thankful I never did. Wish others would have listened but they're still getting it. Ugh. I love them but I'm worried about them.
Baboon_Stew@reddit
Never had to get the jab. My company's leadership is pretty based and gave out religious exemptions like candy Otherwise I was going to go 100% remote or quit. I even ended up getting my knee scoped in the middle of all that crap.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
I learned that government and big pharma pushed a dangerous shot on people and got OSHA to require people to take it or lose their livelihood. Somehow big pharma is protected from lawsuits on this shot. Learned the amount of sheep in this country is staggering. Learned to not trust government, media,medical advice. What I learned here made me the best pepper you can be.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Wow. First, vaccine manufacturers have had legal protections for decades (since 1986) and they have to jump through some hoops to get that protection. That wasn't new to Covid and there are good reasons for those protections. Odd that you think that was somehow new; something tells me you didn't fact check before posting.
Second, cite "dangerous shot." Some people had clotting from one particular shot, usually treatable. Some people had mild myocarditis, generally treatable. Covid itself generated both those symptoms way more abundantly and dangerously and the vaccine prevented quite a few of those outcomes. We know the safety profile of the Covid vaccines by now, as one would after billions of shots administered and tracked worldwide. We also know how many people died of Covid in both the vaccinated and unvaccinated population. Do some math.
Next, OSHA did not require people to get vaccinated; there was a workaround involving weekly testing.
Anything else you want to get wrong?
kkinnison@reddit
have a sourdough starter available or yeast, the yeast i had was old and didn't rise well.
learning to make hummus WITHOUT garbanzo/chickpeas. this was one of the first things I notice that stores ran out of.
Having a stock of N95 masks
that was about it. That was the only thing I really missed.
Protect_your_2a@reddit
COVID hit when I was still in college working full time and going to full time, making a lousy $12 bucks an hour and married to my fiscally irresponsible ex-wife. Shit was already tough before I got let go (and after a month rehired) at my job. A few key lessons and takeaways:
All of the major storefronts in my area literally had lines wrapped around the building of people panic buying supplies- too late I might add as they should have had months worth of storage in advance. I was in a similar predicament where I had months worth of food storage but lacked stock on toilet paper for example. While everyone was waiting hours in line and then losing their shit with the wait and then the store being out of supplies when they got in, I went to the smallest and little known ghetto gas station there was. There wasn’t a single person there. Grabbed a couple 6 packs of TP and got in and out as quick as I could.
I began developing a series of plans. I got a hard copy of a map and began drawing out a bunch of evac routes in different directions, mostly back roads that were well away from the freeway and cities. I also had a plan for supplies collection and began marking out buildings that had outside spickets requiring a hex key to turn, I knew those buildings had huge water reservoirs in the building for back up clean water sources. Also had a plan for food collection- starting with stores, then small tiendas and gas stations, then the train storage facilities, all the way back to manufacturing facilities. I went online and downloaded maps of the sewage and drainage tunnels in the event that I needed to use them as an underground network to get out of the city
It’s really where my journey to self-sufficiency began. Started with some plants in the windowsill and I remember being so proud when I grew my first few head of garlic, wove them together and hung them up to dry then used them in my cooking. I’ve greatly expanded that operation in the last four years so I am not reliant on the stores for produce. Anything that I can’t grow myself (rice for example) I stock up and have multiple months worth supplied and tucked away.
All in all, have a plan ready and established to avoid all contact with the outside world when things start getting hairy. Oh, and get a good quality gas mask with CBRN filters that can filter the biological. The cloth face masks everyone were wearing do nothing to slow or stop the spread of COVID. Either that or follow the CDC guidelines and get an actual N95 rated mask and learn how to wear it properly. Switch out after each use, discard. Wash your hands after touching anything, and don’t touch your face. Alright rant over
bigassdiesel@reddit
As a police officer, the amount of people that called to report neighbors having cookouts, kids playing in parks, people not wearing masks was simply mind blowing.
What little trust i had in my fellow humans, it's gone.
You read about people ratting out loved ones and family members in N@zi Germany and say, how could they do such things? It comes very easy to most people.
Moist-Golf-8339@reddit
One thing that surprised me is how desperately the general public NEEDS things to feel “normal.” People could only handle the “lockdowns” for a few days, and lost their damn minds in the process. Next thing you know they’re fighting over TP.
The craving for “normal” gives me hope that not long after an event the sheer drive of the population will push us back to a productive society.
I guess while I’m thinking about it… it also surprised me how traumatic it was for some people. I know 2-3 folks who still haven’t recovered mentally and they’ve become reclusive and afraid of everything.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
PTSD doesn't just come from warzones.
Started_WIth_NADA@reddit
Never to trust the government.
HughDanforth@reddit
I learned that H5N1 might hurt a lot of people if we do not have a world leader that can bring the talented people together to create a new vaccine.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi8397
So many saw that if you step forward to help, the Russian propaganda machine & troll farms will come after you and do everything to destroy you and anyone near you.
Sweet_Ingenuity6722@reddit
Wait what? Is this the same H5N1 that was a mandatory vaccination for the entire US military in 2012-2015? Yes, I got that one. It was made from inactivated H5N1 virus. They already have the vaccine but now they want to change it to a mRNA based vaccine. You can keep it.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Damn sheep are trying to down vote you. I want to see what RFK Jr uncovers about these clot shots.
Sweet_Ingenuity6722@reddit
It’s not hard to find the information on mRNA vaccines. The NIH and New England Journal of Medicine have published many peer reviewed studies on this issue. I don’t care if people vote me down because it shows me that they aren’t willing to accept the reality that these mRNA vaccines are very dangerous. Do your own research.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
I bet the people down voting aren't continuing to get the damn thing.
Docod58@reddit
Ruined the economy and an election. Wearing a piece of cloth on your face to protect from a virus? Most people are sheep.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Wow. Bye.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Boy the dammed sheep down voters are thick. BAAAA BAAAA
Kurtotall@reddit
How quickly people can turn on each other. We are predatory pack animals. Each and everyone of us.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
I've seen family that got the shot supposedly get covid repeatedly. I have friends that regret getting the jab. Some people ought to look up the term died unexpectantly.
AcceptableNorm@reddit
I learned that a huge portion of humans were willing to believe what they were told and bend over willingly.
JoeAustin0304@reddit
That I am still willing to fuck my wife even if she has a life threatening disease.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
I bet that went over well.
susanrez@reddit
I learned it’s really hard to not bail out friends. I warned my friends and family to get toilet paper and other essentials the day the first Covid case was reported in the U.S.
Most people listened and got their supplies long before the panic hit but one friend, Dee, decided I was overreacting and didn’t bother going to the store until the full on panic was underway.
She ran out of toilet paper and couldn’t find any in the stores. She came and complained to me and said how desperate she was. I gave her sympathy and consoled her with platitudes about stores getting shipments soon but I didn’t offer her any of our toilet paper. I never even confirmed we had toilet paper but I know she figured we did have enough to spare.
It was hard to turn away a friend in need and I still have some guilt today. If it had been something that made the difference between life or death I probably would have caved and given her what she needed. In this way I know I’m not ready for a real long term crisis. I would end up giving away valuable supplies to people who had nothing valuable to offer in return and end up reducing my family’s odds of survival.
How does one go about learning to have a harder heart when it comes to survival?
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Dude... you don't need to shed tears over this. Didn't she own a washcloth? It's more work and bother but seriously, you're not beholden to people who don't prep and then are too dim or lazy to use available workarounds.
Seriously, I hope she learned something.
Hairy-Situation4198@reddit
A LOT of people will blindly follow their preferred news channels instructions regardless of how insane it seems and will turn on neighbors and family reallllll quick outta fear. That and a strong farm raised immune system is worth its weight in saffron.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Remember that people called it a novel coronavirus? Learn what novel means. Immune systems are not special when it comes to novel diseases. They have to spin up a defense from scratch like anyone else's, and how fast they do it isn't related to how many other diseases you've been exposed to. In fact some disease exposures make you more susceptible to other diseases, not less.
Farming states lost more than their share of people to Covid, per capita. A lot more. This is because their immune systems were in fact in no way special - and a lot of them decided that masking and vaccination wasn't necessary. It did not go well for them.
Your argument doesn't hold water and the numbers do not support it. It's an anti-prep.
Baboon_Stew@reddit
No matter what is going on, the government is going to lie to you to with keep you pacified or to get you panicked. Which ever serves the state best. It doesn't matter which, it won't be in our best interests.
Overall-Tailor8949@reddit
It reinforced that the government will do ANYTHING to increase the scope of it's power.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Maybe, but I see no connection to the Covid pandemic. And I'm not going to wait for you to explain because I'm tired of this flavor of kool-aid. If you think the pandemic increased government power, all I can tell you is wait six months. Bye.
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
It was a fairly catastrophic event but ultimately people still had bills to pay, kids to feed, and relationships to maintain. If there's a nuclear exchange banks will still say "cool, pay your fucking bills on time." Even if there's some kind of forbearance you'll just end up owing it later.
I think people thinking a) normal life or b) SHTF / WROL / Mad Max are the options, but really it's c) lots of problems but you still need to be handle your boring ass mundane responsibilities.
MudJumpy1063@reddit
Conversely, I learned that a lot of people live really good. Cottages / winter homes, plenty of savings, essentials paid off... I feel like the foundation of prepping is getting one's life together. Reminds me of a blackout decades ago, I was panicking, then I start smelling... BBQ. Like, all over the neighborhood. Should have learned then and there that life skills and Maslow's Hierarchy aren't fuzzy or emergency concepts, they're a beginner guide to living (well).
BikeRescue-SF@reddit
Humans are scary and selfish. Not as many people cared about others as I would have thought. The pandemic taught me to beware of people!
Hoyle33@reddit
Most people will blindly follow what their government tells them to do, even if it’s at their own peril
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
I recall the government figures making misstatements at at least four points during the pandemic. One of those was a stupid mistake, one was just misleading, the other two were a certain world leader talking out of his ass. Discounting that world leader, who no one should have been taking medical advice from anyway, I don't recall any of the advice putting people in direct peril.
The real howler was the CDC announcing that vaccination "virtually stopped transmission" - which was true for about a week, and then Delta hit, and that was the last time vaccination was very effective at stopping transmission. A stupid statement and really bad timing on the part of the CDC's head.
wolfgang239@reddit
I didnt "discover" this because i always believed it that the media does not care about providing facts, only pushing a narrative to get the lemmings to follow blindly.
AlfofMelmac@reddit
I disagree. I don’t remember any narratives that were pushed
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Let's see what RFK uncovers plus let's get faucci imprisoned. Oh and if you don't remember narratives being pushed you are too far gone for me to argue with. Pushing the dangerous and ineffective myocarditis shot was a narrative. Pushing masks was a narritive. The whole thing was a psyop which makes it really bad for future problems that might be real.
Training-Earth-9780@reddit
Honestly the biggest thing I learned was - keep learning. I read tons of medical studies and autopsy studies. Which is why I still mask (n95) after finding out what COVID can do to organs/the brain, etc. Same with bird flu.
nanneryeeter@reddit
A large percentage of the population is considered disposable.
The same people who were telling others to stay home like they are doing still wanted the lights to work, the garbage to be collected, the water to still run.
Lockdowns meant "office workers stay home".
Those who pulled the cart were not rewarded, while many who stayed home collected generous weekly payments.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
It's math. If the water stops running, you lose more people than the disease itself would get. Some services really are essential and the people who go into those lines of work need to understand that the risk comes with the job.
Someday, water and the grid will be automated and there will be fewer essential workers needed. But the medical profession is never getting off the hook. I now treat ICU nurses with the same respect I give veterans. A lot of the ICU nurses saw more death and risked death more times that some veterans.
alternativepuffin@reddit
The relief funding should've been targeted to be higher for people who had to be physically on site every day. I didn't need the money.
mountainvalkyrie@reddit
This was mine, too. The rich truly do get richer. In some richer countries that paid well, comfortable middle class office workers were being paid to stay home and remodel their houses and start businesses while the working class, well, worked and risked their lives doing it for no extra pay.
The other one is the importance of diversifying your income.
bugabooandtwo@reddit
And those who pulled the cart lost a number of their coworkers in that time. I was lucky that our warehouse only lost one person to covid, but a place I worked at previously lost several (mainly folks within retirement range).
Many of us have said...covid 2.0 happens in the future, and we're staying home and demanding that free money too. Not risking ourselves again for the pennies we get in pay.
nanneryeeter@reddit
Yep. I'll go to the family acreage and say fuck it. My camper can run off-grid for a long time. Not playing the game again.
temerairevm@reddit
One thing I feel like I learned during Covid is who around me is trustable and who’s not. People who were masking, testing, and will still tell you if they’re sick are like gold. Then there’s the people who were totally in denial and will still walk around coughing and not give you a heads up to avoid them. Having a support system of people who are trying not to make you sick is great.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
The number of people who were clearly very ill, out in public and didn't wear a mask (or uselessly wore it under their nose) shocked me. Why this wasn't viewed as the rough equivalent of pointing a gun at older people and petting the trigger, I do not know. I lost respect for handfuls of people.
TiananmenSquareYOLO@reddit
My government does not give a fuck about me.
JamieJeanJ@reddit
I think one of the things that I appreciate the most is that I listen to my inner voice that was telling me this is serious. We’re gonna shut down and I need to be ready and I went out and loaded up on gloves and masks. Don’t use hand sanitizer so that was not a big deal, I bought red spray paint for my house if I needed to spray the outside of the house. I went into the grocery store on leap day, February 29 and I was the only one in this huge store that was wearing a mask and everybody was looking happy weird held up the newspaper for that day, saying that Coronavirus had hit our county
alternativepuffin@reddit
Spray paint is an interesting prep I didn't think of until just now.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
I had maybe 3 N95 masks when the pandemic hit; I used them for working with wood and brass. I was caught flat-footed. And that annoyed me because I'd known for years that pandemics happen and they're generally airborne. I really missed the obvious.
I never expected the US didn't have enough manufacturing capacity to keep up with mask production or hand sanitizer. Lesson learned: in a just-in-time manufacturing world, if ANYTHING bad happens, products will vanish. If you need it, have two of them. Because the store is going to be out.
The other lesson: people will believe anything they hear from popular media opinion hosts or their aunt on social media. The US response to Covid became a world embarrassment and we lost hundreds of thousands needlessly because people believed talking heads with a B.A in history and unqualified quacks, instead of actual epidemiologists and other experts. The lesson was that people can be counted on to be embrace ignorance in a crisis and nothing, NOTHING you say or do is going to shake them loose. Prep accordingly. Understand that you can often protect yourself but you can't always save others. That was a hard lesson to learn.
ChaosRainbow23@reddit
I learned that a large portion of society are a bunch of berks.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
Berks?
StarlightLifter@reddit
It starts with a tank full of fuel and food in the pantry. Survive by listening to reliable, credentialed sources and tune out the obvious conspiratorial bullshit.
Total_Transition1533@reddit
All the conspiracy theories ended up being true except for maybe the moon landing.
zaraguato@reddit
That your BMI plays a significant role in how severely you're affected by COVID
alternativepuffin@reddit
The things that no prepper no one wants to prep:
Exercise and 3-6 months of savings
Medium_Return_8322@reddit
This should be the top comment.
prepsson@reddit
People don't understand the concept of "Take precautions if you don't know what you're dealing with."
I literally had to punch a punch a guy in the face because he was being an asshole because my mother didn't wanting to share an elevator with him coughing and sniveling all over the place (and he tried to punch her).
As i had a bad feeling about the early videos coming out of china (reported by serpentza and laowhy86) so I stocked up on half-masks and p3 filters in december and by mid january everything around here was sold out.
Ok_Pineapple_Pizza@reddit
Learned that you can’t trust people to make responsible decisions about society. Both people on the right and left and everyone in between did dumb and selfish stuff, and believed some of the wildest things. Some people can’t be bothered to care for the welfare of their neighbors and do the bare minimum to help keep people safe, while others were so terrified of the unknown that they wanted to shut the whole world down forever.
Also, make sure you have extra toilet paper because for some reason that’s the first thing people panic buy.
Silver_Draig@reddit
The masses are stupid
traveledhermit@reddit
I learned a bunch of little tricks that make meal prepping easier, as it was the first time in my adult life I was cooking all my own meals. Until then I worked in an office and lunches out were common. Now I always have a case of shelf stable milk for cooking, I juice/zest citrus in big batches and freeze in 1 oz plastic cups for salad dressings and other things (didn’t realize before then how many recipes call for lemon juice!), pre-dice and freeze things like onions and garlic, keep portioned cookie dough in the freezer, etc. I ran to the store and did a big shop the moment cases started hitting the US, but hadn’t really prepped seriously before then, and wasn’t without anything I really wanted except for dry yeast.
But, like everyone else, the biggest thing I learned was how quickly Americans will turn on each other, and with very little excuse.
Few_Explanation1170@reddit
That last thing was the hardest lesson.
JustShootingSince@reddit
Stock up on toilet paper
AlfofMelmac@reddit
Bidet is where it is at!
i_do_technical_stuff@reddit
Bidet with built in dryer.
Top-Manufacturer9226@reddit
We just got one... It's glorious!
AverageIowan@reddit
That everyone thinks they’re right based off of opinions and politics - that most people are not prepared - and found out who the real friends are (we had a 12 day power outage from a Derecho in Aug of 2020 so we had a double whammy)
tenaciouslyteetering@reddit
It shifted how our household thought about job security. We didn't think about "essential" status as a factor, nor did we think about working hybrid or remote as anything but a fun perk.
We didn't feel like peppers, just a household with a pretty deep pantry. We didn't even think our pantry was that deep, we just didn't realize how little folks kept on hand.
We learned how far we could cut our budget. We spent substantially less in 2020 than any other year we've tracked. Sure, we enjoy eating out and live events, but when push comes to shove we can spend an extended amount of time at home pleasantly.
mapetitechoux@reddit
Meh. Grocery stores were open, everything was available, except I missed having a hairdresser. Didn’t really need to prep anything at.
AAAAHaSPIDER@reddit
I learned how much of an introvert I am. I could live happily in a cave on the top of a mountain if I had good internet connection and a garden.
traveledhermit@reddit
Yes, same. I used to work the angles to get paid work trips to cool places, and now I do not care. There are still many places I’d like to visit, but I’m not traveling for the sake of travel. I am lucky to have bought a little house that I love spending time at about 18 mos before covid hit and I really only go out when I have to lol.
TheIUEC20@reddit
Nothing new I learned. I realized how stupid people can be trusting the government and the media. Common sense goes along ways.
Raddish3030@reddit
People turned it into a religion/cult. And he craziness is still alive in people.
ChiefHellHunter@reddit
Peace. Quiet. Tranquility. Best work environment ever. No more traffic. Was great. Do it again.
Lyralou@reddit
bugabooandtwo@reddit
Small corner stores especially. Fully stocked when the big box and grocery stores were wiped out.
bbartlett51@reddit
That your money isn't your money, especially when you leave it in a bank. I def keep more cash on hand, then leaving it in a savings or checking account.
Sweet_Ingenuity6722@reddit
That I was right the entire time. A little background, I’m an author of medical texts and expert in certain medical subjects. Not an expert in everything, but I’m used to doing deep research on medical topics. I don’t share that information with folks in my local rural area because I don’t want anyone to know that I’m a medical professional and I don’t want the headache.
I knew this already that most but not all people are sheeple. People will believe whatever lies the news media tells them before reading the research. People will fight over whatever lies the media says and refuse to see the truth when the facts are presented to them, because the news media would never tell them lies. So many so called friends/colleagues/sheeple in my area were completely aghast that myself and my family refused the jabs and we lost friends over it. Now many of those sheeple are dead or really sick with the side effects of the jab. It also reinforced for my family that we don’t need to go to the city every week for groceries as we had everything we needed here, even though the kids missed it. So much more I could say but that’s enough for now. Sheeple 🤦🏽♀️
bugabooandtwo@reddit
People are gullible as hell. All it took was that one woman in Australia making a video about how she got 48 packs of toilet paper filling her garage instead of the 48 rolls she ordered...and three weeks later nearly everyone in North America was hoarding toilet paper.
And...listen to all the information going around, but be skeptical of ALL of it.
BaldyCarrotTop@reddit
I really wasn't as prepared as I thought.
noonecaresat805@reddit
Honestly. I have always been a bit of a prepper. Then one time By where I live there was a mudslide and then a fire. So first There was a mudslide that close down the only fwy connecting some towns. I remember I wasn’t able to go to work for like a week because I couldn’t get there with the mudslide. Then there was the huge fire. And we couldn’t go outside because the air quality was so bad. Once I started seen this I stocked up on water and dried goods. So when I started hearing my roommates that they went to the store and the stores were completely out of water including the water store. I think I was the only one in that house not panicking because I knew I had everything I needed in my room. When Covid started I was already pretty stocked up so all I had to do was buy extra water. And I invested in a bidet. I think it saved my roommates as well with the shortages of toilet paper. What I did learn was that even though I don’t like people was to check in with others. So I made a schedule and everyday of the week I would check in on different people. I think it helped keep us sane. And it helped as a reminder that we weren’t alone.
Mountain-Status569@reddit
Nothing really changed for me. Affirmed my Costco membership. I hope everyone learned how to truly enjoy being around and living with those you love.
TacTurtle@reddit
People are way way way dumber and belligerently selfish than I had hoped.
Decent-Cricket-5315@reddit
People are stupid and best to be avoided.
MegC18@reddit
Flat_Boysenberry1669@reddit
You can't go wrong investing in pasta,toilet paper and siracha baby!
Loganthered@reddit
Early on it was revealed that the state and local governments were not keeping up with maintaining the emergency equipment and supplies as per the respirator and PPE shortages. Then it was clear that they rushed through a "vaccine" and basically forced as many people as they could to take it through authoritarian practices, media and social pressure and then they would never reveal the cause or origin of the virus.
So if anything truly horrendous happens I expect the government will empty the jails and enforce martial law.
brennanfee@reddit
That humanity doesn't deserve to survive.
Critical-Campaign413@reddit
That having medical supplies is just not enough. I have now taken so many basic courses and learned from nurses and paramedic friends I could probably be an rn. Also learning more in depth about pathogens and bio hazards.
Drenoneath@reddit
That it's really hard to find good information to make good decisions. Gotta wade through the barrage of bullshit and compare it to the situation at hand.
The world can change quickly in terms of supply chain and product availability. Better to have what you need on hand
Chrissilou7697@reddit
I learned that fear can shut this country down.
AlfofMelmac@reddit
Example?
ChumboChili@reddit
The covid response is a good example.
Beast_Man_1334@reddit
None. I was with my preps and more than prepared. I went and did my weekly food shopping and was good to go. What I learned were the sheeple the unprepared who thought they'd be saved by the government were the issue. I work in LE and they were always the biggest issues in the stores. Stores would call us non stop because of people not following purchasing policies of items and would physically fight over items just to get a basic need or essential. As a prepper my biggest concern is the sheeple. That's why I keep my preps and prepping to myself.
thelapoubelle@reddit
About bread and bidets
smellswhenwet@reddit
The CDC and Fauci made up $hit as they went along. Remember when Fauci said, “if you hook up with someone on Tinder, you don’t have to wear a mask.”
AlfofMelmac@reddit
Fauci didnt make up shit. He was trying to calm down hysteria. Obviously he understands infectious diseases. But if you’re going to hook up with someone, a mask isn’t going to help you
jparke67@reddit
I learned it was a lot shorter drive to work. Since I work at a hospital I was one of the very few on the road. It was awesome.
We also prep for multiple Tuesdays so we were good.
skibby1234@reddit
Toilet paper, natural gas canisters (store safely!), and noodles.
Toilet paper fucking hoarding we never saw coming. Usually, we have 3 months' supply, but COVID rocked us. We do rotation prepping, and when it hit the fan, maybe had 1.5 months worth due to relaxing our lists. Donating to friends dropped it quickly, but luckily, we managed to restock due to relationships with the community (close to running out before a quick tip from a friend).
Now, we are doing 6 months on toilet paper rotation.
Hard noodles, we didn't plan well. Spaghetti, macaroni, etc. Still need to do better here, actually. Plenty of meat and other proteins, but noodles so dang cheap and easy to store.
Gas canisters we need to do better with, as well. This is outside COVID. Helene reminded us that power could be a luxury. We have rolled thru multiple events, living pretty easy despite storm events messing things up.
HappyLocksmith8948@reddit
Have extra toilet paper on hand
Bannnerman@reddit
Bidet is the way.
MrIrrelevantsHypeMan@reddit
I know most people think they can last years without human contact were whining after two weeks
Available-Page-2738@reddit
I learned that people weren't prepared. I learned that people behaved like idiots. Neck diapers, cutting holes in masks to smoke through, etc. A little while ago, I watched how a lot of people had no supplies when a hurricane came to town and wiped out power, phones, water, etc.
What did I learn? Tell no one I prep. Be ready to leave at any moment. If I can, have a bolt hole in a remote location. (I do.)
In the final analysis, I will be on my own, and all the good decent people out there? Any number of them will bury a knife in my back to get my last can of beans and bottle of water.
aopps42@reddit
What analysis led you to believe someone will murder your for a can of beans and bottle of water?
AlfofMelmac@reddit
I remember at the beginning of the pandemic that people expected something out of The Last of Us or 28 days later with roving bandits taking all your shit. The reality was that I saw a lot of people come together and offer each other produce from their gardens and help on their houses. There were morons that hoarded toilet paper, but most people in my city were kind and neighborly.
Realistic_Salt7109@reddit
Internet
Creepy_Session6786@reddit (OP)
Oh absolutely on the keeping it quiet. My parents & siblings know I prep and that’s it.
Frosti11icus@reddit
That’s too many. Literally no one needs to know.
Creepy_Session6786@reddit (OP)
We all prep and plan together for long term.
violetstrainj@reddit
I learned the hard way that if you are sick or otherwise incapacitated, it doesn’t matter if you have the exact supplies you need if you physically are too weak to get to them or prepare them. I also lived through a bunch of weird scenarios that probably would not have happened if the pandemic hadn’t happened that I had to add to my “apocalypse bingo card” such as some crazy guy trying to climb in our window at work because he didn’t understand the concept of drive-thru only.
Dobbys_Other_Sock@reddit
People are very resistant to anything that changes their day to day lives.
Also stock mask. We had a 3 month old when Covid shortages started and people were buying up the nursery water designed for baby formula and also wipes because of the toilet paper shortage and we were ok for a few weeks, but then had a lot of trouble finding those things. This time I have stocked the water and wipes situation well.
Also don’t be that asshole buying baby products for yourself, some of us have actual babies.
DeFiClark@reddit
To short cruise lines earlier next time
davidm2232@reddit
I'm prepped for short medium term disasters both physically and mentally. But I'd have big issues mentally in an extended emergency. The isolation, the fear of getting sick, and the government control took a much bigger toll on me than I could have expected.
IT_Chef@reddit
Some people are assholes that will be defiant for the sake of being defiant.
It's irrational and stupid, yet here we are...
Successful-Street380@reddit
People aren’t prepared for anything that is worse than the cold/flu. But to defend people, I’m ex Military, an Electronic/Electrical Technician and Safety & Fire Warden & Hazmat ( mostly secondary duties), and a Radiation Safety Officer. So prepping is kinda become second nature. I google/YouTube some of the weirdest things. And because I was sick a lot as a kid, I have a weak immune system , do I became very cautious
Southern_Loquat_4450@reddit
Also, that we had to learn how to wash our hands from the tv news.
Subtotal9_guy@reddit
Having PPE at home and work and for trips in-between.
SheistyPenguin@reddit
More paper products
More frozen meat on-hand
We now have more PPE and sanitary stuff.
gadget850@reddit
People are crazy. TP is made in the US and folks went nuts. But I still have a stock of masks and sanitizer.