April 2020 - Quarantine Edition
“Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of
the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to
fit one's beliefs.”
It has become clear that the pandemic will continue for some time.
It is our responsibility as Satanists to uphold our tenets in
trying times and to fight the propagation of myths by spreading
sound information. With this in mind, we have included a
comprehensive COVID19 FAQ within this month's newsletter, along with
other potentially quarantine relevant contributions.
PANDEMIC FAQ AND MYTHS DEBUNKED
By Satanic Temple Healthcare Professionals and Scientists
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes the disease COVID-19.
What are the symptoms? How do I know if I have COVID19, flu, or a
regular cold?
The most often reported symptoms are fever, tiredness, and dry
cough. Other symptoms may be aches and pains, congestion, sore
throat, or diarrhea. Most people show symptoms within 2 weeks of
infection but could also be carrying the virus without being
symptomatic. Symptoms of flu and COVID19 can overlap, but shortness
of breath seems to be more common in COVID than in flu. Just because
it isn’t COVID, doesn’t mean it's not important! For more
information about symptoms, check out this link:
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
Who is high risk?
People who are older, who are immunocompromised, or who have other
medical conditions (high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes,
etc.) are more likely to develop severe illness. Individuals of all
ages can be infected and may develop severe disease. We learn more
about this disease every day. Remember, “immunocompromised” is a
term that means having an impaired immune system and can be applied
to many people, not just individuals with cancer and HIV. In fact,
some studies suggest that individuals receiving HRT are
immunosuppressed. When in doubt, talk to a doctor about your risk
status.
Do the pneumonia or flu vaccines protect against this disease?
No. The pneumococcal vaccine protects against a bacterial infection
that is very different from the virus causing this disease. Flu
vaccines are also not protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Although they are both viruses, Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are very
different viruses and they interact with the body in different ways.
There is no scientific evidence to support cross protection but this
should not dissuade anyone from receiving an annual flu vaccination.
Why isn’t there a vaccine or treatment yet? This is a brand-new
virus and it takes scientists time to learn how the virus enters
your body’s cells and how to protect you from this. Vaccines and
treatments are being tested in labs but can take years before they
are available to the general public due to intense safety and
efficacy testing. This can seem frustrating in times of an emergency
of this volume, but these steps are necessary to protect you and the
public from harm. For a fun discussion about this, check out this
episode of This Podcast Will Kill You.
Is COVID-19 a hoax or just a really bad cold?
COVID-19 is not a hoax. If you or your loved ones haven’t gotten
sick, that means public health measures, such as social distancing,
are working.
How does social distancing help?
Social distancing reduces the number of people that are exposed to
the virus over time. This helps our hospitals respond to the
outbreak. If we continued life as normal, the number of sick people
would greatly exceed the number of people a hospital can treat at
one time and our death rates would increase dramatically. Even if
your local jurisdiction is not under a shelter in place or similar
order, do your best to avoid large social gatherings. Remember,
healthy people can still carry the virus and transmit it without
knowing.
What’s the deal with masks?
There’s been a lot of changing information about masks during the
outbreak. It’s important to understand that as we learn more about
the virus and its disease, guidance will change rapidly. This is not
due to incompetence, but increased learning. There are many types of
masks to consider, but we can broadly divide them by cloth mask,
surgical mask, or N95. A cloth mask is a homemade mask made of
fabric. These masks provide very little filtration of the air around
you, but hold in some of the droplets when you cough or sneeze.
Surgical masks are manufactured for healthcare workers. They too
provide limited protection from environmental air, but do a great
job at preventing the spread of droplets from sick people. If you
are sick, you should wear a cloth mask or a surgical mask to help
protect your family members. N95s are masks that are made for
healthcare professionals to filter the air the wearer breathes and
exhales. These masks will protect healthcare workers and researchers
from infection, and there is a shortage of them. If you stocked up
on them during your preparations, please, donate these to your local
healthcare facilities. Use of these masks requires a fit-test to
ensure optimum filtration.
Originally, professionals suggested that masks were unnecessary for
the general public. They now recommend that the general public wear
a cloth mask when in public places. Again, these masks do not
protect you from infection, but protect others around you from the
droplets you exhale/cough/sneeze if you are potentially infected.
People who are infected and do not show any symptoms can still
transmit the virus to others. Anyone, including healthy individuals,
could be an asymptomatic carrier. This is why masks are now
recommended for everyone in public places.
COMMON MYTHS
Myth: Pets can get and spread SARS-CoV-2.
There is no scientific evidence to support this. Although there have
been a handful of reports throughout the world of pets such as cats
and dogs testing positive, it is highly unlikely that a pet can
replicate the virus to levels that would allow them to infect
humans. One viral article indicates that a dog died after testing
positive but fails to tell you that the dog died of old age after
testing negative upon follow up. Current studies suggest that cats
might become infected and spread it to each other, but we still have
very little information. Visit this link from The AVMA for more
information regarding pets and SARS-CoV-2 in animals:
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/covid-19/sars-cov-2-animals-including-pets
Myth: The virus is airborne.
Aerosol does not mean airborne! Although some studies show that
under optimal conditions viable virus is found up to 3 hours in
aerosol droplets (potentially due to coughing), this does not make a
virus airborne. Current studies show that the droplets are too heavy
to remain in the air and that the virus cannot travel through the
duct system of your home. Maintaining social distancing and
practicing good hygiene in a household with an infected individual
can lower your risk of infection.
Myth: A stay-at-home order or shelter in place is a lockdown that
will lead to martial law.
A stay at home order and shelter in place are very similar, but they
are not lockdown orders. There are no plans to implement martial
law, but do your neighbors a favor and stay home as much as
possible. Please, avoid panic buying! Visit this link from FEMA
regarding rumor mongering and panic buying during the pandemic:
https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus/rumor-control
Myth: Taking hydroxychloroquine can cure COVID-19.
Current scientific evidence does not support hydroxychloroquine
being a cure or “miracle drug” and a clinical trial has only just
begun. In fact, previous ideas indicated this may be a treatment for
influenza, but clinical testing provided no such evidence. There is
no current cure or vaccine for COVID-19. If you suspect you are
infected and are exhibiting symptoms, seek medical attention and
only take medications suggested by a medical doctor.
Please, fact check information before spreading articles on social
media and to loved ones. Reliable sources include:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/ for updates on case estimates
worldwide.
THINGS TO DO DURING QUARANTINE
The Satanic Temple has been actively working on a means to keep
members connected and occupied during the pandemic, which will be
announced in the days to come.
In the meantime, there have been an assortment of TST oriented events
and activities occurring online. The current best way to stay in the
loop with social TST events and broadcasts, is to follow the Twitter
page of Lucien Greaves (
https://twitter.com/luciengreaves), who has
been consistent with sharing links to online gatherings, and check
out the following links below:
THE SATANIC TEMPLE TV
https://thesatanictemple.tv/
The Satanic Temple TV continues to broadcast original programs
created by and for TST members, which include original series, rare
movie screenings, and live stream events from around the world. Some
shows and events that are usually only available to subscribers have
been made viewable to all during the pandemic in support of social
distancing to curb the virus’s spread. This includes The Devil’s
Dispatch live broadcasts:
https://thesatanictemple.tv/media/devils-dispatch/dispatch-live/
TST MOVIE NIGHTS
Lucien Greaves has also been contributing to the online activities
during quarantine, by hosting a weekly movie night, broadcasted on
watch-party hosting app, Kast. This usually occurs on Wednesday and
Saturday evenings around 8 PM eastern at:
https://w.kast.live/link/group/9apavkihzvc
Visit Lucien’s Twitter page for any updates, or additional broadcasts
added:
https://twitter.com/luciengreaves
DOES SCHOOL RULE YOUR HOME?
If you have school-age children, you might feel inadequate as a
parent during this pandemic. Not only do you have to care for your
family in self-isolation, now you must teach your children according
to the school curriculum. You can turn your home into a school and
yourself into a teacher if you want, but you might want to try
unschooling.
Unschooling is the inverse of how schools are structured. Children
learn by doing things they choose to do, going in-depth as much as
they wish, and stopping and starting as they need. In other words,
it is the way adults and other people who are not in school learn,
except there is parental support.
Author and educator, John Holt, used the word unschooling when he
started the magazine Growing Without Schooling in 1977. Since then,
unschooling and interest in how children learn on their own (also
known as self-directed education) has increased.
For more information on unschooling visit:
https://www.self-directed.org
A REQUEST FROM THE SATANIC TEMPLE OF COLORADO
The Satanic Temple Colorado's Menstruatin' With Satan drive is
entering its final week.
Please donate to help us get much needed, and often overlooked,
menstrual supplies to local shelters:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/33CAYBDE0F72S
For additional updates, visit:
https://TheSatanicTemple.com
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