hello kinky people in my phone, please read
this is a gentle but very sincere request to please start taking COVID seriously again if you've stopped doing so. you have the power to protect yourself and the most vulnerable members of our community.
in the US, about 1 in 10 adults report having long COVID. 79% of these people say it affects their daily activities. earlier data has suggested that trans and disabled people are most likely to have long COVID, at 11% and 12%, respectively. (source)
i have been slacking off but i can't take the cognitive dissonance anymore. taking any amount of increased precautions is a step in the right direction, but here are some actions i am personally (re)committing to:
wearing a mask (KN95 or better) at ALL times outside the house in indoor & crowded outdoor spaces—this means no dining out. (find a mask bloc near you if you can't afford high-quality masks)
being aware of the high false negative rate for at-home tests; testing twice 48 hours apart to increase accuracy if i must use them, but preferably getting a NAAT test done instead
having serious conversations about COVID with my friends, sharing the precautions i'm taking & encouraging them to do the same
masking around people i don't know the precautions of, or who don't take sufficient precautions for my risk tolerance, unless they've reliably tested negative beforehand
using a sip valve to drink when masked
using CPC mouthwash & iota-carageenan nasal spray regularly eh, turns out evidence for these is really not sufficient for me to be recommending it, please disregard that. see this article for more info.
i understand it is frustrating, exhausting, and isolating to be living under these conditions. i'm especially sad to give up being part of my local kink scene in the same capacity. but i truly feel this is the right thing to do and i'm hoping to find covid-safer ways to engage in kink. i'm posting this here because deciding to make these changes has been extremely stressful and lonely, and i'd like to feel less alone and spark some positive change if i can.
please help keep our community safe <3
if you need more resources for finding k/n95 masks:
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your
why and how to get NAAT tests:
NAAT tests are much closer to PCR accuracy than rapid tests (which only catch about 9% of cases right now) are. they're a lot more expensive than rapids, but much less expensive than PCRs (with the exception of the Pluslife european reader, which is less expensive than PCRs once you get to 3 tests)
• Lucira has about 87% accuracy, it is cheapest for a single NAAT test with the reader and test sold in one unit for $42 USD, but over time the Metrix is cheaper since the Metrix tests are $25
• The Metrix has about 97% accuracy, the reader costs $50 and the tests are $25. Unfortunately the reader is sold out right now but I recommend keeping an eye on it for when it's back in stock. The tests unfortunately not infrequently come back with an error, but they have excellent customer service and will replace any of those tests (just make sure you write down the order number on your test kits and take a picture of the invalid result).
• Pluslife reader (a good option if you're in Europe) has the highest accuracy of non PCR tests at around 98%, and is also extremely expensive initially at €300, but over time if you take enough tests is the cheapest, since the tests are even cheaper than rapids at €5. this test is not cleared for medical use in the USA, so if you live here be aware that you will most likely run into problems with customs if you buy it.
Obviously, most if not all of these are too expensive for most of us to afford. if you know other covid conscious people who live near you (and if you don't yet, look for a mask bloc in your area!), it could be a good idea to pool resources together to buy a community reader to pass around to whoever has the most urgent testing need (just make sure to GENTLY sanitize the outside with a cloth covered in hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a very effective agent at killing covid, between people).
These tests are expensive, but getting long COVID and losing your job and ability to work would be much more expensive, so I highly recommend getting one of these if possible so you know to rest if you test positive.
And on the note of being COVID-aware while horny - if you test positive, your best bet at avoiding long COVID or death is to not raise your heartrate for 6-8 weeks which means
if you get covid, you should not masturbate or have sex for 6-8 weeks
it sucks, which is all the more reason to wear a mask and take these other precautions!
Certified Sex ED Post!
