Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

I don't doubt at all that people with unhealthy risk factors are at greater risk. But when stats without context are thrown around, bone heads who think they are healthy think their risk is negligible.

 

We should absolutely expect vaccines to be pushed because they are the primary weapon in preventing illness and country that is fully vaccinated is one that is going to experience far less illness and the hospitalizations and deaths than they otherwise would. It's an amazing feat of science that we have these incredible weapons and utter foolishness not to use them.

I'm not religious, but when I see people rejecting vaccines, I think the drowning man story.

No offense, but too bad if people get fired. They don't have a right to put others at risk. That's a choice they make.

 

What in the heck are you talking about? Who has asserted it is vaccines or nothing? We have development of post infectionantibody treatments, we have made developments with the treatment of severe disease, there is much conversation and policies around public health practices such as masks, distancing shut downs etc.

Frankly the vaccine is a no brainer. It isn't the total solution in itself but it is a prerequisite. In spite of its imperfections it is by far the best strategy to date in preventing serious illness. I'm not sure what you are trying to say here but I don't buy into this "there is a choice" or "there are alternatives" narrative. The vaccines are a prerequisite first step. Everything else follows that.

 

Except kids have a very low mortality and morbidity with respect to Covid. That wasn’t the case with Polio so I don’t think you can compare the two.

I will agree lots of things are different in America now
helmets on bicycles, don’t drink tap water, participation trophies. Many things are different.

 

And the morbidity and mortality for Polio in kids dwarfed Covid. Not a fair comparison.

 

Sorry those death projections were for the first 6 months of the outbreak.
Here we are 2 years later, mind you more have died under Biden with vaccines and effective treatments than under Trump with little of either. Image what it would be if the Trump vaccines and MABs weren’t created.

 

Some were, some weren't. It's all in this thread if you care to go back and look. One projection said there would be 1.6 million dead Americans with no interventions (distancing, vaccines...). Many scoffed at it. But we're now at 800K dead and that's with vaccines and distancing. I'd say that projection was pretty accurate.

 

Who is putting someone more at risk...the person who is vaccinated and covid positive without realizing it (thinking it's allergies for example), or the unvaccinated person who has to test to work, has to wear full PPE (hospital nurses), and gets a positive covid test then has to be out of work?

If this were an absolute then I'd be more inclined to agree with your stance. I was the 3rd person vaccinated in my office. Our entire office is vaccinated, even those that already had covid. As mentioned we have 2 vaccinated breakthroughs. Vaccines are important & folks should get them, but they're not stopping the spread.

Again, though, this is simply not at the point of effectiveness where it warrants firing people. Vax or test would've been a far better alternative. Instead, hospitals are firing nurses & staff where even just ONE less nurse can make an impact on capacity percentages.

You want incentives? Cash/tax deduction for it. Education. Long-term efficacy data. Long-term side effect data.

Unless you're ready to fire people over not getting a flu shot (which saves countless of lives), the HPV vaccine (which saves countless of lives), make those who had chicken pox as kids get vaccinated (because to some natural immunity is a myth), etc, you cannot call for firing the unvaccinated.

 

You don't think the concept of vaccinate or be fired is an "all or nothing" concept? Or Biden's narrative amounting to calling it a Christmas of death or something akin to that if you're not vaccinated?

I'm all for the vaccine. But until recently folks discussing other treatments (proven or otherwise) have been absolutely blasted (including in this thread) for having any other opinion other than vaccines work and are the only way to stop the spread. Now it's the only way to lessen the risk of a bad outcome. Again, like the flu shot.

 

Un-vaxed are overwhelming some of our hospitals.

We need your help," read the bottom of the ad. "We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before.

"And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated."


The ad was sponsored by Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Summa Health, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.”


Cleveland-area hospitals battling latest Covid-19 surge put ad in local paper that reads: 'Help' - CNN

 

I don't know if there's a rule on this thread about pictures that aren't graphs, but for those that don't want the vaccine, and that's your choice, sometimes visuals help.

 

Or if there are smokers on here...

 

One of my ATL brothers and his wife picked up tennis there years ago and still play. Such a specific passion for that area but you guys love it over there.

 

Man heads to hospital… “Please be Tuberculosis, please be Tuberculosis.” Yikes

 

Your condescending attitude is noted. And, there aren’t two sides. There is the science of vaccination and then there are those that deny the science. You can recognize them they take data— that is the scientific term for calculating individual real world events and reaching conclusions— and misinterpret what the information means. Here is a way to look at it— based an adding up the number of people who got so sick they they needed up in the hospital versus those who did not, a person has 11 times greater chance of being in the hospital if they are unvaccinated. In the scientific world, they is called data from which a conclusion can be drawn about vaccines. So, sorry, I have little patience for those who promote policies whereby they increase the risk to others by absorbing high viral loads without taking preventive steps that put themselves and others at risk while increasing the economic and societal costs of the pandemic. I am not going to respect their opinions any more. They are like the crowds that boo Trump when he promotes vaccination. There is plenty of information to educate people.

 

Yes…I have said the vaccinated have gone out thinking they have allergies or a cold when they are Covid positive. That is not asymptomatic. I have never suggested they spread this thing asymptomatically. The asymptomatic are not major spreaders of this disease. If they were we would have had herd immunity via natural immunity long ago.

 

The flu shot is already required for a lot health care workers.

Not sure about getting “fired”. But in our hospital system the “punishment” if you didn’t get the flu shot, was that you had to wear a mask at all times! Presumably if a person lied or failed to wear the mask, there would then be some discipline. Now everyone has to wear a mask in the hospital regardless. I know a few people who have been cheeky about it, since they already have to wear a mask anyway due to standard covid protocol (“I already have to wear a mask, so why bother with the flu shot”).

 

If You're going to take the time to write a diatribe maybe assure the person you're writing to isn't in agreement with you. Apparently you misunderstood my post or quoted the wrong person....

 

It reminds me of the biblical story of a plague running through the Jewish people. Aaron’s staff sprouts almonds and purple have to loom at the staff to not get sick or get well. The anti-vaxxers would scream about their freedom to not look at the staff. Trump got booed again, this time in Dallas, when he encouraged vaccination. That is where this country is. Long lines of healthy people getting tested so they can have dinners or travel whole sick people have to wait. The state of Florida pulling ads encouraging vaccines.

 

You don’t know my vaccination status. I have not said it on social sites as far as I know. I may have slipped somewhere. I stand for people to make health decisions for themselves. And there is nothing wrong with people making the health decision to not take one of these shots. Health is more than taking drugs. Drugs can be part of how one takes care of themself.

If you have your drug and are happy with it…that is great. If you don’t…that is great. At this point the new drugs provide a therapeutic response for some of those unfortunately get Covid. People can make the call in whether that is something they want to take. There are going to be some that say a new drug with no long term data for a disease they are low risk for is not worth it.