I was asked how long I thought Covid mitigations will last (mask mandates, shutting down sports events, isolating positive people, etc.).
My thoughts right now are a minimum two more years and likely 4-5 more years. When I read that medical school professors and other "experts" who are fully vaxxed & boostered will hunker down because of Omicron, it's obvious extreme fear has overtaken their thought process.
I think we'll see professional and college sports continue to test players and call off games through the 2024 seasons.
This is indicative of the society we live in now where "an abundance of caution" rules the day. Look at MLB foul ball netting ridiculously going all the way to the foul poles as but one example. We have become a nation of scaredy cats, one that would be unrecognizable by our 19th century counterparts. We've become afraid of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, even to our worldwide enemies. And this mindset is perfectly manifested in the overly cautious approach many health professionals and political leaders have adopted for Covid, with many of these approaches having crossed the line of ridiculousness.
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way.
Also, it isn't just about fear. There is also a calculation to this as the shut downs and COVID rules are helping the Left push their political agenda.
Take heart and vote this Fall.
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…. fully embrace unreasonable obstacles placed on voters.
Make up your mind.
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This ought to be good.
able to work - addicting them essentially; allowing centralized authority to restrict personal freedoms, etc,
Frankly, I'm shocked that you can't recognize the difference from a few years ago.
"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist."
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
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of separation of fact from fiction, or truth from falsehood?...or, "I have no business with Russia"?...or....(I have a few more...;-))
the vaccine you could want, plus new treatment pill orders...and mails out millions of home test kits...that's not symptomatic of wanting to prolong this pandemic...as opposed to the previous administration that "ALWAYS wanted to downplay it"...remember this..."If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases"...Great Men of _______ whatever.
When someone backs a "Loser"...they become a "Loser"...DT is, and has always been, a loser...in business and in politics...take some notes, Baron.
None of us is a certified "Swami", so you're entitled to your opinion...
If, btw, those "medical school professors" were from the UCSF Grand Rounds video I posted...they were describing their plans for going outside their homes and visiting others for the Holidays...not exactly hunkering down in 'extreme fear' now, is it? Are they taking easily done precautions to protect themselves and others, like getting vaccinated and self-testing?...absolutely...takes only a few minutes and no pain at all...not much money either...'easy peasy'. One of them spoke of how he flies often and what precautions he follows...again...not hunkering down in fear.
You're making stuff up...that's free speech, but frankly, non-productive.
A fully vaccinated medical professor is to scared too get together with family members who are also fully vaccinated.
"Althoff...will not be getting together with family members again this year.
“'We felt comfortable (getting together over Thanksgiving) given the fact that everybody else was vaccinated and boosted,' she said Tuesday, noting that her kids had received their second dose shortly after the holiday. 'But omicron has changed all that.'"
Link: The sky is falling
Omicron hit...but with her kids not eligible for a booster shot...and data shows 2 shots having very little effect...she has chosen not to get together with family over Christmas...again, each of the other Docs in the UCSF video WERE getting together with family...so long as everyone was boosted and tested. Here's what she said in your linked article...
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"I'm not recommending everyone cancel their trip," said Keri Althoff, associate professor of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's epidemiology department. "(But) everyone must recognize that the risk has increased due to the new variant of SARS-CoV-2. That's what we need to be mindful of and walk through our decision-making process again."
Althoff, who kept to outdoor vacation activities like beaches and hikes with her family when her children weren't yet eligible for the vaccine, said she had a small gathering with her family over Thanksgiving. She will not be getting together with family members again this year.
“We felt comfortable (getting together over Thanksgiving) given the fact that everybody else was vaccinated and boosted,” she said Tuesday, noting that her kids had received their second dose shortly after the holiday. “But omicron has changed all that."
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It is absolutely incorrect to imply that medical professionals are "hunkered down" in extreme fear....that's not true, a fabrication....and "Made Up".
Going out and visiting with friends and family while taking simple precautions is not living in fear...how many ways can I say this?
And a booster is given because it is thought protection wanes after 6-8 months after the first regimen. Her kids do not need boosters because they just got vaccinated in the first place. Not only that, kids statistically have almost zero to worry about.
Just because she is a medical "expert' does not mean her positions are not illogical.
I am like the vast majority here in the Savannah area. I do not use a useless, worthless mask anywhere. I go to the gym and eat in restaurants. If I'm vaccinated and boostered, why the heck do I need to take ANY precautions?
don't yet qualify for booster shots...two shots (as shown in the UCSF video) provide almost NO protection against Omicron (note that she said Omicron changed things)...so, knowing that, and being a Mom, she's being prudent by not exposing them needlessly...it's just a get-together...there will be others...and as noted, when the kids' level of protection was good enough (back at Thanksgiving time) she took them to the family gathering...didn't hunker down in fear.
The Doc's head is in the game...taking the proper precautions as the situation calls for...things change (Omicron)...she changes...btw, that "6-8 month" stat you mentioned is "meaningless"...Omicron blew that out of the water (i.e. only a booster provides protection)...it's a very different COVID variant than Delta, which accounted for 99.9% (literally) of cases in the U.S. around Thanksgiving...once again, the DATA is there in the UCSF video I provided...frankly, that video has turned out to be a treasure trove of information on Omicron and how to deal with it...watch it again.
As for her 'believability'...every one of those Infectious Disease Docs in the video is applying the same precautions as she is, and I'm sure that if they had little kids of their own who don't yet qualify for booster shots, they'd stay home, too...I'll also throw in our own family ID and ICU Docs...you probably saw their guidelines for us and other family members who are headed their way on Saturday...same as the Doc we're talking about.
As for you...thanks for participating in the trials, and for making the right decision...but, breakthrough infections are more prevalent with Omicron...therefore, you could still catch COVID from someone at your gym...be asymptomatic, and spread it to someone else who is vulnerable (e.g. unvaxxed...immunocompromised, etc.)...that's why you need to be a team player. Such spreading is how the virus ends up making people very sick, or dead...there's no other way for the virus to get around...
BTW, while cloth masks were 'good enough' for the original strain of COVID and even for Delta, they aren't as effective for Omicron...another change...so up your precautions and get a KN95 mask and use it in ALL situations where you'll be close to other people...that's what we're doing as well.
Does this help?
My sons aren't vaccinated and won't be with a 99.998% survival rate and especially since they almost certainly already had it.
And no, I'm not wearing ANY mask anywhere.
As for boosters (and yes, I researched this through credible sources), they are necessary only for those with waning immunity to help against Omicron. If you are recently first-vaccinated, as Althoff's kids are, they are fully protected, as unlikely as it is they would face problems being unvaccinated, anyway. So I stand by what I said - she's an educated dunce who is not following the science but is instead following fear and hysteria.
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