I'm bored - let's discuss COVID

[Ferret]

We're about two years into the pandemic and things don't seem to be getting better- at least not in the world of politics.

On one side you have people advising everyone to get vaccinated and imposing mandates on use of masks and required vaxes.
On the other side, you have people saying that such mandates are a violation of the personal rights of citizens and they shouldn't happen - of course, these people also believe that the vaccines don't work...

It's pretty insane because the party that's allegedly "taking away rights" are the Democrats, and the ones mindlessly opposing it because they think that freedom is all that matters are the Republicans...Did up become down, white become black, Edward become Jacob while I wasn't looking?

 

[Mooseman]

I think you miss the point of a lot of Republican policy, it's just to oppose anything the Democrats do.
Not real sure about Democrat policy.

 

[Ferret]

You make a good point. To be honest, it seems like both parties have run out of new ideas, so they're more like "Wait! They said something? Well, we're against that!!!"

 

[Mooseman]

Now back to Covid....

 

[Ferret]

It's kind of funny, but no one talks about COVID anymore despite the fact that people are still contracting it and dying from it. Down here in Floriduh, our Governor was one of the first to make mask mandates illegal (along with mentioning anything LGBTQ related, drag shows, and support for Disney). It's almost like they want to cover their ears and say "LALALA I can't hear you, CDC, doctors, and people whose families have lost loved ones!").

It's kind of sad, really. I guess these politicians (and the news outlets that report their antics) aren't concerned about people getting sick as much as they're concerned about who really won the 2020 election, the latest award show, or who the Kardashians are dating this week...

 

[TomB]

Mitigation measures were never expected to eradicate the disease. They were only intended to get us through to the endemic phase of it, where as a species our bodies have learned to live with it. While it's true that many still contract the disease and die from it, I wonder how many of those who do were the ones who refused to get vaccinated against it, or have never taken steps in general to guard against it. And then there's the effect masking had on transmission rates of the more common flu strains. We had a year or 2 with lower transmission rates, then last year (I think) rates (and severity) skyrocketed due to people having gone a couple years without contracting the flu, lessening their natural resistances.

 

[Ferret]

Another good reason to get flu shots Luckily, they're free at many clinics (the VA pays for mine!).