D&D and the rising pandemic

[J.Quondam]

Some years back I had a debate with an anti-vaxxer who claimed to be a virologist. He cited a case in Quebec in which the entire population of a town was vaccinated against measles (fully 100% coverage), however, there was a measles outbreak among the vaccinated. It was a town of a few thousand and there were something like 20-30 cases. Yup, sounds about right, but he was using it to claim that vaccines aren't effective.

The most pernicious lies are the ones based on a grain of truth.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I had an argument with my brother this weekend about the Covid-19 vaccines. "They need to stop calling it a 'vaccine'," he said. "Vaccines cure an illness, like measles and smallpox, and (the Covid-19 vaccine) doesn't cure anything! They need to start calling it a 'shot,' like they do for the flu shot every year, because it's giving people the wrong impression." I tried to explain how vaccines work, and how Covid-19 is different from influenza or measles, but he was having none of it. All of his sources were to the contrary.

Yeeks.

Vaccines don’t CURE anything because they’re not therapeutics. They prevent you from contacting an illness or reduce the severity of your symptoms, but they will not be administered if you’re suffering from that illness. And sometimes, not if you’re sick from ANY illness.

(Which, of course, makes them the same kind of pharmaceutical as a flu shot.)

Last I checked, current practice is that you have to wait 90 days to receive a Covid vaccination after you’ve been diagnosed as having it. Not a cure, to be certain.

 

[Umbran]

At the risk of Godwining the debate

1) This is not a debate. A couple of opinions have been raised. That doesn't make it a debate.
2) Next time, resist the urge to mention Nazis. Just, don't. It isn't worth it.

 

[Mikeythorn]

Apologies. I am happy to go back and delete the comment.

 

[Zardnaar]

Double vax rates hit 90% in Southern DHB.

University is bringing in vaccine mandates for students.

University of Otago brings in sweeping vaccine mandate

The University of Otago has confirmed Covid-19 vaccinations, or government-approved exemptions, will be compulsory for all staff, students,...

www.odt.co.nz

 

[Hussar]

It's been weird here. The universities have been mostly closed to students for the past two years. Only in this last semester have students come back, and even then, I'm still teaching remotely. None of hte other schools are like this. My kids haven't missed a day since April 2020. But uni? Closed tight.

 

[Thomas Shey]

It's been weird here. The universities have been mostly closed to students for the past two years. Only in this last semester have students come back, and even then, I'm still teaching remotely. None of hte other schools are like this. My kids haven't missed a day since April 2020. But uni? Closed tight.

Don't remember where you're at, Hussar, but universities are actually at higher risk in some ways than elementary schools in the U.S. because you're liable to have students coming in from vastly separated areas.

 

[Zardnaar]

Pulitzer-prize winning historian David Hackett-Fischer wrote a wonderful book called “Fairness and Freedom” about how differences in the way New Zealand and the US were settled led to very different ethical outlooks. One of the central theses is that everyone regards both fairness and freedom as important, but that when those two principles come into conflict (and the pandemic is providing some great examples of that) then societies generally choose one as being the most important. He examines why many in the US tend to choose freedom, while many in NZ choose fairness. His rationales are truly fascinating, and certainly had the ring of truth to them from my perspective (as a New Zealander who has spent time in the US).

For example, one of his rationales is the landscape. If you were a settler in the US and you had a failing out with other people, you could just head a bit further west. If you were a settler in New Zealand you were part of a fairly homogenous community (Scots in Dunedin, English in Wellington, Irish in Auckland) locked into one location by mountains or the sea, so couldn’t afford to fall out with anybody - instead you had no choice but to be part of the community.

Way I understand it is more who went where. More Scots came to NZ proportionally. Scotland had very progressive and educated enlightenment.

By 19th century standards.

In America they kind of recreated the aristocracy. Big plantations and landed gentry in all but name. Here they broke up the big landowners in the 19th century.

More egalitarian, social laboratory for the UK.

Most of the other differences are basic things like how schools and cities are funded. More centralised and due to how things are funded we don't really have rust belt type areas and the regions are reasonably prosperous.

 

[Cadence]

Not gaming wise, but I get the fun with the Cub Scout pack (1st-5th grade) I'm running of deciding how to bring up what to do about masks. As of December 1st the council (scout governing body for our part of the state) changed to not requiring masks and just recommending them for the unvaxxed. Not many cases in the local schools at all, Omicron hadn't hit yet when they probably decided on it, and we're in a conservative county in a conservative state so I'm not surprised. It was just nice not having to personally be the one requiring it before. I didn't bring up the change in council policy to the other parents yet since we only had last nights meeting and one more next Monday until the new year.

This fall we had one family stop coming and another not join because of the mask requirement. I'm guessing a few just saw it was required by the council and so it doesn't grate on them, but if we keep it just on my say so it might. And if we get rid of it and either Omicron is bad or the case count goes up we'll lose some others. (Not sure how many are vaxxed/unvaxxed, so hopefully won't lose any of them or their family members in the RIP sense). Bleh.

 

[Mannahnin]

My sympathies, Cadence.

NH was hit relatively lightly by the first two waves, and folks got complacent. So now in this new spike, naturally, we have the highest per capita new case rate. :/ Our Governor definitely won't put a mask mandate back on since he lifted it in April (ahead of other New England states). Complacency and politics. Fighting a disease shouldn't be a matter for partisanship.