Talk About Tennis 2.0

I was in Niger, at the local market in Niamey. A person, so disfigured by one type of pox (I couldn't tell which one) approached me for some alms.
It was an image that I wish I could share with anti-vaxxers. The level of facial injuries (all I could see, of course) was devastating. And I was the sole person that paid attention, as for the people there, this was "normal".

Sadly the only way to post this is using the tweets. The author doesn't allow @threadreaderapp to consolidate them.











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Pwn All The Things
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That's not to say it's impossible for the Wuhan lab theory to be right. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But this reporting is garbage, and has more red flags than a Chinese National Day parade.

Over the past week or so, I have seen a major golf tournament in the U.S. where there were thousands of unmasked fans with no physical distancing at all... Major League Baseball games in the U.S. where there are thousands of unmasked fans with no physical distancing at all... NHL hockey games in the U.S. with thousands of fans - indoors - with no physical distancing at all...
Watching these sporting events, I see no difference between their environment now and the environment of these sporting events 2 (or 20) years ago, before the pandemic.

Again, this is all in various states in the U.S., which not very long ago was among the worst countries on the planet in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as deaths.

So... has the U.S. simply gone completely insane in pretending that COVID-19 no longer exists... or have I missed something along the way?

Please don't tell me that all of these fans at all of these venues are fully vaccinated - because there is no way in hell that I will believe you.

I have tickets to a baseball game and they stopped requiring a negative COVID test last week (we are vaccinated, otherwise I would consider not going, a test was required when the tickets were purchased). It is at 20% capacity only, though.

But they will be checking temperatures! (which does nothing)

mmmm8 wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 11:19 am I have tickets to a baseball game and they stopped requiring a negative COVID test last week (we are vaccinated, otherwise I would consider not going, a test was required when the tickets were purchased). It is at 20% capacity only, though.

But they will be checking temperatures! (which does nothing)

Actually, just looked into this and they're creating full capacity sections for vaccinated people, as authorized by the authorities.

I will be able to report as of tomorrow, but my niece in GA tells me that the situation is back to normal completely. Indoor dining, people gathering, etc.
Which is the reason the USA is still reporting 500 deaths/day, I guess. The vaccinated population is what keeps the number from going up.
But it is as you say, Deuce. This is insane. The pandemic is far from over. Go to the park, sure, but wear that mask. Just a few more months. It is not much to ask.

What will change in couple more months? US has already reached 80% of those who are willing to get vaccinated. A pity that it's only 39% as of now in GA (54% in NY, 65% in MA)

In response to Ti's debunking post, I read an article that laid out various points of the investigation. And while I too read it as a whole with skepticism there were some points that do leave room for doubt:

- the spike molecule being so adept at targeting human cells and having a specific aminoacid not found in other coronavirus
- the missing host between bats and humans. For all previous pandemics and zoonotic viruses this link was found rather quickly. Think swine, bird and MERS. Yet here we are, almost a year and a half and still nothing.
- the single jump from animal to humans. The rule is for there to be numerous cases (various jumps). For a very up-to-date example, google H5N8 and you will see articles warning about a possible new bird flu since there have already been various jumps, not a single one place/one moment a la Wuhan.

Trying to keep the reasoning as scientific as possible, I will grant the different theories different probabilities of being true, but will discard none (within the bounds of logic) until one has been proven to be the correct one.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 2:12 pm I will be able to report as of tomorrow, but my niece in GA tells me that the situation is back to normal completely. Indoor dining, people gathering, etc.
Which is the reason the USA is still reporting 500 deaths/day, I guess. The vaccinated population is what keeps the number from going up.
But it is as you say, Deuce. This is insane. The pandemic is far from over. Go to the park, sure, but wear that mask. Just a few more months. It is not much to ask.

GA is definitely treating the situation as normal, although how people are acting varies by where you go. I went to Target over the weekend and even though there is no longer a mask requirement, most people inside the store were still wearing masks (including me). Similar for restaurants we have been to - except for one I went to after hiking, most places I have been still require/request masks inside when not at your table. It is probably highly dependent on the patrons of the establishment complying without a firm requirement in place.

Suliso wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 2:45 pm What will change in couple more months? US has already reached 80% of those who are willing to get vaccinated. A pity that it's only 39% as of now in GA (54% in NY, 65% in MA)

Indeed. I should have been more clear and say that IF people were to continue a thorough vaccination program, it would be just a couple of months.
But as you point out, the USA is far from that.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 2:12 pm I will be able to report as of tomorrow, but my niece in GA tells me that the situation is back to normal completely. Indoor dining, people gathering, etc.
Which is the reason the USA is still reporting 500 deaths/day, I guess. The vaccinated population is what keeps the number from going up.
But it is as you say, Deuce. This is insane. The pandemic is far from over. Go to the park, sure, but wear that mask. Just a few more months. It is not much to ask.

That's the situation in most of the country. In the Northeast, the West, and some of the Midwest masks are still worn more often and at times it's a requirement but almost nowhere outdoors as of mostly last week in almost all states. In the South, it was either never a requirement or dropped quite a while ago and yes, life is super duper normal there. Indoor dining has returned to normal in most places as well. You're gonna want to prepare yourself for what you're about to see if you haven't already. I'm guessing it may be a shock because I've seen the gradual change and it's still a shock for me to see it.

Brad Gilbert was raging about the galleries at the golf event yesterday. they were unmasked and there was no distancing.

By the way, I went to an eye exam last week and the optometrist asked if I wanted to take off my mask after asking if I was vaccinated. I wasn't expecting the question, so after a moment's hesitation, I told him he could if he wanted, but I'd keep mine on despite being fully vaccinated. So he said he'd keep his on as well.

Now, should I be more okay with people now that I'm fully vaccinated? Yes, I know this, but it's a process to get over the last year and my comfortability with basically strangers is going to be real gradual getting comfortable with them again.

And I can tell you I was THRILLED with my decision to keep my mask on, because when he was examining my eyes with one of the manual instruments and his face was a centimeter away from my face? I may have actually had a legitimate freak out had we not had our masks on. Like I wasn't thinking that far ahead in the least, but I should have. So, just if you're going into a setting with strangers or casual acquaintances and you're thinking of ditching the mask since you're vaccinated, I highly suggest thinking through the entire visit.