D&D and the rising pandemic

[Zardnaar]

It's on the NZ ministry of health by that name. Looks like y'all get the shot recommended later than us Gough age wise.

Just something I'm not familiar with.

 

[Hussar]

I noticed lately that I just feel very angry. Whenever I see people with their chin diapers, or not masked up at all, I just want to scream at them.

And I don't like feeling that way.

Totally get that. And, agreed, I really, really hate feeling this way.

Watching the events from Ottawa makes me just want to explode.

Being frustrated, bored, and whatnot just makes me pissed off all the time. And it really, really sucks.

 

[Hussar]

Just something I'm not familiar with.

Don't feel bad. I had never heard of it either until fairly recently when one of my players said he had it. And that was only a couple of years ago.

 

[Zardnaar]

Don't feel bad. I had never heard of it either until fairly recently when one of my players said he had it. And that was only a couple of years ago.

Pretty much dodged all the bugs as an adult. Haven't even had the flu.

Haven't had a cold since 2019.

My theory is my 3 charisma is offensive to germs as well.

 

[CapnZapp]

Out of curiosity, what are people's risk tolerances like these days?

Since Omicron we're back to no indoor dining, N95 masks, 1 weekly shopping trip to groceries. I go to my office 1-2 days/week, my wife to gym 3 days/week (both require full vaccination). We're both boosted, in our 50s, with no other major risk factors.

I'd probably be a bit less cautious if it weren't for my oldest friend winding up in the hospital for 6 days with Omicron (though he had more risk factors than me).

Where I live the authorities (governments, medical expertise, and so on) all seem to agree that, assuming you have had a booster (three shots) Omikron poses no danger.

And all restrictions are about to go away.

Poof - as if the pandemic was just a bad dream...

Yes, this happens at the same time WHO still calls Omikron a deadly threat. (Which of course is because not all countries have a majority of the population not just vaccinated but also boosted)

 

[CapnZapp]

America has done some things better.

America appears to have done a piss-poor job of preventing people from dying from not only COVID in general but Omikron in particular.

As far as I can see your double whammy of poor vaccination coverage and obesity overrepresentation means Omikron is needlessly lethal for you, while other countries are about to simply stop caring about Omikron entirely - to the point of completely dismantling all restrictions!

 

[CapnZapp]

Today Denmark has officially ended all covid related restrictions, despite having an incidence of 5.2k. No masks, no tests, no distancing or contact tracking or capacity limits for events whatsoever. So I am obviously far from being the boldest, that goes to the Danish.

This.

Feels a bit unreal though, given that everybody was still in full panic mode less than a month(!) ago.

(And undoubtedly still are in many areas of the world, I'm not saying I don't see the plight of other countries)

 

[CapnZapp]

The argument against this that I keep hearing is that it will ruin the economy.

Of course, so will the loss of countless lives and workhours due to illness. But good luck explaining that.

Yes.

The "ruin economy" argument was naughty word from the start. Economic data from the Spanish Flu clearly showed that US cities closing down had much fewer deaths than those staying open "for the economy".

Yet, after the epidemic, the economic activity was about the same in both cases.

The conclusion is obvious, but since politics is frowned upon I'll let you draw it yourselves.

Let's just say half of the US is batshit insane, and the other half is not.

 

[CapnZapp]

People who think this way don't seem to understand the idea of antigenic drift. There's a reason why the flu vaccine from this year likely won't work on the one next year. Covid has also shown a propensity for this.

It also ignores the basic fact it's better to get infected next year when hospitals aren't overflowing and doctors have much better treatment.

Where I mean "next year" literally for every year.

 

[Ryujin]

Me too. It one of my childhood memories that remains vibrant since it was so odd at the time. I distinctly remember four moms looking down at the bunch of us with a ... grim approval?

Still, for that particular disease it wasn't an unreasonable action given a lack of vaccine.

Well avoidance was also an option, which would mean no pain in later life.