Pandemic Thread (CoronaVirus etc.)

[Leon]

I will be interested to watch to see if USA gets the Biden & Fauci show, in the same way NZ got the Ardern (Prime Minister) and Bloomfield (medical dude) show.

Calmly engage, emphasise that the country is a team. Etc. It was very effective.

[G'day Mate]

Not sure how much you hear about us Mexicans in Victoria, but there is a lot of vocal dipshits always trashing Dan Andrews for his handling of Covid down here.
I personally think he's done a good job.
NSW dropped the ball with the cruise ship debacle last year, then had the nerve to blame Victoria for their outbreak.

The cruise ship thing was ridiculous, and Dan’s a knob IMO, but everyone’s at least trying. I have weekly telecons with Victorian clients who are still wearing masks at work. Do you think most Victorians thought the brutal lockdown was the right thing to do? Do you all look at other countries and do “yeah, but, sheesh”?

[G'day Mate]

We've lost almost a year of our lives here. Two concerts we planned to go to, who knows how many that would have come up in the past year, those are just the two we had tickets for before the pandemic started. Canceled 45th birthday trip to Hawaii for my wife. Canceled trip to Barcelona with my parents. Haven't seen my parents since late Feb., no visits with family for any of the holidays. Haven't seen the inside of an office since early March. Haven't seen a co-worker face-to-face since early March. Haven't been to a bar since March. Outside of my wife, I've seen four of my friends, in total, outside of Zoom meetings in almost a year. My father's birthday came in under the wire at late Feb, but it's likely my wife, me, and the rest of my extended family will have second one go by without being able to celebrate with anybody. Lost three relatives and wasn't able to go to a funeral for any of them.

This is horrifying, and here I am bragging like a dickhead

[Yobbo NZ]

Nice!

It's what those in Queensland refer to anyone to the south of them.

[Rare White Ape]

Close: anyone south of the Murray River is a Mexican, and it's used by people in NSW in this way as well. Mexicans being the ones south of the border. I've seen some people refer to Victorians as Mexicunts.

Although that word is not a pejorative aimed at real Mexicans; it's only used to refer to people from Victoria.

Speaking of people south of the Tweed: what's the only good reason for NSW to exist?

It's to serve as a barrier between Qld and Vic.

[Tom Servo]

This is horrifying, and here I am bragging like a dickhead

Definitely not my intention there. Just struck me at how massively mishandled this whole thing has been here, and you get so used to the state of things being what they are that it's easy to forget that they really didn't have to be this way.

[Crazed_Insanity]

The point you make at the end about vaccination is an important one: it's not a magic bullet, and it only really helps the person who's been vaccinated, unlike say Measles vaccine which stops it spreading from the host.

It's to be used in conjunction with other measures such as physical distancing, mask wearing, personal hygiene, contract tracing, reduced travel and work hours, and people limits in enclosed venues.

It's disheartening to know that not only we don't have vaccines for kids under 16, but authorities, including Dr. Fauci, are beginning to push to reopen schools. Saying that virtual learning/isolation may be more damaging to a kid's emotional health...

That may very well be true, but it also feels like back then when authorities were saying we don't really need masks...

Anyway, my kid is only 9 and at least I don't believe she's being emotionally harmed too badly at home, so wife and I are thinking about just home schooling if schools continue to push for reopening. As parents, we could try to give her emotional support, but we are powerless to protect her from that virus if we let her go to school.

Personally I don't believe schools should reopen until everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be vaccinated... so far vaccination rate for adults are slow... and for kids under 16 is impossible. It's mind boggling to me why school kids, who usually spread the flu so easily, can be safe during this pandemic.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, as far as vaccines for kids go I think it's really hard to control for long-term side effects through puberty related changes to body chemistry.
I think I remember reading something about a test for a vaccine for mumps or something like that in like the 50s or 60s, which had the notable side effect of sterilizing a shitload of males once they hit puberty.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Long term consequences of Covid19, vaccine side effects, and lack of socializing in school...

It’s like a no win situation for them...

I can only do so much for my kid, rest will be up to God I guess...

[Rikadyn]

Socializing is over rated