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The Economic Disaster of the Pandemic Response

I haven't had even one shot and will not get one. Once it has been lab tested for 5-10 years, they can get back to me. The idea of them jabbing a needle full of that stuff in a five year old just sends shivers down my spine.
Glad you have such first world issues. My father died from COVID THREE WEEKS before the vaccines became available.
 
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1961, you should read the study out of the state of Kansas from the beginning of the pandemic. Some counties instituted a mask mandate and some kept it voluntary. The mandate counties saw a decrease in cases and the voluntary counties saw an increase. Nothing was absolute, but there was mitigation. As I learned in stats at FSU, things are never 0% or 100%.
I wonder what other factors would have played a role in those stats?
 
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I wonder what other factors would have played a role in those stats?
I wonder if you could possibly get on the show, "Unsolved Mysteries" with these concerns; and offer a generous tip line on the backside with a hefty reward of five $29.95 beers at our next game? Just follow your heart. And make them say no.
 
Glad you have such first world issues. My father died from COVID THREE WEEKS before the vaccines became available.
And, you are convinced it would have saved him? You need to talk to the lady across the street from me. Got the covid shot, got covid. Got the booster shot, got covid. She still has lingering effects of the stuff even after getting a third version of the shot. She openly admits to no expectations from having the shots, yet says she will continue to receive them.

Little kids dropping dead all over the world, young athletes driopping dead in their tracks, both from unexplained, non-existent illnesses. You keep trusting that stuff, that's fine with me, but as for me I'm just fine with being very careful, washing my hands, not touching my nose, wiping down after every outing around town, and putting a small amount of vaseline in my nose regularly. Be well.
 
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And, you are convinced it would have saved him? You need to talk to the lady across the street from me. Got the covid shot, got covid. Got the booster shot, got covid. She still has lingering effects of the stuff even after getting a third version of the shot. She openly admits to no expectations from having the shots, yet says she will continue to receive them.

Little kids dropping dead all over the world, young athletes driopping dead in their tracks, both from unexplained, non-existent illnesses. You keep trusting that stuff, that's fine with me, but as for me I'm just fine with being very careful, washing my hands, not touching my nose, wiping down after every outing around town, and putting a small amount of vaseline in my nose regularly. Be well.
None of what you bring up is relevant. The point is that due to the behavior of others he never had the chance to get the vaccine. There are a lot of people in this country who, hiding behind the notion that “they have co-morbidities” or “you can’t prove they would have been saved” go on about their business putting others at risk.
Second thing is that no one says the vaccine keeps you from contracting the disease. My wife and I have had 4 boosters and we got it. Moderate head cold symptoms. As far as your neighbor goes, it sounds like the vaccine did it’s job. She may have lingering effects of the disease but she not dead.
 
None of what you bring up is relevant. The point is that due to the behavior of others he never had the chance to get the vaccine. There are a lot of people in this country who, hiding behind the notion that “they have co-morbidities” or “you can’t prove they would have been saved” go on about their business putting others at risk.
Second thing is that no one says the vaccine keeps you from contracting the disease. My wife and I have had 4 boosters and we got it. Moderate head cold symptoms. As far as your neighbor goes, it sounds like the vaccine did it’s job. She may have lingering effects of the disease but she not dead.
I think the point is that you dont know. There's no way to know that someone is to blame. People in full quarantine can still get sick.
 
Read a very interesting and objective article in today’s WSJ about the effectiveness of the Boosters as applied to the evolving variants.
I’m very torn about getting the Boosters.
The northeast has the highest percentage of vaxxed and boosted population - and it’s also the area with the highest level of new Covid cases.
The single group with the greatest vulnerability are those over 70 with co-morbidity factors, including the vaccinated.
I’m early into that age group but as of now I have no other known risks like diabetes or chronic issues.
 
Read a very interesting and objective article in today’s WSJ about the effectiveness of the Boosters as applied to the evolving variants.
I’m very torn about getting the Boosters.
The northeast has the highest percentage of vaxxed and boosted population - and it’s also the area with the highest level of new Covid cases.
The single group with the greatest vulnerability are those over 70 with co-morbidity factors, including the vaccinated.
I’m early into that age group but as of now I have no other known risks like diabetes or chronic issues.
I look at it like this. The shots were basically mandated at first and through the first round of boosters or so. Then they weren't anymore. Why? I know the courts got involved and all but if there was medical data to back up the shots they would still be mandated. Its not just in the US either, many other places have abandoned the shot requirement. I got the first set and a booster but that's all ill get vice some new details we haven't seen yet.
 
I’m vaccinated but got Covid in 2021 and got a Regeneron treatment. No booster as yet.
 
My workplace is still mandating vaccination and boosters, and we are returning to universal indoor mask mandates. My specific facility never dropped the mask mandate.

I have had the original series, the booster, and then bivalent update. I assume that I will be getting an updated vaccine annually for the foreseeable future. Personally, I am totally fine with that. I have never contracted Covid, and hopefully I never will.
Which state is that?
 
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I’m vaccinated but got Covid in 2021 and got a Regeneron treatment. No booster as yet.
Same here. Haven't gotten a single booster and don't plan on it. My wife never got any of the shots and her Covid was milder than mine.
 
I got the Moderna double, plus a booster. Even around Mrs. Ed, when she got it, my only positive test was a pink so faint it almost didn't count, and was gone the next day's test.

Me, I taught 6th grade, and I think it made me so mean and tough that no virus is gonna come near me.
 
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I got the Moderna double, plus a booster. Even around Mrs. Ed, when she got it, my only positive test was a pink so faint it almost didn't count, and was gone the next day's test.

Me, I taught 6th grade, and I think it made me so mean and tough that no virus is gonna come near me.
If you’d only moved up a year and taught 7th graders you could be a drill sargeant at Parris Island. 🤯
 
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The point is that due to the behavior of others he never had the chance to get the vaccine.

What am I missing? The post you quoted said his death occurred three weeks before the vaccine became available. Who is to blame for delays in the vaccine release?
 
And, you are convinced it would have saved him? You need to talk to the lady across the street from me. Got the covid shot, got covid. Got the booster shot, got covid. She still has lingering effects of the stuff even after getting a third version of the shot.
Sounds like she dodged the ‘dead effect’ from COVID, tho.
 
I have never contracted Covid, and hopefully I never will.

How often are you tested for antibodies?

There are many people who experience asymptomatic cases.

During August 2021–May 2022, 41.6% of a convenience sample of adults had both anti-spike antibodies (indicating previous infection or vaccination) and anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (indicating previous infection only); 43.7% of these persons were possibly asymptomatically infected.
 
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What am I missing? The post you quoted said his death occurred three weeks before the vaccine became available. Who is to blame for delays in the vaccine release
Nice try, but again not the point. Considering the speed of development of the vaccines they did a real good job of deployment. The whole point of masks and distancing was to keep people, especially the vulnerable from being infected for as long as possible. I’ll never know who was responsible for infecting my Dad. But someone was. I doubt it was in any way malicious. But it happened. Either way, does anyone have any choice but to be at peace with it? Just sayin’😎
 
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And, you are convinced it would have saved him? You need to talk to the lady across the street from me. Got the covid shot, got covid. Got the booster shot, got covid. She still has lingering effects of the stuff even after getting a third version of the shot. She openly admits to no expectations from having the shots, yet says she will continue to receive them.

Little kids dropping dead all over the world, young athletes driopping dead in their tracks, both from unexplained, non-existent illnesses. You keep trusting that stuff, that's fine with me, but as for me I'm just fine with being very careful, washing my hands, not touching my nose, wiping down after every outing around town, and putting a small amount of vaseline in my nose regularly. Be well.
And do you have any data indicating that the vaccine caused any of these events?
 
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Same here. Haven't gotten a single booster and don't plan on it. My wife never got any of the shots and her Covid was milder than mine.
That's what happened to me. I had both shots and a booster and got Covid anyway. Doctor said I had Covid and I asked how he knew without a test. He said it doesn't matter as you have symptom's (I had a cold) and it will be counted as covid. Wife had no shots and tested positive before a flight, no symptoms and was negative a few days later. I wont do anymore shots or tests.
 
But they’re far less likely to die. THAT is the point and backed up by data.
So someone in quarantine is less likely to die from a contracted virus than someone who caught it walking down the street? I mean with all other things being equal.
 
So someone in quarantine is less likely to die from a contracted virus than someone who caught it walking down the street? I mean with all other things being equal.
That’s not what I said. The point of quarantining if necessary is to lower the likelihood of contracting the disease in the first place.
 
What’s the old saying? Lies, damn lies and statistics! If you look at the right bar graph, Sweden’s result looks pretty ordinary. In fact, their per capita death rate is least twice that of Norway and New Zealand, countries that did have masking, school closures and social distancing to some extent.
 
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What’s the old saying? Lies, damn lies and statistics! If you look at the right bar graph, Sweden’s result looks pretty ordinary. In fact, their per capita death rate is least twice that of Norway and New Zealand, countries that did have masking, school closures and social distancing to some extent.
The left bar graph highlights that we don’t combat COVID in a vacuum, and it measures the overall impact of policy responses, not just those associated with COVID (a dubious distinction, not uniformly reported).

If you care about the whole of society, the measure you’re looking for is on the left side.
 
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What’s the old saying? Lies, damn lies and statistics! If you look at the right bar graph, Sweden’s result looks pretty ordinary. In fact, their per capita death rate is least twice that of Norway and New Zealand, countries that did have masking, school closures and social distancing to some extent.
However, Sweden's cases per 1M in population (261k) is lower than Norway (267k) and New Zealand (432k) which would say that the virus spread with and without controls in place. If you look at some other European countries with harsh mandates they had even worse case and death numbers. According to Worldometer Sweden was 75th in cases per 1M out of 229 and 49th in deaths per 1M. As a reference the US which had a mixed bag of mandates was 66th and 16th respectively. According to some Sweden with no mandates should have topped both lists.
 
However, Sweden's cases per 1M in population (261k) is lower than Norway (267k) and New Zealand (432k) which would say that the virus spread with and without controls in place. If you look at some other European countries with harsh mandates they had even worse case and death numbers. According to Worldometer Sweden was 75th in cases per 1M out of 229 and 49th in deaths per 1M. As a reference the US which had a mixed bag of mandates was 66th and 16th respectively. According to some Sweden with no mandates should have topped both lists.
With asymptomatic cases, and testing efficacy of dubious quality, I shy away from making country comparisons on ‘case rates’.
I do think OECD countries have a handle on counting the overall births and deaths in their jurisdictions, and Sweden certainly stands out for having come through the pandemic with the least increase in overall deaths.
 
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I had an antibody test right after emerging from quarantine, which was negative. Since then, I have had a weekly PCR test. My partner has done the same. Neither of us have ever tested positive.
What is the basis for a weekly PCR test? Is there workplace requirement or specific location travel? There doesn't seem to be much push for testing anymore since its here to stay like the seasonal flu. If a PCR test is 150 bucks a pop and you and your partner are testing weekly that's 15k a year in tests.
 
Until recently, it was a requirement of the workplaces. Now, it’s just habit and curiosity. The tests are free for us and provided by our offices. We still have an aggressive quarantine policy following positive tests, as well.
Fair point on the quarantine policy but the tests are not free. Someone has to bear that cost.
 
Thread title check out.
Kinda was my point. There have been 1.1 billion tests administered in the US alone. At an average cost of 150 per test that's 165 billion dollars. There have also been around 1 billion vaccine doses distributed. If we use the going rate of 15-20 per dose (which is far less then the companies are charging the USG) or the 80-100 per dose they want to charge insurance companies that's between 15 and 100 billion. 165 - 265 billion in the US alone on vaccinations and tests. How can anyone say its free? These costs will trickle down to everyone eventually.
 
The whole thing from beginning to end wasn’t handled well for many reasons both politically, socially and medically.
I dare say each and every one of us know someone who lost their life to Covid. And not all of them were super elderly people.
And I’ll also say I bet most of us had Covid and obviously we’re here to talk about it.
I’ve made my own decision to get the booster. Y’all make your own decisions as well.
You have inspired me to have an extra hitch in my giddy up. And thank you for giving us permission to make our own decisions. Have you ever been a motivational speaker making the rounds in this great nation of ours? I'm just awed and totally flabbergasted by the amount of inspiration found here. You remind me of George's father. :cool:
Kozmo Kramer
 
We can compare it to the handling versus other countries and even other states.

In the scheme of history will probably never know. In the black plague days they didn't know what caused it or abstractly they did. And for this pandemic we don't know how much the true extent could have been without science. The vaccine neither stops the transmission of covid nor prevents anybody from catching it
Neither did the polio vaccine at first.
 
Kinda was my point. There have been 1.1 billion tests administered in the US alone. At an average cost of 150 per test that's 165 billion dollars. There have also been around 1 billion vaccine doses distributed. If we use the going rate of 15-20 per dose (which is far less then the companies are charging the USG) or the 80-100 per dose they want to charge insurance companies that's between 15 and 100 billion. 165 - 265 billion in the US alone on vaccinations and tests. How can anyone say its free? These costs will trickle down to everyone eventually.
And if we DOUBLE their retail price it's even worse!!!!!!!!
 
I can say it's free, because I was responding to your mentioning that my partner and I were spending $15K per year on testing. We have not paid anything for our tests or our eight vaccinations. Of course, the institutions/states/federal government are paying for them. From my perspective, that is literally why we have institutions/states/federal governments and why we pay taxes to support them: to pay for societal priorities.

Pandemics; like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, wars, etc.; are expensive. They are disasters. I do not think spending less money on them makes much sense.
Libs are so friggin' dumb with all this wasteful abundance-of-caution spending!!!! Why don't we just wait until every public calamity ends (if it does) so that we can go back and figure out who's to blame and exactly how much we should have spent for what?
Doesn't the hindsight brilliance approach make the most sense?
I mean, we already have enough people, and as long as it's mostly the old or infirm ones (and bonus if it's also a bunch of immigrants and the whackos who can't figure out their pronouns) who have to perish while we wait for better data, what's the big dealio?
 
Libs are so friggin' dumb with all this wasteful abundance-of-caution spending!!!! Why don't we just wait until every public calamity ends (if it does) so that we can go back and figure out who's to blame and exactly how much we should have spent for what?
Doesn't the hindsight brilliance approach make the most sense?
I mean, we already have enough people, and as long as it's mostly the old or infirm ones (and bonus if it's also a bunch of immigrants and the whackos who can't figure out their pronouns) who have to perish while we wait for better data, what's the big dealio?
😂😂😂
 
Libs are so friggin' dumb with all this wasteful abundance-of-caution spending!!!! Why don't we just wait until every public calamity ends (if it does) so that we can go back and figure out who's to blame and exactly how much we should have spent for what?
Doesn't the hindsight brilliance approach make the most sense?
I mean, we already have enough people, and as long as it's mostly the old or infirm ones (and bonus if it's also a bunch of immigrants and the whackos who can't figure out their pronouns) who have to perish while we wait for better data, what's the big dealio?
What in the world do pronouns have to do with the conversation?
 
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