Voting moved to mail in ballots and drop boxes. Or have you not heard of all the hurly-burly going on surrounding mail-in ballots?

Yeah! You gotta fight... for the right... to partay!!!

Had to do it....

Maybe they should require a vaccine card for buying guns and ammo to persuade anti-vaxxers away from the dark side

Schools have always asked people to provide proof of vaccinations to attend, travelling overseas has often meant needing to get certain vaccines and shots (generally required by the country you're travelling too), these sorts of things were already the norm. I think sports stadiums, concert venues, airlines and cruise lines starting to do it is simply for their profit margin and possibly to remain fully staffed, I'm sure they've crunched the numbers and know they will get more customers over all if they require them because more people will pay for their services sooner if they are required vs. the people that won't pay for their services if they do have such a requirement. Let's not fool ourselves and think it's because they care about their duty to their country or community to save lives and fight the pandemic, nor is it likely because it will keep their staff working in a safer environment. Companies are doing this for their bottom line, they think they will make more money requiring them because they will have more customers.

As if the U.S. and the Soviet Union/Russia have not had space junk fall out of the sky before? Most of the time it burns up on reentry. Sometimes not.

Well, it looks like there might be a showdown in Florida over vaccination cards. Seems like Norwegian Cruise Lines wants all of those boarding its ships to be vaccinated and have something, like a vaccination card, to prove it.

NCL is talking of taking its ships somewhere other than Florida.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/norwegian-cruise-line-florida-vaccinations/index.html

"In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision," DeSantis said."
----------------------------------------------------------

It will be interesting to see how this works out. Who will blink first? NCL or the Florida Gov.? Anybody want to place a bet?

I remember when Hurricane Katrina wiped out Biloxi, Mississippi and trashed all of the casino barges anchored to shore. At that time, the barges had been there about 10 years and Mississippi got to liking all of the cash the casinos were feeding to the state coffers.

After Katrina wiped out the casino barges, the casinos said they were not interested in rebuilding only to be stuck on barges. The casinos said that unless they could build on dry land they were leaving the state.

Well, it did not take the Mississippi powers-that-be very long to roll over and say, " Yes, Casino Masters. We love your money. You can build on dry land."

Well, shot #2 is in the bag. No side effects so far other than catching myself absent mindedly humming "bad medicine" a few times.

That's a risk I might be willing take, lol.

Yeah, but uncontrolled re-entry of such a large object is so late 70's.....

DeSantis is so confusing, half the time he is fighting big government over-regulating businesses and the other half of the time he seems to be a proponent of it. They could park their cruise ships 9 miles offshore where DeSantis has no authority and use shuttle boats. But ultimately I think government should let businesses take extra safety protocols if they want to during a pandemic to ensure safety and to make their customers feel safe to use their services.

Cotton if you fart in a meeting ok...if you fart again 5 minutes later ...your gonna get fired.

DeSantis is on thin ice here as far as I'm concerned. He did that via an executive order. It wasn't something passed by Florida's legislature.

My guess is his executive order will be shot down in the court system. It is one thing to issue such an order for state of Florida government entities and offices. Is is quite another to try to extend it to every private sector business operating or doing business in the state.

I'm a Republican and frankly his order is BS. He has over stepped his authority. Scratching my head wondering what happened to small, limited government.

Screw the anti-vaxers. Screw 'em all. Put out a 2 week deadline to register to get the vaccine. After that, let'em twist in the wind. And then send the vaccine to the poor countries that would appreciate it.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/opinions/us-covid-vaccine-hesitation-brazil-jones/index.html

" Brazil surpassed 400,000 deaths last week. Following the gruesome milestone, the country's health minister pleaded for more vaccines from countries that have them. Earlier in April, the Brazilian ambassador to the European Union Marcos Galvão said the country has the capacity to vaccinate 2.4 million people a day. "If there were enough Covid-19 vaccines available, we could vaccinate our population much faster." Brazil already has a robust infrastructure for vaccines in place for other diseases. Vaccinations are so ingrained in Brazilian culture that we even have a mascot for it. The biggest impediment is the availability of doses -- and the willingness of the government to set the plans into motion.

Too soon to stop, might be ok to stop outside etc. especially since there are full patios now and people gotta get food in their mouths somehow.

But anyone who doesn’t like any current policy need not worry, it’ll change by the month like it’s always done.

I'm kind of over it. Doesn't seem necessary anymore. At bars and restaurants, most of the time we aren't wearing them anymore anyway.

It really shouldn't be a question of anyone's feelings. The evidence is pretty clear. They help. We need to curb the spread until the levels are way down.

I'm all for letting science have it's say on this but I'd like to know what the endgame is here.

Is it just me or does it seem that the same people are:

1. Anti-mask
2. Anti-vaccine
3. Screaming to reopen everything.

As Dr. Evil would say "throw me a fricken bone here".

I don't think you should be required to wear a mask if you have been vaccinated.

I’m fully vaccinated, and I’ll continue to wear a mask out in the world. In stores, picking up takeout, generally where I’m around people.

Obviously if I’m in a very small group of people I know are all fully vaccinated, we don’t wear masks. I’ve played maskless pinball a couple of times, which was awesome.

47,591 people caught Covid in the United States yesterday (our current 7 day average).

688 people died of Covid in the United States yesterday (it was actually 815, but the 7 day average was 688 deaths, so I find that more representative). And having seen it up close, I can personally report that it’s a shitty way to die.

The pandemic isn’t over, so I’ll still wear a mask when I’m out and about.

There are still some legit reasons to mask up right now, even if vaccinated. If unvaccinated, I would think there are even more. But I think many of the restrictions could be eased. Until there is some good guidance on a vaccinated persons chance of catching and spreading is out, it is tough for some to give up the masking.

Examples - I am keeping my grandkids in a couple of weeks, I don't want to inadvertently get them sick and they cannot get vaccinated quite yet, so I am being more careful (as a vaccinated person) than I normally would. Another is if you have someone immunocompromised in your household. Yet another is if you live or work closely with people who can't or won't get the vaccine.

Bottom line, restrictions will be eased and they should be, but be cool and supportive about others wearing masks, they probably have good reasons.

I have both shots but will still wear my mask around other unknowns until the CDC says its safe or we reach atleast 70 to 80 % of the country that has taken the vaccine HERD IMMUNITY.Good reasons to wear a mask in public for me are within less than an hours drive we have 3 international airports rotating variants around the world.How close are your airports.My county is 50% vaccinated were almost there.I suspect 2 more months of masks.

The end game is for the virus infection rate to fall so low that we can ease up on restrictions. We aren't there yet, but will get there through more of the population getting vaccinated and some basic precautions like masking indoors and social distancing. The science is clear and it won't be hard if people are willing to do the work for the health of their community and country.

Same. I'll be glad when this is all behind us - none of us enjoy the masks - but to me it's to respect others and show I'm not a sociopathic asshole.

It comes down to the vaccine holdouts now. The sooner they gain immunity (or thin out) the sooner we'll be back to normal.

Yep. It defies all logic. Just ignore the precedent of Italy, New York, India, etc. Just pretend it is no different than the flu and everything will be okay.

I have a few questions id like to hear what you think please.

You work at a hospital correct? How many(not really looking for a specific #) fully vaccinated nurses/doctors have taken home covid with them and got there unvaccinated family sick? Is that even possible?

Do you happen to have any idea when the vaccine will be available for 6-12yr olds?(my wife is asking this one)

Also im concerned about my dogs being around unvaccinated people, should i be worried about them getting covid?

Unless you are running around with a helium balloon tied to your wrist, how will anybody know that you have been vaccinated and the guy standing next to you is not. State legislators have been tripping all over theirselves to "outlaw" vaccination passports.

I'm vaccinated and wear my mask when entering stores just so I don't get the stink eye from someone. And I tend to shy away from those in the stores who are maskless because I'd still rather not be breathed on by some unknown quantity.

As I understand it, I can still catch Covid, but I'm not as likely to die from it. And I'd rather not get sick. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The funny thing is it’s this group of people that are extending the precautions by not getting vaccinated.

To my down voter in the the above post: Here is what is going on in my state.

" Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s office said Thursday that the state asked for fewer than 14,000 vaccine doses for the week, out of a federal allotment of almost 162,000.

" it requested only 7,510 doses of its allocation of 155,540 doses of two-shot vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna.

Kansas has seen its vaccination rate slow in recent weeks. It peaked at an average of 29,380 shots a day for the seven days ending April 6 and averaged only 11,872 for the seven days ending Wednesday, according to state Department of Health and Environment data.

“Last week, providers cited low demand and sufficient inventory to handle a weekly increase in demand,” she said in an email. “Like the rest of the country, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine is slowing.”

Read more here: https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article251218724.html#storylink=cpy

So, I am not saying you cannot have your vaccine. I'm saying if you want it that you need to get your ass in the air and go register for it. With all of the locations now available that give the vaccine, two weeks should be ample time for everybody who wants vaccinated to sign up for it. And then the locations can plan and order what they will need. And all of the excess can be sent to other countries that need it and with a population that wants it.

This way, no U.S. citizen's right gets trampled on.

And if later on your change your mind, it will be too late and you will be in for some tough love/tough shit. Oh, and if you do register to reserve the vaccine and don't show up, you should be made to pay for wasting it.

India is wanting more vaccine badly. So, if you don't want yours, I am for you sharing it with someone else in another country.

Look, I sometimes have acne and my teeth aren't great. Hiding my face hasn't been so bad.

Judging by today's Costco run, those with the means are coming here to get it.

Yes, I work as an outpatient internist and I also work some in the hospital.

1. I haven’t heard of anyone I know who has been vaccinated and gotten COVID. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, just haven’t seen it personally. If you did get COVID after vaccination you would like still be able to spread it.

2. I’m not sure when or if they will approve COVID vaccine for the very young. Young kids have such minor symptoms they really are much more of a concern as a vector for transmission than any risk to themselves.

3. I’m not aware of any risk to dogs from COVID but I’m not a vet so certainly no expert there.

Wearing masks in public restrooms has been an absolute blessing. I may never go into one of those again without a face covering.

#3 question Saw Dr Faucci on a tv show saying you shouldnt worry about your dog getting it.So far has only been a problem with big cats lions at a zoo Maybe others but not a problem.

In my opinion, "in your area" is the critical piece of your question. I still use a site I discovered via this thread ( https://bibbase.org/other/covid-19 ) to better understand my local area. I check it about weekly but I keep the browser tab open all the time so it "remembers" the config I like (12 local jurisdictions just showing the 14-day case averages). The latest view here is very promising - clear declining trend across the board in my area for the last 2-3 weeks and trending toward the lowest levels since the beginning.

DC Area COVID

Everyone is fully vaccinated under this roof but we still avoid what we perceive as risky or uncomfortable. For us, the few stores we enter are with mask properly covering breathing apparatuses. If doing so makes somebody around me just a little less worried then I'm all for it. If I go to Allentown I'll have a mask on the whole time.

-Rob
-visit https://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or my Pinball 2000 H+V Video Sync Combiner kit

Here is what I want to know post-covid. Before all of this masking, if you went into a Walmart with your face hidden behind a ski mask, Walmart would "invite" you to remove it.

So, next year, and assuming covid is no more, I have two questions.

1) Would it be practical to wear these masks to keep the flu from putting you down?

and

2) How friendly will businesses be if you walk in wearing a mask?

Look all people need to do to avoid this thing is just go out to a restaurant and order food. Then we’re all safe. Unless you get up to walk 5 ft to the restroom, then mask up because it’s dangerous again.

There still are variants out there and the current vaccines are effective against most but if people continue to not wear masks and not get vaccinated the variants will continue. For me the masks mean I will continue to avoid a horrible death.

Asian countries have worn masks for decades. I will continue to wear a mask anytime I'm indoors unless I know for sure everyone is vaccinated.

Same here. I have not even had a cold or anything in a year and a half now.

We know all of this is in poop, because so many articles saying how they can take samples from the systems, to see what areas are affected by different stuff.

And my girlfriend is going to try to get us J&J appointments this week.

And I know all that really does is help prevent me from ending up in the hospital, and nothing else changes, and that is fine with me, with the shape her brother is currently in.

Even after this calms down I have no plans to ever dine anywhere, or be around any kind of crowd.

It has been so nice to not even have a cold, I plan to keep on living this way.

And no I am not going to wear a mask all the time, but yes I am going to always try to keep distance from anyone, and never be around many people again.

Now if only I could not get sunburned, or poison ivy anymore, then I would really be happy.

You're in luck! They do make a sort of mask for your skin called sunblock!

Masks are probably here to stay depending on season and situation. Flu season was absolutely crushed in part from mask wearing. Can't imagine myself walking around in a crowded Trader Joe's in November with people breathing, close talking, coughing, and sneezing without my mask on now!

I'm wearing it in stores that require or encourage it of course, but I'm not sure how much longer I'm gonna keep wearing it elsewhere. The CDC has all ready advised that's it's okay for vaccinated adults to go maskless outside at small to medium-size gatherings. So I mean, the recommendations have been getting more and more relaxed for vaccinated people for a long time.

And, the last that I heard from the CDC was that vaccinated people are unlikely to spread the virus. Of course, it's technically possible, but seems to be very rare from what I've read. Unless, something has changed since I last read about it.

And at what level does the virus need to get down to for us fully vax-ed people to be able to relax? Cases are low around here, and I'd love an endgame at the local level. I haven't read or heard what that point is. We've been "flattening the curve" for a long time now.

One thing that really surprised me in all this was how very low our flu rates were last year (and no, it wasn't a big brother conspiracy where flu cases were being branded COVID). I can say that I literally saw single digit cases of flu last year. The only thing that makes sense to me is that we 1. pushed flu vaccine more than usual last year, 2. people wore masks and 3. people were social distancing.

I honestly expect my clinic to continue to require masks during flu season even once COVID has died down. As has been mentioned there are a lot of Asian countries that were wearing masks during flu season pre-COVID and they had much lower flu rates.

Last fall my doctor told me he hadn't had a single flu case for the first time, due to masking.

I know there's a lot of FUD around "vaccine passports" but I really feel the lack an easily verifiable (and difficult to forge) proof of vax is a big miss.

Imagine if everyone's DL could get scanned on entry to a restaurant/club/etc...and then everyone within can just RELAX like the old days?

We'll get there eventually, but right now there's no way to differentiate a vaccinated person from non.

Yeah, I haven't had a flu or cold since January 2020, it's been fantastic! I plan to keep wearing masks in grocery stores for the future, also being more diligent in washing my hands or using hand sanitizer after being in a public space... while it turns out Covid isn't easily spread on surfaces, colds definitely are. And I'm with ya on the public bathrooms, it smells better and feels way safer. I used a park bathroom yesterday, the other guy in there wasn't wearing a mask, and sure enough didn't wash his hands before he left either. I just don't get people sometimes.