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I also thought widespread vaccination would end the pandemic in the US by mid-2021. I guess vaccination rates have to be very high, maybe > 90%, for that to wo

I also thought widespread vaccination would end the pandemic in the US by mid-2021. I guess vaccination rates have to be very high, maybe > 90%, for that to work? Personally I've redefined my goal for dealing with the pandemic as merely, "I will not give Covid to anyone else," which still seems doable by spacing out social events and testing in between. Although I also find the media's tendency towards sensationalism to be annoying, the media industry and its audience are so fractured now I'm not sure they're the cause of anything. It feels like no one is in control and they (and us) are merely along for the ride. That is, I feel that, due to decentralized mass communication and targeted media delivery, social phenomena is tending towards emergent rather than directed behavior.

imnotreallynew 5y ago
Malta is about at 90%, yet the government is introducing more mandates to the chagrin of residents[0]. There’s been maybe ~three deaths in the entire country over the past couple of weeks; COVID hasn’t even been in the top 5 causes of death for a long time. Yet, you’ll now risk being fined €100 if you’re outside walking by yourself without a mask (of course smoking in restaurants and going to nightclubs is allowed, because that makes freaking sense). Malta was even touting quite a bit about being the first European country to reach herd immunity..back in May. In my opinion, anyone who believes continued restrictions have been about anything other than political theatre and positioning are utterly delusional. 0: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/this-latest-masks-mandate-risks-backfiring.920869 https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/this-latest-masks-man...
- jpeloquin 5y ago
  So 90% does remove Covid as an ongoing concern? That's encouraging. If you live in Malta, my condolences on dealing with restrictions that, on face value, are overly fearful and internally inconsistent.
  - solresol 5y ago
    Unfortunately not -- look at what is happening in NSW (Australia). >90% vaccination rate, and essentially exponential growth in cases and hospitalisation. The only things that changed were: omicron instead of delta, and the dropping of restrictions with a new premier.

imnotreallynew 5y ago

Malta is about at 90%, yet the government is introducing more mandates to the chagrin of residents[0]. There’s been maybe ~three deaths in the entire country over the past couple of weeks; COVID hasn’t even been in the top 5 causes of death for a long time. Yet, you’ll now risk being fined €100 if you’re outside walking by yourself without a mask (of course smoking in restaurants and going to nightclubs is allowed, because that makes freaking sense). Malta was even touting quite a bit about being the first European country to reach herd immunity..back in May. In my opinion, anyone who believes continued restrictions have been about anything other than political theatre and positioning are utterly delusional. 0: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/this-latest-masks-mandate-risks-backfiring.920869 https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/this-latest-masks-man...

jpeloquin 5y ago
So 90% does remove Covid as an ongoing concern? That's encouraging. If you live in Malta, my condolences on dealing with restrictions that, on face value, are overly fearful and internally inconsistent.
- solresol 5y ago
  Unfortunately not -- look at what is happening in NSW (Australia). >90% vaccination rate, and essentially exponential growth in cases and hospitalisation. The only things that changed were: omicron instead of delta, and the dropping of restrictions with a new premier.