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A comment on Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster plans. Parent comment

Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by penultimatename on Thursday August 05, 2021 @11:52AM (#28075451)
It's in very poor taste to conflate the issues of social distancing and vaccination acceptance with treatment of medical staff. If everyone social distanced and got a vaccine, there would be no issues with medical staff being overworked.

If everyone did what they wanted, what would the medical staff do? Go home and let them die on the sidewalk? Kids dying in the streets by no fault of their own wouldn't go over well.

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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by sjwalter on Thursday August 05, 2021 @11:57AM (#28075539)
>Kids dying in the streets...

Uh, wat? Which kids are dying from covid? This level of hyperbole is insane.

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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by penultimatename on Thursday August 05, 2021 @12:04PM (#28075650)
Children account for 1.3% to 4% of all US hospitalizations for COVID, depending on the US state.

What do you suggest is done when everyone throws their hands up and medical demand exceeds supply? I fail to see how being unable to admit patients is some impossible scenario.

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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by sjwalter on Thursday August 05, 2021 @12:11PM (#28075742)
Hospitals have been built and staffed for estimated peak capacity forever. Slack capacity is extremely expensive.

Here's an article from 2018 about LA County's makeshift flu hospital tent, which they built because the flu season was so bad then: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-flu-demand-2018...

So, what I suggest is done, is what hospitals have always done, which is do their best to make it work.

"Two weeks to flatten the curve" was all about giving hospitals a chance and not be overwhelmed, and presumably, get better prepared. It's been 1.5 years. How long do you think it's reasonable to extend that 2 weeks to?

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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by penultimatename on Thursday August 05, 2021 @12:21PM (#28075867)
The last time hospitals ran during an epidemic of this intensity was in 1920. I think your confidence in the long-term viability of treating a population that has no interest in stemming the virus is completely unwarranted.

If levels stay as is, you're completely right. The issue is that they likely won't and certainly won't if "everyone does what they want."

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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by lijogdfljk on Thursday August 05, 2021 @12:08PM (#28075705)
Acceptable losses from the sounds of it. I find these conversations difficult to discuss because we all have different ideas of what is acceptable losses.
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Re:Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster... by tablespoon on Thursday August 05, 2021 @06:20PM (#28080762)
> Children account for 1.3% to 4% of all US hospitalizations for COVID, depending on the US state.

That is an acceptable price to pay for indulging in crankery. /s

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