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Re:The case against masks at school by dsl on Thursday January 27, 2022 @04:29PM (#30106990)
Of course all of our problems go away when you convince the remaining 40% of the population to get vaccinated.

I'm actually in favor of doing away with masks and social distancing. Just create a nationwide policy that the unvaccinated will not be admitted or treated for COVID and we can all return to our daily lives.

Re:The case against masks at school by throwawaythekey on Thursday January 27, 2022 @08:36PM (#30109678)
Please refer to countries like Australia/Israel who are still experiencing massive case loads with a ~95% vaccination rate. It doesn't make it go away. For example please see

https://twitter.com/orwell2022/status/1486330027549544452

Sure, you can deny some people medical treatment if you want to reduce the load on the hospital by a bit but it does not go away!

Re:The case against masks at school by BeefWellington on Thursday January 27, 2022 @10:07PM (#30110286)
> Please refer to countries like Australia/Israel who are still experiencing massive case loads with a ~95% vaccination rate. It doesn't make it go away. For example please see

I think people underestimate how big a number 5% of a population of most countries -- even small ones -- actually is, especially when compared against available health care resources.

Re:The case against masks at school by throwawaythekey on Friday January 28, 2022 @12:30AM (#30110977)
About 1/3 of the covid cases in the ICU where I live [1]. No idea how that stacks up compared to total ICU capacity (I think <10% but am not sure on this).

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1486225759874486273

Re:The case against masks at school by rcurry on Thursday January 27, 2022 @07:50PM (#30109319)
If only modern medicine was reserved for the Master Race, it would be so much simpler, and cost effective!

But before you seek medical treatment we’ll just need you to fill out this questionnaire:

1. Have you ever had an alcoholic beverage?

2. Do you have a BMI greater than 18.5?

3. Have you ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory?

4. Do you ride, run, or swim less than 40 miles per day?

Please understand that your answers may disqualify you from eligibility for healthcare. Thank you, Acme Excellence Health Partners.

Re:The case against masks at school by tjr225 on Thursday January 27, 2022 @08:12PM (#30109501)
None of those things have forced us to all drastically alter our lives in the forms of economic and social lockdowns like covid has. It is a pretty silly thing to compare.
Re:The case against masks at school by rcurry on Thursday January 27, 2022 @09:15PM (#30109952)
Covid is old and busted. Now all you have is OMG Omicron that’s just basically an annoying flu, you go ahead and lose your mind over it - it’s a free country. I’m still freaking out about dioxin so I don’t have time for this shit.
Re:The case against masks at school by projct on Friday January 28, 2022 @01:03AM (#30111153)
Covid killed 3895 people yesterday, with a 7 day average of almost a 9/11 of people every single day this past week.
Re:The case against masks at school by scarygliders on Thursday January 27, 2022 @09:38PM (#30110114)
Covid didn't make economic and social lockdowns.

Governments did.

Re:The case against masks at school by rcurry on Thursday January 27, 2022 @10:08PM (#30110291)
Shush, you’re going to ruin everything.
Re:The case against masks at school by landemva on Thursday January 27, 2022 @11:05PM (#30110596)
We have been vacationing in FL and TX specifically because lockdown mania did not infect those States. Those economies seemed to be doing OK.

I read that some politicians also choose to vacation in Miami, and without masks.

Re:The case against masks at school by sleepybrett on Thursday January 27, 2022 @04:52PM (#30107293)
Convincing that 40% to get vaccinated while members of our elected government preach to that particular choir about how things that are partially or mostly effective (masking, vaccines, etc) are NOT effective simply because they are not 100% effective is a losing battle.

Watch the widely circulated video of the Florida's nomination hearing for their new Surgeon General, where a democrat asks the nominee if he, yes or no, believes the vaccines to be effective. It was asked five times, his answers were nothing but stuttering, rambling, dissembling, meandering madness ('i mean what does effective actually mean' level bullshit). The republicans passed him out of committee once the democrats walked out in frustration.

We have a party that is in full denial mode because that's what their anti-vax constituents want to hear. The only upside might be that their vote share goes down because their constituents die in higher numbers.

Re:The case against masks at school by jjeaff on Thursday January 27, 2022 @07:24PM (#30109068)
The denial is so palpable. I know a couple in their early sixties who refused to get vaccinated because "COVID is way overblown". They were both regular weight and normal health. The wife contracted COVID and died in the hospital. Later, when asked if he was going to get vaccinated, he said no, because "COVID is no worse than a cold."

He apparently believes that even though his wife went into the hospital for COVID, she actually died from pneumonia, and not COVID. I guess no doctor explained to him that pneumonia is simply an infection that has spread to the lungs.

You can't help people like this.

Re:The case against masks at school by jlawson on Friday January 28, 2022 @01:49AM (#30111440)
Consider what he would have to accept if he faced the truth: That his incorrect beliefs directly caused his wife's death.

Not surprising he'd perform basically any level of mental gymnastics to avoid that.

Ego-protective delusions are extremely common and most are motivated by far less than this.

Re:The case against masks at school by fullstackchris on Thursday January 27, 2022 @05:01PM (#30107426)
I'd argue it in a more adult way than just punishing those who are different from you. Just do away with the masking and social distancing regardless. As soon as we were throwing out the first doses of expired vaccine, the choice by every american to get vaccinated or not had been made. If the hospitals are overrun, it will be the unvaccinated, so they'll be punished anyway - no need to legally do it.

Also you need to update your Sam Harris stats, its not 40% unvaccinated anymore like some outlets continue to harp on, check CDC numbers, its closer to only 20% of the population remaining.

Re:The case against masks at school by rrose on Thursday January 27, 2022 @06:02PM (#30108291)
hospitals being overrun doesn't just affect the unvaccinated, it affects anybody who needs medical attention. just allowing the hospitals to get overrun is not a reasonable option
Re:The case against masks at school by rthille on Thursday January 27, 2022 @05:44PM (#30108068)
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-... I guess it depends on what you mean by vaccinated: 75.1% of total us population has had at least on dose (79.8% of eligible (>= 5 yr) Fully vaccinated drops to 63.6/67.6% And Boosted is at only 41% of the fully vaccinated, 86.5M.
Re:The case against masks at school by srj on Thursday January 27, 2022 @09:19PM (#30109984)
Is saying "Sam Harris stats" some kind of dig?
Re:The case against masks at school by RubberMullet on Thursday January 27, 2022 @05:22PM (#30107754)
All of our problems go away?! Which demographic do you think this policy will affect the most, for example, in California[0]?

[0]: https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/#ethnicity-gender-age