USMS+

I see there is a new membership tier. I am not clear what advantages this gives me since my primary focus is swimming in Meets, not in postal challenges Etc .

If I pay extra can I get a working forum? How about a sanctioned meet where everyone is vaccinated. Oh wait, I can do that now, in Canada

(I'd insert a frowny face, but evidently Elaine is the only one who figured how to do that.)

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  • It’s disappointing that vaccinated people can still catch and spread Covid. That’s why we need to continue to wear masks. Vaccination does markedly decrease mortality and morbidity iand also decreases transmissibility. It’s not a panacea but it is a necessary tool.

  • Because the injection everyone is getting does not conform to the historic definition of vaccine. Webster's has conveniently changed that.

  • Some of the drifts of what something means when it gets too far from the origin bothers me. For instance epicenter now means "focal point" when it's origin is referring to the point on the earth above an earthquake(epi=above) as the center was below ground. If a covid outbreak has an epicenter then it seems to me most of the victims are under ground. Similarly decimate has as become "destroy" or similar when historically it means kill every tenth person(as a punishment). If a covid outbreak decimates an area it must be killing every tenth person as a punishment. Vaccinate comes from innoulating with cowpox(vaca=cow) to grant some immunity to smallpox. 

  • Because science has progressed, we have found a better way to do it.  Sorry the attempts to gaslight the public with the false narrative that it "changes your DNA" failed to take hold.  Guess the new tactic is to say it isn't what it is.

    In addition to generally being a better system, the fact is that because of the research done 20 years ago in RNA based vaccines (by the way, Moderna's name came from Modified RNA), an effective vaccine was able to hit the market years before it would with a conventional "dead virus" vaccine.

    And I personally don't care what a non-medical resource chooses to call a medical tool.  However, at least they are actually open to new science and data.  Unlike some.

  • Nothing is perfect.  That's why we use statistics to drive decisions.  Breakthrough infection is a basic aspect of virtually all vaccines.  If measles, smallpox, mumps, diptheria, pertussis, teatnus, rubella, polio, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, HPV, Menogicocol, etc. vaccination rates were on par withi COVID, we'd now have herd immunity, and breakthrough infections would be commonplace, too.

    I'm sure you area aware of that, though!

    Of course you are also aware that the average age of hospitalized vaccinated people is about 80, and the average age of all hospitalized people is under 50 (meaning average age of unvaccinated is probably under 40).  Of course you are aware that the risk of death is about 12 times higher for unvaccinated.  Of course you understand that being hospitalized is also severarl factors higher as a risk for unvaccinated people as vaccinated.  Finally, there is no doubt what with your knowledge that you are aware that the more conventional vaccine, Johnson and Johnson, has proven to be far less effective, and that the majority of breakthrough infections were with J&J.

    Anyway, I know you are aware of all of this stuff.  But just in case anyone reading it somehow mistakes your wording for somehow implying that the vaccine is anything other than the best tool we have, I wanted to point out all of that data which, again, you are doubtlessly aware of.

  • Well said, '67.  As an emergency room physician, if he is not aware of all you pointed out, he should be!

  • I guess I'm the only one tired of covid as an excuse to treat people poorly.  I am on a 22,000 member ER doc group on Facebook where several doctors are publicly  suggesting letting all the stupid unvaccinated people die.  We don't do that with smokers, obese, drug addicted, or other victims of poor life choices.  I have had covid and have been vaccinated.  If I want to get a massage, go to a swim meet, go out to eat, I have to say I wasn't exposed.  I have taken care of as many or more covid patients as about anyone.  Healthcare hero?  Not so much. We should all try to be a bit more forgiving and understanding.

  • Kurt, you will find 99% of us in Florida feel the way you do. Our last meet was so refreshing (Rowdy Gaines Classic) - all we talked about was swimming, how long it had been since we saw each other…no politics!  It was so refreshing!! The people up north can play any way they want, down here, we’re moving on with our lives….and funny enough, people in Florida are happy and prospering.

  • You want my take on it, unvaccinated people should have to pay for their own treatment, and be at the back of the line.  Like Kay Ivey said, it is time to start blaming these people.  At my wife's hospital, there is a 30 year age gap between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who are hospitalized.  I apologize I misunderstood your post and read it as if you were saying vaccines don't do much.  I mean, I am by all means ready to move on, and as my daughters are seniors in high school, and both looking to leave the state, I'm certainly ready to have normal swim meets (last year's cancellation of Winter Juniors really hurt one).  My hometown has made national news four times now for its bungling of COVID.  Our vaccination rate is horrible.  And we have now had a Federal judge come in and force our district to implement a mask mandate, because COVID was so prevalent, and the school system stopped requiring quarantining, etc.  We had 20% of kids absent from school on several days.  And the kids parents are the ones getting hospitalized (nationally, I believe we have 100,000 children who have lost one or more parent to COVID).

    At any rate, yes, we are all ready to move on.  Unfortunately, some of us live in areas where people's rejection of medical and scientific advice precludes taht ability.