Credo

The oligarch's have their money because of Putin and they get to keep their money because of Putin. They have little choice but to support him. If you think bad things don't happen to people who don't support Putin, take a look at what happened to the richest man in Russia and head of Yukos: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2020/02/19/why-russias-one-time-richest-man-wont-see-a-penny-of-the-50-billion-putin-destroyed/?sh=14939bf63840

How long is long enough? There has been plenty of time to look at Long Covid and it's effect on both physical and mental health. I certainly know people who were infected very early on in the pandemic. Prior to the vaccine, all of them had a rather long recovery once they were considered cured -- at least no longer infectious. Weeks to months later they had extreme fatigue and brain fog. To this day, I don't know a single person who experienced any of this long-term effect from the Flu or a cold. Of those people who were vaccinated and got infected, many have experienced long-term effects. Most of them are not severely impacted, but they are impacted.

I always have to question the motives of people questioning a person like the OP. He got a laboratory certified test in the US and would have no reason to doubt that it was acceptable. Apparently, the airlines thought it was sufficient, but the powers-that-be decided differently. Anyone who has ever run into the power of the people deciding whether to let you into a country, will know what this guy and his girlfriend were up against. They do not have to give you any options. In this case, it was a rather expensive quarantine. Why didn't they take a PCR test at the airport and wait for the results? Most likely that wasn't going to be permitted. You don't get to decide what course of action to take, the officials decide for you. Sadly, this is a situation where a son will not get to see his ailing mother nor introduce her to his girlfriend. Like a lot of things here, though, for a sum of money they were willing to accommodate him. The one thing I have learned from Covid is that the previous freedom of movement that we had was not appreciated and will likely be gone for the foreseeable future. A lot of people have been separated from family and it's time they will never get back.

This is interesting, but it doesn't answer the question of which is safer, air travel or train travel?

I am USUALLY rather kind and compassionate to those providing poor service, provided it appears that it is not deliberate. Very often, the person you are facing is not the one who is causing the problem. Having worked in a service position many years ago, I remember how frustrating it can be when it is extremely busy, someone doesn't show up for work, etc.

I often think that where most countries train sniffer dogs to sniff out drugs, Thailand teaches them to sniff out money.

Of the people I know who have had Covid, and that is an ever increasing number, all of them have suffered from a slow recovery. The only exception is some of the younger people, in their early 20s, who had extremely mild cases and seemed to recover quickly. Those who are in their forties and up have had varying degrees of lingering effects, but all have complained of diminished physical ability and getting tired easily. A number have complained of brain fog, forgetfulness and confusion. From what I've seen, I think it's best to go the extra mile to prevent catching it, even if you are fully vaccinated.

Sadly this whole discussion could have been moot had everyone gotten the vaccine in a timely manner. Any farmer or rancher knows that when you vaccinate cattle, you vaccinate the entire herd. That's how vaccines work. If you don't protect all the cattle, you are putting a lot at risk. That's exactly what we've seen with Covid.

You can't fix stupid and there are a lot of stupid people. Many people wear their ignorance and anti-science stance as a badge of honor.

Actually, a lot of businesses do pay employees to get vaccinated. I know someone who works for Amazon and was paid $60 for each of the two vaccines and $40 for getting the booster. Not long ago, I heard of another large employer paying $100 for vaccination (I am not sure if that was per shot) and I know a lady who says when it hits $500, she's getting vaccinated!

There are gray areas between federal and state powers, but the greatest amount of power lies with the states in controlling how the pandemic is handled. The federal gov't has control over all federal personnel, land and interstate transportation. You may recall that when the pandemic began and states -- note it was states -- that closed down, they were following guidelines not some federal law. You might remember that Trump was demanding that the states open up, which many did. There wasn't much that to 'pass' on to the states. The best chance of getting a significant handle on the pandemic was with the vaccine mandate for businesses employing over 100 people. That was overturned by the Court. So, other than testing, which has been expanded with every household being able to obtain free at-home test kits and supplying free N-95 masks, there is not a lot that the president or federal gov't can do. They continue to urge vaccines, urge masking when and where appropriate, but most of the authority to proactively address issues lie with the states now as it always has.

A review of the literature doesn't quite cut it for me. First of all, very, very few places had what could be considered as a real 'lockdown'. Thailand seemed to do better than most western countries. The lockdown in the US was about as far from being a lockdown as things could get. It also only lasted from 12:00 to midnight before this or that business was allowed to open. The lockdowns were primarily designed to slow the spread and flatten the curve. They were marginally effective in doing that, so using the metric of death rates is a bit of a canard. We quickly learned that on a statistical basis certain demographics were likely to get seriously ill and had a high probability of death. That was true then and still true. So the question is how many people would have died if the entire medical system collapsed? It's completely idiotic to think there wouldn't be an economic impact. Of course there was and that is why built into the lockdowns were various programs to stimulate the economy. Where I live there is no lockdown and things aren't much better. Supply chain issues are a problem and the labor shortage is acute. Before vaccines were in arms, I am reasonably confident that if everything was running as 'normal' it would have been about as far from 'normal' as you can get. Between saving lives and saving the economy, I'll go with lives.

Well, the picture didn't show a pork chop, did it?

Somebody probably better check those guards for Covid. It doesn't take a dog to smell a pig!!

Rural states have been hit particularly hard. Mississippi has the highest with 364/100,000. This is followed by Arizona, also very rural. Rounding out the top slots are places like Alabama, Louisiana and Oklahoma -- all very rural. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/

Having been in a very rural area during the pandemic, I can tell you that the general health is not better than in the New York. Obesity is a big problem, opioids and meth are a major problem and access to health facilities is poor. Few people are involved in 'actual' physical work. I am not sure what rural areas you are talking about.

I get the feeling that while most people are striving for herd immunity, you are viewing thinning the herd as the way to go. If that's the case, you might be right, but it might be better for all of us to do so in a more manageable manner.

Well, this is one of the mainstays of the anti-vaxxer/covid deniers. They have their own take on Goldilocks, 'This article is too old', 'This article isn't peer reviewed', 'That was from the MSM,' etc. The porridge is never quite right. And it's always our fault. I made the mistake of actually viewing one of those videos that got posted and then deleted. It was one of the anti-vaxxer 'experts'. He went on and on about how horrible and dangerous the vaccines are and how they will effect people, but offered not one iota of information to back up his assertions. He only said "I am a doctor and a scientist." That rings about as hollow as telling a young boy, "I am a priest, you can trust me."

If they are relying on 'the robustness of their own biology and lifestyle', then why are they drinking their own urine, taking hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, zinc and vitamin D?

So, all adults were eligible in April of 2020. This is 13 months after what was the largest mass vaccination in US history.

It hasn't, but the anti-vaxx crowd will now start trying to discredit the information. If they can make enough noise banging empty drums, maybe no one will hear the message.

Incredulous. What makes you think that I am suggesting people be programmed. I actually only said: A little more pressure and affirmative action to mitigate the virus would go a very long way to solving the problem.

That is rather naive take on the situation. You are aware that many of the University programs and technical training programs were on pause during the pandemic, don't you? If you were enrolled in a program, you would simply not graduate or be certified. The most deadly part of the pandemic had not only a shortage of staff but you may recall, there was not even close to enough beds for the sick. Do you remember the makeshift hospitals? The National Guard was brought in (and is still active in surge areas). National Guard personnel were even supplemented by military medical personnel, an unprecedented event. In the current case of Texas, and a number of other states, is the lack of mask wearing and large swaths of unvaccinated people. A little more pressure and affirmative action to mitigate the virus would go a very long way to solving the problem.

Oh, you haven't been paying close attention. Have you not read some of the posts from those who blame the overweight for catching Covid because they have allowed themselves to get fat? The same people who demand the freedom not to wear masks or get vaccinated have no problem of making the elderly 'be careful' and isolate. Apparently, their rights and freedom of movement doesn't matter.

Well, your are certainly IMPLYING that it's OK. Minimizing the significance of people's deaths is a typical trick.