I also think about the toll on the mental health of children as well as adults. And no one knows what the next few years will look like.
To alleviate some fears, I searched and found someone who appears to have found some interesting data. https://twitter.com/tylerblack32/status/1486111689653342211
TLDR: Suicides rates are trending up for the past several years. The suicide rate among adolescents in 2020 actually dropped from a high in 2018.
Also, there were 21 more suicides in 2020 than 2019. But in that same year, there were 179 children who died from covid. Suicide marginally increased in that one year, in keeping with the overall trend for the past few years. But there was a more significant, much larger bump from covid. And again, this could change in the future. But Dr. Black said he has seen the data for 2021 and doesnât see any change that appears worrisome.
Sigh! I think a pandemic is really hard to control, evident by waves of infection and variants.
In a very different way so is war. Luckily our country hasnât had a lot of experience with that.
I think that itâs really easy to criticize in hindsight. I think that none of us thought weâd still be in this place 2 years later.
I find all of the bickering and infighting is getting tedious. And yes Iâm aware I can just stop participating. But there are a few levelheaded and informational posts that I still do want to see.
What Iâve discovered is no one is going to change anyones mind. Once trust is lost itâs very difficult to regain. I do enjoy reading discussions and trying to figure out all of our different thought processes.
What I donât appreciate is some trying to silence some opinions. We are all allowed our opinions. At least in my world,I respect that everyone is allowed an opinion.
First of all Iâm clarifying my response to my war comment. Our country has had a lot of experience with war. Fortunately not on our shores. But that doesnât mitigate all of cost to our country and our troops. I wanted to say that in case Iâm misunderstood what I was trying to convey. My comment was just that we havenât experienced war on our shores.
And yes I agree wholeheartedly. We are all entitled to our opinions. I would like to put a caveat that opinions arenât misinformation. And I think that with very few exceptions, on this thread we are dealing with opinions and not untruths.
But itâs always nice to think of treating those with differing opinions respectfully. I am definitely not calling you out @bhs1978. Just a thought to ponder for everyone
I follow the Northeastern University and Boston University threads here on CC. Last Spring both schools announced that all students would have to be fully vaccinated in order to enroll in the fall. Medical exemptions given were few and had to be well documented. The Boston Globe ran a story about it and posted it on Facebook. There were several comments along the lines of "What are they going to do when no one shows up in September?â Northeastern was 1700 students overenrolled and BU was 900 students overenrolled. The anti-vaxxers were so convinced that their opinion was the majority opinion.
I think thatâs what Iâve enjoyed seeing in my travels lately. Living in a barely 50% vaxxed area and seeing so many news stories about idiots on planes, in restaurants, and wherever (idiots being those who make the news for their stance), itâs quite nice traveling and seeing most people - at least most traveling in Phillyâs airport and here in the USVI - are quite sane and willing to do whatever it takes regardless of what their personal views are.
I feel the same looking at percentages whoâve been willing to get vaxxed for jobs that require it too, esp healthcare and the military.
The one group might be loud, but they arenât the majority out there, not everywhere anyway. Weâve met people from multiple states here already, ND, MN, WI, MA, AK, NY, and some we havenât asked. No problems with any of them masking to go shopping, dining, or similar.
Of course, travelers of the other persuasion could have opted to travel to places that arenât as strict about masks - road trips to X. Thatâs ok too. Theyâre there, Iâm here. It works.
Thatâs what happens when you live in an echo chamber, only exposing yourself to others who think exactly like you do or sources that confirm your bias. You start to believe that you are the majority opinion.
I have to make myself seek out places where I can see what others who think differently have to say. It can be very frustrating, but itâs important to know what others think, see what sources are influencing their opinions, etc.
Where I draw the line is in the statement âyou must respect othersâ opinions.â When those opinions are presented as though they are facts, no, I do not have to respect them. I canât tell you how many times I have seen someone say âvaxxed people are dying in numbers greater than unvaxxed.â Seriously, I donât have to respect lies. âWe will have to agree to disagree.â No, we donât, not when verifiable facts are being discussed.
I think there are some on the other side of the discussion who are appalled by how the fear of Covid has affected some of us. I believe there is going to be a huge toll politically (especially here in Georgia) because of that fear. The data that I have seen has basically said that the chances of death are 1 in 10,000 if you are vaccinated and boosted. I can live my life with those odds which are similar to the death rates caused by the flu. For those who continue to reject the vaccines, it is their right, and they are paying the price. But I am getting ready to move on (Just waiting for the youngest among us to be vaccinated).
I havenât seen anyone with fear post vaccine. I still see plenty with a healthy respect and their reasoning involves the potential long term health complications from all the various organs that can be affected, not really death.
Itâs a lot like wearing seat belts in a car to avoid getting seriously injured - and not wanting others to text or drink and drive to avoid getting injured due to them.
Pretty much everyone I know is out and about, not shut into their houses like in the beginning with so little known and no vaxxes.
ETA: If folks, like us, are still concerned, weâll pick X over Y like we chose USVI due to their having more respect for the virus than many other places. But even here, thereâs no fear Iâve seen. Just respect.
I see no reason to put myself at risk at my local school where so many donât give a hoot though. Actually, about 5 minutes ago I think I made the final decision to officially retire. Time will tell if it holds, but if I had to decide todayâŠ
âIf you are vaccinated and boostedâ is the key. My uncle refuses to get vaccinated even though he is being treated for advanced prostrate cancer and his unvaccinated wife had a pretty bad case of COVID herself. Iâm not afraid for myself. Iâm afraid for people like my uncle and my dad. At least Dad had the sense to get all three shots.
What I find interesting are polls indicating that the fear levels in no way match the actual risk levels in many groups. For example, young democrats aged 18-30 were markedly more worried about getting covid than democrats over age 65, although the risk levels are obviously inverse. I mention their political affiliation only because that is how the poll was conducted.
I consider myself to have a healthy respect tied to my familyâs risks , and I donât know many people personally who truly âfearâ Covid. But I have seen more than my share of fear here on CC and maybe it is warranted based on those posterâs individual risks. Whether it is fear for themselves or their loved ones, it seems that even the âscienceâ is not enough.
With everyone but newborns-4 years olds having access to vaccines, I only truly worry about the very old (maybe immuno-compromised) and those little ones. The fear of infecting others has gone down tremendously for me because we should all be vaccinated and taking precautions based on our own risks.
I have four kids who range in age b/w 17 and 22. This is exactly what their concerns were WRT getting Covid. Not worried about themselves, but worried about infecting others.
In fact, my 21 y/o did get Covid in July 2020, before vaccines. Fortunately he was asymptomatic, but it was contact tracing that caused him to get tested. He wasnât worried about himself, but he felt horrible that 1) he may have infected our family as well as his coworkers and 2) his positive test meant his employer had to close for the day so she could get all of her employees tested so she had no revenue that day. Fortunately, no one tested positive - he worked outside at a produce stand and everyone wore masks outside at the time. But that experience was enough that he got vaccinated as soon as he was eligible (earlier than his peers b/c he was working at his college at that point and was eligible before them).
