on coping with C19 lockdown

[lonewolf]

When did getting vaccinated become optional in the military? I would rather have fewer dependable vaccinated troops than more bodies with some at risk at the wrong time.

[Atticus]

I think a failure to get vaccinated for Covid-19 poses a great risk to our national and regional security

I sure got lots and lots of shots in 20 years of military service, and I never once remember being asked if I wanted it or not. We just lined up for 'the gun' (which wasn't even wiped between shots).
Since when is it a choice for soldiers?

[KevinR]

Military readiness would suffer far more from having an outbreak of virus in key locations, than from having voids in the personnel structure. Interestingly, I have not heard anyone make the argument that the military receiving so many vaccines at one time, leading up to Desert Storm, may have given them pause with respect to this most recent vaccine.

For nearly 37 years now I have worked either for the US Army, or a Defense contractor. I have also provided support to our allied nations through my roles in Security Assistance and Foreign Military Sales. I am a great supporter of our military. But I think a failure to get vaccinated for Covid-19 poses a great risk to our national and regional security. This is not a political issue, but one of security.

[18.99s]

The importance of getting boosted:

A friend posted on FB about both his kids getting Covid from day care. He was notified that another kid at the facility had it, then within a couple of days his 2 kids developed a cough and fever and later tested positive. Nothing serious, and they're already past the worst of it.

Fortunately for him and his wife, they both got boosters last month, so they're at peak immunity right now, and both tested negative and have no symptoms even after all the close interactions with their kids. With teenagers who get Covid, you can isolate them in the basement or their bedroom until they recover, but that's not an option with kids of preschool age.

[18.99s]

Cornell University goes into lockdown mode after a huge outbreak on campus, including vaccinated students with Omicron (they have a vaccine mandate, so everybody on campus is vaccinated unless they got an exemption). No severe cases so far.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...hut-down-covid

Cornell University is shutting downits Ithaca, N.Y., campus and is moving to "alert level red" — its highest alert level — due to what officials say is a rapid spread of COVID-19 cases among students.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the campus reported 469 active student cases of the coronavirus and that, for the week of Dec. 6, about 3% of tests were positive among the students tested, according to Cornell's online COVID-19 dashboard.

[J Rorick]

No, but they are trained on firearms. That's not as flippant a comment as one might suppose.

Thank you. It was not meant to be flippant. It should also be pointed out that we've been pandering to a much larger bunch of anti-vaxxer aholes for most of 2021.

[Atticus]

So we're supposed to pander to a bunch of insubordinate anti-science military aholes because they might get mad??

No, but they are trained on firearms. That's not as flippant a comment as one might suppose.

[18.99s]

On the one hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are discharged from the military, that would presumably create holes in the military preparedness

On the other hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are not discharged that would likely cause an impossible situation re the following of orders

Or a cluster of them get sickened by a Covid-19 outbreak in the midst of a mission somewhere. And it will be a cluster, not individual soldiers scattered here and there. Anti-vax behavior is a highly social thing; wherever there is one anti-vaxxer, there's an anti-vax social circle surrounding them and echo-chambering their beliefs.

If the unvaccinated were isolated individuals randomly scattered throughout the military, herd immunity of the rest would shut down the spread if an unvaccinated individual is infected. But because of the clustering of anti-vaxxers, if one of them gets Covid, dozens more anti-vaxxers in the same ship or military base will catch it.

[bad hammy]

Not to mention the releasing of tens of thousands of angry veterans into the civilian population.

So we're supposed to pander to a bunch of insubordinate anti-science military aholes because they might get mad??

[J Rorick]

It seems to me that covid-19 is posing a serious threat to US national security.

On the one hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are discharged from the military, that would presumably create holes in the military preparedness

On the other hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are not discharged that would likely cause an impossible situation re the following of orders

Not to mention the releasing of tens of thousands of angry veterans into the civilian population.

[Tuariki]

The Air Force removed 27 people for not obeying orders to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said Monday, apparently marking the U.S. military’s first dismissals of those who refuse the shots.

More than 94 percent of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, according to the service’s data. But tens of thousands of active-duty members across all services have declined the vaccines, a show of defiance in a culture built around following orders. Many of them have sought rarely given exemptions.

It seems to me that covid-19 is posing a serious threat to US national security.

On the one hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are discharged from the military, that would presumably create holes in the military preparedness

On the other hand if the said tens of thousands vaccine refusniks are not discharged that would likely cause an impossible situation re the following of orders

[jeremyp]

The Air Force removed 27 people for not obeying orders to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said Monday, apparently marking the U.S. military’s first dismissals of those who refuse the shots.

More than 94 percent of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, according to the service’s data. But tens of thousands of active-duty members across all services have declined the vaccines, a show of defiance in a culture built around following orders. Many of them have sought rarely given exemptions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...es-discharges/

[jazzcyclist]

I don't stop reading, but I don't believe ANYTHING I read on the internet until I have a chance to vet it (e.g., Snopes for general info, peer-reviewed medical journals, etc.).

Agendas used to be for meetings, but nowadays everybody has one!

It's depressing to realize how gullible large swaths of the country are. 5 years ago I would never believed that such a large percentage of folks are capable of falling for ridiculous nonsense, some of which has all the telltale signs of fiction even without vetting.

[Atticus]

The minute someone references "the MSM" I stop reading.

I don't stop reading, but I don't believe ANYTHING I read on the internet until I have a chance to vet it (e.g., Snopes for general info, peer-reviewed medical journals, etc.).

Agendas used to be for meetings, but nowadays everybody has one!

[gm]

Good thing it was at the very end!

Touché.

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/ho...9-death-count/

https://www.aha.org/news/blog/2020-1...s-and-payments

https://www.politifact.com/factcheck...D-19-payments/