Mega-Thread: Coronavirus Pandemic

[PokeKitty]

Yeah it is like only 5 month till the Tokyo olympic games... it might get postponed again... crazy.

[Gaidax]

Yeah it is like only 5 month till the Tokyo olympic games... it might get postponed again... crazy.

What do you mean might, it will.

[Katchii]

Scientists have been working on the development of mRNA vaccines for ~30 years, but the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the very first human mRNA vaccine to go through clinical trials and be approved for widespread use.

I'd still consider that "new".

The concept and work is not, but the fact that it's the first to go through trials and such is very much "new" so I would agree.

[Forogil]

What do you mean might, it will.

Well, Japan and IOC are denying postponement - and other international sporting events are taking place; and did take place last summer as well.

We will see in a few months; wont influence my life much either way.

[PokeKitty]

What do you mean might, it will.

I said it because other major league sports like the NFL, NBA still going on... and some of the US cities have more cases than Japan.

The issue is the Olympics is bigger to host and it takes all athletes from the world.

[Edge-]

I said it because other major league sports like the NFL, NBA still going on... and some of the US cities have more cases than Japan.

The issue is the Olympics is bigger to host and it takes all athletes from the world.

Plus, the fact that we're talking about tens/hundreds of thousands of people in a small area. This isn't something where you can reasonably logistically create "bubbles" (that work to a greater or lesser extent) for teams so they can continue playing. There's no way to "bubble" the Games, it's logistically impossible.

[Forogil]

Not the thing we wanted to hear: https://www.dw.com/en/uk-covid-varia...ows/a-56319288

The British government's chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said that the new variant (UK variant) could be around 30% more deadly, but cautioned that the findings were based on an initial assessment of early data.

[Poopymonster]

Plus, the fact that we're talking about tens/hundreds of thousands of people in a small area. This isn't something where you can reasonably logistically create "bubbles" (that work to a greater or lesser extent) for teams so they can continue playing. There's no way to "bubble" the Games, it's logistically impossible.

Like they could trust other countries to properly screen and take precautions with their athletes.

[Edge-]

Like they could trust other countries to properly screen and take precautions with their athletes.

That's roughly 200 countries and 11,000 athletes alone. Yeah, it's safe to say that even if every country does their level-best, it will be night impossible to avoid a case amongst the athletes which completely undermines the whole fuckin point. That's not accounting for everything like families, trainers and managers etc., support staff locally, translators, judges etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

It's logistically impossible unless they want to put all the athletes at pretty serious risk.

[Egomaniac]

Plus, the fact that we're talking about tens/hundreds of thousands of people in a small area. This isn't something where you can reasonably logistically create "bubbles" (that work to a greater or lesser extent) for teams so they can continue playing. There's no way to "bubble" the Games, it's logistically impossible.

There's a game called "Plague, Inc" in which you play as a deadly disease trying to wipe out humanity. Like, that's the victory condition...you have to kill every man, woman, and child on the planet before they discover a cure. If there are two people still alive and one of them finds the cure...you lose.

Anyway, in that game the Olympics are a thing. If you can keep your disease low key enough...the world will hold the olympics and you can use that to spread your disease very quickly to every corner of the world. However, if your disease is considered dangerous enough...they'll cancel the olympics and you lose that opportunity.

[Gaidax]

Well, Japan and IOC are denying postponement - and other international sporting events are taking place; and did take place last summer as well.

We will see in a few months; wont influence my life much either way.

You will get announcement in a matter of few weeks. Nobody will be holding Olympics in the midst of pandemic, especially not Japan and especially not with these latest mutations that make the whole thing even more contagious.

[Edge-]

You will get announcement in a matter of few weeks. Nobody will be holding Olympics in the midst of pandemic, especially not Japan.

And even if, for some reason they don't, I can see quite a few countries declining to send athletes to the Games anyways. It's pretty much a lose/lose, and I don't know why they're pretending otherwise unless they need to for some insurance reason which...doesn't make any sense to me since we're talking about the Japanese government, now freaking Penny Arcade (waiting to cancel PAX until the city announces event closures, so they could collect insurance money) or something.

[bbr]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55768627

""Emerging evidence suggests the variant that emerged in the UK may be more deadly as well as spread faster.""

Well,. 2020 was normal-mode.
2021 may be hard-mode.

[Zan15]

Yeah it is like only 5 month till the Tokyo olympic games... it might get postponed again... crazy.

for a country that has the problem under control why would they want 3rd world countries like the US (in covid) flooding their country with infected?

[Granyala]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55768627

""Emerging evidence suggests the variant that emerged in the UK may be more deadly as well as spread faster.""

Well,. 2020 was normal-mode.
2021 may be hard-mode.

If the vaccine works, the latter half of 2021 will degenerate to LFR.

[Poopymonster]

If the vaccine works, the latter half of 2021 will degenerate to LFR.

Getting everyone vax'd in the US will be like some people intentionally standing in the fire. Maybe LFR, may not be everyone, but goddamn they dumb motherfuckers.

[PhaelixWW]

Not the thing we wanted to hear: https://www.dw.com/en/uk-covid-varia...ows/a-56319288

The good news in this is that the scientists expect the B117 variant to respond equally to the vaccine, as the 501Y mutation doesn't drastically affect the spike protein targeted by the vaccine-induced antibodies.

The E484K mutation in the new variants found in Brazil and South Africa, however, is more worrisome.

[PACOX]

Things debunked the hard way

We can get rid of the virus with herd immunity

It can only become less lethal or more contagious, not both.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, Japan and IOC are denying postponement - and other international sporting events are taking place; and did take place last summer as well.

We will see in a few months; wont influence my life much either way.

What I'm seeing is similar to what we saw in 2020 where no one wants to be the first to 'surrender' to the current situation. They are waiting for someone else to make the first move so they can say "well I guess we have to cancel now since everyone else is", or waiting for enough nations/athletes to back out.

- - - Updated - - -

Like they could trust other countries to properly screen and take precautions with their athletes.

If the NBA is still struggling with its second iteration of its bubble, people are crazy to think you could you could bubble the Olympics.

A better comparison would be college football where you had to have bubbles within bubbles. It failed, a lot, with many cancelations and outbreaks.

[Gaidax]

17 and 18 years old can now go get a vaccine.

Reason is that they have upcoming graduation tests and the government does not want to have to postpone or cancel these. This is on top of all 40+ who can come get a vaccine. Some 35+ can also


There is also some talk that part of the reason we have supply is because was in part because we paid about 150% of asking price per shot.

[bbr]

If the vaccine works, the latter half of 2021 will degenerate to LFR.

lets hope so