Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[James J]

Have a great time! I’m due to go in April after rebooking 4 times praying no travel restrictions are introduced!

Thanks, and fingers crossed things are looking a lot better in April!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

IF you're fully vaccinated and have the necessary boosters, how would one employee put you at any more risk than one of your customers?

Seriously?

Is a customer there for 8 hours at a time, or just in and out?

Is a customer behind the counter?

Is a customer likely to make several employees sick in the same day, causing staffing issues and potential loss of business hours?

Is a customer likely to come in contact with all the other customers over an 8 hour shift, potentially infecting several of them?

Fortunately, I make a point of hiring smart people. They all got vaccinated on their own, and about half of us are boosted so far. Should it come down to it, I will not keep employees who pose an extra risk to the rest of us, but it’s unlikely to come down to that.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Thanks, and fingers crossed things are looking a lot better in April!

Or not!

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

View attachment 607596

Not good over here...

Cases are exploding (78,000 daily) but hospitalizations have seen a much smaller increase (774 daily, about 1% of cases), and deaths are still decreasing (165 daily, about .2% of cases).

The uptick in hospitalization numbers are much more concerning to me than the cases.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

If you're working with customers of unknown status, I'd say it's about the same.

It isn't.

 

[DisneyCane]

Seriously?

Is a customer there for 8 hours at a time, or just in and out?

Is a customer behind the counter?

Is a customer likely to make several employees sick in the same day, causing staffing issues and potential loss of business hours?

Is a customer likely to come in contact with all the other customers over an 8 hour shift, potentially infecting several of them?

Fortunately, I make a point of hiring smart people. They all got vaccinated on their own, and about half of us are boosted so far. Should it come down to it, I will not keep employees who pose an extra risk to the rest of us, but it’s unlikely to come down to that.

By Florida law if you let employees go due to vaccination/booster status you become liable for expensive fines.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Seriously?

Is a customer there for 8 hours at a time, or just in and out?

Is a customer behind the counter?

Is a customer likely to make several employees sick in the same day, causing staffing issues and potential loss of business hours?

Is a customer likely to come in contact with all the other customers over an 8 hour shift, potentially infecting several of them?

Fortunately, I make a point of hiring smart people. They all got vaccinated on their own, and about half of us are boosted so far. Should it come down to it, I will not keep employees who pose an extra risk to the rest of us, but it’s unlikely to come down to that.

The CDC still defines close contact as being within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative 15 minutes or more within a 24 hour period.

If you’re working across the room it likely doesn’t matter much but for most professions you will be much more at risk from coworkers than customers.

Many of us have no choice though so I still trust my vaccine to keep me safe. As a casino employee I meet the criteria for “close contact” with hundreds of guests every day, my vaccinated and boosted immune system has done its job for the last 9 months and I’ll continue to trust it going forward. If and when another booster is required I’ll get it, I put my safety in my own hands, not others.

 

[Lilofan]

The CDC still defines close contact as being within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative 15 minutes or more within a 24 hour period.

If you’re working across the room it likely doesn’t matter much but for most professions you will be much more at risk from coworkers than customers.

Many of us have no choice though so I still trust my vaccine to keep me safe. As a casino employee I meet the criteria for “close contact” with hundreds of guests every day, my vaccinated and boosted immune system has done its job for the last 9 months and I’ll continue to trust it going forward. If and when another booster is required I’ll get it, I put my safety in my own hands, not others.

Wow, in your profession I would be getting a booster shot.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Wow, in your profession I would be getting a booster shot.

The amazing thing is I still have three coworkers in my department (of about 50) who refuse to get vaccinated, they’ve all had Covid as a result and now use the fact they survived with no permanent damage as proof it isn’t necessary, while ignoring the fact none of us who are vaccinated have had anything worse than an asymptomatic case.

Even when cash bonuses were offered and masks became optional with proof or vaccination (I miss those days) they refused, this is why I’m so confidant we’ll never get full compliance, my companies done everything possible to encourage vaccination and there’s just a diehard group who will never comply.

 

[mmascari]

If you’re working across the room it likely doesn’t matter much

Across the room vs near someone is highly dependent on the ventilation and size of the room. If it's poor enough, it can negate the distance.

I put my safety in my own hands, not others.

You're still doing both. Your immune system and it's vaccination response needs to work a lot harder when daily cases are 25/100K than it would at 5/100K or 1/100K. It's still not as much work as it would have to do at 70/100K.

While vaccinated, I'm sure your immune system appreciates the advantage is has vs not being vaccinated. But, it would really appreciate if it didn't have to deal with as many exposures too.

 

[mkt]

Florida COVID Cases Are Rising Faster Than Any Other State

Florida has been the subject of some of the United States' most devastating COVID-19 waves over the course of the pandemic.

www.newsweek.com

 

[MisterPenguin]

We are all just throwing out studies. This person says this, this study says that. This other study says the total opposite. My point has always been this is a new virus, constant changing of the "science", so to mandate and demonize people who disagree isn't the wisest position in my opinion.

Just because you don't understand the scientific process doesn't mean we should just do... what? Whatever?

Science updates itself. So, yes, it changes.

You and others point to these updates/changes, and for some reason, want us to distrust science because it changes all the time... WILLY NILLY!!

But it doesn't change willy nilly, it changes with updated information. It is not being capricious, but following the data. Our understanding of things grows. That's change. But not change for change sake or because of an agenda, but because understanding grows.

And then you have the situation on the ground changing. New variants, of which we know very little. And so, the process begins again.

That's how science works. It lets us put a man on the moon. Put satellites in orbit so you can watch your TV shows and use GPS. It will keep you from dying of an infection with antibiotics. It can give us a vaccine to eradicate viruses, such as Small Pox.

So, I have no idea why you think science is just a bunch of crazy ideas thrown about and why you want us all to distrust it as much as you.

 

[mmascari]

Even when cash bonuses were offered and masks became optional with proof or vaccination (I miss those days) they refused, this is why I’m so confidant we’ll never get full compliance, my companies done everything possible to encourage vaccination and there’s just a diehard group who will never comply.

That's impressively stubborn.

I would say they've done everything nice possible.

There's stuff that's less nice they could do.

My company is planning to follow the OSHA guidelines starting in January sometime. Weekly testing for anyone not vaccinated. We don't have any details on how that's actually going to work yet. My hope is that the testing process is enough of an inconvenience that it simply encourages more people to vaccinate. All of the peers I typically work with are vaccinated anyway, the others I don't know. HR knows though.

 

[MisterPenguin]

IF you're fully vaccinated and have the necessary boosters, how would one employee put you at any more risk than one of your customers?

Here we go again:

Vaccines aren't magic. They don't create an invisible bubble around you repelling all viruses. You can still inhale a virus that you've been vaccinated for. The virus can still replicate attempting to infect you leading to disease.

Good for us, a vaccine enables our bodies to immediately fight the infection. But sometimes, even that's not enough and we get sick from it, especially for the elderly and those with comorbidities (even if they're vaccinated).

So... if you're working with an unvaccinated person, they don't have the antibodies to start fighting the virus as soon as it infects them. They create a larger viral load and throw it into your breathing-air than if they had been vaccinated. They are increasing the chance for you to have a breakthrough infection.

Also, when they get sick, they're out for two weeks causing a strain on the business. Tyson Foods mandated vaccines for all its employees because all the sick-days created a serious impediment to keeping their business running.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Is this may cause a BIGGER spike for new variant by a few weeks after Christmas and New Years as the pandemic will be longer as mask mandate for trains, buses and planes will extending into Summer/Fall 2022 because Omicron variant is a worse than Delta.

 

[hopemax]

Cases are exploding (78,000 daily) but hospitalizations have seen a much smaller increase (774 daily, about 1% of cases), and deaths are still decreasing (165 daily, about .2% of cases).

The uptick in hospitalization numbers are much more concerning to me than the cases.

We are 3 weeks past Thanksgiving. Just like clockwork. Which means these hospitalizations are predominantly Delta. With an expected Delta translation from cases -> death. No “mild” Omicron to potentially take an edge off.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

It all comes down to exposure risk. If you're working with customers of unknown status, I'd say it's about the same. Regardless, your risk very low if you're fully vaccinated. I don't think I'd sweat it.

I have a fully-vaccinated family member who is currently home sick with COVID thanks to an unvaccinated co-worker. Out of 20 employees, 5 are now home sick with the virus and all of them except the 1 were vaccinated. I'm sure the owner is wishing they had required vaccinations right now because then that 1 person either would have gotten the shots (which they could have gotten at their workplace anytime they wanted) or been out of a job. Being short that 1 employee is surely better for the business's operations than being down 5 for however long it takes them all to clear the virus and get a negative test.

 

[FanforDisney]

I have a fully-vaccinated family member who is currently home sick with COVID thanks to an unvaccinated co-worker. Out of 20 employees, 5 are now home sick with the virus and all of them except the 1 were vaccinated. I'm sure the owner is wishing they had required vaccinations right now because then that 1 person either would have gotten the shots (which they could have gotten at their workplace anytime they wanted) or been out of a job. Being short that 1 employee is surely better for the business's operations than being down 5 for however long it takes them all to clear the virus and get a negative test.

How do you know that particular co-worker gave everyone else Covid?

You're Far Less Likely to Spread the Coronavirus If You're Vaccinated

Fully vaccinated people are less likely to contract the coronavirus than unvaccinated people. If they don’t get an infection, they can’t transmit the virus to others.

www.healthline.com

"Although fully vaccinated people were less likely to contract an infection, when they did — what’s known as a breakthrough infection — they can transmit the Delta variant at a similar level as unvaccinated people."

 

[Nubs70]

We are 3 weeks past Thanksgiving. Just like clockwork. Which means these hospitalizations are predominantly Delta. With an expected Delta translation from cases -> death. No “mild” Omicron to potentially take an edge off.

Does the UK celebrate Thanksgiving?

 

[DisneyCane]

Florida COVID Cases Are Rising Faster Than Any Other State

Florida has been the subject of some of the United States' most devastating COVID-19 waves over the course of the pandemic.

www.newsweek.com

I don't know where they are getting their data from but FL's cases are not up 285% from 14 days ago. It's around 50%. Assuming their hospitalization data is accurate and those are up 6% it would indicate very good news that it's not nearly a 1 to 1 relationship from case increase to hospitalization increase. If true, that would indicate that the combination of vaccination, natural immunity and current dominant variant are leading to far less serious outcomes.