Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[mmascari]

Booked a WDW hotel for a week, bought the 6 day park hopper ticket. Not going to bother making park reservations, like to pick based on the weather. Sure it'll be fine.


Booked a WDW hotel for a week, just going to buy single day tickets each day, morning of. In case we just want a resort or water park day in the middle, just 1 though. Sure it'll be fine.

I'm sure there's no disappointment hiding in those decisions.....
Nothing we could have done now instead to create a better and cheaper outcome instead of them while at the same time not being forced to do anything differently at all during the trip.

* Edit - Same thing, but for the week between Christmas and New Years.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

What is the harm in getting more than “adequate” protection?

There isn’t any, but everyone should have the right to decide their own risk threshold, some people will be ok with 2 shots and 99% safe, some may choose the booster that makes them 99.5% safe, some may choose the booster and to never have contact with another living thing to be 99.99% safe… who are we to decide someone else’s threshold?

I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, even kids with relatively little risk, but beyond those first shots you start encountering diminishing returns. I felt the advantage from getting boosted outweighed the relatively tiny risk but I don’t fault others for making a different decision.

I’m sure even the most pro-vaccine people have a threshold where they’ll finally say the incremental advantage isn’t worth it, probably not at annual boosters, or even semi-annual boosters, but what if the recommendation became monthly boosters? or weekly? or daily?

 

[Disstevefan1]

Highly respected Johns Hopkins University says the draconian lockdowns has little for no impact on the Coronavirus.

 

[correcaminos]

Booked a WDW hotel for a week, bought the 6 day park hopper ticket. Not going to bother making park reservations, like to pick based on the weather. Sure it'll be fine.


Booked a WDW hotel for a week, just going to buy single day tickets each day, morning of. In case we just want a resort or water park day in the middle, just 1 though. Sure it'll be fine.

I'm sure there's no disappointment hiding in those decisions.....
Nothing we could have done now instead to create a better and cheaper outcome instead of them while at the same time not being forced to do anything differently at all during the trip.

As long as you are not going during a massive holiday it seems okay not to have park reservations. I was able to make changes to mine the day of in November. Seems like March we have options as well and that will be the same week as Florida's spring break.

 

[mmascari]

There isn’t any, but everyone should have the right to decide their own risk threshold, some people will be ok with 2 shots and 99% safe, some may choose the booster that makes them 99.5% safe, some may choose the booster and to never have contact with another living thing to be 99.99% safe… who are we to decide someone else’s threshold?

This is the CDC's fault. Their messaging is making this unclear. With Omicron, the efficacy of just the initial doses (2 or 1 for J&J) is significantly lower and worse over time. It's not 99% vs 99.5%. More like 80% or 70% or even less vs 95%. Technically, the initial is still better than the original target of 50%. But, the booster isn't some tiny incremental improvement.

I'm perfectly willing to bet that before the end of 2022 the definition of "Fully Vaccinated" changes to include the booster dose too. Probably sooner, but the wheels of government move slow.

The poor messaging is creating that impression that it's a practically nothing, a minor improvement. The correct messaging would make this an easy question for everyone who started the vaccine.

 

[mmascari]

As long as you are not going during a massive holiday it seems okay not to have park reservations. I was able to make changes to mine the day of in November. Seems like March we have options as well and that will be the same week as Florida's spring break.

Fine, make it the week between Christmas and New Years.

My point was, there would be no downside to making the park reservations ahead of time. Best case, plenty of availability you just change them. Middle ground, a park is full but at least you have a reservation somewhere. Worst case, without any and full parks you've got a ticket you can no longer use.

The second scenario was even worse, it would actually cost more for the tickets since the extra day on a multi day ticket is so cheap. Plus, no reservations from the first one too. Best care there, you spend more money for the same thing by not buying ahead. Worst case, you spend more days not in the park AND you spend more for the ones you get.

Not getting the booster now because someone is currently young and fit and spread is trending down is just like that. They may not be young and fit later and spread may go back up and then they'll be behind and may not be able to catch up. That's just the personal impact, at the community level, it'll just help community spread go down slower and stay around longer. Everybody loses.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This is the CDC's fault. Their messaging is making this unclear. With Omicron, the efficacy of just the initial doses (2 or 1 for J&J) is significantly lower and worse over time. It's not 99% vs 99.5%. More like 80% or 70%

Is there any data for this?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This is the CDC's fault. Their messaging is making this unclear. With Omicron, the efficacy of just the initial doses (2 or 1 for J&J) is significantly lower and worse over time. It's not 99% vs 99.5%. More like 80% or 70% or even less vs 95%. Technically, the initial is still better than the original target of 50%. But, the booster isn't some tiny incremental improvement.

I'm perfectly willing to bet that before the end of 2022 the definition of "Fully Vaccinated" changes to include the booster dose too. Probably sooner, but the wheels of government move slow.

The poor messaging is creating that impression that it's a practically nothing, a minor improvement. The correct messaging would make this an easy question for everyone who started the vaccine.

Depends on what your criteria are… that may be true for mild and asymptomatic cases but if your concern is severe case and hospitalization the numbers are 8, 35, and 200 per 100,000 for boosted, fully vaxxed, and unvaxxed. If your concern is death the last numbers I saw were .1, .8, and 12 per 100,000.

Personally I’m not very concerned over a mild case so my focus is on hospitalizations, and I felt the difference from a 8 in 100,000 risk to 35 in 100,000 risk warranted a booster, for those who’s primary concern is staying alive the difference from .1 to .8 in 100,000 is a harder decision.

Those numbers are also for the general population… age, overall health, medical conditions, etc should also be factored in and can drastically improve or decrease someone personal risk evaluation.

 

[maui2k7]

This is the CDC's fault. Their messaging is making this unclear. With Omicron, the efficacy of just the initial doses (2 or 1 for J&J) is significantly lower and worse over time. It's not 99% vs 99.5%. More like 80% or 70% or even less vs 95%. Technically, the initial is still better than the original target of 50%. But, the booster isn't some tiny incremental improvement.

I'm perfectly willing to bet that before the end of 2022 the definition of "Fully Vaccinated" changes to include the booster dose too. Probably sooner, but the wheels of government move slow.

The poor messaging is creating that impression that it's a practically nothing, a minor improvement. The correct messaging would make this an easy question for everyone who started the vaccine.

The terrible messaging has continued from the CDC with keeping the phrase “fully vaccinated” and added to it “up to date”. The communication and messaging from the CDC has been so confusing that it has only added to the mistrust people have for what the have to say. Their credibility has taken a big hit at their own doing.

 

[mmascari]

Is there any data for this?

People have been posting it for weeks in this very thread.

The posts from today show that the booster means you're 4+ times less likely to need hospitalization.

There's been dozens of posts by people in this thread trying to use the reduction in the initial dose efficacy, especially vs Omicron, as a way of arguing that the reduction means it's useless. It wasn't true that it was useless, but it was true that it is less effective. Less is not useless, just less. Frequently, those studies have shown that after the booster (or even prior infection plus a booster) that the combined efficacy is significantly improved to a level equal to the initial vaccine vs Alpha.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The terrible messaging has continued from the CDC with keeping the phrase “fully vaccinated” and added to it “up to date”. The communication and messaging from the CDC has been so confusing that it has only added to the mistrust people have for what the have to say. Their credibility has taken a big hit at their own doing.

I hope we learn from this and are better prepared next time, if the CDC had stockpiles of N95 masks and were able to send a handful to every person in the States those first couple weeks, rather than having to say not to wear them due to short supply, the credibility issue largely never happens.

The science has evolved but some of the initial reactions, that were based on necessity rather than science, have left a lasting negative impression.

 

[mmascari]

Depends on what your criteria are… that may be true for mild and asymptomatic cases but if your concern is severe case and hospitalization the numbers are 8, 35, and 200 per 100,000 for boosted, fully vaxxed, and unvaxxed. If your concern is death the last numbers I saw were .1, .8, and 12 per 100,000.

Personally I’m not very concerned over a mild case so my focus is on hospitalizations, and I felt the difference from a 8 in 100,000 risk to 35 in 100,000 risk warranted a booster, for those who’s primary concern is staying alive the difference from .1 to .8 in 100,000 is a harder decision.

Wait, are there really people who are like: The 4X improvement to avoid the hospital isn't enough, but the 8X to avoid death is, so that's why they'll get the booster.

The hospitalization reduction from 35/100K to 8/100K is HUGE too. Anyone who is arguing that it's a tiny difference because 35-8=27 while 200-32=165 is large doesn't understand math. Yeah, the second one is large, but so is the first one. If it was 35 to 34, maybe even 33 that might be small. But a 27/100K reduction is a HUGE difference.

 

[mmascari]

I hope we learn from this and are better prepared next time, if the CDC

Unfortunately, it'll probably take 10+ years to rebuild the CDC, if not longer.

 

[Touchdown]

What is the harm in never eating sugar again in your life?

A lot, your red blood cells cannot use any other energy source. No carbohydrates=no red blood cells=death.

Not only that, your brain really prefers the stuff, under extreme duress it will switch to something else but that causes complications and doesn’t allow it to function well.

That is why any civilization that has ever formed did so only after mastering a way to farm a staple (wheat, corn, rice) and why prior to that we humans were hunter-gatherers not just hunters.

 

[correcaminos]

Fine, make it the week between Christmas and New Years.

My point was, there would be no downside to making the park reservations ahead of time. Best case, plenty of availability you just change them. Middle ground, a park is full but at least you have a reservation somewhere. Worst case, without any and full parks you've got a ticket you can no longer use.

The second scenario was even worse, it would actually cost more for the tickets since the extra day on a multi day ticket is so cheap. Plus, no reservations from the first one too. Best care there, you spend more money for the same thing by not buying ahead. Worst case, you spend more days not in the park AND you spend more for the ones you get.

Not getting the booster now because someone is currently young and fit and spread is trending down is just like that. They may not be young and fit later and spread may go back up and then they'll be behind and may not be able to catch up. That's just the personal impact, at the community level, it'll just help community spread go down slower and stay around longer. Everybody loses.

This whole conversation started with people who are not eligible though.

And while we should push for boosters we need globally to shift focus to undervaccinated places. I see your point but at the same time we need to be smart too.

Much like Disney and their stupid and annoying park reservations often one just has to wait and see what works. I have to as an AP holder. I do suggest vaccinating and boosting when possible. I do not feel the need to force boosting when we have even gotten far enough with 1st or 2nd doses.

 

[seascape]

I would hope that everyone think about the JHU report and understand this is only one study and just on the effectiveness of the lockdowns. There are many aspects of how we responded to Covid 19 yet to come. There is the effect on our young childrens education and lifetime earnings. There is the effect on our economy and national debt. There are so many things we still need to determine. Plus, in the end we need to understand that the lessons must be learned but not be too political about it. The one thing I am sure about is that mistakes were made by leaders in both parties and I sincerely believe that everyone made did what they believed was bast for the country based on the information available.

 

[danlb_2000]

I would hope that everyone think about the JHU report and understand this is only one study and just on the effectiveness of the lockdowns. There are many aspects of how we responded to Covid 19 yet to come. There is the effect on our young childrens education and lifetime earnings. There is the effect on our economy and national debt. There are so many things we still need to determine. Plus, in the end we need to understand that the lessons must be learned but not be too political about it. The one thing I am sure about is that mistakes were made by leaders in both parties and I sincerely believe that everyone made did what they believed was bast for the country based on the information available.

I disagree with the last statement, but discussing it further would get into politics.

 

[danlb_2000]

Is there any data for this?

Preliminary data indicate COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against severe disease and hospitalisation caused by the Omicron variant | European Medicines Agency (EMA)

www.ema.europa.eu

" Data from South Africa indicate that people who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have up to 70% protection for hospitalisation;1 similar data from the UK shows that while protection declines a few months after vaccination, protection from hospitalisation rises again to 90% after a booster shot.2"

 

[Polkadotdress]

Imagine if people were to take care of themselves for the next possible time around?
Learn from this moment?
Teach the younger generations to do that so that they would do better, and teach their kids?
Naaahhh... That's not the American way.
We'll go back to beating our collective bodies like they owe us money, then hope scientists can rapidly come up with a vaccine to save us - or a pill we can take after illness sets in.

There's barely any need for a healthy person to get a booster at 20 years old - especially now, and it's too soon anyway.
Look up the stats.
If things change for the worse, they can get it.

Your belief that boosters are not needed for your sons literally conflict with your ongoing battle cry that we should all work harder to be more healthy as a whole, using PRE-EMPTIVE measures.

Can’t have it both ways…

 

[DisneyFan32]

Unfortunately, it'll probably take 10+ years to rebuild the CDC, if not longer.

Looks like we're aheading to new pandemic into the future for next many years. I'm scared of this.....