It probably started with only one case anywhere. Unfortunately for the world, "patient zero" was contagious enough to start a pandemic. For the US, I don't think anybody actually knows how many infected people there were in the country by the time we figured out to start testing and trying to find people who were infected. There could have been only a handful or there could have been hundreds spread all over the country. I doubt we'll ever know for sure.
The point being that the actual number of cases don't matter so much, what does matter is that we have enough people immune that outbreaks fizzle out before spreading. That elusive thing called herd immunity.
They know pretty much exactly how it entered the US and spread from those who brought it here with them. There was a fantastic animated timeline of events on the NY Times website with names (where they were available) and dates.
No-appointment-needed is just starting to become the norm in NJ...
All 6 N.J. COVID vaccine mega-sites offering walk-in shots starting today
Anyone 16 and older living, working or studying in New Jersey is eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.www.nj.com
Yeah, where did all those posters go? I remember one for whom saying the phrase "follow the money" was all the evidence she needed (looking at actual hospital balance sheets at the time could easily destroy that argument).
Most people will do what's best. Some won't and will do what they feel like. The issue we face as a society is how address that problem without unduly burdening or penalizing the majority who act responsibly. Right now, vaccinated people have to mask up because there's no way to tell the vaccinated from the unvaccinated. That's okay for awhile, but if it's still an issue in a month or so, we'll have to come up with another solution out of fairness for the majority who act responsibly and follow the rules.
I see zero evidence that that's the case. The masks-forever crowd is small, but they're loud and they're the ones *actually in charge of things.*
If you come across a link to that it would be interesting to watch.
I may have bookmarked it...let me see if I can find it again.
I don't think those in charge want masks forever at all.
Sweetheart, no. Didn't we have losing arguments on your side when you were under your former, assumed name?
The virus *cannot* hit us the way it did last year. It's mathematically impossible. We're not at herd immunity levels of vaccination but we're absolutely at prevent-2020 levels of vaccination.
HA! My secret may be out. Curses! So, 100% open means, like, Broadway... right? Because until it's reopened, NYC is in no way, shape, or form, 100% reopened.I am *definitely* bookmarking this message and putting a reminder on my calendar.
ETA: No, not joking.
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No assumption, it's right there in my profile. Anyways, Hi and Bye. On to ignore you go.
Well, okay, I guess we need to agree on parameters here. Are we saying that 100% open is when the government, at both the state and local levels, has removed all mandates and businesses are free to do as they choose? Or are we saying that it's 100% open when all businesses have chosen to return to full, normal operation with no restrictions? Because businesses can choose to impose whatever restrictions they want for as long as they want. But I thought the goal that was being referenced by the July 1st date was that the government was hoping to remove all mandates by then.
