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Comment by bsaul | Hacker News Reader

i'm on the same boat. However i think we both underestimate how terrified people are of this virus. When people are this scared, you can basically make them do whatever you want.

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I don't know a soul who is terrified of this virus anymore.

Seriously, nobody.

I'm sure they exist, I'm told they exist. Many were at first.

Today? nobody I know personally is scared of the virus.

Now I'm sure many on HN will mention somebody they know whose scared of the virus or perhaps they themselves are. I get this, I'm not downplaying anybody's personal experience.

But there is always the exception that proves the rule. Here in NYC, amongst my wide circle of friends and acquaintances, nobody cares about COVID-19 anymore. They are over it.

I'm still taking the risk of COVID-19 seriously, and it's the same with pretty much everyone that I know. The US is not out of this pandemic yet. In some ways I think this is the time to take it more seriously than ever before, considering the transmissibility of the delta variant, and who knows what will happen with these other variants. People are still dying. It is still a deadly virus. I get that people have pandemic fatigue, but I just don't think that this is the right time to let your guard down.

I think that is great, my problem comes with people trying to enforce their life of isolation onto others.

> In some ways I think this is the time to take it more seriously than ever before

No. Get vaccinated and move on.

I myself and quite a few other parents of 0-2 are freaked out still, despite the statistical evidence. Seeing one pic of an intubated baby is some real heavy shit for us.

But vaccines for 0+ are on the way, possibly as early as EOY. At that point, with vaccines available for everyone, I see it going the way OP describes.

I have a lot of single friends who mask up for their own health and other's (we're around the age when our grandparents are getting quite frail) but otherwise are pretty much back to normal. I think things are going this way whether or not our leaders or Smartest Guys in the Room like it or not. Masking might stay; the way it's used in Asia - often one wears a mask only if they themselves are feeling cold symptoms. I'd love to see that continued here; nothing worse than some jackamo coughing and sneezing next to you for a full subway ride.

Same even in Seattle, most people are not wearing masks on the streets anymore, everyone is tired, the Media will keep coming up with all the variants they want, until they realize people are not tuning in anymore. At least here, most people are vaccinated [1], regardless what you think about the vaccine, I feel like people will take the risk, and go outside, hang out with friends, walk their dogs, etc... I always felt like, if you are immunocompromised, you should take extra precautions, but pretending other people will change their life just for you, is extremely ridiculous.

[1] https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/vaccinatio...

> the Media will keep coming up with all the variants they want, until they realize people are not tuning in anymore.

The virus is changing and the changes are being tracked, and then reported by the media. Ignoring that there are variants doesn't make them go away. This was a deadly virus to start with, and so far it seems that some of the variants are even worse. What good does it do to ignore that?

My concern is with the large portions of unvaccinated Americans. If there was a higher vaccination rate nationally, I would be less concerned.

Ignoring it doesn't do any good indeed, fearmongering and using a pandemic to hustle views, doesn't do any good either. People took the shot, what else do you want them to do? To stop living their lives indefinitely? If the virus mutates to the point people drop dead in the streets, then people will find a way to protect themselves, and get the shot. Some people just don't see themselves in danger(not me, I got mine in April), so is their call to get it or not.

> Ignoring it doesn't do any good indeed, fearmongering and using a pandemic to hustle views, doesn't do any good either.

I think that's happening on both sides of the political spectrum. Politicians and political parties will take whatever is going on in the world to push their agenda (and the news outlets follow along).

> People took the shot, what else do you want them to do? To stop living their lives indefinitely?

I don't think people should stop living their lives. I'd just like them to be aware of what's going on and take it seriously. I see some parts of America not wanting to wear a mask or get vaccinated, however, they definitely want their spot in the ICU if they got a serious COVID case. I think that they should consider that some of the newer variants may be more dangerous, and maybe revisiting the idea of getting the shot could be a good idea, that is all.

I see, agree.

Let's not confuse changing behaviors with giving up.

I don't wear a mask outside anymore because the evidence I've seen seems to indicate that spread in outdoor settings for incidental encounters is extremely unlikely between vaccinated people, and a cloth mask is unlikely to make the difference.

Solution to the pandemic: turn off your TV.

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