Sources: Many top NBA players hesitant to promote coronavirus vaccines

More people have died this year when there are vacancies than died last year when there was no vaccine. This is now endemic, it will be here for the foreseeable future. Lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccine mandates won't change that. Giving up unalienable rights won't change that

 

If I'm reading your response correctly (again, if I interpret it incorrectly please let me know), you're suggesting that the COVID vaccine should have a direct link to preventing deaths because of your statement that more people have died this year than last year. Is that correct? If so, then I think we need to have a new/side discussion on your expectations of how the vaccine works because, and correct me if I'm wrong again, the vaccine is to help prevent the spread of COVID and also help reduce the possibility of a person experiencing the major symptoms of COVID. I don't personally believe death is a direct symptom of COVID but we can agree to disagree on that I guess.

As for the death count not stopping...I don't have exact data on hand but I'm quite certain that this country was staving off mass spread of COVID during quarantine mandates (thereby slowing down the death count) so your assertion that "lockdowns...won't change" the death count is not correct. This country's perception of the vaccine as the end-all, be-all cure for COVID has aided into a false sense of security that led to quarantine mandates being lifted a bit too prematurely. I'm quite certain (again, I don't have the data right in front of me but my confidence is >50%) that if you look at the numbers, state by state, the spike of COVID cases occurred when city and/or state lifted most, if not all, of their mandates around this time last year.

In terms of "giving up unalienable rights won't change that"...Mark Cuban (referencing him because that's the post that started this back and forth between us) said that he respects everyone's right to choose or not choose to vaccinate. However, as an owner of a business that is worth in the billions and a business that if its most valuable resource (i.e. players) misses time due to COVID (or God forbid, die from it), he has rights to voice his opinion on the matter the best way he sees fit considering the ramifications to everyone (players, coaches, arena workers, front office staff, etc.) from within his business. He's not taking away anyone's choice to not get vaccinated but, as the one who is also writing his employee's paycheck, he has guidelines he requires his employees to adhere to. If they don't comply then they will need to face whatever consequence his business deems necessary. It's like the saying "Freedom of Speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences". If any of his employees don't like his business policies then they can respectfully leave and find a job where the new employer don't have the same policies and/or mandates.

 

Something prevents COVID from being serious enough to require hospitalization, though.

How many COVID deaths worldwide are a result of a lack of medical care because of overcrowded hospitals?

What percentage of hospitalized Covid patients are unvaccinated when they enter?

 

It's about mitigating risk. Vaccinated individuals are unlikely to have severe complications from the vaccine or to have severe effects if they get COVID. Unvaccinated individuals have a higher probability of having severe complications and have a much much higher chance of dying if they have severe effects.

It's great to have choice if we had an infinite amount of resources, however, as proven time and time again during this entire pandemic, we only have finite resources.

• Doctors, finite.
• Nurses, finite.
• Oxygen, finite.
• EMS, finite.
• PPE, finite.

During non-peak times, it may not matter as much since there is ample staff, that's not overworked, to attend to COVID cases in addition to every other case out there that requires hospitalization. During peak times, you are essentially rolling the dice with the life of other's if you are taking up valuable resources to be treated.

Choice is great and all, but those not vaccinated don't even have the decency to cover their faces to protect others. Once again, masks are not 100% effective, but nothing is 100% effective and once again it's about mitigating the risk. I'm hoping science continues to catch up on the anti-virals side to be able to continue living life normally at some point. This whole pandemic has been a major inconvenience and I'm ready to get back to normal life. I'm tired of unvaccinated individuals that refuse to wear mask and practice social distancing because it is their right. We all live in this country and we all have a right to feel safe in our environment. If we all just worked together rather than fighting off proven research, we would be a much better society. I don't understand how individuals will trust a specialist for heart conditions, neurological conditions, orthopedic conditions, the list goes on and on, yet they are willing to defer to some random yahoo or an eye doctor, rather than expert regarding COVID. All those other disciplines make mistakes as well, yet you guys don't go bat **** crazy doubting everything say.

Anyways, rant over.

 

If a "vaccine" doesn't prevent contraction or transmission then it doesn't provide immunity. If it doesn't provide immunity then it's not a vaccine.
I think it's ****ed up that people are being put into positions where it's get the shot or lose your job. Covid wasn't a factor when a lot of people were hired to their jobs but now it's a shot or the unemployment line. I think it's ****ed up that people are marching in the streets for the right to kill babies but then turn around and call people that don't want to take the shot selfish. You nor I owe anyone anything. The whole "you owe it to your neighbor" stuff is bullshit. What you eat don't make me ****.
The goal post keep shifting, started with two weeks to slow the spread and now we have vaccine passports.
This country doesn't stand for **** anymore, last year athletes were applauded for taking a stand and using their voice, this year they want Kyrie and Jonathan Issac to shut up and dribble. Comply, don't think for yourself. Stephen A is allowed to give medical advice in espn but actual doctors are censored on youtube.
I'm rambling but I'm just tired of the bullshit, I'm tired of covid, I'm tired of the "vaccine" bullshit, I'm tired of the divisive media, tired of all of this ****. There's no more personal accountability, more people died from diabetes, hypertension and obesity than have died from covid but no exercise mandates, no sugar taxes, no fast food restaurant lockdowns.

 

Do you wear a helmet to drive your car?

 

Do you wear your seatbelt?

 

Seat belt, airbags = natural immunity
Helmet = "vaccine"

Get your own analogies lol

 

No because I wear a seatbelt.

 

Your analogy sucks.

Natural immunity = No seat belt.

• This means take a chance that you'll be okay after a crash.

Vaccine = Seat belt, airbag

• You are mitigating your risk by not taking a chance and instead securing your self to the car plus you have the added bonus of the airbag being there if it is a bad crash.

Booster = Helmet

• You know you are drag racing and you know that a seat belt + airbag may not be sufficient to help you survive a crash, therefore, you add a helmet to add even more protection in case you have a really bad crash while racing.

 

Everyone is tired, man. People are tired of crap all the time and then they do stupid stuff. They drive drunk. They get addicted to drugs. They become Jazz fans. All of those are bad ideas, whether or not you're tired.

 

If anything, no seat belt/airbags would be your natural immunity.

 

What does the word "immunity" mean to you? Because the general understanding of "immunity", in medical terms, deals with resistance, which can't be or shouldn't confused with any absolutes (e.g. "I got the flu vaccine recently so, therefore, I will never get the flu"). A vaccine's purpose/goal is to lessen the chance of a person getting a specific disease or virus; not completely eradicating it one fell swoop.

Your thinking is pretty rigid and linear, specifically on this topic. Just because COVID "wasn't a factor when a lot of people were hired" doesn't mean that it's within the best interests of everyone (their employer, the employees, you) to function with a "business as usual" mentality. This was a pandemic--it doesn't happen often but, when it does, we need to do everything necessary to make sure it doesn't cause needless deaths or, in 21st century terms, significantly impact the world's economy. You might counter by saying "well it's definitely impacting the economy now because people are having to choose between the vaccine or quitting their jobs!" to which I say they had an easier choice last year: stay at home, only go out as necessary, wash your hands, cover your mouths with you cough, etc. But (I'm assuming you live in Texas) most of the people in this state couldn't even do that so now here we are, with a medical solution that's been researched and tested with approval by the FDA, with supply for everyone and, yet, people are making a choice to not get the vaccine.

That's a great line, "What you eat don't make me ****" because it's true; what I put in my body don't really impact you in the slightest bit. And you're also right--I don't owe you or anyone anything like how you don't owe me or anyone anything. If I was still in my 20s, single and only had myself to worry about I would absolutely grab a beer with you. Unfortunately, getting older IS an absolute and I have a responsibility to my wife and kids to keep them safe until I die. I don't owe them anything for doing a thankless job of being a husband and a parent because I'm mature enough to recognize that if I only ever wanted to worry about me and only me, I should have never gotten married and have kids. Hell I shouldn't even bother actually having friendships because those people would do things for me without asking and I would have to force myself to tell them "you don't owe me a ******* thing. What you eat don't make me **** so stop being nice and friendly"

Diabetes, hypertension obesity, etc...I agree those are the diseases that should have more focus and attention on but to say that we should bring those into light at a time when there's a virus causing a pandemic (something that should require immediate attention) is a bit short sighted. I mean, if you want me to be transparent, this country has put the prevention of those diseases on the backburner for decades now so why does it have to be brought to the forefront at this time? Why can't we try to make sure the country is safe from COVID and then pivot and shift our attention to those other maladies?


As for taking a stand, if you're referring to taking a stand on not playing through COVID and not being in a bubble, yea the players should be applauded for that because it shouldn't have happened in the middle of a pandemic where no viable solution or medical preventative measures were available. It was a rushed job. That being said, things have changed and progressed since then with the biggest thing being the vaccine.

In the end, I think you need to talk to a therapist. I don't mean that to be rude or crass but it sounds like the events over the past year has really made you have a negative outlook on the world and also your perspective on life. I'm basing this on your "I'm tired...." statements but if everything is kosher and you're fine then I sincerely apologize.

 

Preciate it

 

tl;dr
Medical advice from a dude on clutchfans that doesn't ****ing know me at all. This is what this covid **** has done, everyone thinks they're a doctor. Smh. I'm on a boat right now with a beer in my hand pregaming for this game tonight but because I have covid fatigue I need a therapist lmao. How big did you feel writing all that bullshit lol

 

It's a hard cider, I am not ashamed

 

Children are at a lower risk than a double-vaxxed 50 year old. Mandates - public or private, legal precedent or no legal precedent - are bad policy because they don't account for this. I'm happy people with higher levels of risk got vaxxed. I think we're much further along in winning the fight against COVID than a bunch of misinformed zealots would have you believe.

 

1) Why didn't we care when the flu did this to our hospitals in the past?

2) How many deaths and bad health outcomes, in both the short-term and the long-term, did terrible policy like heavy lockdowns help cause and why don't we care about that, given the magnitude of the policy?

 

Follow-up:

1) Do you have data to show that children are significant contributors to any such hospital bed shortages? How about non-obese, under-30 people in comparison to unvaxxed, elderly and/or obese people? Does your data take into account previously infected people, since not all unvaxxed are equal?