Reasons for Optimism in Fall 2021?

[Furmanoid]

The problem is that if games are going to be cancelled due to positive tests, there is no way to prevent it. It isn’t anyone’s fault. It is pretty clear now that the vaccine does not prevent delta infections very well. It just prevents illness. The chances of a 20 yr old athlete becoming seriously ill will be even more minute that last year, but I guess nobody cares. Remember last year at this time conferences were freaking out about Covid causing myocarditis. Now we have a vaccine that causes myocarditis, but you aren’t supposed to care because this year myocarditis is a no never mind. Their just isn’t much rational risk assessment going on.

[purplehorse]

I don’t think COVID-19 will affect the season other than positive players having to sit out for a period of time.

[FUBeAR]

[apaladin]

I don’t want my post to start a discussion on the vaccine. That discussion is a waste of time. So lets keep it to how the virus itself might affect the fall football season. I hope to be wrong, but I get less optimistic at each passing day about getting all of our games in this year. Warranted, or not, this Delta variant to going to cause chaos in football again this year. I noticed the SEC is already talking about putting more restrictive protocols in place than were passed a few weeks ago.

Not happenng. Cases may be rising but deaths are almost non-existent comparatvely, Thats why the media only talks about cases now and not deaths. If they report how few dearhs are occurrng the fear factor is not as effective. One death is too many but there were only 296 in the last 7 day reportng period in a country of 340 million. By comparison approximately 800 deaths per week are from car crashes.

[Roundball]

[apaladin]

Still funny how the media used to bombard us with stats, how many deaths, cases, hospitilizations etc now they just give percentages and/or just say …… are on the rise etc.

[The Jackal]

This is where I think most things are going - they cannot force you to have the vaccine, but they can make it really inconvenient for you not to be.

[cavedweller2]

Dr. Seuss warned about this very thing in “The Sneetches”. Are you a star bellied sneetch or a plain bellied sneetch?

[Furmanoid]

This is where I think most things are going - they cannot force you to have the vaccine, but they can make it really inconvenient for you not to be.

The guidance doesn’t make any scientific sense, but it could be an effective way to get all theses kids vaccinated against a virus that doesn’t threaten them. That’s where we are now. We are in a post science society. But if it gets the games played, let’s do it.

I just found out today that our HS football program is shut down because of Covid positives. Now let’s get this straight, there is no way to prevent positive tests. The vaccine doesn’t do that very well against delta. So Covid positive tests are with us forever no matter what. HS school athletes are at no risk for serious illness, but that doesn’t matter. So we will be shutting down sports and destroying education forever because a senile government employee says we need to. OK.

[FU3]

" The vaccine doesn’t do that very well against delta."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that less than 1% of fully vaccinated Americans experience a breakthrough infection. About 99.999% of fully vaccinated Americans have not had a deadly COVID-19 breakthrough case. We are indeed in a post scientific world.

[apaladin]

Saw an interview with an NFL peep today. The interviewer was trying her best to make him say the NFL would hwve trouble, shut down etc this season because of Covid. She seemed dumbfounded when he told her they have had very few positive tests among vaccinated players so far and those have had either no symptoms are very mild ones. 90 percent of NFL is vaccinated with some teams at 95 percent.

[Furmanoid]

" The vaccine doesn’t do that very well against delta."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that less than 1% of fully vaccinated Americans experience a breakthrough infection. About 99.999% of fully vaccinated Americans have not had a deadly COVID-19 breakthrough case. We are indeed in a post scientific world.

Apparently we are in a post literate world or post integrity world. I said the vaccine is not preventing POSITIVE TESTS very well. Obviously it prevents serious illness. But vaccinated people are getting infected. Otherwise there would be absolutely no justification for mask wearing among the vaccinated (instead of just very weak justification). They now say that not only can you get delta, you can spread it even after vaccination.

So if you are testing players because you are so worried about spreading delta, why only test the unvaccinated when the vaccinated can spread it? It just a carrot and stick. Fine. If it leads to universal vaccination among players it will reduce the athletes risk of death from a few hundredths of a percent down to maybe a few thousandths of a percent.

But at HS level there is no clear protocol. We still just hear about a positive test and everybody around them either gets tested or gets quarantined just like before. They can actually get back to practice faster by just quarantining (sort of). Testing just clouds the issue because it can take weeks to get a negative test. Covid is already screwing up HS teams again. It has done massive damage to education already, and it looks like we may do it all over again.

[Affirm]

Saw an interview with an NFL peep today. The interviewer was trying her best to make him say the NFL would hwve trouble, shut down etc this season because of Covid. She seemed dumbfounded when he told her they have had very few positive tests among vaccinated players so far and those have had either no symptoms are very mild ones. 90 percent of NFL is vaccinated with some teams at 95 percent.

I dislike when interviewers make blatant attempts to bring out the specific answer they want.

[Affirm]

Still funny how the media used to bombard us with stats, how many deaths, cases, hospitilizations etc now they just give percentages and/or just say …… are on the rise etc.

true. But still very serious matter. Stats for present time period would be compared to worst periods, then people say “doing great now”. Edited to <3 lines

[The Jackal]

" The vaccine doesn’t do that very well against delta."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that less than 1% of fully vaccinated Americans experience a breakthrough infection. About 99.999% of fully vaccinated Americans have not had a deadly COVID-19 breakthrough case. We are indeed in a post scientific world.

Apparently we are in a post literate world or post integrity world. I said the vaccine is not preventing POSITIVE TESTS very well. Obviously it prevents serious illness. But vaccinated people are getting infected. Otherwise there would be absolutely no justification for mask wearing among the vaccinated (instead of just very weak justification). They now say that not only can you get delta, you can spread it even after vaccination.

So if you are testing players because you are so worried about spreading delta, why only test the unvaccinated when the vaccinated can spread it? It just a carrot and stick. Fine. If it leads to universal vaccination among players it will reduce the athletes risk of death from a few hundredths of a percent down to maybe a few thousandths of a percent.

But at HS level there is no clear protocol. We still just hear about a positive test and everybody around them either gets tested or gets quarantined just like before. They can actually get back to practice faster by just quarantining (sort of). Testing just clouds the issue because it can take weeks to get a negative test. Covid is already screwing up HS teams again. It has done massive damage to education already, and it looks like we may do it all over again.

I think one difference you may see this year is that programs will do whatever they want to do, but if there's a COVID issue on the team and they can't play, it will be a forfeit. In 2020 there was an attempt to reschedule or call it a "game not played."

Will incentivize programs to govern themselves and ensure that they aren't saddled with losses due to gaps in their protocols.