“I’m Comfortable With the Risk” Won’t Make That Event Safe | COVID

Note: this is a blog version of this Twitter thread.

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You might think, “It’s fine for me to go to this non-essential event with a bunch of people because I’ll be safe & I’m comfortable with the risk.”

Here’s why that’s the wrong approach:

1. COVID will be at the event with you. Period.

Vaccinations & masks & rapid tests can help, but they don’t guarantee full immunity. Rapid tests are also not as sensitive as PCRs.

2. It’s not just about you

You may be personally willing to risk an infection & LongCOVID & the loss in financial stability that will cause. But what if you get COVID, give it to your spouse/child/parent/sibling, & they become permanently disabled? Because of you?

3. It’s still a pandemic

This event may be the only thing you’ve attended for 2.5 years & you feel you’ve deserved it. The thing is, your attendance says to everyone else that it’s fine to do these activities.

Your attendance permits others to gather. This prolongs the pandemic

4. You’ll contribute to vaccine- & treatment-evasive variants

The more groups gather & the more COVID spreads, the more the virus evolves & the harder it become to prevent/treat it with streamlined vaccines recipes & treatments, & the less we know about the virus.