"Factoid: 98% of the local deaths are in non-vaccinated population. If an op-ed article in the local paper is to be believed."
Nationally, that number is at 99.5% 
locally (schools, hospitals, etc.)
are “beginning” to require masks of any type.
they have not been specific, like N95 or some such.
bottom line: masks are back with or without the vac.
This is correct. Once again, American ignorance is being challenged… and you’d think that people would’ve learned the first time around. Oh well. Hope you’re able to sidestep the Delta variant in high risk Texas, Jeff!
Xevious one fact about ignorance. Lack of knowledge can be addressed with education. Willfully ignoring a subject is another thing entirely. Unfortunately willful ignorance becomes a pattern that can reap deadly consequences. It is sad that often the ignorant individual brings horrible results to others. Drunk driving, drug abuse etc.
Some will believe anonymous internet post instead of doctors and nurses. I believe in an open mind but not so open things fall out.
Yeah, if you're at risk, best to keep with the mask even if you're vaccinated. Still a lot to learn but Delta has proven a lot of breakthrough cases in vaccinated people (around the world, not just here). At one point "they" were saying that the Phizer/Moderna still had around 88% efficacy with Delta but it's looking as though it's much lower. Semi-recent Israeli study suggested 65% or a little better. It's enough that we all need to still be cautious and not-stupid about things. I'm in public gathering places a lot and have to travel around the state so I'm prime candidate for all-of-whatever...have been maskless for a couple months (vaccinated since March) other than Federal buildings, but looks like I may have to mask up again. Durnit. I'm not in any special risk category. Delta is a different animal, though, much worse than the Brazilian one that was really of some concern but didn't take hold here in the US (although it was around, and in your neck of the woods).
Taking bets on when Epsilon will be announced....people are gonna make it happen, looks like.
I'm not sure what the next horrible variant will be called, but I think it's coming.
Surely so. Every single time a virus changes hosts it mutates a little bit...that's normal. Most of the time it doesn't matter but once in awhile it does. And this dude started out as a fiendishly clever one in that regard, even able to repair itself (that's bizarre, really). What's going on with this bugger is so much different than the flu so allowing it (so to speak) to spread so much and have so much opportunity to mutate to its advantage (given the repairability) is just asking for more misery. I suppose with a giant stroke of luck it could mutate into something more benign like Sars 1 did. At this point, I don't think so...too much, and literally all over the planet now. This little virus overlord gets to call the shots.
I’d pay to see the actual data behind this. Data from Israel, Iceland, UK and Australia tell a completely different story.
What good are data from israel, Iceland, UK and Australia when we are talking about US numbers?
Somethings in life give us a second chance and we can learn from our mistakes, health unfortunately usually don’t give second chances, there’s no starting over, no negotiation, no I didn’t know better, it simply happens, and you have to deal with the consequences, sorry for the dark tone, I work in healthcare in Brazil, sometimes COVID-19 can be just some inconvenience with little to no symptoms, some times it is disastrous and unforgiving, it’s like Russian roulette, so I try to warn those I care about. Like you guys
Please be safe
As long as we are all Homo sapiens, it matters a lot...or rather, we should listen, because we're all the same for the most part. This virus even in its hundreds of strains over the last year has shown that genetics don't seem to matter for much of anything. Still a lot to learn, though, and now that most of the panic/emergency has subsided we're starting to see much better studies and research...that'll be happening for years to come.
Did you think that being a human in a different country (or state) makes a difference?
If COVID is as bad as we are told, and I am sure it is. (They would never lie to us.) Why are thousands of unvaccinated & untested ILLEGALS allowed to enter the USA by crossing the Southern Border each day??
And then many/most are bussed/transported to different points all across the nation!! 
This seem completely counterproductive to stopping the spread of COVID!!!
I mean what are they (the powers that be) thinking??
OR….
Are they really not that concerned with COVID??
By what they are doing & allowing it would seem they don’t care or have no worry.
What is really going on??
This is disheartening to say the least….
You can find data from Israel and Iceland and the U.K. and Australia, but you can't find the data for the U.S.?
...
All you gotta do is Google:
What percentage of covid deaths in the US are unvaccinated?
You'll get plenty of different answers, but the vast majority are around 99%
This number is not sufficient. If we were all vaccinated, RC, the fraction of deaths of vaccinated people would be 100. If none are, the number is 0. So, for each case you’d need the knowledge of the fraction of vaccinated people in that age and risk group. I know where to get those numbers in Germany, the RKI is well organized and offers spreadsheets for download. I’m quite sure something similar can be found for you US citizens.
Just wondering when exactly people started believing this, because history vehemently disagree’s.
Also for good measure, we were warned about this kind of future.
Bonus Version
You actually mean they “would” lie to us???
I. am. shocked. … SHOCKED I TELL YOU!!! :person_facepalming: 
Great videos too I might add. 
PS… I wonder the same thing you do.
Politics again 
.
Not really. I personally see honest discussion in the making hopefully.
Time will tell though….
There has definitely been a lot of mass mental-conditioning that has gone into achieving this.
Now, just mentioning the idea that the Government, Pharma or people who have a lot of profits at stake would habitually lie and ultimately harm others for profit and power gets you chastised as a conspiracy theorist. This is no accident, and neither is the fact that the US government is the one who purposely popularized that phrase to slander the character of anyone questioning the governments actions and official stories. Now this behavior is literally all you see on TV.
Here’s a nice little breakdown of this as well as of how it factors into recent events.
ShyOne is right, hopefully this ends up being an honest conversation with genuine open-mindedness to how we may have gotten here.
Also, I would not call this politics, this is Humanitas. “Chief intellectual contexts with the implication of humane learning, or a humanistic approach to the problems of the human condition”.