It's certainly legal. Many medical institutions have required staff to get flu shots though they've always had "escape clauses" for medical and religious exemptions. And, of course, they have the justification that it's necessary for the safety of patients including those with respiratory and other health issues.

Currently, as you probably know, Delta Airlines, Las Vegas casinos and cruise ships are requiring new hires to get vaccinated or, for some, be subjected to frequent (weekly of more often) covid testing.

So I think even under current law it's possible to make workplaces safe if employers have the guts to do it. The "either (vaccine)/or (frequent testing)" option seems to avoid objections about compelling what is ultimately a medical procedure for those who really object and I suspect after a few weeks they'll get tired of that and just get a shot (especially if it's only one).

The diseases I referred to all still exist. Only smallpox has been totally eliminated and unfortunately certain nations still insist on keeping specimens of that virus in labs so it's still potentially a bioweapon. But the others, like mumps or measles reappear mainly as sporadic outbreaks that can be controlled by standard public health means such as contact tracing and isolation. Mumps breaks out every so often on college campuses and military barracks although military recruits are now given MMR in "boot camp" I'm fairly sure (I once worked at a military base that functioned as a Navy boot camp but that was before the MMR shot--mainly we saw lots of rubella ("German" measles)).

But this scenario is what I hope we can achieve for covid: Almost no regularly occurring cases in spite or sporadic outbreaks in non-vaccinated people, especially in locations where anti-vax sentiment is strong.

First it takes enough people to get vaccinated to suppress the virus to the point where many places have no active cases, if not all the time then for days at a time. Then we get serious about isolating the cases that do occur.

I'm not necessarily against restrictions per se and I think it makes sense to try to keep cases and hospitalizations low while finishing up vaccination but it feels like the goalposts keep subtly shifting. First we worried about deaths then hospitalizations and increasingly people are talking about keeping things locked down because a future variant might be worse. I think we will have a considerable irrational push to prolong the restrictions even if cases continue to plummet and people who want to be vaccinated can be vaccinated.

Nova Scotia closed down schools in late April and they're now going to be closed province-wide for the remaining weeks in the school year. They reported approximately 64 covid cases per million and positivity is around 1% or less. They have had in the ballpark of a dozen deaths due to covid during the last year. They produced a scary list of schools with outbreaks but their requirement to declare an outbreak in a school is that 1 person there tests positive.

In Ontario they were doing a bunch of bizarre stuff like taping over outdoor frisbee golf baskets in April 2021. They also closed down schools but daycares were open, i.e. they reduced the amount of space available for the children.

You could consider just getting dose #1 (I am not a doctor, talk to your doctor, etc ). It's quite effective (sounds like around 85% peak to prevent testing positive and even higher than that for severe illness) and nobody really knows how quickly the immunity drops off. Most people don't seem to get severe side effects from that first dose. Mostly a sore arm for 1-2 days.

The AZ/J&J concerns were real, backed by data, and if you're somewhere on Vancouver Island that risk could be significant in size relative to the risk of dying of covid. But in Canada we mostly have Pfizer now and a bit of Moderna given to people these days.

The west coast "Broadway" season is back:

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/ser...720293/enhance

It's interesting to compare USA to Canada in 2020 vs 2021. Last year we were doing better by pretty much any metric, while also being able to be generally more open and "normal" than most US states (with the obvious exception of some of the southern states that never really shut down in any capacity). While the gap has narrowed somewhat since then, particularly with vaccination; restrictions have nonetheless only become stricter in Canada - even though our death rate has also declined since the first wave. Versus the US which has now pretty much done away with all restrictions.

You are in an isolated location in another country so I guess I have no reason to care how you approach this, but I have been vaccinated and had so very little reaction to the shots that in total 2 regular aspirin fixed me right up (I only needed those on the second dose of Pfizer--almost everybody finds the second dose causes a little more achy/fluish feeling than the first). I know lots of people who have been vaccinated and not one regrets it at all.

I too don't know anybody who has gotten COVID but I do know the US has had almost 600,000 "excess deaths" in 2020 and Canada has had almost 16,000. And some of those were not the usual demographic to which you refer.

Bottom line: It sounds like you are not willing to put up with 24 hours of aches in order to really conquer this disease (and save a lot of lives in other "demographics") and I find that sad and shameful. I just wish there weren't as many people like you as there are. As far as Vancouver Island being spared, if a lot of people there think as you do and remain unvaccinated, that is very likely not to remain the case forever unless you seal yourselves off. It's a place that used to be a great place to visit in summer and inevitably a tourist or two will bring the virus with him or her. It will come to pockets of susceptible around the world.

Canada bought 5 times as much vaccine as they should have needed and then couldn't get any of it delivered as ordered. I think that shocked a lot of people in and out of government.

I am very happy they are doing this. I think it may make a real difference in a "demographic" that may not feel themselves at risk but is pretty public spirited:

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/...ge-vaccination

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/99917...-whos-vaccinat

Last Wednesday marked the reopening of non-essential stores (among essential store that stayed open were : groceries, book stores, electronic, video games stores...). Museum have reopened as well as cinema and theatres but only with a limited gauge of 35% capacity.

Also there was a curfew at 7 p.m, now it's 9 p.m. Still quite early for Paris where people work until 6 or 7pm but much better than before.

Central Paris, this afternoon.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3e5bbc00_c.jpg
Rue de Rivoli, 1er arrondissement by Minato ku, sur Flickr

Bars and restaurants have reopened this week (only take out was allowed until) but indoor seating is still banned.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0a5477d2_c.jpg
Cours Saint Emilion, 12e arrondissement by Minato ku, sur Flickr

I wonder if this really count as outdoor. It's technically not inside the restaurant but...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73008b85_c.jpg
Passage Saint Vivant, 12e arrondissement by Minato ku, sur Flickr

Unfortunately, the weather isn't great these day for outdoor dining, it rains quite often.

Everybody I know who had harsh reactions reactions, previously had COVID. I am pretty sure I used a source as well either in here or the CE, and it was within four hours from what I remember. No issues for me, but I normally get the flu shot and even people I know who don't get the flu shot handled the Pfizer well. It's also people having a reaction of some sort that we have discussed in here as well, where individuals pass out.
An individual is anti-vaxx if they have a wide variety of excuses, and if they still got the shot I could applaud them for facing their fears. Legit excuses are for people like Quakers and stuff.

You are more likely to get a deadly reaction from aspirin than the covid vaccines

Good lord. Will Ontario be back to normal before 2023? Maybe by 2025? Did someone mention to the Ontario government that the coronavirus will always be with us now?

This is a good instance of governments needing to be pragmatic and conceding some elements of closures and lockdowns, even if it means that some people will die. If regulations are too strict, people will simply ignore them. We saw it in several US states, and it sounds like it's going on in Ontario now too. And if conceding lives for convenience sounds cruel, we do it every day with other things. Will Ontario lower the speed limit on the 400-level highways to 20 kph to save more lives on the roads?

I think adversarial rhetoric such as this aren't going to get vax fence sitters to change their mind. It probably has opposite effect. I have friend who is apprehensive about vaccine because of side effects but I didn't judge or lecture him; only mentioned that my personal reaction was minimal and gone within 24 hours.

Got up to the upper 80s today. Beach day!

Shit was packed on the Chicago lakefront.

I thankfully didn't see a single fucking mask.

Normal summer. The sweetest fruit there is.

^ Yesterday was bananas in Chicagoland. Up here in my quaint little suburb the downtown as jam packed. Cars everywhere, smells of food cooking everywhere.

But I had a new first yesterday:

For the first time in 15 months I sat at a bar, ordered a pint, and sat and drank it. Ahhhh, I missed that!

Interestingly the bar had a sign at the door “Mask required for entry” so I went in with a mask on. But nobody was wearing one so I took it off.

My local grocer lifted their mask requirement for those who’ve been vaccinated.

I was self conscious last week so I kept it on.

Then yesterday I said “screw it” and went in without the mask. It felt odd. I then realized I had not done a very good job of trimming my nose hairs.

May sound silly, but after a year of wearing a mask everywhere these little details become important again.

Wearing a mask to go into a restaurant kind of pointed out how ridiculous the masks are, when you think of it in different ways. I understand needing (or having needed) to wear it as much as possible, and that wearing a mask when you're eating or drinking is not possible. In that regard, it makes sense. But then when you think of it, you needed a mask to walk through a doorway, but did not need to wear a mask for an extended period of time inside while you ate and drank. If going 45 minutes without wearing a mask while you eat is fine, and cases did not increase with this, then why wear the mask for the 30 seconds when you walk through the door to your table?

Indoor dining (and drinking in a bar) are unique situations in that the primary activity makes mask-wearing impossible. That's why most localities simply closed such places during the worst of the epidemic and sensible reopening consists of separating tables by more than the usual distance and improving ventiullation when possible. Masks have little to do with it and discussing masks in such a context is a straw man.