This is an interesting survey of epdemiologists and their personal comfort level with various activities. In case you want to follow the example of people who are qualified to apply very relevant knowledge to the situations.
Their answers are not guidelines for the public, and incorporate respondents’ individual life circumstances, risk tolerance and expectations about when there will be widespread testing, contact tracing, treatment and vaccination for Covid-19. They said it’s these things that will determine their actions, because the virus sets the timeline. “The answers have nothing to do with calendar time,” said Kristi McClamroch of the University at Albany.
Still, as policymakers lift restrictions and protests break out nationwide over police brutality, epidemiologists must make their own decisions about what they will do, despite the uncertainty — just like everyone else. They are more likely, though, to be immersed in the data about Covid-19 and have training on the dynamics of infectious disease and how to think about risk.
They mostly agreed that outdoor activities and small groups were safer than being indoors or in a crowd, and that masks would be necessary for a long time.
Very interesting article. Will share it on my social,media to see the reactions also. I think epidemiologists may have a little tunnel vision on this, being so close to the disaster, but still it is a powerful testimony to read what the best informed people are doing personally for themselves and their families, divorced from the political pressures.
It is wonderful that others do not share their fears, or we would have insufficient grocery store workers, delivery people, police, bus drivers, health care workers, and so many other categories of essential workers.
People would be starving and hurting and unprotected from criminals.
On the healthy side, there would be no meat packers so we would all have to be vegetarians.
Yes you are right they have tunnel vision and the so called experts have been wrong from the start about this. You must take in the risk category that each person is in to assess their susceptibility to the virus to consider their activity. A high risk person versus a low risk person and then personal freedom decisions must be taken into account. On top of that epidemiologist don’t make public policy as we see there are social health economic consequences of their guidances that must must be taken into account. These decision need fall on you guessed it our public elected officials.
As I have said in another post there are effective treatments that are emerging especially for the severely ill such as the anti immuno proliferation drugs such as the btk inhibitors that imply that the severely ill can be effectively treated and the pandemic is at its later stages and coming to an end and not requiring most of the behavior modifications for the majority of the low risk population.