Neanderthals vs. "Science"

"After the hearing, American Airlines tried to walk back Parker's remarks. It issued a statement claiming that his concurrence with Kelly was on the point about the quality of the air in the aircraft cabin, not mask requirements."

Two major airline CEOs question the need for masks on planes
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/business/airline-ceos-question-masks-on-plane-rule/index.html

"Both Kelly and Parker, who each have announced plans to retire as CEOs in the coming months, mentioned that high-grade HEPA air filters on planes capture virtually all airborne contamination and air quality is helped by how frequently cabin air is exchanged with fresh air from outside the cabin."

Airline CEOs are trying to claim that HEPA filters make their planes perfectly safe. Scientists point to data showing they are wrong. Their own employees point out many planes are not even equipped with HEPA filters.


More rational committee members told the two CEOs to stuff it...

The remarks by Kelly and Parker were criticized by one committee member, Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

"I'm shocked that some of the CEOs here today have suggested we no longer need masks mandates on planes," he said. "In the face of Omicron, children under five who still cannot be vaccinated....and that we still allow unvaccinated people on planes." He said it was "immoral" to take the position that people on planes could be forced to sit next to unvaccinated people who are not wearing masks.


Of course other rational people pointed out that airline travel would drop without the mask mandate.


Nelson said that the confidence in the safety of air travel is the reason people are willing to buy airline tickets in near pre-pandemic levels today. She said that the mask mandate is one of the factors leading to that confidence by airline passengers.

The fact that they were criticized by a Massachusetts Democrat is all you need to know.

"I am shocked you would challenge the sCiEnCE!!"
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The rise of cases in NYC is not surprising considering it is the center of Omicron which is vaccine evasive in terms of infection.

Recent news seems to indicate having a booster provides better protection against Omicron -- but none of this is proven yet via data.

This all gets back to one earlier point -- IMO the time period between the first two shots was too short to allow for maximum protection which is supported by some scientific studies. The booster (at this point) is effectively an additional shot with a longer interval -- this may possibly provide better & longer protection (but not by much IMO) then the combination of the first two shots. In terms of the level of protection and the waning over months. Only time (with studies) will tell the effectiveness of boosters in terms of time and efficacy -- especially in the face of Omicron.

If you have a variant (Omicron) which is vaccine evasive and more infectious - but vaccines still prevent severe illness -- then it would be best to get everyone vaccinated (and boosted) to stop the hospitals from being overwhelmed.
 
The rise of cases in NYC is not surprising considering it is the center of Omicron which is vaccine evasive in terms of infection.

Recent news seems to indicate having a booster provides better protection against Omicron -- but none of this is proven yet via data.

This all gets back to one earlier point -- IMO the time period between the first two shots was too short to allow for maximum protection which is supported by some scientific studies. The booster (at this point) is effectively an additional shot with a longer interval -- this may possibly provide better & longer protection (but not by much IMO) then the combination of the first two shots. In terms of the level of protection and the waning over months. Only time (with studies) will tell the effectiveness of boosters in terms of time and efficacy -- especially in the face of Omicron.

If you have a variant (Omicron) which is vaccine evasive and more infectious - but vaccines still prevent severe illness -- then it would be best to get everyone vaccinated (and boosted) to stop the hospitals from being overwhelmed.

We can disagree on the "get everyone vaccinated" for the reasons I've gone through ad nauseum. My step-father is 80, mother 76. I was an ardent supporter of them getting vaccinated, and told them they shouldn't wait.

My wife and I and child are extremely healthy and are runners/athletes. We decided to wait and see. You are against that, and this is fine. What you can't do is convince me I need to get it now, because I believe it to be flawed, and I don't have that level of risk from the virus. Its really that simple.

So call me a plague rat, it doesn't bother me. But we have every other vaccine we should have.
 
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