COVID-19 General Colorado Thread (Denver, Durango: crawl space, gated, floors)

[BarryK123]

I get your point, Mike. However, the vaccination is a one-time (or two-time) event as opposed to a major lifestyle change, although, if you said the lack of vaccination was caused by a lifetime lack of education and/or stupidity, I couldn't argue with that.

[mic111]

80.4% of age 12+ have at least 1st vaccine in Broomfield. Yea!
https://broomfield.org/3391/COVID-19-Vaccination-Data


Happy to be living amongst such a responsible population.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

I've often thought that those who smoke, or are obese, should pay a premium for health insurance since they burden our medical resources.

I'd rather come at it from the other side by setting high prices for all health insurance and then give discounts to non-smokers and those with a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI). This would incentivize people to do the right things for their own health; they'd have their own skin in the game for a change, a reality awakening moment, a teachable moment.

I'd give people a 5% refund for non-smoking and another 5% if they have a healthy BMI. I'd look for ways to do this with Medicare as well as for those under 65 with commercial health insurance. In my scheme we'd see our doctors at least once per year, in the month of our birth, and the doctor would sign off on a form that I qualify for one or both discounts or tax refunds. If a doc falsifies the data they are subject to fines and/or losing their license to practice medicine.

Auto insurance firms give a discount for a clean driving record, why not give people a discount for clean living.

Home insurance firms give a discount if your home has certain features like a fire sprinkler system, nearness to a fire hydrant, and for Colorado residents there are discounts for hail-resistant roofing and having defensible space around homes in areas subject to wild fires.

Auto insurance and home insurance firms will raise the rates of those who place frequent claims and/or they will cancel your policy if you prove to be a dangerous driver or refuse to have defensible space.

Thus I think health insurance firms should be free to raise rates (or cancel coverage) on those who smoke, are obese, or live a dangerous lifestyle. Like all insurance firms, they are in the business of putting a price on risk and if people want to risk their lives smoking, being obese, or refusing a life-saving vaccine then the insurance firms should price it accordingly so that people pay for the damage they cause themselves.

People who lose coverage, get sick, run up huge bills they can't pay may very well end up with a lien against their home. It's a hard-nosed way to deal with the problem but how else are we going to prod people to do the right thing, take personal responsibility, and not stick we taxpayers with the cost of their awful choices.

I worked for a company where your medical premiums were like 20% higher if you smoked. It is a thing.

[Vision67]

More than 96% of Colorado’s COVID hospitalizations, deaths in first half of 2021 were among the unvaccinated

State health officials urge people who have not been inoculated to do so as delta variant spreads

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/1...ations-deaths/

"Nearly 97% of the 9,926 people with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Colorado during the first six months of 2021 were either unvaccinated or only partially immunized, according to data released by the state health department.

The data, which further demonstrates the effectiveness of the shots, also shows that more than 96% of deaths related to COVID-19 during that same period occurred among people who were either had not received the vaccine or only had one shot.

“Vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19, including the delta variant,” a spokesperson with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in an email. “We encourage all eligible Coloradans to get vaccinated as soon as possible. It is the easiest way to protect our friends, families and communities and to return to the lives we love.”

The agency encourages anyone not fully vaccinated to continue wearing a mask, physically distancing, washing their hands and limiting gatherings."

If you are not vaccinated, just stay home.

[Vision67]

More than 60% of Colorado counties, most residents should wear masks under new CDC guidance

https://gazette.com/news/more-than-6...256a5b6f8.html

"More than 60% of Colorado's counties, including the entire Denver metro and El Paso County, should begin masking indoors again under new guidance issued by the federal government Tuesday amid a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases.

The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend masking in counties with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 over the past week. Nationally, that's more than 60% of all counties. In Colorado, it includes the entirety of the Denver metro area. It also includes every county west of Denver save for 11. The counties include all of the state's major population areas: The 13 most populous counties would all fall into the guidance to increase masking, with the streak broken by La Plata.

In all, well over 80% of the state's residents should be wearing masks under the CDC's guidance. Sixteen counties — all but Cheyenne west of Denver — have at least double the masking threshold set out by the health agency. "

[Mike from back east]

Worrisome story in today's WaPo about the Delta Variant.

Excerpts:

The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox .... new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus .... vaccinated individuals infected with delta may be able to transmit the virus as easily as those who are unvaccinated. Vaccinated people infected with delta have measurable viral loads similar to those who are unvaccinated and infected with the variant. .... a higher risk among older age groups for hospitalization and death relative to younger people, regardless of vaccination status. .... a variant so contagious that it acts almost like a different novel virus, leaping from target to target more swiftly than Ebola or the common cold.

[Vision67]

So the delta variant "spreads as easily as chickenpox."

Great.

Perhaps the staunchly un-vaxed are about to meet their Darwin destiny.

I have great sympathy for our front line health care workers. They don't deserve this.

Mask up!

[bluescreen73]

CNN paid a visit to my hometown last night. The hospital's CEO and ED Chief lambasted Barbie Q for being an idiot about COVID. The reactions I've seen from friends on social media has been predictable. Shoot the messenger, defend dimwit QBert at all costs. She's an embarrassment.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/...k-in-politics/

[BarryK123]

She's a high school dropout. What do you expect?

[emm74]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

She's a high school dropout. What do you expect?

oh, c'mon Barry, she got her GED last year! Surely that makes her every bit as much an expert on this subject as people with MDs and PhDs!