Please everyone keep in mind attending the Dayton Hamfest is NOT a constitutional right, it is a privilege. Those responsible for the event have every right to decide the circumstances each attendee must meet in order to attend. I am a physician and respect Rick WS8G and his knowledge, which is evidence based and not predicated on conspiracy theories and political whims. To that end we shall keep this thread on point regarding the upcoming Dayton Hamfest and NOT get into political discussions over vaccines/masks/ etc. There are many other areas on the Web where you can do that. The current evidence on vaccines and masks is clear. They work. If you believe otherwise, go elsewhere. Please review Rick's response to the question about requirements for attendance starting at 14:20 in the video.
Please ENOUGH of the heated debate on Covid issues. This is NOT the thread for hits and jabs and counterattacks. I'm not the only Moderator involved here. This is an Amateur Radio News article and it's just not the place for such a debate Please tone it down - "thread bans" for anyone who doesn't agree. It's fine to "discuss" it's NOT fine to rage at each other. Feel free to start a thread in "Just Talking" if you want to do that. But not in a "News" article. Thanks Dave W7UUU
I am still willing to let others try it first to see what happens to them, anyway. Like a million people first. Then decide. Not rush to the front of the line, baaaaa! IF they will actually tell you about anything going wrong with it. I would hate to miss another Hamvention.
I just cannot base my decisions in life based on the fear of others. It's never worked out in the past for anyone except those in the halls of power. If my decision precludes me from attending Dayton I tend to think I won't miss anything that will alter my life in any way.
This will NOT happen. The pandemic will not be over and with most hams being elderly, who will attend? None. Hamvention is not a reason to get Covid.
I don't believe it. You're telling me that 20,000 people will attend with Covid still being everywhere? Why do they want to put hams at risk?
Of course, you're assuming everyone will get the vaccine? I'm curious why they are pushing this too much. DARA need the cash?
So you're okay with someone going to Hamvention, possibly getting infected with even no symptoms, bringing it into his home and family? How is that a good thing? Sorry, putting 20,000 elderly together for a weekend is NOT a good thing to do. And I can't believe the county where this will take place would approve of such a foolhardy idea!
My reply you quoted says nothing of the kind. I was simply pointing out that for a private function like the hamfest, they have every right to decide under what circumstances they will allow attendance assuming there is no ban on gatherings at that time. Some folks had indicated their displeasure at potentially being forced to get a vaccine in order to attend, even though I never heard any mention of anyone being forced to get one in the video. Based on what I am hearing medically, we may very well have a vaccine within a few weeks, possibly sooner, for front line medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities. And soon after, for the general public. There is a significant chance that the COVID landscape will be significantly different next May than what we are seeing right now. I say keep the event open until which at such time it becomes clear that the risk from COVID remains too high to proceed, should that become the case. The vaccine has the potential to radically alter infection rates, assuming people get it. With that in mind, I have no problem with DARA proceeding as if the hamfest will occur. Worst case scenario, we don't see enough reduction in infections at which time DARA changes their mind. We shall see.
If one dares to dig, the plan is vaccine certification on smart phones based on what they are doing with covid contact tracing. This is what Ticketmaster is putting into place. Assuming Hamvention is following the latest this is what will be required. Maybe they are small enough that it won't happen in the few months prior but its whats coming. It was discussed at length at Davos this year and the software is ready. We will have to see how it goes. As of today 40m doses out by December. One good thing is you still don't need a mask or vaccination to use the radio.
I think DARA should err on the side of caution and not hold the convention this year in person. As already mentioned, we don't know what the Covid landscape will be like by May. And while I think it's a valiant effort to say "all attendees must be vaccinated to enter," no one has mentioned the vaccines' effectiveness. If a vaccine proves 90 percent effective, Pfizer's rate touted for its product, 1 in 10 recipients would still be vulnerable. That means, at least in the short term, as population-level immunity grows, people can't stop social distancing and throw away their masks. Extrapolate that effectiveness rate to 20,000 attendees (not to mention some attendees "let in through the back door" who may or may not have had a vaccine), and believe me, Covid 19 will be present at that convention. We don't know (at this time) what reactions people will have or will be having when they take the vaccine (other than feeling really crummy for a few days after both doses). Let's say a good number of hams take the vaccine a day before the convention to get in and start having severe symptoms. Is DARA equipped to handle that? In my opinion, there are still too many variables. AGAIN, DISCLAIMER: It's just my opinion.
