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NEWS: PAX West Event Requires COVID-19 Vaccination or Negative Test




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invalidname
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2476
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 4:17 am Reply with quote
Anime Weekend Atlanta also added a vaccination requirement in the last week. They'd already announced a mask requirement. https://awa-con.com/awa-2021-mask-policy-and-safety-requirements/
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14876
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:46 am Reply with quote
After fans took issue with their original plans, this is them backtracking
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DeceptiTom



Joined: 20 Apr 2019
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:57 am Reply with quote
This is good. I am 100% behind a vaccination and rapid testing option. I'm going to a sports event and Disney World in September. I am vaccinated and I do not want to wear a mask. When I was wearing a mask full time at work I suffered a post nasal drip AND it exacerbated my acid reflux problems because I'm just breathing in my hot breath.
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Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2933
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:00 am Reply with quote
Good. I'm glad they're taking these steps. I got vaccinated at the first opportunity and made sure everyone in my family could too, and we all still wear masks in crowded spaces.

Attending a convention by year's end is my goal and I'll feel infinitely better knowing these sorts of requirements are in place.
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DerekL1963
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Joined: 14 Jan 2015
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Location: Puget Sound
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:14 am Reply with quote
If it's not safe to hold an event without risk of catching a significant disease, don't hold the dang event.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 6241
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:36 am Reply with quote
DerekL1963 wrote:
If it's not safe to hold an event without risk of catching a significant disease, don't hold the dang event.


Actually it people can't be responsible and not practice or adhere to rules designed to reduce the risk of them and others from catching a significant virus or disease then those people should stay home.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4577
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:42 am Reply with quote
I see no problem with this. After rolling over my registration from last year for my local convention, I decided not to go since their protocols seemed pretty lax for an event with that many people inside. Throw in that it's a younger crowd that may not have been able to get vaccinated yet, and it seemed too risky. Even with a reduced capacity and spacing in the panel rooms, the hallways are going to be a problem. Though the last straw for me was that despite saying it would only be roll overs and per-registrations, they decided pretty late to allow several hundred walk-in registrations. I don't know if they did that because they still had some capacity left, or if it was more a decision that came from getting complacent with the eased guidance.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5914
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:54 am Reply with quote
DerekL1963 wrote:
If it's not safe to hold an event without risk of catching a significant disease, don't hold the dang event.


Just how long are we willing to put the world on hold. I think we are going to be dealing with COVID for years. We got lucky with SARS, but COVID is out of the bottle. It is worldwide. We will be dealing with COVID and its variants for years, and while the CDC and the White House are not there yet, they too will be getting on the booster bandwagen sooner or later.

I view the lockdowns and shutdowns as a transition period, from the pre-COVID world to our new normal. We now have a means to fight it and our societal structure for the most part has changed to better deal with it. COVID is not going away, and we can't stay lockdown forever.
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DerekL1963
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:44 pm Reply with quote
TarsTarkas wrote:
I view the lockdowns and shutdowns as a transition period, from the pre-COVID world to our new normal.


Have you checked the infection rate in Seattle recently? They're on par with a bit over a year ago when everyone was insisting in lockdown and isolation.

No matter how much you handwave about vauge "others" being responsible, the numbers don't lie. The infection still rages. (And the Delta variant is more infectious than the original.) Vaccinated people are still vulnerable and can still carry and transmit the disease. Masks, like vaccines, reduce but do not eliminate the risk.

Putting tens of thousands of people in close proximity is still so very much not a good idea.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:43 pm Reply with quote
DerekL1963 wrote:
TarsTarkas wrote:
I view the lockdowns and shutdowns as a transition period, from the pre-COVID world to our new normal.


Have you checked the infection rate in Seattle recently? They're on par with a bit over a year ago when everyone was insisting in lockdown and isolation.

No matter how much you handwave about vauge "others" being responsible, the numbers don't lie. The infection still rages. (And the Delta variant is more infectious than the original.) Vaccinated people are still vulnerable and can still carry and transmit the disease. Masks, like vaccines, reduce but do not eliminate the risk.

Putting tens of thousands of people in close proximity is still so very much not a good idea.


I understand what you are saying. But the question is still the same. How many years do you want to shut down large events? The whole world is a hot zone, It will be years or decades before much of the world is vaccinated. In the meantime, we will be dealing with new variants yearly in the United States.

This is a personal choice, but for me, there is no end in sight. It is just that the world has changed, and now we have to change. Part of that change is that we now have to live with new risks. We will now have to manage these new risks, as we have done with all the others. Each of us will make our choices, based on what we feel comfortable with, and each of us will have to deal with the results of our choices.
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ATastySub
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 19 Jan 2012
Posts: 681
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:47 pm Reply with quote
TarsTarkas wrote:
DerekL1963 wrote:
TarsTarkas wrote:
I view the lockdowns and shutdowns as a transition period, from the pre-COVID world to our new normal.


Have you checked the infection rate in Seattle recently? They're on par with a bit over a year ago when everyone was insisting in lockdown and isolation.

No matter how much you handwave about vauge "others" being responsible, the numbers don't lie. The infection still rages. (And the Delta variant is more infectious than the original.) Vaccinated people are still vulnerable and can still carry and transmit the disease. Masks, like vaccines, reduce but do not eliminate the risk.

Putting tens of thousands of people in close proximity is still so very much not a good idea.


I understand what you are saying. But the question is still the same. How many years do you want to shut down large events? The whole world is a hot zone, It will be years or decades before much of the world is vaccinated. In the meantime, we will be dealing with new variants yearly in the United States.

This is a personal choice, but for me, there is no end in sight. It is just that the world has changed, and now we have to change. Part of that change is that we now have to live with new risks. We will now have to manage these new risks, as we have done with all the others. Each of us will make our choices, based on what we feel comfortable with, and each of us will have to deal with the results of our choices.

Except the whole world is not on fire. Places that were responsible are not being ravaged because they didn't take the same "well guess a lot of people will die, that's the new normal" stance as you. Look at Sierra Leone, who due to ebola outbreaks were ready to respond to a pandemic because they realize how dangerous not doing so is. This isn't even a case of infrastructure. Places like the US and Britain have infinitely more resources to stop a pandemic, but they choose not to because of attitudes like yours. Where it's somehow easier to pretend this is just how things are or would be anyways, even though there are clear examples to the contrary, so we should carry on like normal as the less fortunate die.
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YesNoMaybe
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Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 182
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:11 pm Reply with quote
I totally agree with TarsTarkas! People who still don't feel safe then stay home. Watch it on computer. I just recently got vaccination, and ready to get out and about finally!
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5914
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:56 pm Reply with quote
ATastySub wrote:
Places like the US and Britain have infinitely more resources to stop a pandemic, but they choose not to because of attitudes like yours.


I wear masks and I practice social distancing. I am also vaccinated. I understand we are in a pandemic.

But I see no clear end to COVID. As long as COVID ravages the unvaccinated around the world, we will be dealing with multiple strains per year. With the possibility that a new strain, may be highly resistant to current vaccines. Thus starting the whole process all over again.

I believe we will be dealing with COVID for years, even if we get the unvaccinated in the United States vaccinated. I am also not saying, have unrestricted mass gatherings. But wearing masks and being socially distant. We can have mass gatherings, as long as we are not crammed in like sardines, wear masks, and maintain some level of social distance. Conventions may need to run longer.
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2489
PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:45 pm Reply with quote
Oh, nice. I wish the DC events would do this. Unlikely to travel to Seattle with delta picking up steam, but if a local 'con showed a similar level of concern, I'd definitely attend.

As is, not really sure what I'll do about local conventions. Was hesitant a few months ago, and am even moreso now, given how we seem to be getting further away from herd immunity rather than closer to it.
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