Should the elderly be gathering in close contact with others? Stats from CDC.gov, where you can learn more.

NHWM: Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'd better pursue getting the RSV vax after all. Actually, I'd hardly ever heard of RSV except as a kid illness until this year. I figured that maybe it's a Thing for old folks now partially because Big Pharma developed a drug for it. Follow the $$$. . .usually can't go too far wrong.

I think people who don't want to gather don't. If you want to gather, do it! Enjoy your life and do your best to keep yourself healthy. If you know you are sick, stay home.
I would rather my elderly Mom (91) engages in some way with others, rather than stay isolated. Personally, I will travel, celebrate with as many people as possible and enjoy life. I will take care of myself and if I do get sick, I will stay home.

I found this interesting from The Atlantic: (Katherine J. Wu)
"Even before the pandemic, winter was a dreaded slog. In typical years, flu hospitalizes an estimated 140,000 to 710,000 people in the USA alone, some years RSV can add on some 200,000 more. To toss any additional respiratory virus into that mess is burdensome; for that virus to be SARS-CoV-2 ups the ante all the more. In the past year, Covid-19 has killed some 80,000 Americans, a lighter toll than in the three years prior, but one that still dwarfs that of the worst flu seasons in the past decade. SARS-CoV-2 spread too quickly and too far to be quashed. It's now here to stay".

That 80,000 is a bit higher than I had believed.

AWWW Fawnby....I make an awesome spinach artichoke dip and a great cannoli dip you wouldn't risk you life for that?
I agree with you that you have to weigh the risks. Not just for a holiday party but for anyplace where you come into contact with a large number of people.
I don't think it matters if they are vaccinated or not, the risk of any flu or cold not to mention Noro virus, and with holiday parties foodborne illness is a concern as well. You never know what precautions people take.
(I'm in the 60 times higher category)

We don’t necessary need to live in fear.
But being cautious is OK.
Choosing or not choosing vaccines and masks is OK as well.

It does sadden me that so many people still choose to live in fear over a virus that is here to stay just like the flu.
And as far as the shots are concerned it's long been proven that they did nothing to prevent or stop the spread, and the same can be said for any type of mask.
But if it makes you happy to be injected with a foreign substance that really hasn't been tested and that we're now finding out more and more negative things about,(causes inflammation, arthritis, cancer, stroke, Afib, and yes even death)you just knock yourself out.
And the thing I find most interesting is that it is the folks that have received the shots, and are boosted that seem to be the most paranoid and afraid to get on with living their lives, and still wear masks. Even in cars all by themselves.
If the shots and boosters worked so well, why aren't these people out there living and enjoying their lives confident that they're well protected? I'm just saying.
Thankfully I choose not to live in fear, as I know God is in control of all things, and He hasn't give me a spirit of fear. But I do feel sorry for those who now because of all the fear that the government intentionally put out there surrounding Covid, still choose to live in it. To me that is the saddest and worst part that has come out of it all.
And the fact that we're still talking about it almost 4 years later I find sad too. It's time to move on and live and enjoy your lives and your families, as Covid is here to stay.

With respect, please check in with your physician, local hospital, etc. for guidance.
If you're willing to trust the CDC given their track record over the past four years, have at it.

Fawnby,

Many people have questions on this topic. A thread was recently shut down regarding how people should feel about this.

So, who knows if your thread will stay active? Especially if people aren’t respectful of each other. It’s a highly controversial topic.

Some people are insensitive to anyone else who doesn’t happen to agree with their point of view. I feel this behavior is completely counterproductive in communication.

I have my own personal feelings on this subject but I don’t want to force anyone to believe as I do. I share my opinions but I don’t expect everyone to agree with my views.

I’m happy to listen to other views even if I don’t agree with them. We can disagree with civility.

I have absolutely no desire to jump on anyone else’s bandwagon. I think it’s best if we think for ourselves.

People will hold onto their personal beliefs about vaccines and any other medical situations regardless of what science claims.

Covid is here to stay. People will choose for themselves whether or not they wish to be vaccinated.

I get vaccinated because my doctor recommends it. She has great credentials, and keeps up with the latest research so I trust her.

I am fortunate that I have not experienced any negative effects from any vaccines other than a sore arm, or sometimes feeling sluggish with a slight headache.

Covid has ruined lives and family relationships for long enough, don't you think? And who trusts the CDC anymore, they change their data to suit their narrative continuously. Feel free to stay home for the next 4 years if it makes you feel better, but most of us are living what's left of our lives w/o worrying about a virus. I'd like to see what death statistics are in general......for cancer, car crashes, flu, accidents, heart attacks etc, because life itself is a risk. While we're hiding out staying safe from covid, we can suffer cardiac arrest and die. Just sayin.

Masks don't work, even N95s, or else my DD the RN and her bf at the time would not have caught covid on a flight.

My mother gathered with others in close contact for 2 years while covid was rampant, in Memory Care Assisted Living, and didn't get sick. In fact, none of the residents in MC did. She died at 95 from advanced dementia and CHF w/o missing out on ANY of the activities going on at facility, or having visitors come by to see her. Not one resident out of 125 in AL and MC combined died from covid, and it's safe to say they ALL had co-morbidities. Just a bit of good news to share in all the "stats".

The other post on this topic was closed by admin, so this is the response?????

My dh’s ccrc mandated vax and one booster when he was hired in 2021. A year later, That requirement along with masking was removed for staff a year ago, and it’s not like they were required for the residents.

There were no mass graves being dug. Harts Island in NY is a mass grave for the indigent and those bodies that are not claimed. This has always been, long before COVID. I do find it interesting that no one is studying how long SARS can be transmissible in a dead body. There have been a few studies that have shown the virus still in the body of a dead person after one month but strangely no one is studying if this can cause infection in the living. Seems like they should be determining if these SARS infected bodies should be burned or handled in another way than the non infected. I don't recall seeing on the news how the morgues, etc were handling the bodies of the infected. Same with funeral homes.

I am masking on public transit, in stores, in other gathering places.
I am one of the VERY FEW masked on public transit and in stores in my very lib city of S.F.

On the other hand I am now having Christmas Eve as per tradition, and going by stepdaughter for Christmas as per tradition and while they do not generally mask in public, I as well will not be masked in their homes. I am not demanding that anyone who visits me pre tests. I am not demanding that those in my sphere mask or vacc. That's up to them.

So to say, I am thrilled not even to have had a sniffle since 2020, and I hope that lasts. I vacc and mask in public, but I am no longer going nuts thinking about covid. I no longer expect to die if I DO get it. And I no longer can spend my life being terrified even tho long covid IS a concern for me.

The covid virus is here to stay. It is still capable of mutating with rapidity and may do so into a more lethal form but so far has NOT.
The death rates are MARKEDLY down.
The day of full ICUs, no masks, worn out hospital personnel, refrigerated trucks outside the ER and mass graves dug is OVER for now.
That isn't to say it cannot return. That isn't to say I am not vigilant. It's just to say I won't be living my life with covid in my thoughts constantly. Getting my vaccinations for IT and for shingles and for flu and for ALL of it. Taking care when forced to sit side by side with strangers. Keeping a sort of social distance. Asking those ill to stay away. That's about it for me.

We have entered a time when we understand that we can and will get this and that will not change. I wish us all luck in deciding our own best way forward.