# Risk mitigation .. why not just give up? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 31, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107 "2021-03-31T19:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/21 "2021-03-31T22:29:22Z")
Can’t we hire Marlon Perkins and equip him with a team of assistants with those dart guns? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/22 "2021-03-31T22:49:17Z")
I understand the temptation to think in these terms. My preference is to think in terms of making everything of any value or enjoyment conditioned on proof of vaccination or proof of medical exemption, once anyone who wants vaccination can get it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/23 "2021-03-31T23:23:57Z")
The “vaccine passport” concept. Show your passport before you can get into the bar/restaurant/movie theater. Fox News would scream bloody murder, but this would get us to 90% vaccinated in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/24 "2021-03-31T23:33:43Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I had thought of that. But at the moment we’re under 1000 deaths/day and dropping (compared to 4000 in January). I would think (guessing, of course) that the medical infrastructure could deal with this level. The CDC is concerned about a fourth wave due to the increasing numbers in several states, thought to be due to the rise of variants. [https://www.axios.com/cdc-fourth-wave-db0a4d6e-3942-4719-9743-62912e5557e0.html](https://www.axios.com/cdc-fourth-wave-db0a4d6e-3942-4719-9743-62912e5557e0.html) This is why I’m trying to get my vaccine ASAP, and may even buy another set of N95 masks. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/25 "2021-04-01T01:05:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The “vaccine passport” concept. Show your passport before you can get into the bar/restaurant/movie theater. > > Fox News would scream bloody murder, but this would get us to 90% vaccinated in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I think this would get us to 65% vaccinated and 34% with a forged passport. Have you seen them? They aren’t difficult to fake. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/26 "2021-04-01T01:14:30Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > But if only stupid people go to the bars or the beach, they’re only risking the lives of each other. Only stupid people go to the bars or the beach, but stupid people don’t go only to the bars or beach. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/27 "2021-04-01T01:42:57Z")
On top of that, it’s a crappy time to have cancer, a stroke, or a heart attack. Not only are ICU beds full, but a weak patient is much more likely to pick up Covid in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/28 "2021-04-01T02:42:23Z")
The passport would have to be different from the card. And the numbers I’ve seen say only 11% say they definitely won’t get vaccinated. Make being unvaccinated a big disadvantage, maybe that number gets smaller. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/29 "2021-04-01T02:45:12Z")
The passport would probably be an app, not a card at all. Our university already uses a similar app for students to prove that they’re up-to-date on their bi-weekly testing and have tested negative. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/30 "2021-04-01T02:50:32Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The passport would probably be an app, not a card at all. There’s no way it would be an app. This would cut out a significant (and mostly minority) population that doesn’t have smart phones. Sure, some businesses might implement something like this because equity is not a priority for them. But there won’t be some large-scale passport limited to technology that not everyone can access. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/31 "2021-04-01T02:55:24Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > There’s no way it would be an app. This would cut out a significant (and mostly minority) population that doesn’t have smart phones. [And yet](https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/tech/vaccine-passport-app-privacy/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![mundylion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundylion/32/3604_2.png) [@mundylion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mundylion)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/32 "2021-04-01T03:58:48Z")
I don’t know about that, According to Pew[https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/) 81% of Americans have smartphones, 82% of whites, 80% of blacks, 79% of Hispanics. Hardly looks like the “minority population” is behind the times. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/33 "2021-04-01T04:17:45Z")
As soon as you tell Americans the app is connected to the Federal Government, 50% won’t install it. And for folks who’ve already been vaccinated, e.g. me, how will I prove to the app I’ve already been vaccinated? The US medical records system is deliberately balkanized so nobody can go look in the big computer and load my vax records into the app. And if the only records kept are the silly paper cards we all got, then any app is totally subject to “Garbage in Garbage out”. Or more accurately: “Lying thieves in, Lying thieves out”. The USA is stuck with no reliable “vaccine passport” system because most of us won’t tolerate such a system. Just like we can’t have a reliable contact tracing system. Morons. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/34 "2021-04-01T12:28:26Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Tell me why I’d be wrong. Because “For the rest of you…it’s your funeral” isn’t true. People still need to work, to get groceries, to do the things necessary for life to continue, while being vaccinated, wearing a mask, and social distancing is smart, it isn’t perfect protection from the dimwits who don’t. Thousands of people who do all the right things will die. Second, even the dimwits deserve your support and protection, even if only from themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/35 "2021-04-01T12:37:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The passport would probably be an app, not a card at all. That would screw over anyone who didn’t have a smartphone. Which is still about 20% of the US or about 66 million people. We’re already seeing this problem with the majority of vaccination sign-ups being via smartphone - those 66 million people don’t have access to an appointment under that system. Sure, in some places you can use the app on a computer, but 10% of the US doesn’t have one of those. And, of course, however you issue such a passport you’ll get fakes popping up. Which will probably be a minor problem compared to some other issues we’ve face over the past year-and-some-change. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/36 "2021-04-01T12:48:06Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Tell me why I’d be wrong. I agree with you, but it would be political suicide. The hard line republicans would view him as a traitor and a sellout. He’d never get reelected. It would also weaken his party as a whole because it would be a tacit admission that their stance was wrong all along. Finally, as was pointed out already, people need to be lead. That’s why we’ll always have the rich and powerful leading the hoi polloi. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/37 "2021-04-01T13:33:53Z")
Very easy to respond - take a look at what is happening in Brazil right now - this country is the poster child for the results of a Trumpesque Coronavirus policy. The situation there is utterly horrifying - they are at 3900 deaths a day, and the trend is firmly upwards. 60 thousand deaths last month alone. > **[Brazil: More than 60,000 people died of Covid-19 in March](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-56598866)** > > Despite the rising cases, President Jair Bolsonaro urges local governors to ease lockdown measures. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/38 "2021-04-01T13:58:48Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > The situation there is utterly horrifying - they are at 3900 deaths a day, and the trend is firmly upwards. 60 thousand deaths last month alone. The worst days in the US were back in January. We hit about 3300 deaths per day, but we have 150% of the population of Brazil. Which means Brazil’s present situation, measured in deaths per capita, is 77% worse than the US was back then. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/39 "2021-04-01T14:56:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The USA is stuck with no reliable “vaccine passport” system because most of us won’t tolerate such a system. Just like we can’t have a reliable contact tracing system. Morons. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107/40 "2021-04-01T15:34:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And for folks who’ve already been vaccinated, e.g. me, how will I prove to the app I’ve already been vaccinated? The US medical records system is deliberately balkanized so nobody can go look in the big computer and load my vax records into the app. And if the only records kept are the silly paper cards we all got, then any app is totally subject to “Garbage in Garbage out”. Or more accurately: “Lying thieves in, Lying thieves out”. I assume that records are kept by the medical entity who gave you the shot, as is required by medical ethics, and I expect, by law. And you can prove it the same way you’d prove any other medical procedure was received, by getting copies of the records, sent by the provider on your request. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-mitigation-why-not-just-give-up/939107.md?page=3)