Coronavirus Rolls Into Sturgis!

Rolling to the emergency rooms across America. The Sturgis bike rally is one despite the coronavirus spiking in the United States

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WEAR A DAMN MASK! SAVE A LIFE! TRUST SCIENCE AND MEDICAL EXPERTS! THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IS FUCKING REAL!

GET VACCINATED! IF THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE VACCINES ARE AVAILABLE, GET IT WHILE IT'S STILL FREE! THE MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY THE VACCINES DO WORK AND IT REDUCES THE RISK OF CORONAVIRUS INFECTION.

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President Joe Biden warned Republican governors that ignoring the CDC's advice during this pandemic will be a grave mistake. The state of South Dakota will set off another wave of coronavirus infections.

Over 645,000 Americans are dead from the coronavirus.

I am going to not have sympathy for those who catch the coronavirus and die. I will tell you that the mother of my son is a prime example of those idiots who refuse to get vaccinated. She literally will put her life, my son, her other son and family member's lives at risk with this delta strain of the coronavirus because of political views or utter stupidity.

Washed Up 45 and Republicans tepid response to the pandemic has led to vaccine skepticism and discarding of health mandates. Those attending Sturgis, South Dakota could spark another deadly month of the coronavirus.

I mean the vaccines are available and its free. But politics continue to be the reasons to why folks not willing to get vaccinated.

It appears that the city of Sturgis is moving forward with his motorcycle rally. The rally is supposed to attract over 800,000 and it will be considered a super-spreader event. There will be many who aren't vaccinated and they will not be wearing face masks. 

Of course, the state's incompetent governor who is vying for a place in the 2024 presidential race is willing to risk the lives of her state's residents and those from out of South Dakota.

Coronavirus be damned, they're going to Sturgis. 

“It’s great to see a party of hundreds of thousands of people,” said Zoltán Vári, a rallygoer who was settling into his campsite Tuesday after making the trek from Hungary.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s defenders argue open air is plentiful on the meandering highways and in the campgrounds where many bikers stay, but contact tracers last year reported 649 virus cases from every corner of the country linked to the rally, including one death. A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in a published study that the 2020 rally “ had many characteristics of a superspreading event.”

Rallygoers reasoned that after years of riding Harleys, the coronavirus was just another risk. Five motorcycle riders were killed in crashes during the 2020 rally, and one fatal crash has already been reported this year.

The attitude was summed up on a T-shirt sold last year: “Screw COVID. I went to Sturgis.”

But public health experts warned the massive gathering revved the virus far beyond those who chose to attend. One team of economists argued that the rally set off a chain reaction that resulted in 250,000 cases nationwide. However, that paper was not peer reviewed and was criticized by some top epidemiologists — as well as some bikers — for overestimating the rally’s impact.

While it’s not clear how many cases can be blamed on last year’s rally, it coincided with the start of a sharp increase across the Great Plains that ultimately crescendoed in a deadly winter.

The gathering could potentially power a fresh wave of infections like the one that is currently shattering hospitalization records in parts of the South, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

“I understand how people want to move on from this pandemic — God knows I want to — but the reality is you can’t ignore it,” he said. “You can’t just tell the virus you’re done with it.”

The current rate of cases in South Dakota is roughly half of what it was in the days leading up to last year’s rally. Deaths have also dropped significantly.

COVID-19 vaccines provide hope the rally won’t set off virus spread, but it’s not clear how many in the Sturgis crowd have received a shot. Unlike events like Lollapalooza that required attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, precautions at Sturgis are minimal and optional. The biggest step the city has taken was to allow rallygoers to drink on public property, reasoning it will spread the bacchanalia into the open air.

Only about 46% of adults in the county that hosts Sturgis are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, compared with 60.6% nationwide. Vaccination rates were similarly low in the five counties where most 2020 rallygoers hailed from, according to an analysis of cellphone data from the Center for New Data. Only one — Maricopa County, Arizona — has cracked 50%. Campbell County in Wyoming, has the lowest rate, at just 27%.

Vári, the biker from Hungary, said he’s been fully vaccinated — but only because he falsely thought he needed proof of vaccination to get into the United States.

“Sturgis or bust,” he wrote on Facebook.

He was eager to return to riding a Harley-Davidson through the Black Hills after missing last year. Vári evaded U.S. tourism travel restrictions on Europe by spending two weeks in Costa Rica before making his way to South Dakota. He hopes 1 million people will show up. Typical attendance is around a half a million.

The city of Sturgis, usually a sleepy community of under 7,000, tried to tamp things down last year, canceling most city-sponsored events and promotion, but hordes of bikers showed up anyway.

“The rally is a behemoth, and you cannot stop it,” said Carol Fellner, a local who worried that this year’s event would cause a fresh outbreak of cases. “I feel absolutely powerless.”

This year, the city is embracing the crowds. Republican Gov. Karen Noem has given the rally her blessing and will appear in a charity ride. The event is a boon for tourism, powering over $800 million in sales, according to the state Department of Tourism.

President Joe Biden had hopes that Americans would take this shit seriously. Unfortunately, Republicans so fucking eager to return to power will keep Americans fixated on the culture wars. Now vaccinations are part of this culture war.

But those fighting the culture war by not vaccinating, not wearing face mask in public, not following protocols, and deliberately ignoring federal and international rules when traveling are going to be the first casualties of the war. 

With this pandemic mostly affecting states where Republican governors are, we may have to return to wearing facial protection and cutting back services to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

We came so far only to have a bunch of selfish idiots set it back. Just because they hate President Joe Biden.

The Republicans are so devoted to destroying Biden and the country for what....to regain power.

Pathetic.

According to the CDC, there is still not enough information on antibodies for COVID-19 and whether they can prevent someone from getting reinfected. It still recommends that people with a positive antibody test follow recommendations for protecting themselves and others.

The coronavirus doesn't care about your age, race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, politics, economic or social standings. It doesn't care about anything. It's a living organism that causes mild symptoms that include: fever, sore throats, chills, respiratory issues, loss of taste or smell and other unknown symptoms. If you have a weak immune system or health issues, your risk increases.

Death does happen to at least 40% of those who are affected by COVID-19. 

If you're not vaccinated, your chances of death increases to 48%.

Healthy people can die from this. Take this seriously. You only have one life!

If you need more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.