Nevada governor sets June 1 goal for fully reopening all counties

From Fox5

https://www.fox5vegas.com/coronavirus/nevada-gov-steve-sisolak-sets-june-1-goal-for-fully-reopening-all-counties/article_4009b4b2-9c8e-11eb-a868-37979446e9d4.html?fbclid=IwAR1HqAmls3dQHekNo8nJc656Aom_1QA98NvdG8pIajYZoG-Hp-7zCkgXa4E

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Las Vegas Fully Reopens June 1, Social Distancing Mandate Ends May

I'm sure that Sisolak wanted to extend the restrictions until the pandemic is, y'know, actually under control, but he's been under tremendous pressure from the casino industry and routinely receives death threats. Sooooo...profits before human lives! Yay Vegas!

Everyone who wants a vaccine would have or could have received it by June 1, so all is good for those folks.  Those who choose not to get a shot, that risk is their call.

If nothing else people who have not received one yet can postpone their vacation plans until they do.

This is good news - but based upon my December Vegas trip most of the prior social distancing regulations amounted to alot of window dressing....except for the masks.    

That's the problem. It shouldn't be "their call," because the risk from not being vaccinated is not only to the person who refuses, but also to every other person with whom the anti-vaxxer comes in contact---hundreds of people a day, in the casino environment. I'd be fine with the idiot anti-vaxxers parading around if they at least observed social distancing and always wore their damn masks. But they don't.

Though the mention of the idea produces loud and long bleating, "vaccine passports" are gaining traction. You don't want to get a shot? Fine--but you can't board this plane/stay at this hotel/work in this establishment/etc. etc. etc. Naturally, there's been much screaming about "ARE PRESHUS FREEDUMBS!" in this context, as if asking people to behave responsibly and think about the health of others is somehow undemocratic.

It wouldn't be that much of a concern if these anti-vaxxers were a small enough minority that we could achieve herd immunity without them. Unfortunately, various polls put them at anywhere from 30% to 50% of the population. That's enough to crush herd immunity--slow the virus down but not stop it.

The most troubling part of this is that the longer the virus persists in the population, the more chance it has to mutate, possibly into forms that the current vaccines can't handle. So far, the existing vaccines protect against variants---mostly. It could all go to hell again if everybody behaves the way they do in, say, Texas.

Kevin, I have zero problem with a vaccine passport, as long as it's used in the private sector and not mandated by government.  If United Airlines, for example, mandates such a passport before boarding a plane.  If the Golden Nugget mandates it to enter their casino, or to gamble.

But the way "the government" is interfering with this is that in many Republican states, the governor and/or legislature have forbidden businesses from restricting access based on vaccination status.

There are also instances of higher-level government officials in red states forbidding lower-level officials, such as mayors, from imposing vaccine requirements. There was quite a kerfuffle here in Oregon about requiring teachers to be fully vaccinated before they could go back to live teaching. The Republicans in the state legislature made a big stink about it. That died down embarrassingly quickly when it became apparent that there were virtually zero teachers who didn't want to be vaccinated. Oregon put teachers in the top vaccine category, so they've had ample opportunity.

The federal government can and should impose vaccination requirements for people visiting the US. It looks as if Europe, Canada, and possibly Mexico will require vaccination passports when and if they reopen to tourism this summer.

When I was enrolling in elementary school, my parents had to show proof that I'd received certain vaccinations or else I couldn't start school.  It was that simple - you got vaccinated or no school.  If you didn't go to school, then your parents would get in trouble.  Simplier times.