Question of the Day - 31 May 2023

Masks don't prevent infection, but they cut the risk in half. Handwashing/sanitation likewise cuts the risk in half. Vaccines cut the risk by about 85%. So all three practices combined results in a little less than 4% risk of infection in an environment--such as exposure to crowds--that is inherently hazardous. Of course, that multiplies with repeated exposure.
I have several friends who have caught covid since January, and while they all recovered, they were sick and miserable for 2-3 weeks. So I would still be wary of being in a supercrowded environment such as Vegas, not to mention before and after at an airport and in a plane.
I guess it comes down to how badly you want to be in Vegas, as opposed to, well, um, anyplace else on the planet. Resort fees, 6:5 blackjack, paid parking, and covid. What happens in Vegas...

Last fall, went to Vegas and I contracted covid.I took no precautions. I am 79 overweight,but have had 5 shots. Was ill 2 days. Hopefully I will be back this fall.

Even in the past, being in public gave you a chance to catch someone’s cold or flu or whatever was going around. Now we add Covid to the list and we should continue to live or lives with whatever precautions we can and just enjoy living while we can.

Yes! you should worry about getting COVID in LV.  You have people from all over the world with every kind of variant know. and you will be in the same area close to these people.  If you are at serious health risk I would stay away . I caught it last  trip to LV. got sick pretty bad for a few days. and  I am healthy and fully vaccinated. and being on a Air plane and at air port just as bad. go to the beach or mountains 

To the questioner:  What does "hasn't been to a casino in Las Vegas for the past several years" have to do with your concern?  

As mentioned in the answer, it is all about exposure and your particular resistance at the biologic level.  Mask or no mask, vaccine or no vaccine, many/most who acquired Covid can't pinpoint where (and to whom) they were exposed.  

Since you asked, you are worried about it.  Consider: You could take a flight to/from Las Vegas, stand in lines at the airports, stand in line at the hotel, gamble in a casino, attend a concert, fly home, etc.  Should you acquire Covid afterwards, there is no way you could pinpoint where or from whom your exposure occurred.

So, as mentioned, you take the recommended precautions (IMHO including the vaccines) even if, for you, the list of possible precautions includes staying away.  It is another gamble.  How vulnerable are you if you are exposed?  Could you live with yourself (no pun intended) if you (or a companion) got Covid after a casino visit?  Can you accept that exposure could have occurred elsewhere?  Good luck wherever you go.

Candy

Most of the people who contracted Covid did not visit Las Vegas. Fact or opinion?

I'd worry less about the casino and more about the plane
if you fly. If you're concerned wear a mask I'm Vegas and wherever you are. I'm old and had 5 vaccines and keep a mask handy.

You stay at home or come to Las Vegas you are gambling on your chances of catching Covid. Those of us who live here face that challenge every day but most of us are gamblers to start with constantly trying to beat the odds of losing and being winners instead, some call it advantage play.

You can be an advantage player here by simply wearing a better mask that gives you a greater chance of not getting Covid.  The common masks used now are worthless pieces of crap but there are nose and mouth masks that guarantee 100% protection of contracting any disease, get one and wear it on your trip while ignoring all the stares and comments of others.

BTW, still wash your hands especially after handling chips or money, the greatest source of a chance to catch Covid plus follow other precautions.

Good luck to you.

Manage them according to your situation and tolerance.

I (late 60s) have traveled a lot in the last 3 years, been to Vegas numerous times(I play table games extensively..5-6 hours a day), Took 3 cross country trips and didn't contract Covid until just last month for the first time... and my last trip was in February, so you just nevr know...

and it's one you will always lose in the long run.  So use your judgment, do what's comfortable for you, and try to enjoy yourself.

Personally--I work in a small office, and two of my fellow employees have had Covid in the last month.  None of us work close to each other.  I've had all my vaccinations, I don't get too close to other people other than at casinos, I don't wear a mask, and I wash my hands more than I used to.  That works for me.

The big thing that I believe prolongs my life is that I don't obsess about it.  I know I'm going to lose the game at some point.  Meanwhile, I try to enjoy myself.

Cloth masks are not effective AT ALL in preventing the spread of COVID (the comprehensive “Danish study” debunked this).  If you insist on wearing one you are participating in one of life’s meaningless rituals with no scientific basis.  Cloth masks were designed to prevent a surgeon from drooling into wounds during surgery, and have no ability whatsoever to stop an aerosolized virus.  If you wear an N-95 mask, to be effective, it must have a tight seal at all points, all the time — not with the quarter inch opening Irregularly see.  And it must we worn AT ALL TIMES, ALL DAY.  If you remove it for eating, drinking, smoking, or anything else, you are again participating in a meaningless ritual.

“Worrying about the plane” likewise has no scientific basis.  The vertical airflow in planes — especially with HEPA filtration — makes it the safest crowded place to be.

I was there in early April and wore a mask on the plane there and back.I especially didn't want to get sick during my visit.

We went to Las Vegas last November. Flew from Honolulu. Stayed Downtown for five nights. Wore masks everywhere. Both of us were fully vaccinated. We used all precautions that we could. We both tested positive when we returned to Hawaii. Were sick for a couple of weeks. I had it worse because I have Asthma. I had a terrible cough for close to a month. Still have shortness of breath. It can happen to anybody.

Scientific fact that there is ZERO evidence that any mask protect anybody from catching COVID (or any other virus). Also a fact is that a larger number of people have has adverse reactions (including death) FROM this set of vaccines than ALL other vaccines since 1990. And you also have a much better chance of catching COVID when around thousands of people in crowded spaces like Vegas. I would rec. visiting Laughlin (since you are a senior anyway) and skipping Vegas.

We were in one of the vaccine studies. First in the control group and got the real stuff when the study was unblinded; later the first booster. Second booster was not included. They said we could get it on our own, but we passed. The study lasted two years and by the end each of us had a file four inches thick. 
Significant other got Covid near the end of it, despite being vaccinated and boosted. Home quarantine, rest, and fluids for ten days--and half-an-inch added to the file. I said, "I've been exposed to her; do you need to see me?" They said, "Not unless you get symptoms." But I didn't. 
We actually went to Las Vegas in July 2020 right after the big reopening (unvaxed); and later (vaxed) even flew to Miami and took a Caribbean cruise. No plans to repeat that any time soon. Maybe when somebody says "Covid? What's that?" I'd consider it.
And I agree with several other posters here that the main effect of all these masks is an increase in the solid waste stream.

Please. Enough. And still listen to the 'experts' who got this wrong in so many ways, and the politics involved, especially from one party with all the fear mongering and lockdowns and the deep damage it has caused on so many  levels with minimal benefits at best including the psychological and economical impacts on people and on kids, and people are still listening to their 'advice'? People want to lock themselves in the closet for the rest of her life in fear being around people, go for it, your business, but I think it's foolish given life is so short. And the sick politics involved in fear-driven non-science lies. And simple things like eating very healthy, which very few people do, losing weight and being at a proper weight which few do goes a long way in priming your immune system no matter your age. And science has proven my last sentence to be critical giving the vast majority of people who were hospitalized or die from COVID are overweight or obese.

WITH RUMPY- JUST CARRY A BOTTLE OF CLOREX TO PROTECT THEE AND BRING LOADS OF MONEY.