LSU requires vaccination for attendance

RamblinRed

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Sean311

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I don’t like the requirements. But numbers don’t lie. I’m a ER nurse and approximately 92% of our positive cases that we see are unvaccinated. If most people would just get vaccinated this wouldn’t be an issue. Unfortunately most people aren’t. But requirements to enter public spaces I think is a little much…
 

Buzztheirazz

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i love the boycotts when you aren’t allowed to go anyway. And…..Many unvaccinated are spreading the virus too….
 

MidtownJacket

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I don’t like the requirements. But numbers don’t lie. I’m a ER nurse and approximately 92% of our positive cases that we see are unvaccinated. If most people would just get vaccinated this wouldn’t be an issue. Unfortunately most people aren’t. But requirements to enter public spaces I think is a little much…
With respect, the stadiums aren't public places like a park. You have to buy a ticket for admittance and as a consequence of that process, agree to the requirements the school sets forth (i.e. no outside food or beverage, no vulgar or profane behavior, you can't bring in huge umbrellas, now you have to show vaccination.

I understand there are some people who feel strongly about not getting the vaccine. That is a discussion for another area, just highlighting the element of this is that the school already governs behavior of attendees with regards to game day experience and safety of the fans. This may or may not be an overreach, and I am sure there will be some people who elect to not purchase tickets due to this policy, but it isn't a public space. You can still go eat at Tech Square, or walk through the campus.
 

Sean311

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With respect, the stadiums aren't public places like a park. You have to buy a ticket for admittance and as a consequence of that process, agree to the requirements the school sets forth (i.e. no outside food or beverage, no vulgar or profane behavior, you can't bring in huge umbrellas, now you have to show vaccination.

I understand there are some people who feel strongly about not getting the vaccine. That is a discussion for another area, just highlighting the element of this is that the school already governs behavior of attendees with regards to game day experience and safety of the fans. This may or may not be an overreach, and I am sure there will be some people who elect to not purchase tickets due to this policy, but it isn't a public space. You can still go eat at Tech Square, or walk through the campus.
Agree I miss worded that. They have all the right to protect their institution and its students. I just wish all of this didn’t have to come down to mandates but people need help protecting themselves I guess.
 

GoJacketsInRaleigh

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With respect, the stadiums aren't public places like a park. You have to buy a ticket for admittance and as a consequence of that process, agree to the requirements the school sets forth (i.e. no outside food or beverage, no vulgar or profane behavior, you can't bring in huge umbrellas, now you have to show vaccination.

I understand there are some people who feel strongly about not getting the vaccine. That is a discussion for another area, just highlighting the element of this is that the school already governs behavior of attendees with regards to game day experience and safety of the fans. This may or may not be an overreach, and I am sure there will be some people who elect to not purchase tickets due to this policy, but it isn't a public space. You can still go eat at Tech Square, or walk through the campus.
Oh if there are mandates for some but not others I’m out and not coming back. No more tickets. No more donations. No more gear. Done. I realize no one cares what I do but I doubt I’m the only one.
 

Old School

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CEO at our local hospital told me half of the cases currently admitted were vaccinated. Being vaccinated doesn’t prevent you from getting it, or spreading it. I’ve been vaccinated but Don’t want my kids to be vaccinated yet. Per our pediatrician there’s not enough info to make an informed decision on kids at this point. I have season tickets for my family. Will not attend if Tech puts these restrictions in place. And never will buy season tickets again if they do. It’s a political power play.
 

Northeast Stinger

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So, i am not a doctor, but the statistics from one of the hospitals here in Augusta supports what you said. Last Sunday there were 100 in that particular hospital and 92 were unvaccinated and the other 8 had significant comorbidities which left them more susceptible
In Rabun County we are overwhelmed right now. A person I know was suffering from stroke like symptoms and the local hospital told them to stay away because the hospital was full.
 

Northeast Stinger

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From what I’ve read about the COVID infection rate in Louisiana it was probably a choice between taking these measures (vaccines and testing) or canceling the season.
 

MidtownJacket

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Trying to thread the needle here, with regards to the school's position I think it may come down to limiting liability and the school's own culpability in potential negative outcomes. A challenge throughout all of these discussions is that people have their own risk tolerance and individuals often find different concerns in the same problem set to be focused on.

Take for example companies requiring their employees to get vaccinated prior to coming back on site (or show negative tests within X hours of stepping onto a corporate campus):
My company, directly following full FDA approval of the vaccine, recently mandated this. They argue that it's the "right thing to do for society", but likely are also driven by knowing the vaccines have been proven to reduce, limit and in many cases prevent the symptomatic effects of Covid. Yes, even vaccinated people are getting it while carrying a high enough viral load (and with Delta + similar load to non-vaccinated individuals) to transmit the virus to others. However, they have seen that employees will have less downtime because vaccinated employees, on the balance, will have significantly less impact and be able to return to working (even remotely) more quickly.

Additionally, for parents if you or your kids pop a positive test then you are going to be without childcare for 10 days which again limits your ability to work from home.

Lastly, they have significant financial interest (from insurance perspective) to keeping medical costs down. That's why they give cash bonuses for health life choices generally (smoking cessation, healthy sleep habits, working out, passing physicals, etc).

Back to the School Example, and more specifically GT's challenges in this, there are a few reasons they may want to do everything within their control to limit covid exposure at games (in no specific order):
  • The conferences this year have said they won't reschedule games due to Covid stopping you from fielding a competitive team.
  • Generally in society, sports are a great way to relax and blow of steam from the stressors of life (something we all definitely need given the times) but they also offer a pretty efficient transmission path. People tailgating close together, sharing food and drinks, packing together in lines to enter the stadium, shouting around and on top of eachother while singing or cheering, etc. Yes it is outside, but exposure and time are two factors that increase risk of transmission.
  • If you accept, as a baseline, that vaccines reduce the occurrence of serious or deadly symptoms it becomes harder to not support the use of them as a tool to prevent bad outcomes for fans and the GT Community writ large.
I understand the concerns many people have about individual risk of using the vaccines. My wife and I each got separate doses (I got Pfizer and she got Moderna) because it felt like a way to limit some risk. Ultimately though, we decided the protection it gives us from developing worse symptoms, combines with the good it does for our larger population made the choice clear for us to get them.

I don't mean to proselytize for vaccines in this post (though I do think people should get them), but I do wonder why people who don't want to make the personal decision to get vaccinated are struggling to understand why an organization like LSU or GT would want to mandate this? Is the disconnect that people against a mandate believe GT's medical group undervalues the risks to individuals you're concerned about or is it more that you don't like the idea of a school forcing you to do something you've decided to do?
 

Northeast Stinger

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Every time people enter a large stadium, concert hall or other public venue, those who are responsible for managing the risk have to make decisions that prioritize the collective good and public safety over individual freedom. This was true long before Covid and is certainly true now. Our current challenge is that a public health concern has been turned into an ideological struggle. We can defeat this virus if we all pull together. So far the virus has been winning.
 

RamblinRed

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If GT requires vaccination to attend - great, if not, that is fine too, i'll deal with it either way.
We have no 'rights' to attend a football game. That ability is based on paying whatever fee is necessary to secure a ticket and then agreeing to abide by whatever rules and regulations are established for attendance.

Since the Full authorization came down Monday we are starting to see alot of colleges and universities implement a vaccine requirement for students and staff - LSU, Univ of MN and Ohio St have all implemented vaccine requirements this week. SUNY implemented one across all their campuses.

UNC did not make it a mandate (they are not allowed to), but as of this week if you are not vaccinated you will have to undergo twice weekly testing.

Frankly, I don't expect alot of colleges to implement a vaccine requirement to attend a football game (only 3-4 P5 schools have done that so far) but there will be some.

I am expecting that by next Spring or Fall alot of colleges and maybe even high schools will probably require COVID vaccination as part of the cocktail of vaccines students are required to have to attend school.
 
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