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Saturday's five canceled or postponed AAC games add to the growing list of NCAA games that have been canceled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in recent days.

According to CBS Sports:

"No. 2 Duke and Loyola and between No. 4 UCLA and North Carolina scheduled for Saturday have been canceled due to Covid-19 issues within the UCLA and Loyola programs, the schools announced Friday.
Duke and UNC found new opponents. The Blue Devils' first scheduled foe, Cleveland State, announced some positive tests results and Loyola was set to step in but some of its players got Covid-19. Now Duke will play in-state rival Elon University.
The Tar Heels will play the Kentucky Wildcats in Las Vegas, who had been scheduled to play Ohio State in the same arena at the CBS Sports Classic.
Two other men's top 25 games have been canceled. No. 16 Seton Hall was to play Iona, but officials said the game cannot be played because of Covid-19 protocols at Seton Hall.
Seton Hall also will forfeit Monday's Big East Conference game against St. John's, the league announced. While the forfeit counts as a conference loss, it does not affect the Pirates (9-1) overall total number of losses.
No. 23 Colorado State canceled its games against Tulsa on Saturday and against No. 6 Alabama on Tuesday because the 10-0 Rams have "Covid-related concerns." The games will not be made up.
In women's basketball, No. 19 Kentucky's game against Morgan State, which has Covid-19 issues, was postponed.
The University of Miami will forfeit Sunday's Atlantic Coast Conference game to No. 15 Duke."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/17/sport/gam...index.html

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The reasons why this is happening are that:

• Much like the viruses that cause the common cold, coronaviruses have a tendency to mutate rapidly; thus, many new strains/variants have developed.
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• This tendency for new strains to develop is why a person can get two or three colds in one year, and why efforts to develop vaccines against the common cold have had only limited success.
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• Unfortunately, many people think that recovering from a case of Covid-19 or being vaccinated protects a person from developing Covid-19, but that's not the case.
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• All the Covid vaccines can do is offer some limited (less than 100%) protection against severe forms of Covid-19, which can require hospitalization.
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• For these reasons, the only thing a person can do to avoid getting a potentially life-threatening case of Covid-19 is to get vaccinated (and a booster shot), and wear a mask when we're indoors around other people.
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The research shows that over 240 million Americans (about 70% of all Americans) have been vaccinated.

Yet, on December 17th, for example, there were an average of 124,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the U.S., per day.

Q: Is that better than the situation was a year ago, on December 17, 2020?

A: It's only about ~ 50% better. All these vaccinations and the other precautions have helped. A year ago, the average was about 237,000 new cases per day. All the combined efforts have only cut the number of new cases per day in half.

https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+si...e&ie=UTF-8

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But 124,000 new cases per day is still bad enough to be a major problem. The cancellation or postponement of ball games is only a small facet of the issue.

On average, it's still causing 62,000 people per day to require hospitalization, and it's estimated that over 1,250 Americans per day are still dying from Covid-19.

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Q: So what do we have to do to get control over this pandemic?

A: We've got to realize that being vaccinated (and getting booster shots) isn't enough to protect ourselves (or the people we care about).

1) To reduce risk of a potentially life-threatening case of Covid-19, which could require hospitalization:

Get vaccinated (and get boosters when needed).

2) To reduce risk of developing a less severe case of Covid-19 or spreading the disease to people you care about:

• (In addition to getting vaccinated): Wear a mask or facial covering whenever indoors around other people, whether it's at work, at school, at the store, or wherever.
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• The facial covering has to completely and consistently cover the nose and mouth.
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• It does little or no good to wear a facial covering if it only covers the nose or the mouth, or to only wear it part of the time.
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• In elevators, buses, trains, etc. where you're in a confined space with a lot of other people, it may be necessary to wear two overlapping masks, or a facial covering and a mask, making sure that there are no gaps that air can flow through.
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• It's like when you wear underwater goggles to go scuba-diving or snorkeling - - for it to work, it has to be an air-tight and water-tight fit.
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We've all gotten used to living with Covid-19, but it's still a national emergency.

"In July 2021, the CDC advised all people — vaccinated and unvaccinated — to wear masks in public indoor places, in areas with substantial or high transmission of the virus."

"The CDC has always advised unvaccinated people to mask indoors, and also advises anyone at increased risk to wear a mask indoors, regardless of the level of community transmission."

"The change in guidance for people who are fully vaccinated was made amidst increasing numbers of infections and hospitalizations across the country."

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-...oronavirus

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As long as you see people not wearing facial coverings when they're indoors in public places around other people, this pandemic is going to continue.

According to some public health officials, this situation could go on for years, or until people take it seriously enough to bring the virus under control.

It has become crystal clear - - getting vaccinated is smart, but it isn't enough.

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....becuse the vaccine,though a useful tool, isnt going cure,fix,solve covid. Its here, like the nuclear age, the only we can do it keep calm and treat it when it occurs. No putting it back in the box or making it disappear. Even if the US gets 100% vaccinated and wears mask the rest of the world is in play and it it will get back here eventually. Our best hope and most likely outcome is that is evolves into a mild sickness and we get good at treating it.
Merry Christmas.

(12-18-2021 04:06 PM)Poseidon Wrote:  ....becuse the vaccine,though a useful tool, isnt going cure,fix,solve covid. Its here, like the nuclear age, the only we can do it keep calm and treat it when it occurs. No putting it back in the box or making it disappear. Even if the US gets 100% vaccinated and wears mask the rest of the world is in play and it it will get back here eventually. Our best hope and most likely outcome is that is evolves into a mild sickness and we get good at treating it.
Merry Christmas.

True!

BTW, there are some additional advantages to wearing a facial covering when one goes out and about. For example:

• Most importantly, wearing a facial covering around other people can greatly reduce risk for catching (and spreading) influenza or the common cold. Wearing a facial covering regularly could permit one to go for years without having a bad cold or case of the flu.
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• When the weather gets cold or stormy, a facial/neck covering can make it a lot less uncomfortable to go outside.
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• (...in addition) Women can spend less on lipstick and makeup, and bachelors can skip shaving more often, with no adverse consequences.
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cancelling games for a fake pandemic just shows how stupid the general population can be...