[pefloresjr]

The problem with some of the criticism of Stanford's decision is that it is based on the seemingly obvious, doubtless conclusion that Omicron causes less serious infections in all populations.  However, that is far from established.  Not enough is known about the way it impacts the US population and nothing is known about potential long term effects from Omicron because we know that prior strains sometimes caused long term effects even with seemingly "minor" infections.  The evidence may well lead to the conclusion that cutting down on large indoor gatherings is not needed but I am perfectly fine with Stanford taking a cautious approach.  Stanford clearly wants to take the first two weeks of this quarter to try to limit spread caused by students returning from around the world.  That may not be possible with Omicron, but, again, I am fine with Stanford taking extra precautions to try to protect the community.  I don't know why people seem to think these changes are permanent when Stanford changed its attendance policies based on the changing conditions over the last year.  Some think they were too conservative, but they obviously decided to take the careful path.  I am absolutely fine with it and am sure I will get a refund for the games that I am not allowed to attend.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

Sorry Pete but I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the severity of Omicron is far from established. If you look at the public data from South Africa, a few things jump out:
- It's an order of magnitude more transmissible, and it doesn't matter much whether you're vaccinated or not in terms of catching it
- If you get it and you're vaccinated, your risk of hospitalization or death is LOWER than seasonal flu
- If you're not vaccinated, your risk of hospitalization or death is HIGHER than seasonal flu but not by a lot

If Stanford weren't going to stop fans over season flu, it shouldn't stop them over omicron.

Also, it's utterly shameful of Muir to not come out and simply state "we will refund all tickets to all events our fans are unable to attend due to this policy or game cancellations due to a team's unavailability to play."

I know a few people who actually worked on the vaccines and in the public health arena and have spoken with them about the South Africa data.  They are hopeful about the information from South Africa but they are adamant that it is insufficient to draw the conclusion that the same will apply in other communities.  That is what I am saying.  They think there is good reason to be hopeful but insufficient scientific data to dramatically change public health measures at this time.  I think Stanford is seeing the same information and taking the "safe/cautious" path.  I also see fans not being able to attend indoor college sporting events as a very minor impact compared to (possibly overly conservative) measures to try to limit the spread of the virus.  I am very hopeful that this will also be a relatively short lived wave and we can get back to the transition to endemic from pandemic measures soon.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

The problem with some of the criticism of Stanford's decision is that it is based on the seemingly obvious, doubtless conclusion that Omicron causes less serious infections in all populations.  However, that is far from established.  Not enough is known about the way it impacts the US population and nothing is known about potential long term effects from Omicron because we know that prior strains sometimes caused long term effects even with seemingly "minor" infections.  The evidence may well lead to the conclusion that cutting down on large indoor gatherings is not needed but I am perfectly fine with Stanford taking a cautious approach.  Stanford clearly wants to take the first two weeks of this quarter to try to limit spread caused by students returning from around the world.  That may not be possible with Omicron, but, again, I am fine with Stanford taking extra precautions to try to protect the community.  I don't know why people seem to think these changes are permanent when Stanford changed its attendance policies based on the changing conditions over the last year.  Some think they were too conservative, but they obviously decided to take the careful path.  I am absolutely fine with it and am sure I will get a refund for the games that I am not allowed to attend.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

Sorry Pete but I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the severity of Omicron is far from established. If you look at the public data from South Africa, a few things jump out:
- It's an order of magnitude more transmissible, and it doesn't matter much whether you're vaccinated or not in terms of catching it
- If you get it and you're vaccinated, your risk of hospitalization or death is LOWER than seasonal flu
- If you're not vaccinated, your risk of hospitalization or death is HIGHER than seasonal flu but not by a lot

If Stanford weren't going to stop fans over season flu, it shouldn't stop them over omicron.

Also, it's utterly shameful of Muir to not come out and simply state "we will refund all tickets to all events our fans are unable to attend due to this policy or game cancellations due to a team's unavailability to play."

I know a few people who actually worked on the vaccines and in the public health arena and have spoken with them about the South Africa data.  They are hopeful about the information from South Africa but they are adamant that it is insufficient to draw the conclusion that the same will apply in other communities.  That is what I am saying.  They think there is good reason to be hopeful but insufficient scientific data to dramatically change public health measures at this time.  I think Stanford is seeing the same information and taking the "safe/cautious" path.  I also see fans not being able to attend indoor college sporting events as a very minor impact compared to (possibly overly conservative) measures to try to limit the spread of the virus.  I am very hopeful that this will also be a relatively short lived wave and we can get back to the transition to endemic from pandemic measures soon.  

Cheers,
Pete F.