Nice try. No where did I judge your intentions and sentiments, just your use of "so much death". The flu pandemic of 1918 and its 50 million deaths is more in line with "so much death" as are heart disease, cancer, and war to name a few. In terms of insulting, to make a blanket statement that you're disappointed in our society "for the blatant apathy towards so much death as a result of virus" is a direct insult to the overwhelming majority of citizens who have complied with the guidance provided by the CDC. That they all can't live up to your perceived higher standards is no reason to insult them.

Did you know that the J and J vaccine is only 20% effective against the SA strain of covid? Or that having had a native covid infection doesn’t confer any immunity at all against that strain? Or that monoclonal antibody therapy doesn’t work against it either?

trentnix.... this post of yours is one of the best i've read.
thank you....

Here are my credentials. Masters in Public Policy from Columbia University with a focus on emergency management. Senior bio-terrorism planner at New York City Department of Health working on New York’s small pox pandemic plan. 30+ Olympic and 70.3s completed. Looking forward to safely resuming my racing in the fall.

1) Thanks to “bureaucrats” at public health agencies across the country, US has one of the most robust vaccination programs in world.

2) My first triathlon was Savageman. Is that legit enough for you?

3) My wife is a high school principal. I left my job to take care of my young son after schools shut down. What did you do during COVID besides trolling people on Slowtwitch?

4) A terrorist attack using smallpox would require every American to be treated within 4 days. Smallpox is one of the most contagious, deadly viruses. By planning for this worst case scenario, public health departments are better prepared when less contagious pandemics occur (COVID). This week’s Economist has a great story on smallpox if you are interested in educating yourself rather than making inane comments on Slowtwitch.

I applaud the OP for this thread.

1. Make a few quick posts to rile up some folks, 2. stop responding, 3. enjoy the crap that gets thrown back and forth.

Very well done.

You keep trying, but it just isn't working. You need to start with an intelligent argument that triathlon events produce material transmissions, hospitalizations, and deaths. So far, you haven't. Probably because you can't. The reality is the probabilities are much greater that the swim and bike of a triathlon will produce more hospitalizations and deaths than Covid.

The US has hosted several dozen triathlon and running events since fall of 2020. So far, I have not found anything that points to material transmission associated with a triathlon event. I am open to the possibility, so go searching. If you find something tangible, get back to us.

Here's a poor, but eye-opening proxy. Remember that massive motorcycle rally in 2020 that stayed on the headlines for about a week? The thing had almost 500K participants over 10 days. It was huge. CDC studied it. It only produced 51 primary cases, 26 secondary and tertiary cases, four hospitalizations, and 1 death. This was an outdoor event. I suspect that triathlon is less likely than this to contribute to transmission, largely because triathlon will largely be attended by well people. This is probably why you will have a very hard time finding any reports of material transmission associated with a triathlon. It probably is not there.

So a bureaucrat, then. Explains a lot. Smallpox? Really?

You are right that you shouldn’t listen to me for triathlon advice, which is why I don’t give any. But at least I have completed a long course race once upon a time and was a USAT certified coach for a minute.