I am actually not sure how long it takes to get a degree in medicine here in Germany (though I am fairly sure more than four years, at a minium there must be residency requirements etc.) but part of the reason is probably that it is not split into an undergraduate degree and then med school. If you want to study medicine you start right after graduating high school and just concentrate on that. So it should be shorter than in the US as you don't take any of the general undergraduate courses.

Okay, we are always just three and this is what we have: a (tiny) turkey/turkey breast or chicken, sweet-n-sour bean casserole, cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, and one or more of the following: mashed potatoes, corn, rolls.

Not sure what your rules are exactly but here churches did require masks only for walking in and out, not while sitting down, for a while (numbers were fairly low at that point). The idea is that when seated you will not be closer than six feet so masks are not necessary. I realize it doesn't make much sense due to singing/air transmission etc. but at that point our numbers were so low that I felt okay with it. Numbers have since risen a lot and I am currently staying home from church so not sure what the procedure is currently.

I don't think it will really be necessary to pay anyone to get the vaccine (at least initially). First of all, there likely will be far less vaccine available at first than needed so only a fraction can get it anyway. Then I do believe there will be a lot of pressure on getting it from various sides: You want to travel and enter country X? Prove that you had the shot. You want to go on a cruise? Prove you had the shot. You want to attend a large conference? Prove you had the shot etc. By the time sufficient vaccine is available and all the people eager to get it (or forced to in order to live their lives) have received it, the vaccine won't be new anymore so more people will be willing to get it. At that point I think enough people will have been treated to get close to herd immunity, between shots and having had the virus.

Have you considered that it may mostly be frustration? I am far from perfect when it comes to conservation/sustainable living but would have a hard time with someone I cared about not believing that "climate change is super important". Because it is. It's just a fact. I can understand not acting on it - obviously that's not great but there are lots of things we know we should do and don't. But someone just not believing facts (or believing things that are clearly untrue) would deeply frustrate me.

Probably a mix. Obviously, I wouldn't know if I don't remember. I generally wake up I think (or don't remember). Quite often I can tell while I am dreaming that it is a nightmare and kind of think to myself, "This dream sucks. I better wake up." And I do.

Probably not. I never have as it is only recommended for certain groups where I live. I have considered it this year due to COVID (potentially overloaded doctors/hospitals, less chance of getting both etc.) but don't think I will as they are low on flu shots and they are still supposed to be used mainly for at risk populations.

For me, the same thing backfires. I/we don't really eat leftovers but I can't throw things out either. So I just stick stuff in the fridge and leave it there until it definitely isn't edible anymore. I generally try to cook amounts that we will eat so there aren't usually large amounts of cooked food - it is more half-used cans of ingredients etc.

In my opinion there is a (strong) correlation between hard work and success. But everyone starts at a different place and yes, that is far from fair. If you are born into a rich, educated etc. family and maybe are fairly good-looking and smart you will likely be successful even with little work. If you are born in a disadvantaged position it will be much harder. But with a given start, hard work will usually lead to more success. And success isn't the same for everyone. One person may be successful if they get a high-powered job, win prices etc. while for another success may be a decent job and a small apartment. It remains unfair but on the other hand success doesn't necessarily mean happiness.

Honestly, I would just let it go. As far as disobedience goes, it is rather minor - noone got hurt, nothing was damaged, noone was in danger. I am sure whoever it was got a pretty big scare and given that you said that the kids are in general well-behaved I would just let it be.

I have. Wasn't really worried about it. I might feel different about a resort though (i.e. using restaurant, activities, pool etc.).

Huh, I got an 87.something.... Not sure I answered the questions right though - I would be willing to consider all the scenarios but actually haven't done any of them (other than eating outside at restaurants). But the main reason I don't travel right now for example isn't because I am worried about getting sick but because little is even possible/offered and I would feel guilty for possibly spreading the virus. And I would consider going to the movies but haven't been in like 4 years so don't think I am going to start right now. But I did take several 3-hour train journeys in the last couple of weeks that were kind of necessary (but maybe could have been avoided if I had to) and wasn't really worried. But as I am getting older I have realized that I don't mind risk as much as many other people (which is surprising as I would never have considered myself like that) and neither I nor anyone I have much contact with is at increased risk for COVID-19.

Well, yes, my feelings are what they are. I AM getting tired of this. That doesn't necessarily mean I will act differently. I am a big rule follower (and I live in Europe and rules are fairly strict here). I am wearing a mask whenever I am out and near people. I work from home. The only time I am out of the house is usually to go to the grocery store. But if I said that I am not getting tired of this, that I am not longing to travel again I would be lying. Not sure what is so horrible about that? And if I was sure that it was a full 5 years until this pandemic is over my opinions would change (it is of course hypothetical as is this entire thread). I was all for isolating nursing homes in the spring to save lives. But there are costs associated with that and they are not to be discounted either. But five years? Five years of not seeing family? I guess for my personally the only real difference would be vacations. For now, I am not going on any but I think I might by next spring/summer. I will of course consider local infection risks and I can probably quarantine when I get back. But for me personally by next year a slightly increased risk is probably worth it by then.

Well, I am kind of losing patience with this pandemic. I know that's horrible, but it is what it is. My immediate family is not high risk (I know of course that there are no guarantees) and kids are at an age where it is really problematic (oldest just started college, younger son in 10th grade) and I can't quite see us putting our lives on hold for five more years. An entire college education with mostly distance learning and little socializing? Another kid with no prom etc.? I really miss travelling/vacations... I think I am okay with another 6 months to a year but much longer than that and I am not sure how reasonable I will /would be. That being said I am okay with wearing a mask, washing hands, taking reasonable precautions. But in the middle to long term I would probably go out to restaurants and travel again as long as it is allowed. I do work from home and don't see many people in my daily live so the risk of me infecting others after e.g. travelling would be fairly low.

Hm, I am really surprised to hear this. I live in Germany and travel (or have travelled in the past) a fair amount on trains but have never encountered an x-ray machine (or a security control). Was it when crossing the border or did she want to deposit it somewhere? I just can't think when they would notice a corkscrew (or anything else). Was it maybe increased security due to the pandemic or a specific incident? Or maybe a particular city? Either way, my answer would be that at least as far as Germany is concerned this must have been some exception. Generally noone cares what you care in your suitcase/backpack - you could have a whole suitcase full of knives. She must have just been unlucky.

Well, if we estimate 20 million people in Florida and say 60% get infected (I think I have read that previously as a fair estimate before much herd immunity sets in?) we still have 12 million people. At 10,000 a day you can go quite a while (around 3 years I think). Obviously, these numbers are just a very very rough guess and it would depend on how the population mingles, whether certain populations are more careful than others, etc. But either way, I can't think that we could be anywhere close to running out of people (even if the actual cases are quite a bit higher than the reported ones). Going off the reported deaths, the most current probable IFR of around 0,6, and extrapolating due to the lag in deaths I would guess that maybe around 2 million have been infected in Florida so far. Even given that I may be quite a bit off, I don't think the reason for the lower numbers could be that too many have had it (though I may be wrong, especially if there are social/cultural factors at play).

Hm, it does sound suspicious. I think testing sites being closed due to storm warnings and more negatives due to testing teachers etc. make a lot of sense. I can see R going down due to changed behaviour but it would be surprising if it was that much (based on numbers in the past/other places). I guess we will see how things develop in the next couple of weeks.

So quick questions for those of you that are tracking this more than me: The last couple of days I have noticed on Worldometer that daily new cases in many states (including especially Florida) have gone way down, from around 10 k to 7 k to now around 5k. Obviously, that sounds like good news but I just don't understand how that can be? It would mean that R has gone down significantly, correct? I know that some restrictions have been enacted but I thought not that many/many people don't comply? I can see the cases staying level under those circumstances but going down that fast/far is surprising. Here in Europe it took a while for such a decrease even when there was a lockdown. So I am wondering is this really happening (and if so what is the reason) or is it a data problem of some sort?

What I don't get is the focus on HCQ. Does it possibly help in some cases/in some combination etc.? Sure. But so far various studies haven't really found good proof of it (even though studies have been run and are still being performed). That doesn't mean it is possible that at some point a study will find a safe/helpful combination/use of it. But the same is true for so many other medicines/vitamins etc. It seems to be a bit of a waste to keep on trying to find the magic solution with this one remedy instead of looking further for more promising ideas (I do realize that there are of course other studies but it seems like some people would rather focus on this one). Let's say you have a large stain on your couch and try to get it out with dishwashing liquid. You try different temperatures, different amounts, different mixtures but nothing really helps (and maybe it even damages the fabric). Do you keep trying with the dishwashing liquid (it has to work somehow) or do you go on and try different approaches (regular soap, baking soda etc.)?

I don't think shutting everything down indefinitely is necessary (or good for anyone). But neither is it necessary. Our numbers in Germany have been fairly low for a while (we did shut down for 5 or 6 weeks) and most things here are back to almost normal. Restaurants have been open for at least 6 weeks, my son's graduation was limited (i.e. only the students attended and it was filmed) but happened, younger son goes to school every second week with half his class but they have restarted theater, church has been back for a while (with some modifications), the town is bustling with people, etc. Sure, we wear masks in stores/public transportation and there are some other limits but nothing major (to me). I realize things can change. Our numbers are up a bit lately and we don't know what effect summer vacation with everyone travelling will have. But there is a good amount of contact tracing (much easier with lower numbers) and isolating etc. so hopefully numbers won't get bad before there is a vaccine/better treatment plan. So my thoughts are that shutting down indefinitely would be a bad idea but shutting down to get control over the pandemic and then following limitations as necessary to prevent a resurgence is best.

No idea about teachers but here a child was just diagnosed (in our county, not our school). Two classes and the respective teachers have been sent home/into quarantine for two weeks. They are all being tested but no results yet. I don't know about that school but at my son's classes at the moment are still split in half and meet only every second week. There is also some effort to avoid classes mingling together (i.e. separate places for recess). I assume something similar is true for the school in question which is probably why only two classes have been isolated.

Yes, I think that is the difference. We are getting pretty much back to normal life here in Germany (at least for the moment) - our county with around 165 k people for example has had 1 new case in the last seven days (and none for about 10 days before that and generally 1 to 2 per week for the last six weeks or so). There is quite a lot of testing/tracing going on I think (and as long as numbers are low it shouldn't be difficult) and areas do get closed down if numbers go up. So I feel okay if school goes back to normal (or almost normal) in September as long as the numbers remain low.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. Meeting with them will increase your risk. But you already are somewhat at risk anyway. And the increase isn't huge. So it just depends on how YOU feel about it. Are you willing to have a somewhat higher risk in exchange for more interaction?

I do feel more relaxed. I wear a mask when shopping (as is mandatory here) and have fairly little outside contact anyway. But I have gone out for dinner a couple of times (outside) and have let the kids meet friends and even overnight at a friend's house. However, cases are way down here (our county of around 160 k hasn't had a single case in the last eight days) so I think the benefits of social contact outweigh the risk at this point. If/when cases start rising we will reassess.

What are your numbers for new cases etc.? If they are very low I would possibly consider letting her join in a bit more (wearing a mask etc. of course). In our county (about 165 k people) we have had around 1 to 2 new cases per week for the last five weeks or so. In similar circumstances I would maybe take a bit of a risk (though it does of course depend on the exact situation).