Covid Surge and Back to Remote

Most firms in NYC are remote for the next few weeks. For better or for worse, it is moving extremely quickly, so can't imagine Omicron will still be so dire in 6 months to move internships to virtual. Maybe if there's a new variant.

Expect a repeat of last summer. In person jume internships but vaccine + booster requirement - FT workers will have the option to come into the office, so most interns will be in the office all day alone (+hardos), then if there an office specific outbreak, people will be advised to finish up remotely should they choose.

Spring semesters will be in person, I always expected lockdowns to come around the winter season - it’s the same time as flu outbreaks and the cold weather is great for viral spreads. Expect things to look up by March at the latest, especially since nobody is really dying from this variant

Where are you getting this info on UChicago? I'm a student there and the email they sent out this morning said they're making efforts to make it in-person. 

Edit: Also, we have a quarter system, so it would be winter quarter not spring semester lol

Is omicron even deadly? We can't keep doing this shit.

Hope we stay remote forever. Once you get on the job you will realize this too. Life is better.

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Penn had finals remote

Waste of money to do any part of undergrad remotely... especially at full tuition. I feel so bad for these kids lmao. 

My university system just went remote for the first two weeks of 2022. They encouraged us to get the booster this winter as well, but not mandatory yet.

Have made this post before, there is a ton of misinformation out there and aggressive clowns on each side of the isle (anti-vax morons and doomsday fear-mongers) A few things:

• Omicron is spreading very quickly, but is less lethal if you contract it. Additionally, people are tired of all these restrictions and are behaving more recklessly (not wearing masks, going to bars and not caring etc) making the disease spread even faster. This thing is going around and already you are seeing rapid increases in cases including breakthrough cases (people that have been vaxxed). If you are young and you have been vaccinated, you likely don’t need to majorly change your behavior. You likely will get it at one point and you will be fine. That said, you might want to be careful if you are going to see or be around old people. You should get an over the counter test at your local cvs or go to a public testing center before seeing older people. 
• You anti-vaxxers are really stupid. It is your right to be stupid, but if you contract the disease your outcome is substantially better being vaxxed versus not. On average, vaxxed or not, young people will be fine and the mass hysteria and fear mongering done by the liberal media is pretty absurd, but you can think there is a rational economic approach without being anti-vax. The science and statistics are pretty undeniable—you are better off getting vaccinated and getting boosted. Adverse reactions to the vaccine are extremely rare and risks to the vaccine aren’t significantly different than vaccines given for like polio that are required for all kids in public schools. Babies are almost all vaccinated for numerous diseases already whether you realize it or not. So it isn’t a new concept or government overreach to require vaccinations. There is nothing that makes this vaccine more dangerous or rushed—it followed fda scrutiny and fortunately was able to move so fast due to the number of cases and people getting the disease. Again it is your right to be stupid, but 10 years from now, the vaccine will likely be required along with the vaccines already required for many kids to go to any school (hepatitis, measles, mumps, polio etc.). It isn’t a new thing requiring vaccines or a bizarre government power play, minus early lockdowns and mask mandates, everything has precedent. 
• Lockdowns aren’t doing to happen. What will happen is local restrictions based on hospitals getting overrun or a trajectory that looks like it will lead to hospitals getting overrun. Fortunately, the faster this thing moves, the sooner it will be over. Your June internship isn’t going to be remote. That is absurd, stop reading cnn or buzzfeed. Schools and employers are going to go back to suggesting remote work based on local outbreaks during this winter, then things will resume. However, many places likely will say, “do what you are comfortable with” because if you are vaxxed and wear a mask you will be fine. Case increases are likely going to peak late jan or early feb, so it’s going to be a more restricted winter/ beginning of 2022, but after that, enough people will have either had covid or been vaccinated that hospitals won’t have issues dealing with the few serious cases that come up and the world will finally resume

Advice to the two populations:

• The nervous people who think the whole world is ending—get the vaccine, get the booster, wear a mask and avoid public gatherings. Buy a bunch of over the counter tests and test if you suspect you have it and/or before seeing old people. You still likely will get it at some point and the symptoms will be like the flu or a bad cold. You don’t refuse to drive because you could get in a car accident and you also shouldn’t be afraid to live your life because you might get covid and die (both are very very unlikely).
• The weird “freedom fighters” who are anti-vaccine and think the government is doing this whole thing as a power play. Your risk of death is higher not getting the vaccine, full stop. The comparison isn’t % of people in your age range that die from covid and comparing that to the number of vaccine issues, it is % of people in your age range that get covid who die who are vaccinated, versus people who aren’t vaccinated. More people have died from not getting vaccinated than have died from adverse reactions. With that said, many of you won’t listen and a few of you will die. Look at % of people who go into the hospital that are vaccinated versus not—again the science and stats are pretty undeniable. Finally, on the overreach thing, as mentioned above—vaccine mandates aren’t unprecedented. Mask mandates and lockdowns have been, but this is a very rare situation. Im all for the counter argument that we just need to let the old people die and these restrictions are killing the economy, but based on the number of deaths from this disease it is clearly an unprecedented situation with the disease different from something like the flu. Initially all governments were panicking, now it is up to local municipalities and then creating laws that vary based on political leanings, which isn’t a new concept and is how the country has and always worked. It isn’t stealing for a local municipality to charge higher taxes versus lower taxes and it isn’t restricting your freedom requiring masks versus not.

Columbia is remote for the first two weeks of the semester. Email went out this morning.

These threads always end up in political bs fights or whatever. I just want to know if we are going to be back to fully WFH long term. That is all I care about.

If there’s one thing that’s come out of this whole thing, it’s the blatant realization of how WEIRD a large percentage of the population are on both sides.  The nervous nellies on the left with anxiety issues over covid wearing masks outside on the street and the anti vaxxers on the right that will die for pride.  Completely serious covid has changed my perception entirely of society and the people around me when I’m shopping at the store or whatever.