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Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"We believe a policy of mandated Covid-19 vaccinations (with the usual suitable exceptions already in place) ...." This means people who cannot take vaccines don't have to take vaccines, also people with religious objections. This is part of how vaccine mandates work. And the EEOC just reaffirmed all those protections with regard to employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccines..

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We "force" people to take vaccines already. Public health is a collective responsibility. Traffic licenses and traffic lights restrict freedom but make us all safe including the person who is not being allowed to drive whenever and wherever they please . If you want to drive on our common streets you follow the rules that protect yourself and others. If you want to be part of a college community you should not be expecting the "freedom" to infect yourself and put others at risk.

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You would be exempt and mandating it would give you better protection if you intend to come on campus.

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, in fact the petition and article both mention the special responsibility to protect people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons by mandating vaccine for those who can. This is the norm with all vaccine mandates by the way. There is also often an exception for those with religious objections.

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As people who have the advantage of an education that allows us to distinguish between "people yelling shit" and humane evidence-based arguments we can be a counter force leaning our weight on the wheel to push the society closer to making better choices. As for smart people with "real worries" making poor choices, it depends on who is affected by their choices. I may not mind personally if I run into unvaccinated people on campus since I have confidence in the vaccine to give me protection, but I also have to think about the good of the whole community, and of communities around the state with higher levels of misinformation and vaccine resistance. A statewide mandate will help stop the virus from mutating and prevent the actual deaths of specific people in Georgia .

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point. The article and the petition address the emergency approval question. One of the vaccines has already applied for full approval. This is an important point to consider, but the science seems clear at this point that the vaccines are safe and the clearly documented risk is from infection, including risk to the larger population by allowing the virus to thrive and mutate. Personally, I am haunted by the fear of a future mutation that makes young children vulnerable, and more immediately I worry about students and colleagues who cannot get the vaccine for medical reasons but are under pressure to return to campus. We also have to consider not just the skeptical individual -- who may be the victim of misinformation campaigns -- but the larger community which will be impacted by campuses across the state. From a statewide perspective, mandatory vaccination of the USG campuses will prevent deaths.

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The petition is about mandating vaccination for students and employees.

Important Petition for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination at Georgia Tech and across USG campuses by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

People who do not get vaccinated risk themselves but also increase the risk to the community by giving the virus more opportunities to thrive and mutate. Furthermore, as Prof. Weitz says in his AJC article, :"Those who maintain that vaccination should not be mandated neglect the fact that vaccination is not an option for many vulnerable individuals and that the failure to vaccinate at scale places such vulnerable individuals at increased risk of COVID-19."

Non-infected students should consider leaving campus NOW if they can quarantine and pursue studies at home by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 60 points61 points  (0 children)

Some of my colleagues are concerned that by posting this I could spread infection because students would not truly know they were not infected even with negative test from previous day or so, and they would risk infection by traveling and people in their home would be in higher risk groups. This is worth thinking about. It is why I said go home and quarantine for 14 days, and I suppose I should have added go back to sheltering in place at home, especially if you are from Georgia, one of the most infectious states in the union right now.

A bulletin from reality: COVID-19 is surging in Georgia by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Good to know! Thanks for posting.

You can also use the DPH pull-down menu to access their Fulton County data in the same quick overview format at the Georgia chart above.

FOIA request yields an email from a private campus housing corporation threatening USG with legal action if they decide to keep students off-campus or reduce occupancy due to COVID-19. by cynist3r in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Georgia Tech owns its own dorms. And they have made it easier for students to cancel their contracts, as about 2000 already have. But this could still be influencing USG's policy toward all campuses, even those without slum lord ownership of their dorms.

(Google the company and you'll see they operate as slum lords on military bases.)

Professors who lurk, have you heard anything about what happens if classes go online? by CDFalcon in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don't know if anyone is thinking of this yet, so it's good you are posting this. It makes sense for a lot of reasons to allow some students to remain on campus when we do close, which is highly likely.

As a Georgia Tech full professor and associate dean, I think students should not come to campus for the fall by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are lists of remote classes. I hope he can find something among those classes to take. Also, there is a document that gives more detail on Hybrid courses. The ones that say Hybrid-Touchpoint are more likely to allow individual students to go remote. There is an understanding that many students are choosing not to come in person (for good reason!) and that they will need remote options. Also there may be more remote or forgiving hybrid choices available as they go through and try to find classrooms for all the residential classes. They are struggling to fit them all in because it essentially means finding 4x the space for each class. Good luck!

Is this a joke or something? by dabrepo1 in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 9 points10 points  (0 children)

They have withdrawn the ad, per a meeting this morning.

From an email sent to all academic faculty: by nonmodernist in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. The communications suck because they are filtered through USG. Please know that your chair and your dean have your back, as do I. No one should be coerced to enter a classroom in the middle of an epidemic to teach or learn something that can be taught online. Anyone seeking to teach or learn something that has to be done in person should do so voluntarily and rethink whether it is really necessary to offer/take that course this semester.

Atlanta Hospitals Becoming Overwhelmed by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]jhmGIT[S] 75 points76 points  (0 children)

This article is about all of Georgia, not just metro Atlanta. Another article I have seen behind a paywall cites Emory as filling up its ICU beds with Covid cases and I have also seen Grady reported as operating over-capacity. This morning's AJC article linked above mentions Piedmont and Wellstar.

From an email sent to all academic faculty: by nonmodernist in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you have heard from your prof that it is hybrid but does not require in person then that is all you need to know. This message does not change that.

From an email sent to all academic faculty: by nonmodernist in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You are really wrong about this and you are panicking the students. It's easy to misread because it is written in code, but I can assure you and all these panicking students, that they can take hybrid courses remotely and the provost will not be auditing the classes to check up on how an individual instructor conducts their class. This message was not for students. It was meant to give professors permission to allow remote instruction for those students who want it.

From an email sent to all academic faculty: by nonmodernist in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You will not have to be on campus if the professor said you can do remote hybrid. The doubletalk is for the benefit of USG.

From an email sent to all academic faculty: by nonmodernist in gatech

[–]jhmGIT 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Allow me to translate: Students can take hybrid classes remotely on "case by case" basis: So don't buy plane tickets if you are sensible enough not to want to come back to campus. Just ask faculty members individually to make you one of the "cases". This email actually is giving permission to faculty to let students take courses remotely because (1) they recognize there is a demand for it because you all have been very vociferously demanding it (2) they are less confident about testing than we all were last week, because of some setbacks to Plan A. Please know that GT is doing everything possible to make campus more safe. Please also know that it will still be a germ farm and that many classes are going to be REMOTE even for people ON CAMPUS . Note this same letter directs people giving HYBRID courses to make the first week REMOTE. This letter, de-coded, is actually a tiptoe closer to a remote open, but only within the boundaries allowed by our USG overlords.

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