EDIT: I’m less certain this is true because I think I didn’t fully update on how much the vaccines reduce the risks of covid for young people. I think maybe not getting tested is fine if you aren’t likely to be exposed to non-vaccinated people and you aren’t in a position to interact heavily with many people.
I’ve been informed 3 days ago that someone at the event now has covid, likely from the event itself.
Dear Linchuan,
One of the attendees of the EA Picnic let us know they developed COVID symptoms on Friday July 16th and tested positive on Sunday July 18th with a rapid test. They traveled by plane to the Bay Area on July 7 and flew home on July 13. They had little exposure to others except for this trip, so they very likely caught it during the trip, either at the Picnic or while traveling home. They were fully vaccinated with Moderna at the time.
We’re notifying all attendees in case the information is helpful (for example, if you have symptoms and were considering getting tested).
With best wishes for your health, The EA Picnic team
Speaking for myself and not for any organization, I would strongly recommend my fellow picnic attendees to get tested if at all reasonably possible, especially if they have any symptoms. A simple sanity check is that if one vaccinated person at a 200(?) person event got covid from the event, odds are decent that at least one other person got it, which already translates to >0.5% chance of covid or 5,000 microcovids.
While I did not have the forethought to advocate this immediately, in the future if this happens people should probably immediately take action upon this information (eg, get tested, maybe/probably quarantine until test results are back regardless of symptoms, and definitely quarantine if there are symptoms).
I want to commend the EA Picnic team for their transparency and notifying us immediately upon test results. That said, every day counts for reducing further transmission and in retrospect I think it was a mistake for us to think individually in terms of risks etc, and not to act more coherently as a community (eg by advocating stronger measures for several days immediately upon receipt of this information).
EDIT: I’m less certain this is true because I think I didn’t fully update on how much the vaccines reduce the risks of covid for young people. I think maybe not getting tested is fine if you aren’t likely to be exposed to non-vaccinated people and you aren’t in a position to interact heavily with many people.
I’ve been informed 3 days ago that someone at the event now has covid, likely from the event itself.
Speaking for myself and not for any organization, I would strongly recommend my fellow picnic attendees to get tested if at all reasonably possible, especially if they have any symptoms. A simple sanity check is that if one vaccinated person at a 200(?) person event got covid from the event, odds are decent that at least one other person got it, which already translates to >0.5% chance of covid or 5,000 microcovids.
While I did not have the forethought to advocate this immediately, in the future if this happens people should probably immediately take action upon this information (eg, get tested, maybe/probably quarantine until test results are back regardless of symptoms, and definitely quarantine if there are symptoms).
I want to commend the EA Picnic team for their transparency and notifying us immediately upon test results. That said, every day counts for reducing further transmission and in retrospect I think it was a mistake for us to think individually in terms of risks etc, and not to act more coherently as a community (eg by advocating stronger measures for several days immediately upon receipt of this information).