Apparently the germs at NASCAR are more dangerous than the wrecks.
Charlotte.com : Charlotte news, events, Panthers, Bobcats, jobs, cars, homes FYI — From the sounds of things the USA is going into the crapper since our own government sees public events as massive health threats.
NASCAR fans might seem rabid, but are they actually contagious?
Getting a hepatitis shot is standard procedure for travelers to parts of Africa and Asia, but some congressional aides were instructed to get immunized before going to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord and the racetrack in Talladega, Ala.
The House Homeland Security Committee planned a fact-finding trip about public health preparedness at mass gatherings and decided to conduct the research at two of the nation’s most heavily attended sporting events, NASCAR’s Bank of America 500 event this weekend and the UAW-Ford 500 last weekend.
Staff who organized the trips advised the NASCAR-bound aides to get a range of vaccines before attending — hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza.
found by JM Rice
While I have never been to a Cup race, the TV pictures are scary enough.
All you have to see is all the Confederate flags flying…. you get the picture.
Don
Always appalls me how grown men leave the washrooms w/o washing their hands.
I’m so glad they got rid of doors at the airports.
They missed yellow fever vaccine and malaria prophylaxis. I mean this really sounds like a list needed before going to work closely with the local population in a tropical third world country.
Hep B??!!? Is there that much sex going on at these things? Or are people regularly bleeding on each other?
You should see some of the “tailgating” parties at these races. It’s not bad enough, that they have the race for a day, but some of these yahoos camp out for a week at the track, so that they may get a chance to see “their” driver.
Some of these men in the audience haven’t washed their bodies in several years, let alone their hands. And the stuff that they cook. OMG, it is probably road kill that they ran over on the way to the track. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t cases of dysentery at some of the “campgrounds” for the lack of toilets.
No Way!!! all of the alcohol kills the germs!
“Crowd control to turn 3!!!!!!”
2. I knew a doctor like that. He claimed that touching anything in the washroom is much worse than touching yourself, he even advocated holding your breath if someone flushed while you were in there. I think he may have had a point, especially about the flushy thing.
Good points in the article.
Now, let’s see the report on the rock concerts and the assorted protests.
2 & 6 – I’m with ya’ll there!
(To my filthy, bastard coworkers:
See? I’m not crazy!)
I avoid as much contact as possible with most people because of this sort of thing. It’s especially irritating (and disgusting) when I see someone in the restroom run their hands under the water but don’t bother with the soap…. I don’t get it… they are half way there, but yet they don’t go all the way….
Considering the state of public health, it’s not surprising to see something like that.
#8, I prefer not to pee on my hands.
It’s kind of amusing, considering that the average citizen of Charlotte is notably healthier and has a longer life expectancy than the average resident of DC, not to mention being less prone to violence. And I know both cities quite well.
Admittedly, the subpop of hardcore NASCAR fans (I did say “hardcore”, so save it) is composed near-exclusively of individuals with 2-digit IQs, and the crowd at Charlotte comes largely from other places, many or most of them not as civilized – but the mouth-breathers pretty much prefer to consort with their own ilk, and all-in-all present little risk of communicating third-world diseases to the delicate flowers of Washington…
So our tax money is sending “congressional aides”, ie some yuppies right out of college, to NASCAR races? Seems like a boondoggle to me.
It’d be funny if some impersonator handed out SARS masks for these guys to wear and snapped some photos.
Jesus H. Christ. You people are sounding more and more like the uncaring bigots over at Fark every day, and I thought DU was comprised of more intelligent and tolerant folks. I guess I was sadly mistaken. I was born in the south and I don’t make nasty and disparraging remarks about people just because they are from the north. Judge people on an individual basis, you’re sounding like a bunch of pseudo intellectuals.
#11, Lauren, did you know the average IQ in Arkansas goes up 20 points when there’s a NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway? 🙂
(Apologies to NASCAR fans and Arkansans in advance)
Lou Dobbs is on this, and one of the few times I think he is “wrong.”
He thinks it is elitist for the congress staffers to get shots rather than have the entire crowd vacinated?
Well, I do assume (hope) that the local public health offices offer shots to all comers. After that, public education is always a good thing.
And yes, anyone should get the information and access to public health–including corrupt incompetent congressional staffers.
#10 – I don’t care if you actually pee on your hands or not…. you still shake I assume, and therefore need to wash your hands (with water AND soap) after touching your shit.
…. and it seems the point of the whole story is lost on so many people. The immunizations were recommended because the aides would be visiting health care facilities. These immunizations are common for health care workers. I think it’s actually a very appropriate precaution.
#18, Satan
True. That point was missed by all the above posts. But hey, look at the fun they had laughing at southerners. Would you really begrudge them that? May God Bless the South, no one else will.
As far as washing after urination. If I remember the stats, it was something like 80% of women and 45% of men wash their hands after urinating. I always put that down to men usually remember where their genitals have been whereas women, … .
Mr. Fusion, I certainly do not begrudge anyone making fun of those who truly deserve it… I do like a good laugh… (Actually, I was thinking more about the news broadcasts concerning this rather than comments on this blog….)
… and let it be known that I know exactly where my genitals have been…. I’m not worried about spreading disease myself; I worry about those who don’t care where they’ve been, or what they may have, and don’t care who they spread it to. I would prefer that those people keep their Hepatitis to themselves….
….oh, and I still wash my hands. with soap. 🙂
21. Thats a good Satan.
“How do you tell if someone is a chemist?”
“He washes his hands before taking a piss.”