I think the main issue is that the banter thread, which is supposed to cover more random topics and discussion, is being dominated by COVID, and it's drowning out the other banter - plus there's many of us who just don't want to read about COVID opinions 24/7 but still want to check in here for the other topics.
So yes, there's a number of us that are more annoyed because it is being shoved down our throats in the banter thread. Our choices are either read the COVID stuff in banter, or ignore the thread entirely. The issue isn't the discussion itself, but it's such a heated topic and there's probably a good percentage of people who would rather read/discuss anything else.
Maybe the mods will allow a COVID discussion thread for the Fall. They effectively cannot remove the COVID discussion from the forum so why not split it out? This way we can discuss crotch rot and the Red Sox choking down the stretch without COVID getting in the way. The way the forum is setup, the advice of "just don't read it" or "ignore it" is impossible unless you stay out of the banter thread entirely.