Boosted!

[flash2015]

Just curious - who is going to get the COVID booster this year? Why or why not?

My status - Three doses of Moderna, had COVID late last year. Given there is little benefit for reducing transmission I am not going to rush out and get it if I get it at all.

[Esquire Bertissimmo]

I'm young and relatively healthy. I got three shots of COVID vaccine throughout the pandemic and have had at least one COVID infection (maybe two). I'm pretty ambivalent about getting additional shots, but I'm not opposed either. For me, it's become like the flu shot — I know it won't hurt me (beyond a day of mild side effects) and it probably would reduce my chance of getting ill, but it's really not a big deal either way.

[BrianBaru]

If the vaccine works, why doesn’t the vaccine work?

[Octavious]

The last shot left my arm aching for well over a month. Covid is currently the lesser of the two evils by some margin

[Esquire Bertissimmo]

If the vaccine works, why doesn’t the vaccine work?

All the previous shots provably reduced the chance of catching COVID and the severity of the illness if you did still get it. If the current boosters do the same, I'd say they "work" in the same sense a flu shot "works" — it's never 100% protective because it relies on your own immune response and because the virus continues to evolve, but it's better than nothing and it's the only existing preventative measure other than limiting exposure.

[jamesa7171]

If the vaccine works, why doesn’t the vaccine work?

Some people still die in car crashes despite wearing seatbelts. If seatbelts work, why don't seatbelts work?

[Ogion]

So much nonsense, it hurts.

[Octavious]

If the vaccine works, why doesn’t the vaccine work?

All the previous shots provably reduced the chance of catching COVID and the severity of the illness if you did still get it. If the current boosters do the same, I'd say they "work" in the same sense a flu shot "works" — it's never 100% protective because it relies on your own immune response and because the virus continues to evolve, but it's better than nothing and it's the only existing preventative measure other than limiting exposure.

I don't think there's any doubt that the vaccines were initially very useful, and had a significant impact on health in Western nations in particular. They had an even more significant impact on giving people the confidence to return to normal life,
the benefits of which were profound and often underestimated.

But life, and indeed the virus, moves on. For the last year there has been no observable difference in mortality rates between those who have had all 3 shots and those who haven't had any shots at all. The balance of risk between vaccine side effects and vaccine benefits has shifted considerably.

[PRINCE WILLIAM]

Some vaccines are eliminating the illness they fight i.e. sabine. Others help you go through the illness with less hardship but do not stop you from getting sick, i.e. flu vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccine is in the second category and, for the moment at least, one that needs repeating.
I am healthy and haven't been ill, but all my family passed it. If the doctor judged it necessary, I will do it. My line of work brings me in touch with many people every day, so some caution is advised. And being in a situation where a mask is not practical, the vaccine may be needed. For the moment, we don't have a lot of sick people here.

[flash2015]

The latest booster was barely tested before being approved. Moderna injected 50 people with it and measured the increase in antibodies. Pfizer didn't even test on humans and just tested the increase in antibodies in mice.

Probably an increase in antibodies increases protection against COVID but by how much? To my knowledge there is nothing which says if you have this level of antibodies then you have this level of protection. If we had these numbers we could do antibody titers to determine whether another vaccine dose is necessary (like we do for other vaccines).

I can understand the government getting the vaccine out quickly for the elderly. However given the minimal amount of testing and given the existing immunity in the community I am not understanding the CDC recommendation that everyone over 6 months should get another dose.

[learnedSloth]

The virus broke the illusion of control, that people have tried to regain since. They hoped in experimental vaccines that were consequentially rushed to market. Now we know that they don't prevent infection, but people take them as it helps them regain the illusion of control.

Meanwhile the virus seems to mutate toward the optimal human RNA virus, the relatively harmless common cold.

[Esquire Bertissimmo]

The virus broke the illusion of control, that people have tried to regain since. They hoped in experimental vaccines that were consequentially rushed to market. Now we know that they don't prevent infection, but people take them as it helps them regain the illusion of control.

Meanwhile the virus seems to mutate toward the optimal human RNA virus, the relatively harmless common cold.

If you're talking about a hypothetical healthy 22 year old being terrified to go out without their latest booster then I agree they're using the shot for the illusion of control. But if someone is 82 with emphysema then it's not just them looking for a sense of control — it's super prudent for them to take a booster (much like how they should take the strong-dose flu vaccine as soon as it's available).

Even though it wasn't a panacea for transmission, the vaccine did give us some control by making very vulnerable people less likely to need urgent care following an infection — this point is indisputable as there are now billions of data points from around the world confirming that vaccines reduce hospitalizations and death. The most likely thing is that boosters will continue to have some positive impact, but that impact may be less and less meaningful as the virus evolves to become more benign (and it's probably not super relevant for people who have been at very low risk the whole time).

[CaptainFritz28]

Some food for thought:
https://youtu.be/xXUQqghzPB0?feature=shared

Some interesting data:
https://worldcouncilforhealth.org/resou ... ce-report-

[kestasjk]

I'm young and relatively healthy. I got three shots of COVID vaccine throughout the pandemic and have had at least one COVID infection (maybe two). I'm pretty ambivalent about getting additional shots, but I'm not opposed either. For me, it's become like the flu shot — I know it won't hurt me (beyond a day of mild side effects) and it probably would reduce my chance of getting ill, but it's really not a big deal either way.

Yeah same.. I feel like covid is the same as getting a cold at this point. I get whatever shots I can to guard against flu etc, just to try and be responsible and not lose any unnecessary working days, so I'll probably get it at some point, but it's not like 2021 where if you didn't get it I thought it was irresponsible / dangerous.