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Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

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Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel isn't among the countries with the highest vaccination rates anymore, quite a few other countries have overtaken it.

Ok well you can't beat Gibraltar at 99%. But you look at other countries. New Zealand is a good one. Their hospitals are getting swamped with kids right now with severe RSV. Why? They've had their immune systems degraded from some of the most severe lockdowns I the planet. And admittedly they aren't in a covid spike but the effective lockdown has created other problems.

This shouldn't be down voted. It appears to be correct and is a subject of active concern in NZ.

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/08/02/fight-against-...

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#123
post #8

I can already see this backfiring later when that assessment changes due to more information or increased supply, like it did with the mask messaging.

It's a long read but shows what you allude to: https://www.juliusruechel.com/2021/09/the-snake-oil-salesmen...

stop posting unfounded claims and conspiracy theory trash blogs

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#124
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Studies have primarily observed a modest decline in effectiveness among older people and the immunocompromised, which is why some jurisdictions have recommended boosters for these people (Israel, California). There is a reason boosters have not been approved anywhere for the general population, and that is because so far the data does not indicate they are necessary.

Necessary and useful are two vastly different things. My state is throwing expired vaccine into the garbage. I'd take a booster even if it only made me five percent safer.

The meme of people sticking themselves with every needle they can get ahold of is real?

I think this is a bad idea, to make this booster decision on your own. Talk to your doctor first.

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#125
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Novavax is potentially even more efficacious, and should be widely available next year. [1] It's also not mRNA based FWIW. [2] [1] https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/... [2] https://www.nebraskamed.com/COVID/moths-and-tree-bark-how-th...

> All alone, the spike protein is harmless (From your [2]) This is a lie. The spike protein has been shown to cause cardiovascular issues.

Water can also cause death, in high enough doses.

Sola dosis facit venenum.

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fake news alert: Biontech/Pfizer never "dissed" AZ. They never commented on AZ. You can not blame BT if everyone wants "the best" for themselves.

There is active and passive dissing. Like publicly confirming deliveries when your competition is announcing delays. Or re-publishing your vaccine efficiency numbers when those of the competition are in doubt. I guess we can agree that this is a form throwing shade, or dissing, your competition. Just doing it in a smarter way than saying "AZ sucks".

>Like publicly confirming deliveries when your competition is announcing delays.

Sorry but that is nonsense. When in spring 2021 AZ had big delays, everyone was nervous that the same might happen to BNT. So politics, the public and the press asked them about it. At this time we had almost daily reports on deliveries because it was THE news item in spring.

BNT deliveries were rock solid and mostly on time in the EU in spring 2021, while AZ had plenty of delays. And you are now holding this against BNT?

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#128
post #95

I think this reporting is dancing around the issue, that the vaccine supply is most concentrated in countries that have essentially reached their maximum vaccination percentage. By not providing access to those developing or smaller countries, larger countries are shooting themselves in the proverbial global foot. I don’t think countries like the US and Canada aren’t trying to do that, I just think these experts woul…

If you are continually exposed to COVID-19, wouldn’t you effectively be “re-upping” your immune system every time there is additional exposure?

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “ recipients of vaccines with low efficacy or those who are immunocompromised2 (although people who did not respond robustly to the primary vaccination” How do we measure it? Like is there a way to know through antibody tests?

If you want to know whether you need the booster or not, and you're in the US, the spike antibody test ("COVID-19 Blood Spike Protein AB") falls under Covid testing, so if you have insurance it's covered with no out of pocket expense. You can get it at most urgent care clinics, and then you can find out exactly what your antibody levels are. I got my Moderna 2nd shot in February and my antibody levels are 1483 (out o…

1. Determining how much real-world protection you have against infection, hospitalization and death is a lot more complex than antibody titers. Everybody is different, every infection is different and even in the healthy population, everyone's immune response to the vaccine will be somewhat different. My understanding is that it's entirely possible a person with antibody levels lower than yours might be at lower risk than you in the real world because of their health compared to yours, the strength of their immune system compared to yours, etc.

2. Antibodies are only one part of the immunity equation. In the long run, T and B cells are probably just as important if not more important than antibodies. This is another area where it's reasonable to expect that YMWV when you get vaccinated.

3. My understanding is that in the context of vaccines these tests are used primarily to assess whether an individual had an immune response to the vaccines, not to make a meaningful determination of how much protection they have (because there's no "formula" for this).

4. It appears from the Delta-related data that any relationship between antibody titers and risk is influenced by variants.

5. We shouldn't rule out environmental factors in the protection equation. For example, if you work in an environment where you're exposed to high viral loads on a regular basis, it seems possible that you could be at higher risk than somebody who isn't even if you have higher antibody titers.

Re: Vaccine experts: Covid-19 booster shots aren't needed now

#130
post #95

I think this reporting is dancing around the issue, that the vaccine supply is most concentrated in countries that have essentially reached their maximum vaccination percentage. By not providing access to those developing or smaller countries, larger countries are shooting themselves in the proverbial global foot. I don’t think countries like the US and Canada aren’t trying to do that, I just think these experts woul…

sounds like another policy/politicized blanket statement not based on science. Have they tested levels of anti-bodies? Why is Israel with its early high vaccinations levels doing third shots?
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