I'm continually astonished that discussion of the vaccines seems to continue as if we can't plainly see that they are totally ineffective at preventing infection and transmission, and that the virus is a very minor threat for non-elderly, healthy people. It's as if some people are living in a parallel universe where vaccinated people are not getting infected, and other people are still dropping dead on subway platforms in viral videos.
More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
841–850 of 1001 posts
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#842Earlier quoted context omitted.
The challenge is the lack of data on long-term effects of COVID. Preliminary studies have linked it to cognitive declines [1], diabetes [2], and chronic fatigue [3]. And while death from COVID in a preschooler is about a 1-in-100,000 occurrence, long COVID and other chronic outcomes seem to be much more common. I've heard figures of about 5% or 1 in 20. Few parents would willingly sign their preschooler (or themselve…
Just curious, have you seen any studies or evidence on whether omicron has caused the micro-clotting that seems to be the cause of some of these long-term effects? Everyone seems to be saying the effects of omicron are not as bad, but that talk seems to be limited to short-term effects, not the longer-term ones you brought up.
It still targets the ACE2 receptors found throughout different human tissue, and reportedly can bind even more effectively to it. The difference in severity is reportedly because it replicates 70x faster in the bronchus but 10x slower in the lung tissue, leading to more bronchitis and upper respiratory involvement and less pneumonia.
I wouldn't be surprised if there's lower incidence of chronic complications than Delta and earlier variants, though. Long COVID seems to be associated with (but not unique to) more severe cases. If there's pneumonia or ARDS, there's a much easier pathway into the bloodstream than if it infects mucus membrane tissue in the upper airways. It likely can still cause long COVID, but at a lower rate corresponding to its generally lower severity.
Obviously, full studies of long-term effects are lacking, since Omicron has only been out for a month and a half.
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#843I think the message of "vaxxed and done" is the right way for us to be moving, but I think it's incomplete. To get vaxxed insulates you from the risk of severe disease. It reduces the risk to the point that going out and living life is an acceptable risk, just like any other. However, it doesn't protect you from infecting others. To that end, I think that indoor mask mandates continue to be justifiable and should con…
Personally I'm completely sick of mask mandates. First off the effectiveness of masks is even questionable except for k95 masks, which are hideously uncomfortable and look ridiculous. In any case, I firmly believe that people should have the freedom to decide for themselves whether they want to wear them. I was in Copenhagen a few months ago where no one was wearing masks anywhere including indoors, and it was so ref…
I've been wearing KN95 at every outing for the past year+ and .. uhh.. it's not a problem at all. Why wouldn't I wear a mask like that to protect myself and others? The useless cloth and surgical masks are no more comfortable. Personally I bought a massive box of KN95 and give packages of them to family and friends so they can similarly stay safe.
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#844Vaxxed and I caught Cov19 a couple weeks ago (likely omicron). Same with the wife. I've had allergies that were worse. It was a 3 day event with a very mild fever and a bit of a cough the last day. It was extremely mild, and if I hadn't decided to take a couple days off to catch up on my reading after getting tested, I would have probably just eaten a couple advil and continued on as though nothing happened. So now I…
The main reason to wear a mask is to prevent yourself from infecting others if/when you get infected again. One usually becomes infectious before the symptoms become obvious, i.e. before becoming aware of the new infection. Wearing a mask is mainly for the benefit of others, not for your own. And it’s a game of numbers. The larger the proportion of the population who wears a mask, the more the spread of the virus is…
What is your source for the claim that one usually becomes infectious before becoming aware of the infection from symptoms?
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#845Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the CDC redefined the meaning of "vaccine" for this treatment[2] (imo "immunotherapy" would be a more understandable word) -- yeah I'm done. What is it with antivaxxers and their complaints about the definition of vaccination? They complained that the definition was changed to include a new way of conferring immunity. They complained that the definition was posted to be more accurate. Vaccines have never been 100%…
What is it with people categorising others as “anti” this or “pro” that? He had a bad experience with this particular vaccine and for this very justifiable reason is skeptical about them. What this reflects is the tribalist nature people like yourself have subscribed to. And to be honest its a valid assessment because who would've thought we would need a 4th booster as Israel has done?
He has every reason to be upset about having a very rare complication.
At the point that you start casting the CDC as nefarious actors for clarifying the definition of “vaccination”, though, you’re just spreading FUD. If there was some substance to the criticism, it would be a different thing. But there is no substance to the criticism. No vaccine has ever given 100% immunity to everyone who got it. Nothing changed. It’s also inaccurate to claim that the vaccine does nothing to prevent infection. Breakthrough infections are certainly happening but unvaccinated are getting infected at a higher rate. (Plus the risk of severe infection.)
This narrative that they’re sneaking around changing definitions to trick people is absurd. They made the change publicly. The data used to make decisions around COVID is public. These aren’t back room secret deals. It’s public health policy being endlessly debated in public.
> And to be honest its a valid assessment because who would've thought we would need a 4th booster as Israel has done?
A ton of people expected this. People were talking about likely needing yearly boosters before the vaccines were even available. Maybe every 6 months is sooner than expected but boosters were totally predicted.
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#846As a side note, I want to thank dang for allowing these threads to stay up, even though they get a bit political and contentious at times. This is the only place I have to talk about COVID issues with smart people that I respect.
Agreed... I may not agree with what everyone says but I like how [generally] civil the communication is, in stark contrast with, well, nearly anywhere else :)
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#847Earlier quoted context omitted.
I kind of regret even mentioning the effects of COVID in my original comment as I figured there would be a reply like yours and you're not wrong! But it wasn't the main point I was trying to make. My main point is that everyone just seems to have moved on from under 5s. We've adopted a stance of "vaxxed and done" for adults and older children and paid no attention to the vax trials for under 5s taking forever. It's b…
I also like the fact that nobody seems to be concerned with the possible effects this virus could have long-term on the developmental growth of a child under 5… I think I would be much more concerned about that than the symptoms of the initial infection itself. & for those who want to go “buhh we don’t know how duh vaccine will effect their developmental growth either” - I don’t have much to say to you other than I w…
Would those effects be any different than what happens with the seemingly never ending viruses children already contract?
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#848Between the 2nd dose putting me in the ER with myocarditis which no one warned me about the risk of, and a $3500 medical bill due, being told I could be maskless and free if I got the "vaccine"[1], getting covid anyways and it being nbd, and then learning that the CDC redefined the meaning of "vaccine" for this treatment[2] (imo "immunotherapy" would be a more understandable word) -- yeah I'm done. I'm not risking an…
> myocarditis which no one warned me about the risk of I agree, it's now known as a "rare" side effect, but I wasn't aware either until after I got the vaccine. How did you know something was wrong? I think a lot of people (including myself) feel heart pain after the vaccine but aren't sure if it's worth going to a doctor about it.
Got the shot (J&J) on May 1st. A bit later in May, I noticed that while playing ultimate frisbee, I was getting winded more easily compared to two weeks earlier, and it was taking me longer to recover.
Further investigation found a coronary artery blocked 90%, and another blocked 80%. I now have two stents in my heart.
So, the last sentence in the first paragraph is "how you know" (or at least one way you know).
Note well: I am not claiming that the vaccine caused my blocked arteries. Did it contribute all of the problem? The last 5%? None, and it's just a coincidence in timing? I don't know. And that really bugs me, because it affects whether I should get a booster or not.
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#849I'm vaxxed. I'm boosted. I'd very much like to be done. But my children cannot be vaccinated. As a parent of a young kid it kind of feels like everyone has just moved on. I know folks in here will tell me that statistically speaking my children are unlikely to be hospitalized and so on, and I agree. But I know enough kids who got COVID and suffered the symptoms (e.g. a months-long scratchy cough) that I'm not going t…
You've got your anecdotes, and I've got mine. My 3 young kids all caught omicron last week. Each were lethargic for a day, had a minor sore throat, and were back to normal in a day or two. The flu last month was way scarier with high fevers. There's a lot of reason to be optimistic about omicron.
> There's a lot of reason to be optimistic about omicron.
There's reason to be optimistic about Omicron, but one of the things that irks me is people getting ahead of themselves with that optimism (e.g. get taking preliminary reports that it could be milder as "it is milder so we don't have do anything anymore.").
Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’
#850Between the 2nd dose putting me in the ER with myocarditis which no one warned me about the risk of, and a $3500 medical bill due, being told I could be maskless and free if I got the "vaccine"[1], getting covid anyways and it being nbd, and then learning that the CDC redefined the meaning of "vaccine" for this treatment[2] (imo "immunotherapy" would be a more understandable word) -- yeah I'm done. I'm not risking an…
> then learning that the CDC redefined the meaning of "vaccine" for this treatment[2] (imo "immunotherapy" would be a more understandable word)
This has literally always been the definition of "vaccine". Flu vaccines work like this. Polio vaccines work like this. Smallpox vaccines work like this. I don't think you can blame the CDC if you didn't know how vaccines work.
The point of vaccines has always been to drastically reduce the chances that you get sick at all, and if you do, the chances that you will get hospitalized or die. Given that the chance of getting myocarditis from these vaccines is far less than the chances of you getting hospitalized/dying due to COVID, it's the smarter option.