More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’ • Hacker News Board

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#221

Post by cm2187 » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

maxerickson wrote: post #161

wonderwonder wrote: post #124

I am one of those, triple vaxxed and done. CDC has now said that the majority of those that died had 4+ co-morbidities. They have also indicated that getting vaccinated does not reduce your ability to spread the virus. So if that is the case, there is no longer a real need to vilify the unvaxxed. CDC statement appears to indicate that the primary reason for people dying is poor physical health prior to infection. Wit…

Vaccination makes you much less likely to get sick in the first place and probably reduces how long you are infectious if you do get sick. Neither of those things fit with 'does not reduce'.

The problem is that it doesn't show in the stats in practice. In the UK, the % of positive covid tests that are vaxed pretty much follows the % of people vaxed in the population (by age). If vaxed people were less infectious, you would expect the virus to circulate much more in the unvaccinated population. Particularly given that vaccine hesitancy isn't homogenously distributed in the population.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#222

Post by JSavageOne » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

pradn wrote: post #116

I've vaxxed and boosted and will continue to get boosted as often as is recommended. I follow the local regulations, which in NYC mainly involve masking up and showing a vax proof for indoor activities like dining, concerts, and riding the NYC subway. I'm not stopping my life though. I've travelled internationally in the past few months, both to see family and sight-see. Seems like not a bad compromise. The one thing…

COVID doesn't transmit well outside, people who wear masks outside are either paranoid, uneducated, or virtue signaling.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#223

Post by ya_throw » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #174

ya_throw wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that until young kids can get vaccinated, it is not safe enough to remove shutdown protocols for preschools? Parent of 2 very young kids here btw - it's been brutal, I feel your pain. Frankly, our kids get enough other diseases from nursery that a months-long scratchy cough doesn't sound too terrifying.

> Are you saying that until young kids can get vaccinated, it is not safe enough to remove shutdown protocols for preschools? I have no idea. I'm not an expert. And no experts seem to be talking. Our preschool recently switched from a 14 day shutdown to 7 day plus negative PCR test to re-enter. At least there's that? > Frankly, our kids get enough other diseases from nursery that a months-long scratchy cough doesn't…

We had RSV do the rounds (twice) where I live, and all of us in our house were quite ill, fatigued, and snotty/coughy for about a month. Our friend's 6 month-old caught it and ended up in hospital.

Our youngest also had Croup last year, which is pretty scary if you don't know it. It shows up as a horrible, barking cough, and can make it look like your baby is suddenly struggling to breathe. We panicked and called an ambulance. The little one was just fine, but had the horrible cough (which is much worse at night) for a while.

Once our pre-school care re-opened (it was shut for many months after March 2020) and the regular diseases started circulation again, it felt like we were ill for several months, albeit with different diseases. We'd send our kids in on Monday, and wait to see what we'd have for the weekend...

I'm not saying this to complain - as I see it, this is the reality of life with the little snot-nosed monsters.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#224

Post by Mikeb85 » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

celtain wrote: post #181

Mikeb85 wrote: post #66

I'm vaxxed and mostly done. Already contracted Covid, have 2 vaccines, I'm down to get a booster every year or two, at my own leisure. Having vaccines mandated every 6 months is not something I'm OK with and to be honest, it feels a lot like the government trying to deflect from the fact healthcare isn't OK (at least in my home country, Canada). There's always been risks to life and this feels more like governments a…

Why is there much difference between getting a booster every 6 months rather than every 12-24 months? Compared to lockdowns or even just mask mandates, both booster schedules seem like a pretty minor inconvenience given the pandemic-halting benefits.

> pandemic-halting benefits

Currently we have the highest case numbers ever. How can you type this with a straight face?

I'm OK with taking a vaccine for my own benefit, when I want. But don't pretend the vaccines have halted the pandemic.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#225

Post by bko » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

wonderwonder wrote: post #124

I am one of those, triple vaxxed and done. CDC has now said that the majority of those that died had 4+ co-morbidities. They have also indicated that getting vaccinated does not reduce your ability to spread the virus. So if that is the case, there is no longer a real need to vilify the unvaxxed. CDC statement appears to indicate that the primary reason for people dying is poor physical health prior to infection. Wit…

I see the focus being solely on vaccines leads to a lost of mistrust in the agencies meant to protect our health. Everything is viewed through a lens of "will this cause more or less people from getting vaccinated". At every turn the agencies push vaccines and vaccines alone as the answer, ostracizing those who choose to live with a higher risk tolerance. Whether its true or not, a lot of people feel that coverage is skewed to push vaccines and anything relating to treatment or healthy lifestyles is downplayed.

I too am double vaccinated an boosted, but everyone has a point at which they say enough is enough and will stop getting boosters and isolating indefinitely.

For instance, take the CDC guidance on preparing for a hurricane or tropical storm:

Step 1: get a covid vaccine.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/hurricanepreparedness/inde...

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#226

Post by bserge » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

wonderwonder wrote: post #124

I am one of those, triple vaxxed and done. CDC has now said that the majority of those that died had 4+ co-morbidities. They have also indicated that getting vaccinated does not reduce your ability to spread the virus. So if that is the case, there is no longer a real need to vilify the unvaxxed. CDC statement appears to indicate that the primary reason for people dying is poor physical health prior to infection. Wit…

No post body was provided.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#227

Post by jaybrendansmith » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #142

Mikeb85 wrote: post #66

I'm vaxxed and mostly done. Already contracted Covid, have 2 vaccines, I'm down to get a booster every year or two, at my own leisure. Having vaccines mandated every 6 months is not something I'm OK with and to be honest, it feels a lot like the government trying to deflect from the fact healthcare isn't OK (at least in my home country, Canada). There's always been risks to life and this feels more like governments a…

Early on in the pandemic, I used to be in the camp that wanted mask mandates and vaccination passports. I see how dangerous and ineffective this is now. Governments are not good stewards. The virus will keep evolving to evade our vaccines. This is never going to end. We will never eradicate Covid, and we'll never reach vaccine-mediated herd immunity. The administration forcing a purge of unvaccinated US soldiers, gov…

Blaming the government for overreach when it seemed likely that the vaccine prevented further spread makes no sense, and certainly masks and distancing made total sense before the vaccine was fully rolled out. It seems awfully early to conclude that vaccines have zero impact on transmissibility. How many millions of cases are completely unreported because the immune system (with help from the vaccine) fought off Covid before symptoms onset?

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#228

Post by PeterisP » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

xboxnolifes wrote: post #166

echelon wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Early on in the pandemic, I used to be in the camp that wanted mask mandates and vaccination passports. I see how dangerous and ineffective this is now. Governments are not good stewards. The virus will keep evolving to evade our vaccines. This is never going to end. We will never eradicate Covid, and we'll never reach vaccine-mediated herd immunity. The administration forcing a purge of unvaccinated US soldiers, gov…

> The administration forcing a purge of unvaccinated US soldiers, government workers, and employees of companies that do business with the government is obscene. The one that seems odd in this list is soldiers. It's my understanding that soldiers already were mandated vaccines when put into areas where the particular diseases were common. I'm not sure why mandating covid vaccines for them during a global pandemic is…

Not even solely "when put into areas where the particular diseases were common", the soldiers are mandated quite a few vaccines even before they leave basic training to everyone, no questions asked - https://usarmybasic.com/about-the-army/army-shots

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#229

Post by majormajor » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

starik36 wrote: post #210

maxerickson wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vaccination makes you much less likely to get sick in the first place and probably reduces how long you are infectious if you do get sick. Neither of those things fit with 'does not reduce'.

> Vaccination makes you much less likely to get sick in the first place Do you have a reference for this claim? Nearly everyone I know that has caught it and has gotten sick in the past 2 weeks has been vaccinated, sometimes boostered as well. I don't think this claim is true with Omicron. Vaccination makes you less likely to end up on a ventilator.

I have seen much discussion of vaccines being less effective at preventing infection with omicron but no indication of them being 0% effective. Of course, it will probably be at least a few more weeks before we have good overall data on this (e.g. December/January case rates among vaccinated vs unvaccinated).

And in a big storm, even everyone being 25% less likely to get infected impacts rate of transmission, which is the big one for resource constraints and such.

Re: More Americans are saying they’re ‘vaxxed and done’

#230

Post by collias » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 7:25 PM UTC

jewayne wrote: post #108

collias wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently, booster efficacy wanes after about 10 weeks[1]. If you think the 3rd shot is important, why not the 4th, 5th, ad infinitum? Genuinely curious, not trying to be difficult. [1]: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

My favorite part is where the referenced document doesn't say that. It literally shows that a third shot of Pfizer-Biontech is still 90+% effective against the Delta variant after 10+ weeks. And close to 50% against Omicron after 10+ weeks. The only significance of 10 weeks is that was where their data ended, because boosters haven't been generally available that long.

I'd definitely consider 50% efficacy against the most prevalent variant (by far) after 10 weeks to be "waning".

That might change if we ever get a booster targeted toward Omicron specifically, but we don't have one, and by the time we do, I'm sure there will be other variants around.