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

theatlantic.com

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

#431

Post by CedarMills »

I'm not vaxxed - but want to be. I tested positive for COVID now a second time last week and taking a few days off to be safe. This time it felt a lot easier to go through so I assume it's Omicron. First time around in July 2020, I was in bed for a day and couldn't smell anything for about a month.

My partner on the other hand has no desire for us to get vaxxed because they know people personally who have died after getting the shots. We also know many who died from getting COVID. We're not anti-vax people generally, our kids are all got regular shots but with this, we decided to skip it for the time being. Knowing this, we intentionally wear masks when needed and try to operate safely and give distance.

I think the US government failed in communicating properly and now with the approach of "shunning the unvaxxed", it's only causing further divide and a lot of my conservative friends will now never get it as a way to spite the government orders.

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

#432

Post by JSavageOne »

thomascgalvin wrote: post #85
_xnmw wrote: post #7

The risk is now "priced in" to our consciousness. Back when it first started, covid was a big scary unknown risk to take for simply going outside and interacting with people. Now, it's a well-known risk, and people are willing to take that risk, along with other well-known risks for going outside, like the risk of getting into a car accident or slipping and falling.

I think there are a number of factors at play. One, we've greatly reduced the risk of COVID through vaccines. This is the primary thrust of the article; if you've vaccinated, you're very unlikely to have serious consequences. Two, we're fatigued. You just can't be constantly vigilant for two or three years without something breaking. This compounds point one. We don't, as the article mentions, know what kind of relat…

Even if you're not vaccinated, you're extremely unlikely to have serious consequences unless you're elderly and/or have comorbidities. The infection fatality rate of COVID19 (which can only be estimated) is something like 0.20%. "Long COVID" is extremely rare and severely overstated.

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

#433

Post by MengerSponge »

claytongulick wrote: post #215
snowwrestler wrote: post #133

I feel like COVID has become like a marshmallow test for adults, where those who can manage their emotions and make rational decisions can set themselves up for greater long-term rewards. It looked for a while there like this could be a thing that gets “done”—that we would get a good vaccine into enough people, then incidence would decline so far it just goes away. That didn’t happen. We’re stuck with it for a forese…

It's interesting that you phrase it that way, because I was thinking exactly the same thing, but from the opposite direction. I caught covid early, and while (for me) it was a nasty bug, I recovered with nothing more than a lingering cough for several weeks. Against enormous pressure I decided not to get vaccinated. Everything I read supported that natural immunity is at least as protective as the vaccine, and most s…

For what it's worth, recovering from the disease and getting a "booster" vaccine a few months later yields the best protection. I hope you do this.

People who are relying solely on disease recovery are far more likely to be reinfected, and face worse outcomes, as compared to people who get their full three-dose vaccine (two primary + booster).

Incidentally, your thought process is suffering from the naturalistic fallacy.

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

#434

Post by meatsauce »

nradov wrote: post #369
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> RSV is more dangerous than COVID-19 for most small children. Children don’t exist in isolation. They’re phenomenally good at spreading every infection to the rest of the household and everywhere else they go. Trying to focus on children's outcomes and ignoring all of the second-order effects is dishonest. Children don’t live alone.

The other members of the household are already vaccinated for COVID-19 if they want to be. The vaccines are still highly effective at preventing deaths. RSV isn't really safe for adults either. But we accept the risk.

So effective, you go from 98.999% recoverable to 99.998% recoverable. Amazing. So glad we shut down everything and destroyed countless lives for less than 1% of gain.

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

#435

Post by afavour »

mizzack wrote: post #246
afavour wrote: post #129

I'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.

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 barely even mentioned. So we have parents across the country relying on the generosity of their employer in handling shutdowns, illnesses and so on. I'm lucky, my employer has been flexible and understanding. But I know that's not the case for a lot of people.

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

#436

Post by mherdeg »

avidphantasm wrote: post #334
el_benhameen wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am with you on all of this, with one small, slightly hopeful note. My under-5 is enrolled in the Pfizer study, and they are not starting over from scratch. The existing cohort is going to receive a third dose at >2 months past their last dose (starting at the end of this month, probably), and then immunogenicity will be reassessed. I am incredibly frustrated that pfizer and the fda have been so slow to roll the vac…

Given that safety has been proven in 6mo to <5yo, and the dose for the 3yo and 4yo is in question (hence testing 3rd dose), I see no reason why doses one and two cannot proceed in these groups. Surely some exposure to the virus is better than none. At least give parents the option. My 3.7yo is the same weight as a median 5yo. My wife and I have had two doses of Pfizer and one Moderna booster. We would get my daughter…

Have you talked to a pediatrician about off-label vaccination? My understanding is that there are various barriers prohibiting this; this op-ed says there is a CDC vaccine provider agreement which forbids the practice - https://www.thehastingscenter.org/with-pediatric-hospitaliza.... But I have no idea how often it's actually happening.

The major downsides are that you'd be missing out on information about side effects from vaccination, and on possible clinical-trial data that might show a different, better, dosage in your kid's age range.

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

#437

Post by taf2 »

afavour wrote: post #129

I'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…

If they are not immune compromised you have nothing to worry about. IMO - you should be more worried about the physiological impacts of your changes in behavior around then in regard to your fear… it will have probably longer lasting effects on them.

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

#438

Post by warning26 »

40four wrote: post #407
afavour wrote: post #129

I'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…

To be fair, the long term of effects of the vaccines are still very unclear. For adults and children. There are concerning reports regarding serious complications that tend to not get talked about very much in the media I chose to vaccinate myself. I don’t have kids, but I’m not sure it would be a given that I would vaccinate them yet. I think I would want to have a better understanding of the risks. Sorry you’re in…

If you're interested in Malone, I definitely recommend reading the Atlantic article about him:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/08/robert-m...

TLDR: he got spurned early on in his career, is bitter about it, and seems to be willing to say just about anything as long as someone will give him some modicum of fame.

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

#439

Post by zcw100 »

It feels like a lot of the replies here are dubious and I suspect a large number of them are from antivaxxers who are trying to amplify a message of, "See, even people that got the vaccine are sick and tired of it. They're with us even though we don't agree with them"

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

#440

Post by oxymoran »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #345
nradov wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RSV is more dangerous than COVID-19 for most small children. We don't shut down society because of RSV. https://www.medscape.com/answers/971488-177692/what-is-the-p...

> RSV is more dangerous than COVID-19 for most small children. Children don’t exist in isolation. They’re phenomenally good at spreading every infection to the rest of the household and everywhere else they go. Trying to focus on children's outcomes and ignoring all of the second-order effects is dishonest. Children don’t live alone.

Right, so get vaccinated and get on with your life.
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