It’s pretty depressing how we went from eagerly hoping and praying for a vaccine to come to now having to somehow convince people to take it when there’s a surge in cases.
Honestly, I don't particularly care unless it's causing healthcare collapse - at which point people are more likely to vaccinate anyhow.
I personally vaccinate because apparently I love catching Covid. If the vaccine gives me mild symptoms over a short period, sign me up every winter.
This thing has gone from contagious, to super contagious, to super mega ultra contagious, to who knows what next.
People get sick all the time and we're never going to "beat" Covid unless a perfect, permanent vaccine comes out and everyone else dies.
This is an unrealistic and unachievable endgame, so who cares if people want to live without Covid vaccines (again, unless it's causing healthcare collapse).
I personally vaccinate because I love my grandparents and would like to avoid killing them.
(Not saying your love of having covid is less valid than my love of my grandparents, just offering another perspective for readers. Love is love ❤️)
Same! See to it that they also get vaccinated and they don't forget it. You can still transmit!
This is an unrealistic and unachievable endgame, so who cares if people want to live without Covid vaccines (again, unless it’s causing healthcare collapse).
Hrm, I would say one benefit not to be underestimated is that vaccination ought to be entirely normalized. The more and the more readily it is done, the more it normalizes the process.
There are several countries that were very close to healthcare collapse before COVID. Now for some reason the media won't cover this issue adequately.
Just checked the German recommendations and, yep, I'm still at what the STIKO recommends with three shots (2x comirnaty, 1x spikevax). They're only recommending additional shots for at-risk groups, same as flu shots. And apparently my state leads the statistic with 70% at that level or higher, about 80% with two shots, that all doesn't count immunisation due to catching it. And we were wearing masks because wat mutt dat mutt.
In any case the pandemic has been over for quite some time what are you folks talking about?
The depressing thing for me is that in my country access to COVID vaccines is now limited - you can only get a booster if you're part of the "clinically vulnerable" group. And whilst I kinda get it that the logic is the same as the flu vaccine that it's about reducing hospitalisations, at least with flu we have the option to get the vaccine privately... Which we don't with COVID.
I agree. The uptake on the boosters wasn’t where it needed to be either and without mass immunization it’ll never be as impactful as it should be society wide.
We should be investing in researching longer lasting vaccines. The current mRNA vaccines only give their full protection for about 4 months. Moderna and Pfizer are making insane money by peddling boosters. Here's a great piece from OPB about the topic.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from "Eris", a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country.
Healthcare providers and pharmacies such as CVS Health (CVS.N) will start next month to offer the shot, updated to fight the Omicron version of the virus that has been dominant since last year.
They will be fighting declining concern about the virus, as well as fatigue and skepticism about the merits of this vaccine, Kaiser Family Foundation Director of Survey Methodology Ashley Kirzinger said.
As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University and a liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization practices, said it is possible that the ACIP could make a weaker recommendation for younger, healthier people.
Dr. David Boulware, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Minnesota, said that according to research he has published, people who are boosted have less severe symptoms for a shorter duration.
I'm a bot and I'm open source!
I think I am sick with this variant currently. Milder symptoms than Omicron, still absolutely sucks though.
I feel like maybe the world shouldn't have collectively just stopped caring about COVID and pretending it didn't exist as long COVID and the immunocompromised suffered, huh?
Humans really said "ehh, natural selection"
How does one get the new version of the vaccine without insurance? I'm currently unemployed and it's been more than a year since my last shot. I want to get the vaccine but I can't pay thousands...
Uh, I don't know how it is where you live, but over here the vaccines are free? All of them, too.
They are not free without insurance where I am. They were free but now they are not.
Why would it cost thousands? I thought the cost of the vaccine per shot is either in the tens or low hundreds.
I'm probably exaggerating but without insurance, I have to call up each place and each place has a different price. Thats at least hoe it worked with the tests recently. Some were over 100 just for the tests...f'ed up honestly.
Rat tests are about 5 to 10 bucks around here. They are not as accurate, but does it change the treatment if you have flu or covidy? Bed rest, fluids, painkillers, avoid people.
It's $60 at Safeway if your insurance doesn't cover it.
My state will give you one for free... Fairly sure you'll have a similar opportunity if you look.
Ah shit, here we go again
Oh god why
not again
Heh, I'll take it
COVID-19 2, Electric Boogaloo was not what I was hoping for...
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