Why are we focusing on boosters instead of the unvaccinated?

[Anonymous]

The high community transmission in some areas combing with documented waning immunity is driving the need for boosters. Every legitimate medical expert has consistently said that boosters would likely be needed, the question is when to give them.

The choices are to wait until vaccinated people start catching COVID and getting hospitalized or dying or to act preemptively based on lab analysis of the antibodies. Choosing eight months aligns with the nine month data showing waning antibodies.

Right now due to the unvaccinated health care workers are being bombarded with high viral exposure in states where there is no leadership. Nursing home residents in states that don’t require vaccination or actively disallow it -Florida are very dangerous for residents as they will continually be exposed to unvaccinated jerks.

The fall boosters are also a good precaution to protect against another Thanksgiving and Christmas surge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What will it mean to be "fully vaccinated?" Three doses for everyone? Three doses only for the vulnerable and immunocompromised? A booster within the past 6 months? I think it will get very complicated.

I have been wondering about this too, especially with more and more vaccine mandates coming into play. For the purposes of "you must be fully vaccinated or have a test to... work... go to the theater... whatever..." - does that mean two shots now but the requirement will be 3 in a few months?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m immunocompromised due to cancer. I fought to get two shots as quickly as I could. Then I got the bad news that my immune system didn’t respond. Getting the third shot could keep me from getting very ill or dying. I’m not taking a shot away from anyone in the US. We have plenty.

I think many/most people support 3rd shots for the immunocompromised and I hope you have a good immune response this time.

It's the boosters for incompetent adults just because part of the immune system response may be waning that people are questioning.

I feel like unlike with the initial vaccine, the CDC/white house statement the other day recommending boosters was not met with unanimous support from the medical community. Many articles had experts questioning the need for most people under 65. There are different messages, and this is leaving people confused.

Some people in the medical community I know also think kids should wear masks permanently because they prevent RSV and the flu. And I get where they are coming from but when it comes to public health you can't just look at the studies, you have to think about implications for human behavior. Many people will not take up the booster but those that do will feel much safer and will be able to do things like show up to work at the hospital, that they may not otherwise do.

[Anonymous]

Unintelligent people who continue to deny the importance of vaccination will never be convinced unless someone close to them becomes severely ill or dies.

Begging and pleading won’t convince them. So, the focus needs to be on providing boosters when vaccine efficacy wanes.

I think the Covid vaccine will end up like the flu shot. People will need to get it every year. It won’t totally eliminate risk of getting sick, but it will help prevent severe illness requiring hospitalization.

The real focus right now needs to be on approving the vaccine for pediatric use in the under-12 population.

[Anonymous]

I don’t get it either. I mean, I do get it in an individual level. It’s understandable that when an individual wants to avoid getting sick, they’re going to want to do what they can to prevent that and it’s reasonable to think that a booster will do that.

But why would the CDC, which focuses on public health, not focus more on the unvaccinated when the unvaccinated are why the pandemic isn’t over? Maybe it’s just because there is an element of market saturation, so to speak, since many in the US don’t want to be vaccinated. But we really should give unwanted vaccines to other countries as much as possible. We had a vaccine surplus while people in India had none, and boom, Delta happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m immunocompromised due to cancer. I fought to get two shots as quickly as I could. Then I got the bad news that my immune system didn’t respond. Getting the third shot could keep me from getting very ill or dying. I’m not taking a shot away from anyone in the US. We have plenty.

I think many/most people support 3rd shots for the immunocompromised and I hope you have a good immune response this time.

It's the boosters for incompetent adults just because part of the immune system response may be waning that people are questioning.

Incompetent adults?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unintelligent people who continue to deny the importance of vaccination will never be convinced unless someone close to them becomes severely ill or dies.

Begging and pleading won’t convince them. So, the focus needs to be on providing boosters when vaccine efficacy wanes.

I think the Covid vaccine will end up like the flu shot. People will need to get it every year. It won’t totally eliminate risk of getting sick, but it will help prevent severe illness requiring hospitalization.

The real focus right now needs to be on approving the vaccine for pediatric use in the under-12 population.

I think the CDC and FDA can do both boosters and under 12s at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will it mean to be "fully vaccinated?" Three doses for everyone? Three doses only for the vulnerable and immunocompromised? A booster within the past 6 months? I think it will get very complicated.

I have been wondering about this too, especially with more and more vaccine mandates coming into play. For the purposes of "you must be fully vaccinated or have a test to... work... go to the theater... whatever..." - does that mean two shots now but the requirement will be 3 in a few months?

I think 2 with the second no more than 6 months old will become the standard for most of the population. The immunocompromised and those in high risk jobs like nursing home care will be strongly encouraged to get 3 shots a year. At some point, it will seem natural to us to set a reminder in our phone to get a booster the next Target run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think we are going to move the needle much on the unvaccinated in the US.

Now if we could find a way to efficiently ship doses to Africa and make sure the infrastructure was there to use them, I'd chip in time to help out.

This.

I have anti-vaxxer (only THIS vaccine, though) family members. Nothing is going to make them change their minds. We have all tried. Heck, we even made a list of Republicans who are vaccinated to try to sway the one who is abstaining because they believe the "formula was changed once Biden took office." I downloaded or screen recorded numerous TikTok users with COVID talking about how they wish they'd gotten the vaccine or others showing loved ones in ICU intubated or kids with it and sent them to the family members... and it didn't change their minds at all.

I feel like I've exhausted my persuasive abilities with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am unvaccinated but have already had covid. My blood is still showing antibodies, 9 months later. Pretty sure I don't need a vaccine.

Those antibodies are only going to protect you against the strain of Covid you had. If you want protection from delta or any other strain, you need a vaccine.

[Anonymous]

I think getting vaccines to the global population should be the first priority.

But I also think that we could make headway on the unvaccinated. There are people who genuinely believe it’s a chip, but there are others who are just nervous. I imagine an information campaign could help.

[Anonymous]

do you remember in high school when you would be assigned a group project and only 3/5 of the group would even show up to work on it?

This is the biggest group project ever, and the unvaccinated aren’t doing their work, so we are doing even more than we were supposed to in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because Fox and rightwing media lie to 40% of the country.

It’s a lot easier to persuade those who live in reality to get a booster than it is to break Murdoch’s hold on the unvaccinated.

75 percent of young African Americans in NYC unvaccinated. A notorious Fox News watching crowd for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am unvaccinated but have already had covid. My blood is still showing antibodies, 9 months later. Pretty sure I don't need a vaccine.

Those antibodies are only going to protect you against the strain of Covid you had. If you want protection from delta or any other strain, you need a vaccine.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, I am skeptical boosters will make any difference in the course of the pandemic compared to vaccinating more people for a variety of reasons:

-Though studies show efficacy at preventing infection wanes, the two vaccines in question were still 95% effective at preventing hospitalization. And most infections are still in the unvaccinated. The unvaccinated are the driver of the pandemic.
-There is likely to be confusing government messaging about boosters
-I think uptake will be lower than for the vaccine. For people who had access issues in the first place it may be too much of a hassle. And I think there will be a camp of people who gladly took the vaccine but will have "booster hesitancy." I think the messaging will contribute to this. They will say now it is just not a one time thing but something I have to do every 6 months for the rest of my life.

Second, the idea of COVID boosters seem to be more in line with a COVID zero mentality than with COVID is endemic mentality. People have unreasonable expectations about vaccines. No one said they were 100 percent effective. They greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. What is the marginal benefit for a fully vaccinated person? Preventing mostly mild breakthrough infections?

The WHO is not recommending boosters. Obviously unlike the CDC they are concerned about much of the world's population not being vaccinated at all.

Because your vaccine don't work! Get it?