I will probably get my third dose of an mRNA COVID shot this Fall, whenever that is offered to me. I think that's a good idea.
BUT IT'S NOT WHAT MATTERS MOST.
Getting first and second shots into people who haven't had two shots is extremely important.
If I thought going without my third shot would help somebody else get their first or second shot, then I would forgo my third shot.
It's insane that the US is throwing away doses because people won't get shots that are offered to them, while billions of people who desperately want doses cannot get them.
Superb post by Jeffrey Morris on the nuances of analyzing vaccine data when all the variables are changing at once, AND there are many covariates that must be factored in for the conclusions to be valid.
Please read the whole thing carefully. It will reward close attention.
A recent CDC study is the latest to find the mRNA vaccines have a huge lifesaving benefit even against the Delta Variant of SARS-CoV2.
If you have neither been vaccinated nor had a laboratory-confirmed infection with the SARS-CoV2 virus then you should get vaccinated ASAP.
Scobie HM, Johnson AG, Suthar AB, et al. Monitoring Incidence of COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, by Vaccination Status — 13 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–July 17, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 10 September 2021.
To those who still question the safety and efficacy of these vaccines: you are trusting the wrong people. There are HUGE amounts of data from many countries now.
But if you distrust scientific experts, try a simple experiment: visit the websites of 20 FOX TV LOCAL AFFILIATE STATIONS AROUND THE U.S.
Notice which ones have interviews with desperate medics in hospitals that are turning away auto accident and heart attack cases because they are completely full.
Iowa Governor Reynolds says ‘Biden is taking dangerous and unprecedented steps.’
This lays bare not only her abject failure to protect the lives of Iowa residents but ALSO either that she is either ignorant or lying about US History.
George Washington probably WON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR by his controversial decision to make his troops get inoculated for smallpox.
Huge news! Finally we have Randomized Trial Data showing that MASKING works. An Epidemiologist who wasn't involved in the study told the Washington Post this study was "incredibly challenging but important to pull off."
Another expert said this should end the "pernicious" idea that masking is an individual choice because this study gave very strong evidence that community-level support of masking had community-wide benefits.
So how did the researchers manage to do what nobody else has ever done in many decades?
Tragic as it is, the current US wave of COVID-19 cases, brought about by the combination of insufficient vaccination, premature openings, & more infectious Delta variant, would be far worse had we not vaccinated a substantial proportion of our population. Especially OLDER people.
As @_stah & @jonahfleish were among the first to notice (others are starting to notice it now), while US cases and hospitalizations are still rising, it looks like hospitalizations may peak before cases.
IF THIS HAPPENS, it will be good news among the ongoing tragedy.
To understand why the relative timing of cases vs hospitalization peaks is a REALLY BIG DEAL right now, you need to think about age-specific mortality and vaccination rates.