" The CDC says data indicates preliminarily that it is more serious"…to the unvaccinated.
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I’m applauding this decision, though I wish they would change 8 months to 6!
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Just check India’s mortality rate.
Paywall….
I got my first shot on 1/11/21 and I am a healthcare worker. I am relieved.
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U.S. to Advise Boosters for Most Americans
The Biden administration will recommend most people to get a booster shot eight months after their initial vaccination, officials familiar with the plan said.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a coronavirus booster vaccination eight months after they received their second shot, and could begin offering third shots as early as mid- to late September, according to administration officials familiar with the discussions.
Officials are planning to announce the administration’s decision as early as this week. Their goal is to let Americans who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines know now that they will need additional protection against the Delta variant that is causing caseloads to surge across the nation. The new policy will depend on the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of additional shots.
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I’m very glad they’re moving on this as many HC workers and elders and vulnerable got vaccines very early—Jan and thereafter. They need to keep immunity up when they are around people who may have Delta.
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Interesting. I thought NYT had decided all Covid related stuff was going to be free for everyone. I guess that ended? I have a subscription so can’t tell.
If anyone wants to try it, often (not always, but often) with paywalled articles, if you stop them from loading once you see the article you can avoid the paywall, but fortunately in this case @oldmom4896 cut and pasted for people - thanks!
Data from England. Remember deaths unfortunately lag behind by several weeks: there are people in the hospital, ECMO, ventilators, etc., but I think this also proves how vaccination has helped lower the number of deaths.
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What we do know is that Delta is much more contagious than the initial strain. Just by virtue of that fact, the Delta becomes more deadly regardless of the mortality rate. Because so many more people become infected, even if the mortality rate remains the same, the numbers of people hospitalized, saddled with long term issues, and dead rise. Some people care about that.
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Not to mention people with medical emergencies can have difficulty getting immediate treatment. Here is but one example: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/08/16/joel-valdez-houston-covid-hospitals/
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That’s true. In the Dallas metroplex (Dallas and surrounding suburbs), we have many hospitals. A couple of days ago, we ran completely out of pediatric ICU beds, and adult ICU beds are going fast. This completely negates the argument that unvaccinated people who get sick only affect themselves. That is total bunk. It affects anyone else who gets sick or has an accident that requires hospitalization. It affects the healthcare workers as well. Healthcare workers are being stretched to their limits with unsafe patient ratios, which affects them adversely both physically and emotionally. I know that nurses specifically are starting to call it quits from the stress, and that has more ripple effects as well.
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I had an appointment today with my Dr. for a prescription renewal. We talked about the virus a bit. Their office has been very busy. Right now 2 nurses are out sick with Covid. One has had the vaccine and one didn’t. They will be okay, but their absence is making it harder for the rest of the staff.
The Dr. mentioned that she spoke with a pulmonologist recently (he happens to be my pulmonologist). He said that he has had only 1 vaccinated patient need to be intubated. All of the others have been the unvaccinated.
Me, I can hardly wait to get the booster, when it is available.
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I wonder if doctor’s offices are going to drop patients who refuse to be vaccinated like some pediatricians do? My kids’ pediatrician would not see unvaccinated patients, and she’d wish you well but send you somewhere else.
When we moved to California we lived 2 blocks from the Sears pediatric practice, the idol of anti-vaccers. I wouldn’t have gone there if care was free.
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Careful what you wish for…it is a short walk from ‘no coverage for the unvaccinated’ to ‘no coverage for drug OD’s’. Both are self inflicted causes of physical damage. And, most likely any coverage restrictions would only include private plans and not Medicare/Medicaid. Thus even more deeply entrenching the current unbalance between those who pay and those who get it for free. Yes, I know Medicare is technically not free since many paid into the system.
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in a new population, that is correct. BUT, with 50+% of the US vaccinated, the numbers of serious cases has to be less than if unvaccinated. (And the feds know that with certainty.)
In hot areas there are plenty of serious cases - as many or more as before. Hospitals are running out of beds, etc. The “pool” they are fishing from has become smaller since it almost totally includes the unvaccinated 50% (or whatever number) instead of the entire population. The vaccinated are mostly safe. The unvaccinated are those in the line of fire making up the difference.
Imagine what the numbers would be now if we didn’t have vaxes! Then we’d be more like what happened in Brazil or India (both areas where the true number seriously affected will never be known, but it’s large). At least now there’s a safe(r) option if people want it.