Overwhelmingly unlikely or not, both have chosen boosters. My guy knows his brother was a long Covid case for over a year (until Moderna shots) and he’s seen short straws. He, like those he works with, are willingly going with “best odds.”
GF actually is immunocompromised, so qualifies with that too.
Think of how much could be returned to taxpayers if the gov’t quit paying for unvaxxed (without a medical cause) to get treatments, or stuck with Ibuprofen. At this stage of Covid, if this were up for voting in Nov, it would have my vote. They’re wasting a ton in the name of “freedom” or “hoax.” That money could pay for a lot - or get returned to taxpayers.
I only get the first group in my area, but nothing I say or do is going to convince any of them TBH. They’re as set in their minds about this as you are with Rabies.
H did!!! But I think it was more because the people knew too many people getting severely sick and/or dying. But he (or we - I found and let them know the locations giving their preferred vax) got two coworkers to get their first shot just last week. But if hadn’t gently pushed and helped lead them to it, they still would be unvaxxd
An update from the land of reluctance here. My brother in the PNW has made it clear he will never allow himself to be vaccinated. He is politically conservative, which I’m sure adds to his stubbornness on the issue, but I’m not so sure that’s the primary source of his reluctance. He has all his childhood vaccines, but no adult boosters for anything, due to lack of medical insurance. It’s not important to him. He is single with no children, and an overweight 40-something smoker/alcoholic. I really have no idea what would change his mind. The path he’s on is already not a path to healthy behavior. He is lucky that his area’s vaccination rate is so high. I’m glad we made the trip to see him this summer. I love my brother. May his luck hold out.
On the unlucky end, my husband’s ex called from the Atlanta area the other day - her whole family was vaccine reluctant until her BIL caught COVID and died suddenly. Now that they have all seen firsthand what COVID does, they are all vaccinated. That is what it took, a missing father, a grieving sister and niece and nephew. It’s awful. Actually, privately, I think they are also lucky, lucky that he went so quickly. He was only hospitalized for three days. I’m sure their medical bills will be more manageable than what some others are seeing.
Boosters? Whatever. I just want the people who are dear to me to get their first shots - or stay lucky.
For some diseases vaccinated against, additional doses are sometimes given.
For some professions (e.g. firefighter) titers for some diseases like hepatitis B are used to check immunity from those diseases, even if the person entering the profession has been vaccinated against the disease. Additional doses are given if the titer is too low.
When vaccination history is uncertain, sometimes it is easier and cheaper to give an additional dose of vaccine rather than do titers to check for immunity.
When a better vaccine becomes available, someone vaccinated with an older vaccine may get vaccinated with the new one (e.g. Shingrix in those who previously got Zostavax).
When someone who had a foreign vaccine not approved in the US is in the US in a situation where vaccination is required (e.g. international students at colleges requiring COVID-19 vaccination who were vaccinated with a foreign COVID-19 vaccine).
Post-exposure vaccination against rabies even for those who were previously vaccinated due to profession (e.g. veterinarians, animal handlers).
Refusal (rather than hesitancy) is higher among White Evangelical Protestants than it is for any other religious group, according to PRRI (although that is from April).
My vaccination was certain, and roughly ten years ago I went to the health department and got a bunch of shots. Nobody asked if I had them before. Just given. Tetanus was an obvious booster, pneumococcal was new, but I also got MMR. I was vaccinated as a kid, but I wanted to make sure I was covered. Insurance paid 100% and I don’t have great insurance. I have a high deductible plan.
My BFF’s mother, who turns 100 next month, lives in the same facility as my dad. Her vaccinated caregiver has COVID. I don’t know any other details at this point.
Ha! Forget tefillin, just stick the needle in the arm!
Yeah, High Holidays were the first time in a long time locally that I felt like maybe I was the one being careless. I like the brand: “We’re Not Kidding About Staying Alive This Time.”
I also like that they’re not even bothering to break us down by religiosity/service attendance. Just a global “doesn’t matter, I’ll have one. Or two. How many do you have.”
Choosing a Covid booster and being legitimately eligible are two different things, regardless of what’s currently allowed by the CDC’s quasi-political decision to expand booster “eligibility.” Your son’s GF is clearly medically eligible, given that she is immunocompromised (assuming a diagnosis here). Her odds from BT Covid are not the same as your son’s. Covid has caused a lot of fear - even panic, and it’s easy to go over-board with the “remedies” but that’s not a helpful response to the realities of the pandemic. You are maintaining that a booster “does no harm” but the data aren’t there to support that statement either. For example, concerns about the lack of data for the myocarditis/pericarditis were brought up during the FDA/CDC deliberations. Your son’s and perhaps his colleagues may not be calculating those odds properly. Regardless, they aren’t using medical judgement to boost, but other reasons (fear, anxiety, peer or supervisor pressure, parental pressure, etc).
IMO, if a publicly-funded insurance program wants to require certain things such as mandatory vaccination for flu, tetanus, Covid, etc as well as mandatory preventative screenings, wellness appointments, prohibitions on unhealthy eating or personal habits (such as smoking) - that would be a great thing! The public is paying so the public gets to set the rules, assuming they are medically sound. Part of the problem with those who are on public assistance is that they use the ED for their primary care. That and the resulting cost explosion - has been a problem long before Covid! As for those not on public aid, they need to pay the costs of being hospitalized just like the rest of us would (for any injury or illness). Healthcare costs have increased because it’s a pandemic; right now, for instance, insurance pays for Covid testing but we’ll all be seeing higher premiums as a result. Nothing can be done about that - testing frequency would have sky-rocketed due to Delta even if vax rates were notably higher. Therapies approved for distribution and subsidy (MAb, for instance, was approved in 2020? Or am I mis-remembering?) are a separate matter - our health and political leaders can make decisions about when to terminate that handout. Right now if the public is paying, then the public gets to have the therapy - that’s how it works. And yes, you are correct that the voters get to determine who will be making the key decisions here - we’ve delegated those to our elected officials.
Not sure about your area, but we’ve never been to a doctor who doesn’t follow the guidelines set by their medical association or the CDC. All my kids’ vaccines were per the schedule. No one got an “extra” vaccine because some physician felt “nervous”. We’ve even been denied vaccines - for instance the H1N1 outbreak in 2008 just devastated our area and killed a kid living nearby. But no vaccines for us, unfortunately; we were just expected to tough it out.
Um - I’m a big proponent of the rabies vaccine, given that we’ve had a couple family members required to get it! Not sure you realize that even if the odds are “practically non-existent” from some small animals, our healthcare providers here advise getting to the ER and beginning the series if bitten by a wild animal that couldn’t be caught and tested. Perhaps your healthcare providers advise differently. Rabies is kind of a non-argument, however. I know the odds of any of my family dying from rabies. I’m not sure that some in this country have a similar understanding when it comes to Covid. Surveys have been eye-opening on the level of ignorance regarding hospitalization odds, for instance. Some under-estimate and others waaay over-estimate the odds of a bad outcome from getting Covid. Data illiteracy or ignorance has been a real problem during this pandemic among both sides of the political aisle; many are basing their viewpoints on personal experience or fears instead.
Rather arrogant to assume data illiteracy is the basis for getting boosters. I can assure you that the doctors, scientists and public health officials in Israel and Europe which distributed boosters are quite capable, and their management of this public health crisis has been better than ours thus far.
Medical opinions may differ on the necessity and adults can make their own medical choices. There is an abundance of supply, so who decides to get one is none of your business. I know people who take aspirin, or Claritin, or numerous other abundant medicines everyday. Do they really need to do so? Not my concern. These are not opiates/narcotics, nor addictive. Some people get a tetanus booster after a minor accident, others do not bother. Shingles vaccines are widely available but most do not get them. Are those who do data illiterate or just more pro-active in managing their health?
At least a few on this thread (me included!) have had some success helping those vaccine-reluctant to understand the benefits of vaccination. You and I seem to have a different approach here - I believe that it’s my responsibility to share facts and data with those who might be in the dark. Not sure I need to worry about how many I convince - it’s more about whether I left the encounter doing my best to share the truth. The rest is up to that person, who has the same agency as I do.
The EU has yet to approve boosters (although I assume its coming next month).
Actually, when the public is paying, yes, it is the public’s business as JBS has pointed out.
And they 1) pay for them out of pocket; and 2) Claritin and other medicines have already been studied and approved by CDC//FDA to be safe AND effective. (Aspirin was grandfathered in; many folks feel it might not be approved under current scientific regs.)
I also like that they’re not even bothering to break us down by religiosity/service attendance. Just a global “doesn’t matter, I’ll have one. Or two. How many do you have.”