Elderly folks may have a lesser level of immunity from vaccines. So along with those who are immunocompromised, those over 75 or even over 65 may still be at risk even if vaccinated.
If everyone got a vaccination, those vulnerable people would be safer.
Senior facilities have opened to some degree but many restrictions persist and life is hardly back to normal.
Herd immunity is based on R0, which is going to vary based upon local conditions, especially density. For instance, Potter County, PA only has an average population density of 16 persons per square mile versus, say, Philadelphia at 11,000/sq. mile.
Transmissibility of any virus will be very different in those two locations simply because of the numbers of interactions between people; therefore each will have different threshold immunities. Itās not surprising that densely populated cities have been hit hard. We shouldnāt think of 50% or 60% or even 70% as necessarily being a requirement for every area. In many locations, herd immunity will attach at lower levels, based on lower local R0.
With these considerations in mind, average levels of vaccination and naturally-acquired immunity are decent proxies for the risks being faced.
Hopefully this will help:
Private hospital making a legal choice to keep patients and staff safer = nothing illegal.
It will be appealed of course, but itās a good first step.
According to an earlier article, 24000+ were vaccinated (says nearly 25,000, but I donāt know how close their rounding was), 285 received medical or religious exemption, 332 were granted deferrals. 117 were in the lawsuit of 178 who were suspended. 27 of those were partially vaccinated, so probably just needed time. Not sure what happened to the other 34. Either they were ok with quitting/retiring or changed their minds to get vaccinated.
I have no idea if other places will employ those 117 or not, but I agree with the hospital that they donāt need to be employed doing healthcare in places with vulnerable people.
Hopefully higher courts will also throw out their case.
Their arguments were plain stupid. Especially the second one equating it to nazi experiment. It is not like the hospital is asking them vaccinated and inject the virus to see if the vaccine is effective. The first argument about being guinea pigs is also absurd. More than 2-300 million people got the shot, 2-300 million guinea pigs?
Has Israel successfully addressed the apparent disparity where Arab and Haredi Israelis were less likely to be vaccinated?
This is pretty out of date.
Overall, about 78% of the eligible Arab Israelis are vaccinated, versus 85% of the non-Haredi Jewish Israelis, while Haredim have a vaccination rate of about 72% of the eligible population.
The actual percentages have a higher disparity, but a lot of that is because both Haredim and Arab Israelis have a larger proportion of people who are not eligible, because of age. So the percent of Arab Israelis who are above 16 is around 60%, while for non-Haredi Jewish Israelis itās over 70%. Haredim also have a much higher percent of younger people than non-Haredi Jewish Israelis.
True, but still we want to look at these at a more local level than āall of the USAā.
Minor comment: It isnāt the R0, which assumes that all individuals are susceptible to infection, but the Re which includes those which are immune through either infection of vaccination.
An excellent article. Makes the point that almost all people will eventually get vaccinated, whether or not they get a shot. If they get vaccinated by getting COVID, they are taking a big chance. Much riskier than getting injected with one of the three vaccinations in the US.
*For some people
The jury is still out on whether the benefits outweigh the risks for those under 30 who get the vaccine.
Do you have a source for that? Would be interested in seeing that analysis.
Agree. I have never read anything suggesting thereās not a reason for a young person to get vaccinated. A friendās son, in his early 20s, has really struggled after contracting COVID. And he had no other conditions. He feels strongly that everyone should get vaccinated.
The jury is still out on whether people under 30 suffer long term effects from covid. Iām not wrong in thinking that there are certainly more young people suffering from long covid than there are young people who have suffered long term effects from any vaccine.
Every person under 30 who gets the vaccine helps to make a difference in the benefits of their parents/grandparents, etc. not getting COVID. That alone is reason enough to vaccinate no matter your age.
I suppose it depends on how you define risk, right? It is not easily quantifiable, but I will share a few pieces which have shaped my opinion. And because we have zero long term studies on vaccinating young people, we wonāt truly know if the benefits outweigh the risks for a long time, will we?
With regard to the 3rd piece listed - I personally know two women who, 10 years post menopause, got their periods after their first shot and then again after their second shot. Anecdotal, I know, but how many women who got Covid had the same thing happen? I canāt find any articles about that happening to a single person.
The survival rate of Covid for those under 30 is about 99.92%. Difficult to quantify the long term effects of a virus, but the same could be said for the vaccine.
Get ready to clutch your pearls: Iād rather my healthy kids get Covid than get the vaccine.
That being said, for those in my family over 65 and those with health conditions, I would fully support them getting the vaccine. I am not anti-vax; I am anti-mandate. And where there is risk, there should be a choice.
Couldnāt agree more. I had zero concern for my teenagers about COVID, literally zero. It was obvious very early on that COVID was not a significant risk for that demographic.
One has since started the vaccination process, required by the university they will enter. No real effects from that either, at least so far, fingers crossed.
Good points! I hope someone studies or can explain why these side effects occur with the vaccines. They seem random yet must be related somehow.
If you believe that, will you have them variolate with COVID-19 on a schedule of their choosing, so that they do not later get COVID-19 by surprise at an inconvenient time (like final exams in school)?
One of the people I know who had COVID-19 (age early 20s) said it was extremely unpleasant for a few weeks, and still has after-effects months later.
Interesting anecdote. We have had more than 100 cases of COVID in my childās prep school (it also has an attached elementary and middle school) ā school has been in person all year, but approximately 25-35% chose to go remote. Have not heard of anything serious. I can say for certain of the approximately 20 students whom we know well who tested positive, only 1 had anything more than a mild cold, and all have recovered (probably half had no or practically no symptoms).
On the other hand, my 15 year old was happy to get vaccinated, not just so she wouldnāt get COVID, but so that she wouldnāt get it and spread it to other people.
That is an important reason, to which I will add
-we canāt get to herd immunity without vaccinating a significant proportion of under 18s
-the more covid hangs around and infects unvaccinated people/children, the greater the risk a variant develops that evades the vaccines