COVID-19 Vaccine Issues and Poll, Part XI

[selmaborntidefan]

The virus has never cared, but it does matter.

Chart shows how much protection people have against Omicron after 1, 2, or 3 shots of vaccine

Vaccine protection held up against hospitalization, but waned after the second dose, per UK government figures. A booster raised the protection again.

www.businessinsider.com

Multiple studies show similar results - a reduction in infection and a reduction in disease. Vaccination absolutely matters.

Can someone still become infected and pass it along to others if vaccinated? Absolutely. Not too much different there. But it absolutely matters.

Omicron does appear to be "milder", causing a lower percentage of hospitalizations and deaths compared to Delta; but that puts it back near the original SARS-CoV-2 virus that was 5-10x deadlier than the flu and nowhere near the category of "just a cold" that some are hanging their hat on.

And lots of people are still getting sick and dying - mostly unvaccinated (not surprisingly).

More kids are also becoming infected and hospitalized - along with their parents and grandparents - and some are dying.

The effect of the unvaccinated on the medical system is high now and growing exponentially as cases increase exponentially. Vaccination absolutely matters. No, I can't say that enough because it doesn't seem to be hitting home.

Don't rely on anecdotes to make decisions. I'm glad so far everyone you know has had a mild case. I also hope your parents recover quickly and fully and wish they'd turn off the mind poison.

We can still mitigate with vaccines and masks. I can guarantee you that since vaccination I've had multiple exposures - all while wearing either a medical or cloth or N95 mask - and thank the good lord I haven't been infected since being vaccinated despite these multiple exposures. Dumb luck? Unlikely. More likely that both vaccination and masking helped protect me. Anecdotal, but repeated many times over and studies show the same protection for healthcare workers in general who follow similar practices. That's important because we are among the most likely to be exposed.

It is also known that the vaccinated are less likely to be infected (or colonized, for that matter - there is a difference), are less likely to infect others, recover more quickly and become less able to infect others more quickly, and have lower rates of hospitalization and death.

Vaccination absolutely matters.

This reminds me of the old United Way commercial:

"Thanks to you, it works for all of us......vaccination."

 

[jthomas666]

The headline really nails it, don't you think?

Judge Creates New Constitutional Right For Crybaby Navy SEALs - Above the Law

Following orders is optional according to Judge O'Connor.

abovethelaw.com

 

[NationalTitles18]

I never intended for people to think I suggest otherwise. I'm a vocal proponent of vaccination.

I know that. It was mainly aimed at the morons with very limited cranial capabilities who search for any and every excuse to continue being morons.

Hopefully, when Omicron is done ravaging the unvaccinated (and likely the economy) for a couple of months we can truly begin heading back toward something closer to normal. This assumes a worse variant doesn't pop up. Let's hope for a break in trends there since every other time we thought things might get better they got worse again.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I know that. It was mainly aimed at the morons with very limited cranial capabilities who search for any and every excuse to continue being morons.

Hopefully, when Omicron is done ravaging the unvaccinated (and likely the economy) for a couple of months we can truly begin heading back toward something closer to normal. This assumes a worse variant doesn't pop up. Let's hope for a break in trends there since every other time we thought things might get better they got worse again.

As long as we have as many unvaxxed as we do, acting as petri dishes, I expect a new variant every six months, at the most. What they are is a crap shoot...

 

[NationalTitles18]

As long as we have as many unvaxxed as we do, acting as petri dishes, I expect a new variant every six months, at the most. What they are is a crap shoot...

Yep. The antivaxxers seem to think that decreased virulence is inevitable - it's not. The mutations are purely chance and as Forrest is fond of saying: You never know what you're gonna get. e.g.: Delta was both more contagious and more virulent. There's no guarantee that the next one will be more like Omicron and less like Delta.

And, of course, these arose (apparently) in other places of the world so it would behoove (please, no ivermectin jokes) us to get as many vaccines out to the world as we can.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Yep. The antivaxxers seem to think that decreased virulence is inevitable - it's not. The mutations are purely chance and as Forrest is fond of saying: You never know what you're gonna get. e.g.: Delta was both more contagious and more virulent. There's no guarantee that the next one will be more like Omicron and less like Delta.

And, of course, these arose (apparently) in other places of the world so it would behoove (please, no ivermectin jokes) us to get as many vaccines out to the world as we can.

I'm not sure enough can be produced to vaccinate the whole world, even ignoring the logistics problems plus hesitancy...

 

[NationalTitles18]

I'm not sure enough can be produced to vaccinate the whole world, even ignoring the logistics problems plus hesitancy...

Yeah, but we still need to do what we can to reduce the risk. The mRNA vaccines are not going to be of much use in many places. There are several other options already in place and others undergoing development. This is a marathon, not a sprint - though we stil must push forward as quickly as possible.

 

[B1GTide]

It is no longer a novel virus. Our bodies are learning to kill it. It will soon be endemic and we will just move on. Those most at risk will have to be careful and get vaccinated but most won't, and it won't be a problem. At least, at a macro level.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

It is no longer a novel virus. Our bodies are learning to kill it. It will soon be endemic and we will just move on. Those most at risk will have to be careful and get vaccinated but most won't, and it won't be a problem. At least, at a macro level.

That was the theory with the 1918 flu also. Eventually, it killed the equivalent of two million, in proportion to today's population in the USA and went on to kill a third of the world's population. That theory also never worked with polio and measles either, not to mention the bubonic plague. No, vaccination is the way out...

 

[NationalTitles18]

There is good news

I received thousands of emails, messages, and comments after my last post, all asking, essentially, the same thing: Is there any hope? So, I interrupt my regular broadcast with a big, loud answer: YES.

yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com

There is good news

Katelyn Jetelina 28 min ago

39

2

I received thousands of emails, messages, and comments after my last post, all asking, essentially, the same thing: Is there any hope? So, I interrupt my regular broadcast with a big, loud answer: YES.

After reading through these messages, I realized that while I and others actively respond to crises, we’ve neglected to communicate how far we’ve come. One of public health’s biggest challenges is that when it works, it’s largely invisible. This isn’t the case in other fields. For example, in medicine you can see the impact of a surgery. In the drug industry you can see the immediate effect of a prescription. In public health, we don’t see what we prevented. For example, how much do you really appreciate seatbelts on a daily basis? Seeing what public health prevents is nearly impossible for the untrained eye. So, this is what we aren’t seeing right now…
Vaccines are working
And not just working okay, they are working incredibly well. I know this is hard to believe when everyone around us is testing positive. But vaccines are doing their primary job: keeping people out of the hospital. We can easily see that in many graphs, but my favorite is below from New York City, showing a clear distinction in hospitalizations among vaccinated compared to unvaccinated people.
NYC, Source here
We can see this in totality too. The Commonwealth Fund recently published a brief in which they analyzed the extent to which the vaccine program in the United States averted deaths and hospitalizations since its rollout. Their main conclusion was as follows:

(My interjection here: WOW!!!)
*****************************

“In the absence of a vaccination program, there would have been approximately 1.1 million additional COVID-19 deaths and more than 10.3 million additional COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. by November 2021.”

****************************
Below is their graph comparing projected deaths without a vaccination campaign to deaths with a vaccination campaign from October 2020 to November 2021. The number of lives saved is beautiful.

This is all pretty incredible given the vaccines were made against the original variant that popped up more than 2 years ago, and jumped from person to person across more than 250,000,000 people worldwide.
How did we do this? It’s because Americans got their vaccine in 9 months, which shattered all time records for development of previous vaccines. But speed didn’t mean it was rushed. It meant leveraging a whole lot of smart people, money, and decades of previous work to get us a vaccine in 9 months. (I talked about all of these things in a previous post here.) It also meant that more than 500,000 people volunteered to test the vaccine. They raised their hands to volunteer in clinical trials in which a new biotechnology was being tested that was never before authorized. They also had the chance of getting a placebo. Most of these people stayed in the trial, even after they could have had the placebo. People from 6 months old to the elderly participated. From all different backgrounds. And those neighbors of ours are a key reason we are saving so many lives right now. This couldn’t have been done without each and every one of them.

Part 2 below

 

[NationalTitles18]

Omicron gave us some breaks, too
In addition to vaccines, we actually got very lucky with Omicron on many fronts. This includes:

1. More and more mounting evidence is showing that Omicron is less severe than previous variants. A recent preprint found the risks for ED visits, hospitalization, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation were consistently LESS THAN HALF among Omicron infections compared to Delta infections. In children under 5 years old, the overall risks of ED visit and hospitalization for Omicron were 3.89% and 0.96% respectively, significantly lower than 21.01% and 2.65% in the matched Delta cohort. The running hypothesis (confirmed in 6 lab studies) is that this is the case because Omicron doesn’t infect the lungs as efficiently; rather, it infects the upper respiratory system much more.
2. Omicron also didn’t fully escape our vaccines or immune systems. Our boosters are 50-88% efficacious against Omicron. And even if someone doesn’t get a booster (and they are not high risk) their T-cells kick in and still largely protect them from severe disease and death. Together with #1, this is leading to decoupling of hospitalizations from cases: hospitalizations are not rising at the same rate as cases. Because of this, in the UK, the number of ventilators being used is at the same rate as pre-pandemic winters. And decreasing.

1. Antigen tests can still detect Omicron really well. (I’m writing another post that’s coming out tomorrow about this).
2. We have a really effective antiviral that some high-risk individuals are getting right now, which will no doubt reduce their individual-level risk of hospitalization and death.
3. We now know that masks work great. They aren’t perfect, but a recent study that pooled more than 70 studies showed that masks reduce transmission by 57%. N95s are much better (close to 95% reduced transmission). And, unlike at the beginning of the pandemic, we have plenty of N95’s in supply. We also have KN95s for kids.

More help is coming
And although we have a issues right now with distribution and supply, help is on its way. The FDA just announced the authorization of two more antigen tests, which will result in millions and millions of tests coming next month. Also, at-home rapid tests will soon (finally) be reimbursed by insurance. Pfizer is ramping up production for antivirals and we will have enough for 300,000 Americans by the end of February and, eventually, 120 million courses in 2022. A dream coronavirus vaccine is in clinical trials that, if successful, will prevent severe disease from all future coronaviruses. And kids under 5 will get the vaccine by summer.
Bottom line: Public health is invisible when it works. Although we are in crisis mode right now, our tools are working and help is on the way. Every epi curve comes down. This one will too. Don’t take Omicron lightly, but don’t lose hope either.
Love, YLE
“Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, biostatistician, professor, researcher, wife, and mom of two little girls. During the day she has a research lab and teaches graduate-level courses, but at night she writes this newsletter. Her main goal is to “translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well equipped to make evidence-based decisions, rather than decisions based in fear.

 

[B1GTide]

That was the theory with the 1918 flu also. Eventually, it killed the equivalent of two million, in proportion to today's population in the USA and went on to kill a third of the world's population. That theory also never worked with polio and measles either, not to mention the bubonic plague. No, vaccination is the way out...

You know that I believe in the vaccines. But science tells us that this one is just not going away. Vaccines or not, it is here to stay. It is spread across the globe, with too many hosts. It is going to have to help us, because we won't help ourselves.

 

[NationalTitles18]

That was the theory with the 1918 flu also. Eventually, it killed the equivalent of two million, in proportion to today's population in the USA and went on to kill a third of the world's population. That theory also never worked with polio and measles either, not to mention the bubonic plague. No, vaccination is the way out...

And new research points to 1.1 million American lives saved due to vaccinations. Without the vaccines we'd be about 2 million deaths already and with no real definite end in sight.

You know that I believe in the vaccines. But science tells us that this one is just not going away. Vaccines or not, it is here to stay. It is spread across the globe, with too many hosts. It is going to have to help us, because we won't help ourselves.

from above:

A dream coronavirus vaccine is in clinical trials that, if successful, will prevent severe disease from all future coronaviruses.

There is hope, one way or the other, that things can eventually return to normal. Yes, it's likely to become endemic but with that type of vaccine - well, that would be amazing in many ways. I don't know if it could eventually apply to influenza viruses as well, but that would also be awesome.

 

[Jon]

in case it comes up for you

no

Betty White 'died of natural causes,' not COVID booster complications, says agent: 'Her death should not be politicized'

The internet rumor is not true. Also, the "Golden Girls" star, who famously enjoyed hot dogs and vodka, did not give a quote about eating healthy.

www.yahoo.com

 

[NationalTitles18]

in case it comes up for you

no

Betty White 'died of natural causes,' not COVID booster complications, says agent: 'Her death should not be politicized'

The internet rumor is not true. Also, the "Golden Girls" star, who famously enjoyed hot dogs and vodka, did not give a quote about eating healthy.

www.yahoo.com

Saw some idiot say that in a comment section today and thought: What a moron!

 

[Crimson1967]

Just saw this.

Visa issue has Djokovic stuck at Aussie border

Novak Djokovic is being held in a room with police out front after landing in Melbourne for the Australian Open, his father said Wednesday amid reports that a visa mix-up could jeopardize the top-ranked Serb's entry into the country.

www.espn.co.uk

 

[2003TIDE]

Just saw this.

PM caved to political pressure as he should

 

[92tide]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1478397911285309447

 

[selmaborntidefan]

in case it comes up for you

no

Betty White 'died of natural causes,' not COVID booster complications, says agent: 'Her death should not be politicized'

The internet rumor is not true. Also, the "Golden Girls" star, who famously enjoyed hot dogs and vodka, did not give a quote about eating healthy.

www.yahoo.com

I saw that.

And here's the thing - so what if she DID die of the virus? (I will guarantee you Betty White was vaccinated. Guarantee).

But it's almost like EVERY death has become a form of evolutionary/immunologic points-scoring, and it disgusts me to no end.

Some of you may have seen where the Deputy DA of Orange County (Kelly Ernby) died at age 46 of Covid complications. She was apparently a rather vocal anti-vaxxer who recently attended an anti-vax rally. So little honor, though, is among the morons that guess what?

She's being mocked by the pro-vax side with the old "well, if she'd been vaccinated, she'd still be here." (Look, more likely, yes. I'm hesitant with anyone's predictions of "if you this then this" but YES, she would have definitely improved her chances).

But she's also being mocked by the anti-vaxxers with, "She caved and got vaccinated and died from clotting."

I mean, I "get" the whole karmic thing with "she made fun of the disease and died," and I'll even admit to thinking it. But why does it have to take on points scoring politically - and when you can just make up things like the anti-vaxxers, who wins anything?

You can die wearing a seat belt, but your odds are much better.
You can get pregnant while on the pill, but your odds are much better.
You can die after vaccination, but your odds are much better.

Why is this so difficult??????

 

[92tide]

Why is this so difficult??????

because a bunch of people have discovered that they can amass massive amounts of power and wealth convincing folks otherwise