Well, the whole back and forth is rather confusing between the FDA and CDC. Also, they used Israel as model but Israel had their booster population start at 60 and yet the U.S. chooses 65? If Israel is the go to...why not 60? Did I miss something there??
The agencies don't know everything. They're confused too. The best they can do is cobble together results of many different studies and data and try to make a coherent picture of it. And this is not a controlled, closed-system laboratory experiment. The standard scientific method says to change only one variable at a time when you're doing an experiment --- because if you change more than one variable you won't know which of them is the one causing a change in your results.
But the number of variables involved in a real-world study of humans going about their messy lives with a huge range of health situations, living conditions, ages, genders, potential exposures to the virus, access to COVID tests is huge---- it boggles the mind. Which variable might be more important? How to weight the data? Which dataset is most meaningful? The CDC and FDA scientists can read the same reports and come to different conclusions because the data are so frustratingly *fuzzy*. So much slop in the numbers, so much room for error.
And then there's the practical side when it comes to deciding specifically on who gets boosters. Some might favor holding back some vaccine in case it is needed elsewhere, or later. Others might figure that's unnecessary and we should just go for it.
I keep thinking about the Star Trek: The Voyage Home, where Spock does not have all the information he needs to precisely plot a course back to the future, and is taken aback when Scotty suggests he take his "Best Guess". That's what we're seeing--- the "best guesses", and that's the way science works most of the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBxcalnSzIk
Well, I’m betting her morning work rush and bc she just doesn’t know yet, here’s my sister’s brief response: “I’ve not heard that Moderna is recommended yet—evidently the immunity is lasting longer than Pfizer.” (Paul and I both had Moderna)
@jeanne-mayell While no medical practice is one size fits all ... one has to take in to account the probabilities and likely outcomes when deciding to get/ take any vaccine or medication. The Covid-19 vaccines (3) have drastically reduced the severity and morbidity for most people.
Having had family members get covid, one of whom died from it even though vaccinated (86), one who was very very ill with it even tho young (33) a former boss who got (vaccinated and felt really bad for one day then it was like a mild cold (53) two friends who died from it before vaccines were available ( 47) ( 71) and finding out I probably had it last February 2020 and got J & J vaccine April 7th (antibody test showed both types of antibodies) I know that if it is offered I will take another J & J vaccine.
If one doesn't trust the mRNA vaccines (being developed and tested for over 20 years now - so not really new) one can take the J & J based on modified adenovirus , a nonreplicating viral vector vaccine, a method with decades of research behind it and is quite effective at preventing severe outcomes.
The CDC , like any governmental agency under the former president, was undermined and politicized. The virus itself and the vaccines were politicized and made political weapons... and media played a big part in constantly giving them all the headlines and overemphasizing the side effects making it harder for people to get the truth and weigh in factual percentages and risks. We have now surpassed the 1918 Flu Pandemic in deaths.
I can not tell anyone what they should do with their own bodies.... I can say? Do your homework, do the research, the internet is a great resource to look up information...and when you read it? Please do consider the sources!!! Places like John Hopkins, and other great teaching hospitals,National Institute of Health as well https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov are good resources.
Then? decide what is right for you and yours, with a willingness to change as more information becomes available. Covid-19 was definitely a new learning curve for many.
ASU just completed a study published Friday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly repot regarding the effectiveness of wearing masks in a school setting.
Arizona State University researchers analyzed data from July 15 to Aug. 31 provided by Maricopa and Pima county public health departments. They also found that the earlier a district implemented a mask requirement, the less likely it was to have an outbreak.
Not surprisingly, the schools which implemented a mask mandate were 3.5 times less likely to have an outbreak than schools which didn't require masks.
Ninety-two percent of schools with mask mandates in place when the school year started had no outbreaks during the nearly seven weeks of the study, according to a report published Friday.
An outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed COVID-19 cases at the same school within a 14-day period.
Using this study criteria, there has not been an outbreak-free week at my daughter's school this year. She went back to work in early August.
@lovendures It's always good to get more studies, so this is welcomed, and of course people need to have their own studies in this day of fake claims. And, that said, it's been shown repeatedly in studies that masks make all the difference. So now they have no excuse not to mandate masks.
This is THE BEST story about a first grade student who wore his mask for picture day. Seriously! The best story!!! I even love it without the ending but the ending is the cherry on top.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/25/us/coronavirus-mask-school-picture-trnd/index.html
@lovendures Oh I just loved that story. I didn't get it at first, which is typical of me, and then when I read through it and it hit me what this sweet little boy had done, I just wanted to hug him. There is so much sweetness in this world. We just need to keep feeding it to each other so we realize how beautiful this world is, even with its issues.
...our perception is really a series of hallucinations constructed by our brain and that when enough of us all agree on the hallucination then that is what we call truth.
Frank, your post is going in the hall of fame. Thank you.
And all of you helped me sort out what I was pondering yesterday. Thank you!
@earthangel, @lovendures @donna @journeywithme2 @marigold and @ana.
I noticed that right after Arizona republicans certified the vote for Biden, adding that Biden actually got even more votes than they had originally counted, the anti-Christ who used to be in the WH, has doubled down and is pushing the other states to do recounts. In Texas the reactionary leadership is eager to capitulate. Years ago when I did my own timeline reading of the long term, I'd seen a guru in Texas or somewhere in the south central who was able to gain a huge following because of people's fear about climate change. That article is posted somewhere on this site, although it was such a scary vision. Now I realize it fits Mr. T to a T.
@Frank, you wrote Subgroups of society are basically creating their own truth/reality based on what information they allow themselves to receive.
They allow themselves to receive the information that comes from people they most want to believe.
I was inspired by the little boy and the mask story, thank you for posting it, Lovendures.
- For those who think they might be eligible, Walgreen's pharmacies gives people who are interested in booster, a sheet on which one checks yes or no as to whether they qualify. At the bottom of the sheet, Walgreens reports that they will ask no questions. One could use this information judiciously.
- I got a third Pfizer shot. My reaction was much milder than shot #2. A few body aches, mild intermittent headaches, a few chills but I still functioned for the day, unlike after #2.
- A relative of mine is the head of health services at an academic institution and she reports seeing a number of breakthrough COVID infections. The good news is that those infected have close relationships, like dating or rooming with the person who infected them. This is anecdotal, but in a population of ~3,000 unmasked close contact is responsible for many break through infections rather than casual encounters in public.
- I have heard stories of people getting tested for antibodies after two vaccinations, and finding that they have none. I am not referring to those with compromised immune systems.
Clearly caution continues to be warranted but as stated by others, masks and vaccinations provide a large margin of safety.
@raincloud I know someone who has had 3 Pfizer vaccines and still tests negative for antibodies. He definitely falls under the immunocompromised category though. His doctors tell him to live as though he is unvaccinated.