5 ms·

Your links do not mention the omicron variant. The CDC estimates that an unboostered vaccine (2 doses) is only 38% effective against omicron. Boosting brings th

Your links do not mention the omicron variant. The CDC estimates that an unboostered vaccine (2 doses) is only 38% effective against omicron. Boosting brings the effectiveness up to 82%.[1] So to be more precise - vaccines work against Omicron, but not as well as the original strains and only if you keep up with boosting every few months. Vaccines are less effective against omicron in general, and the effectiveness wains very quickly. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e3.htm?s_cid=mm7104e3_x#T2_down https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e3.htm?s_cid=mm...

eli 5y ago
I think we're saying the same thing: vaccines protect you from getting covid, but you should get a booster and even then you obviously can't expect 100% protection. (Just the one booster is fine.)
- crackercrews 5y ago
  You ignored the part about masks. Leana Wen referred to cloth masks as "little more than facial decoration". Unless there are mask mandates that require better masks, the mandates are effectively useless.
  - eli 5y ago
    I'm not sure I'd read too much into off-the-cuff remarks from CNN guest experts. Mask mandates aren't worthless, but I agree they'd be a lot better if they required better masks. I believe that's already the case in other countries and I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually comes to the US.
    - crackercrews 5y ago
      Leana Wen isn't just some talking head. She was the head of Planned Parenthood and is a nationally-known medical figure. She is especially respected on the political left. That makes her statement especially surprising because the left has been the side pushing the mask mandates.
      - kajecounterhack 5y ago
        FWIW "the political left" in the United States is not so much a team and more a loose coalition of folks who have some range of views that don't agree with the more uniform political right. It's not that useful to call this out as a group as if surely 80% of folks in the political left care what Leana Wen has to say unless it happens to be particularly insightful. Most folks don't actually know this woman's name, nor do they particularly care. It might be healthier for you to see things less as "there are two sides" and reconsider how you analyze individual topics. When you say "this is the view of side L and this is the view of side R" you are in danger of missing nuance and views that cut across. If you identify with say, side R, you will bias yourself toward those specific viewpoints.
        crackercrews 5y ago
        The point is that she is a well-known and respected person on the left. She is not loved on the right. If she had made this remark 6 or 12 months ago she would have alienated the people who love her. That would have ruined her reputation. Don't assume I have a manichean approach to everything. This was just one example where her popularity is very polarized along political lines.
        kajecounterhack 5y ago
        Maybe this person's popularity only looks polar to you because you're making things out to have a team L and a team R, whereas it's more like team R is real and hallucinating a bogeyman team L where surely folks worship named figureheads as much as team R.
        crackercrews 5y ago
        You think Planned Parenthood is not polarized? I guarantee you that Wen's favorables/unfavorables break down purely along partisan lines. Plenty of people don't know her. But prior to this statement, all of her favorables were Ds and all of her unfavorables were R's. Not everything is partisan. But abortion surely is.
- dahfizz 5y ago
  > Just the one booster is fine. Its fine for right now. You will need another booster in a few months to remain protected (original estimate was every 6 months, CDC lowered that to 5 months already). Israel is already rolling out a fourth shot, and the CDC now recommends 4 doses for immune compromised people.
  - eli 5y ago
    Israel put that plan on hold actually. Just one booster is fine for now. It's possible that could change. I'm hoping we'll soon get a variant-specific booster that will provide much stronger and more lasting protection from omicron. I never understood the preoccupation with the number of shots. Is it the hassle and discomfort of the shot itself?
    - dahfizz 5y ago
      Personally, it makes me feel like we don't really have a handle on the situation. The vaccine was supposed to be a "virtually 100% effective" silver bullet; now we need constant doses just to maintain some level of protection. It does not inspire confidence. Is there any other vaccine that needs boosters every 5 months?
      - pseudalopex 5y ago
        Several vaccines have 3 doses. Flu vaccines get new variants every 6 months. Every disease is different. Every vaccine is different. What would it prove?
      - bonzini 5y ago
        Kids have vaccines at 2 months, 6 months, 1 year and 5 years. Considering that the initial schedule of 2 doses in a month was kinda rushed, and that Israel is not proceeding with a fourth dose because the current wave has been manageable despite the very high number of cases, it seems very unlikely that COVID will need periodic boosters in the general population.
        5y ago

eli 5y ago

I think we're saying the same thing: vaccines protect you from getting covid, but you should get a booster and even then you obviously can't expect 100% protection. (Just the one booster is fine.)

crackercrews 5y ago
You ignored the part about masks. Leana Wen referred to cloth masks as "little more than facial decoration". Unless there are mask mandates that require better masks, the mandates are effectively useless.
- eli 5y ago
  I'm not sure I'd read too much into off-the-cuff remarks from CNN guest experts. Mask mandates aren't worthless, but I agree they'd be a lot better if they required better masks. I believe that's already the case in other countries and I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually comes to the US.
  - crackercrews 5y ago
    Leana Wen isn't just some talking head. She was the head of Planned Parenthood and is a nationally-known medical figure. She is especially respected on the political left. That makes her statement especially surprising because the left has been the side pushing the mask mandates.
    - kajecounterhack 5y ago
      FWIW "the political left" in the United States is not so much a team and more a loose coalition of folks who have some range of views that don't agree with the more uniform political right. It's not that useful to call this out as a group as if surely 80% of folks in the political left care what Leana Wen has to say unless it happens to be particularly insightful. Most folks don't actually know this woman's name, nor do they particularly care. It might be healthier for you to see things less as "there are two sides" and reconsider how you analyze individual topics. When you say "this is the view of side L and this is the view of side R" you are in danger of missing nuance and views that cut across. If you identify with say, side R, you will bias yourself toward those specific viewpoints.
      - crackercrews 5y ago
        The point is that she is a well-known and respected person on the left. She is not loved on the right. If she had made this remark 6 or 12 months ago she would have alienated the people who love her. That would have ruined her reputation. Don't assume I have a manichean approach to everything. This was just one example where her popularity is very polarized along political lines.
        kajecounterhack 5y ago
        Maybe this person's popularity only looks polar to you because you're making things out to have a team L and a team R, whereas it's more like team R is real and hallucinating a bogeyman team L where surely folks worship named figureheads as much as team R.
        crackercrews 5y ago
        You think Planned Parenthood is not polarized? I guarantee you that Wen's favorables/unfavorables break down purely along partisan lines. Plenty of people don't know her. But prior to this statement, all of her favorables were Ds and all of her unfavorables were R's. Not everything is partisan. But abortion surely is.
dahfizz 5y ago
> Just the one booster is fine. Its fine for right now. You will need another booster in a few months to remain protected (original estimate was every 6 months, CDC lowered that to 5 months already). Israel is already rolling out a fourth shot, and the CDC now recommends 4 doses for immune compromised people.
- eli 5y ago
  Israel put that plan on hold actually. Just one booster is fine for now. It's possible that could change. I'm hoping we'll soon get a variant-specific booster that will provide much stronger and more lasting protection from omicron. I never understood the preoccupation with the number of shots. Is it the hassle and discomfort of the shot itself?
  - dahfizz 5y ago
    Personally, it makes me feel like we don't really have a handle on the situation. The vaccine was supposed to be a "virtually 100% effective" silver bullet; now we need constant doses just to maintain some level of protection. It does not inspire confidence. Is there any other vaccine that needs boosters every 5 months?
    - pseudalopex 5y ago
      Several vaccines have 3 doses. Flu vaccines get new variants every 6 months. Every disease is different. Every vaccine is different. What would it prove?
    - bonzini 5y ago
      Kids have vaccines at 2 months, 6 months, 1 year and 5 years. Considering that the initial schedule of 2 doses in a month was kinda rushed, and that Israel is not proceeding with a fourth dose because the current wave has been manageable despite the very high number of cases, it seems very unlikely that COVID will need periodic boosters in the general population.
      - 5y ago