Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Somerville: live, train, donated)

[ben young]

Originally Posted by rach5

We suck! Our politicians are going on a 2 week vacation without passing even this tiny covid funding bill. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...olicy-00023790
In the meantime, free testing is stopping, we are running out of treatments, we are not ordering further therapeutics that are currently in limited supply, and we have not put in orders for potentially updated vaccines for the fall, unlike other developed countries all over the world. When we will no longer have any "tools" to fight the pandemic without masks and lockdowns - what are they going to say then? Are some politicians hoping for a deadly variant in the fall without any vaccines and treatments just to win the elections?

" What are they going to say then ?" ' Trump did it ,'that's what will be said.

[BostonCollege]

Multiple boosters are not necessary and may be harmful in long run..priming your defense with elevated antibodies all the time could possibly cause immune disorders or other opportune infections. Once you have ur boosters or Covid infection u have T cell memory response to save you from future variants. This is true for everyone except immunocompromised...

Even Pfizer or Moderna Ceo will not take 12 boosters

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonCollege

Multiple boosters are not necessary and may be harmful in long run..priming your defense with elevated antibodies all the time could possibly cause immune disorders or other opportune infections. Once you have ur boosters or Covid infection u have T cell memory response to save you from future variants. This is true for everyone except immunocompromised...

Even Pfizer or Moderna Ceo will not take 12 boosters

Can you back any of this up, with anything?

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Can you back any of this up, with anything?

https://www.dw.com/en/covid-do-multi...nse/a-60447735


There is a lot that is not known.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

https://www.dw.com/en/covid-do-multi...nse/a-60447735


There is a lot that is not known.

'Occasional boosts will be helpful'
Stanford professor of immunology research Holden Maecker said in an email to DW he also hasn’t come across any science behind the idea that multiple boosters overwhelm the immune system, but mentioned data from the UK showing that delaying a second dose or boost until around six months is effective.

--from the above source. So in reading the article it sounds as though getting too many boosters COULD overwhelm the immune system and it MIGHT be better to just wait and get a booster every once in a while.

For me and the people my age, we're staying with the mask for the time being. I think I'll wait and get the booster in the fall. They say that this version of Omicron isn't that bad anyway. It's taking a chance though because nobody really knows.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

'Occasional boosts will be helpful'
Stanford professor of immunology research Holden Maecker said in an email to DW he also hasn’t come across any science behind the idea that multiple boosters overwhelm the immune system, but mentioned data from the UK showing that delaying a second dose or boost until around six months is effective.

--from the above source. So in reading the article it sounds as though getting too many boosters COULD overwhelm the immune system and it MIGHT be better to just wait and get a booster every once in a while.

For me and the people my age, we're staying with the mask for the time being. I think I'll wait and get the booster in the fall. They say that this version of Omicron isn't that bad anyway. It's taking a chance though because nobody really knows.

We give people flu vaccine every year and the efficacy is less than 6 months so we time it for the winter flu season. I’m about to turn 64. Boosting on a 6 to 9 month cycle isn’t going to damage my T cell response. The Israeli data is that the 4th booster cuts the mortality rate 78% for age 60+. Whether you boost or not largely depends on your age. 50 and in good health? Probably unnecessary. At 64, I’m boosting. My mother is almost 90 and is in memory care. I’m making sure that she gets boosted. There’s really good data that it matters.

Look at today’s Massachusetts hospitalization data. I’m pulling from the New York Times. For age 70+, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate per 100,000 is 8. For 60 to 69, it’s 2.3. For 30 to 49, it’s 0.9. Any time someone is flinging mud at vaccinations, start by asking how old they are. Your risk profile is totally different at 45 than at 70.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

'Occasional boosts will be helpful'
Stanford professor of immunology research Holden Maecker said in an email to DW he also hasn’t come across any science behind the idea that multiple boosters overwhelm the immune system, but mentioned data from the UK showing that delaying a second dose or boost until around six months is effective.

--from the above source. So in reading the article it sounds as though getting too many boosters COULD overwhelm the immune system and it MIGHT be better to just wait and get a booster every once in a while.

For me and the people my age, we're staying with the mask for the time being. I think I'll wait and get the booster in the fall. They say that this version of Omicron isn't that bad anyway. It's taking a chance though because nobody really knows.

I will be 63 next month, and am currently thrice vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine. After reading that an Israeli study shows the efficacy of a 4th shot falling off fairly quickly - at least for infection, protection against severe disease may be more enduring - I am also thinking of waiting until early fall for a next shot. Plan to get the Pfizer next to get some diversity of antibodies.

In the meantime, I'll read what's found as there is more experience with the 4th shot, let results come in from more studies, and watch to see if any second generation vaccines are approved. Reportedly companies are working on vaccines updated with antigens from newer variants, as well as universal or pan-coronavirus vaccines.

I also still wear a mask in most public settings, though I don't see many others up here in Newburyport.

P.S. A nice discussion by the editors of the NEJM, of the NEJM paper reporting on the performance of the 2nd booster/4th dose Covid-19 vaccine in Israel. With all the political froth still around public health measures, it's nice to hear measured, well-informed viewpoints.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.105...=featured_home

P.P.S. While the studies to date (it's still early) suggest that the 4th dose has lower efficacy, one can't be sure why that is. Yes, it could be due to diminished response of the immune system, but (as the discussion at the above link points toward), it could well be due to the fact that the antigens in our existing vaccines are essentially out of date as they are more than one year old - the virus keeps evolving, and as it does, we should expect diminishing efficacy without updating the vaccines to keep pace with that evolution.

[OutdoorLover]

P.P.P.S. Come to think of it, the antigens in use by our approved vaccines were initially templated/tweaked from the virus' spike protein in March and April of 2020, so they're basically 2 years old now, and the virus just keeps changing... and it naturally evolves to evade environmental immunity, whether from vaccines or prior infection. This is not speculation, this is known to happen. Initially these vaccines provided strong protection against transmission and infection, but over time, those levels of protection have been diminishing. Fortunately though, protection against hospitalization and death have remained strong, so far.

[ben young]

Hypochondriacs will allways be fearfully,and that's ok makes them happy.
For the rest of us ,leave us alone.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

https://www.dw.com/en/covid-do-multi...nse/a-60447735


There is a lot that is not known.

This is mostly theory as opposed to a conclusion. It does not take into account time in between boosters (there is already sufficient evidence that efficacy wears off over time (a few months?)). And so far there is no reason to believe a 4th shot is (or isn't) necessary at some point, I think it's too soon to have proper data on that.