Coronavirus in Massachusetts (trains, health, island)

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by Amontillado

I don't think the evidence is in, regarding whether Covid can persist in a fully vaccinated population. That would depend on how well it can spread from one immunized person to another, rather than jumping from someone who never was vaccinated into someone who's been vaccinated. Regardless, it would be way better to reduce the number of cases by immunizing everyone!

.

Of course...that situation is a pure hypothetical at this point. Epidemiologists like Fauci have made this claim based on informed analogies with other highly infectious diseases, however.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

I don't care what the layperson thinks either. I'm referring to Dr. Galea. Dean of BU's school of public health. Why would you dismiss an opinion from someone with such credentials?

I don't care about his credentials.

Have you compared the current stats to last year's stats - and also taken into consideration lag for hospitalizations and deaths?

And did I miss something? Does long covid no longer exist? The esteemed Dr. Galea feels case numbers don't matter anymore.

Let's revisit this in a month. And then again in 2 months.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by redplum33

I don't care about his credentials.

Have you compared the current stats to last year's stats - and also taken into consideration lag for hospitalizations and deaths?

And did I miss something? Does long covid no longer exist? The esteemed Dr. Galea feels case numbers don't matter anymore.

Let's revisit this in a month. And then again in 2 months.

This Chicken Little thing is getting old. The incidence of hospitalization among people with a vaccination within the last 6 months is really low. Same for deaths. Vermont has almost July Florida-level infection rates and their hospitalization numbers are really low.

You have full control over your own health. Get your booster shot. Wear an N95 mask indoors. What’s the big deal?

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Let's revisit this in a month. And then again in 2 months.

This must be the new “just wait 2 weeks!”

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This Chicken Little thing is getting old. The incidence of hospitalization among people with a vaccination within the last 6 months is really low. Same for deaths. Vermont has almost July Florida-level infection rates and their hospitalization numbers are really low.

You have full control over your own health. Get your booster shot. Wear an N95 mask indoors. What’s the big deal?

Right. And here’s another recent expert view:

[Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician who is the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center.] “ Doron noted, however, that there’s “absolutely no comparison” with the situation last year at this time when the state was entering a deadly second surge of COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations and deaths in Massachusetts, where 70.6 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, are not going up to the same extent”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/...vanced_Results

Basically, COVID is not a thing of the past and precaution is still essential, but it’s hardly comparable to the period of time when vaccines weren’t widely available. It’s about understanding and mitigating risk at this point. If you are vaccinated (and boosted) and taking some additional precautions (mask indoors, avoiding ultra crowded places, large groups of potentially unvaccinated people, etc.), there’s zero reason to treat this year the same as last.

[redplum33]

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This Chicken Little thing is getting old. The incidence of hospitalization among people with a vaccination within the last 6 months is really low. Same for deaths. Vermont has almost July Florida-level infection rates and their hospitalization numbers are really low.

You have full control over your own health. Get your booster shot. Wear an N95 mask indoors. What’s the big deal?

Originally Posted by lrfox

Basically, COVID is not a thing of the past and precaution is still essential, but it’s hardly comparable to the period of time when vaccines weren’t widely available. It’s about understanding and mitigating risk at this point. If you are vaccinated (and boosted) and taking some additional precautions (mask indoors, avoiding ultra crowded places, large groups of potentially unvaccinated people, etc.), there’s zero reason to treat this year the same as last.

You're both missing the big picture. As I've said repeatedly:


"The good news is that the necessary tools are available -- booster shots, better masks, and information.

Whether or not these tools are utilized remains to be seen."


What others do affects everyone.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by lrfox

[Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician who is the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center.] “ Doron noted, however, that there’s “absolutely no comparison” with the situation last year at this time when the state was entering a deadly second surge of COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations and deaths in Massachusetts, where 70.6 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, are not going up to the same extent”

This expert seems to believe that 70.6% "fully vaccinated" equals 70.6% protected in Nov 2021.

I'll dismiss her opinion also.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by redplum33

This expert seems to believe that 70.6% "fully vaccinated" equals 70.6% protected in Nov 2021.

I'll dismiss her opinion also.

Dude, you're not crazy like the people that haunt this thread ranting about conspiracy theories. Still, you might want to aspirationally ponder the definitions of words like "humility" and "optimism".





As you can clearly see, although the case levels in Massachusetts are getting into the same range as earlier peaks, the death rates are considerably lower. Yes, things can get worse, but they're unlikely to get as bad as they've been in those last two major challenges. That's because we now have effective (not perfect) vaccines that most (tho not all) have taken, and we have better treatments than we did back then.

See Washington Post Covid-19 Tracker:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...aths/?state=MA

[Amontillado]

Cynics might also say, the fatality rate is lower because the most vulnerable people have already died.