If you’re going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill
STOP calling the Covid shots a Vaccine!
There are two major points I would like to make for this opinion. (and yes, we still don’t have enough experience or good data on Covid-19 to say most anything definitively). First, studies have indicated that vaccine effectiveness lowers about 50% after around a year. Pfizer has recommended a third shot, which they called a booster, which they claim will increase antibodies 5x to 10x. The U.S. government has, so far, refused to acknowledge the reduced effect of the shot over time. The U.S. government has tried to frame Covid-19 shots like I think of typical vaccines like polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox, Hepatitis A/B, Hib, HPV, Rubella or whooping cough. Fire and forget. One and done. In my opinion, this may well turn into a yearly shot reminiscent of the seasonal flu shot. Second, I believe history will show that Covid-19 is a more contagious and deadlier cousin (in the way it behaves) to the flu. The most germane to this discussion is its ease and willingness to mutate. With the flu, some shots are more effective against different mutations than others. That is why the flu shot is a cocktail of different antibodies targeted to protect people in certain areas of the country. Yes, the flu shot you would get in San Diego is different than the one you would get in Pensacola which is different than the one in New York. The Delta variant of Covid-19 may very well be one of the first variants that the current shots are not as effective against. Pfizer has been working on a shot to target the Delta variant for months. Hint, Pfizer wouldn’t be spending time and money on this project if the current vaccines worked to anyone’s satisfaction. The UK government has reported that, as of a few weeks ago, about 40% of hospitalizations for Covid-19 were vaccinated people. The Israeli government has reported that their data suggests the Pfizer shots are only 39% effective against the Delta variant (No data on shots from other manufacturers). Meanwhile, the U.S. government and media refuse to recognize this possibility. Vaccinated people contracting Covid-19 in the U.S. are being framed as breakthrough cases that are one in ten thousand and extremely unlikely to incur serious illness or death. However, recently when about 60 state Democrats, all fully vaccinated, fled Texas for political reasons on a chartered plane without wearing masks, at least 10% contracted the Delta variant of Covid-19. The U.S. government would like to blame the unvaccinated for this latest wave coming. A large population of the American public would happily believe that the shots are a fire and forget vaccine so that they can go back to a time without fear, masks or social distancing. Stop framing data to fit your narrative of events to promote your political or personal agendas.
Keep calm and carry on.
British WW2 poster
This is not an anti-vaccine rant. I would implore unvaccinated people to seriously consider the shots currently available to protect against Covid-19. Even if the shots turn into a yearly shot. Even if the current shots are only 39% effective against the Delta variant. President Obama would have said that, “The Coronavirus is not an existential threat to the country or the world.” Having said that, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t in the past or won’t in the future continue to leave a path of death and economic destruction in its wake. Be informed. Be diligent. Chin up and move forward.
Random Thoughts 