There is a public debate between doctors and the need for boosters

[JohnSJ]

one school of thought believes the evidence isn't there to justify boosters, and the focus should be in globally vaccinating the world instead.

The other school of thought believes that the evidence is there, and because of the breakthrough infections, the booster is necessary.

The mRNA pharmaceutical companies, believes the boosters are necessary, based on their data, and the data from other countries such as Israel, etc.

One thing seems obvious though. The administration wants to get ahead of this, and not wait until all the data is available to determine if a booster is necessary or not, because I think their concern is that if the protection degrades sufficiently in fully vaccinated people, those people who get infected will start to be hospitalized, and adding that to the 100 million who resist getting vaccination, would make an already bad problem far worse.

It shouldn't be an either or proposition, as some doctors argue. I think it is prudent to add the booster recommendation, and do what is necessary to try and get the world vaccinated, and if that means building more facilities to increase production, then they should do it

[lapucelle]

1. That's what the CDC said in their press release concerning booster shots

Recognizing that many vaccines are associated with a reduction in protection over time, and acknowledging that additional vaccine doses could be needed to provide long lasting protection, we have been analyzing the scientific data closely from the United States and around the world to understand how long this protection will last and how we might maximize this protection. The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease. Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.

snip============================================================================

Our top priority remains staying ahead of the virus and protecting the American people from COVID-19 with safe, effective, and long-lasting vaccines especially in the context of a constantly changing virus and epidemiologic landscape. We will continue to follow the science on a daily basis, and we are prepared to modify this plan should new data emerge that requires it.

We also want to emphasize the ongoing urgency of vaccinating the unvaccinated in the U.S. and around the world. Nearly all the cases of severe disease, hospitalization, and death continue to occur among those not yet vaccinated at all. We will continue to ramp up efforts to increase vaccinations here at home and to ensure people have accurate information about vaccines from trusted sources. We will also continue to expand our efforts to increase the supply of vaccines for other countries, building further on the more than 600 million doses we have already committed to donate globally.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0818-covid-19-booster-shots.html

[JohnSJ]

6. Thanks for this lapucelle +++

[Tadpole Raisin]

9. This is the first time I'm seeing the CDC act like they are trying to stay ahead of the virus.

If they are reporting that trend the recommendation seems appropriate. It’s going to be a rolling 3d booster anyway so let’s do this!

[lapucelle]

13. This is not the first time I'm seeing the CDC "act like they are trying to stay ahead of the virus".

I subscribe to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports and Early Releases and to the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, so I'm updated at least four times a week.

The newsletters are very helpful, and it's easy to get email updates from the CDC.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/publications/index.html

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/

https://tools.cdc.gov/campaignproxyservice/subscriptions.aspx#featured

In addition, you can subscribe to the CDC Newsroom so that you see all their press releases.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html

[Tadpole Raisin]

14. Thank you - I will look at subscribing!

But there were some shake ups at the CDC with changes in personnel in the spring which created some confusion as well as the lifting/loosening of mask mandates in May that stunned a lot of people.

And of course it gave the anti vaxxers the ability to walk around without masks due to the honor system of the recommendation, which is not the CDC’s fault but it showed some fault lines in how things were done. I’m sure it has taken awhile for Dr. Walensky to reorganize the CDC. Maybe now it will be more consistent. I like the most recent recommendation about boosters,


https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/05/17/cdc-covid-masks-walensky-489160


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/health/walensky-cdc-covid.amp.html

[lagomorph777]

2. Correct. It's a false premise to state it as either-or. Do both things.

And, oh by the way, WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS??? Are we just going to leave them defenseless?

[h2ebits]

3. I agree with you. For some reason. . . .

we seem to believe that we can't do both at the same time. In fact, we, as a worldwide people, are quite capable of doing more than just two things at a time.

I think it must go back to that old joke: Can't chew gum and talk at the same time.

We are increasingly becoming a world of either/or when, in fact, many solutions to any problem are available and each of us need to decide whether we want to be part of the solution or part of the problem.

[Tetrachloride]

4. world vaccinations should be a priority

there are billions dare i say of people without a single shot.

there are about 80 million within 400 miles of me with no shot as of yet tho probably only 60 million are 12 years old. Regional news sites have production underway. i don’t know which vaccines off the top of my head but probably Sinovac is one

[Chili]

5. I just made my appt for a mRNA booster for this afternoon

I'm immunocompromised, so I do need it, grateful that it's available.

Hope anyone with the same medical situation can get their booster quickly. At the moment, we are pretty vulnerable with so many unvaccinated / no maskers refusing to help beat down this pandemic. And those not immunocompromised, I hope you can get the booster as soon as you can.

[JohnSJ]

8. Good for you Chili

[Chili]

10. thank you - it was a pain!

Lots of online red tape, but I'm lucky I can get all my insurance info easily, I feel badly for anyone who can't.

[JohnSJ]

11. Everyone will be eligible in a month if they have been fully vaccinated and its been eight

months since that initial vaccination

[Tomconroy]

7. There were a few studies the CDC relied on. I'm trying

To recall the figures off the top of my head. A couple had them dropping in the 10 to 20 percent range. An Israeli study showed a really big drop..Maybe real life in Israel is more concerning
I guess their case numbers are going up despite being highly vaxxed.
Here's a link with some info. It may be behind a paywall for some:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/health/covid-cdc-boosters-elderly.html

Here's another article with info on the studies:
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19-booster-shots#Limited-data-on-need-for-boosters

I think the CDC sometimes makes declarations when the supporting data has some ambiguities.

[genxlib]

12. Let's just tell it like it is

This booster isn't about protecting us from COVID

It is about protecting us from the idiots around us that won't take the simplest of precautions to put this pandemic behind us.

If we had reached a good percentage of vaccinations, I doubt very seriously that we would be talking about boosters.

So now, we need super-immunity to swim through the sea of filth that they have created.

I am on board. I will take however many shots I need to leave those idiots behind and get back to living.