New York Times article: Reaching herd immunity in the USA against Covid-19 unlikely to happen

[thewayne]

I was feeling this in my bones with the rate of vaccination declining and the growing opposition against vaccination, not to mention the rising number of variations.

Personally, I have no problem with getting an annual Covid vaccination, I can accept that. I really hate the possibility of always having a mask around my neck and pulling it up every time I go on the floor and into the stacks. Plus, one of my student workers won't get vaccinated, she "has convictions". I wonder if she has convictions against polio and tetanus, or if she's in favor of them. At least she'll complete her education at some point and leave.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html

https://science.slashdot.org/story/21/05/03/167239/reaching-herd-immunity-is-unlikely-in-the-us-experts-now-believe

Comments

[dewline]

So many foolish people hoping to strike a blow by way of refusing vaccinations...and for what? Against what?

I think I already know the answers to both, and that's what troubles me so much.

[rain_gryphon]

I can't blame the people who don't want to get vaccinated, The CDC destroyed their credibility by lying about, and oversimplifying their message on masks. Why should people believe them on vaccines? The MSM adds to the problem by never directly addressing skeptics' views, but simply "debunking", and cheerleading for the CDC's narrative. How could distrust fail to grow in such an environment?

[kathmandu]

I estimated all along that real herd immunity (as in, a contagious person arrives in town and only ever encounters immune people; the few who are not immune are insulated from contagion by the vast herd of immune people around them), for this, would require about 95% of the population immune, same as for measles. It's just *so* super-spready when you give it the right conditions.

But we got up to 95% for measles, before the anti-vax movement gained traction. I was really hoping we could attain that level for this too. I thought the barrier would be if authorities decided 60% was good enough, and stopped providing it free.

[armiphlage]

"she "has convictions""
For what, criminal negligence?

[rain_gryphon]

And in the end, of course, having been vaccinated may not make any difference anyway. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56992121

[silveradept]

We do not wish harm upon anyone, but it would be nice if those people who "have convictions" would understand the soul-shattering loss that is how many people have died of the thing and how probable it is they will be harmed severely or dead if they get it, too. Or that the people they love will be harmed or dead, and they might be the reason for it.

It seems like a lot of those "convictions" are of the order of "I'm not letting someone inject me with a tracking device in the guise of fighting a nonexistent virus," nonsense.

[motodraconis]

Convictions eh? What? To kill others? GAH!