We should be aiming to vaccinate everybody, not just the over 50s

[ForBlueSkies]

I feel like this government is sleepwalking into yet another disaster.

Why is it that leaders of Australia, the USA and Germany have all gone on record the past few weeks stating that population wide vaccination is the goal, and yet our authorities claim only over 50s and the vulnerable will ever receive it?

25% of ICU beds are currently filled with under 50s. Many people who have underlying conditions this virus preys on don’t even know it, such as diabetes and hypertension. For example, a case mentioned in the NYT:

“Mr. Alvarado said his wife and three children under the age of 12 first showed symptoms, then he got it, too. By mid-October, Mr. Sierra Macias also fell sick and was admitted to a hospital, where he learned he had diabetes, in addition to high blood pressure. Things seemed to be improving, but Mr. Sierra Macias took a turn for the worse. He was 49.”

www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/us/coronavirus-deaths.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

This is NOT an atypical case. I have a close friend in the US who is 30 and currently hospitalised with covid.

We must vaccinate our at risk groups first, of course, and it’s possible the vaccine is inappropriate/unnecessary for children, but in the long term the government’s goal should be to protect everybody.

Everything I've read suggests that healthcare workers will be near the top of the list for the vaccination which is concerning if it only prevents infection and not transmission. Won't that make hospitals hotbeds of asymptomatic transmission?

@ICouldHaveCheckedFirst

I'm quite a few years over 50. I'm retired, but perfectly healthy with no underlying health conditions, not on any meds. I am not in any way vulnerable.

You are approximately 4 times more likely to die if you catch Covid than someone 25 years younger than you who is healthy. You are also, according to recent reports, in the demographic most likely to suffer from long Covid.

@Thingybob

Everything I've read suggests that healthcare workers will be near the top of the list for the vaccination which is concerning if it only prevents infection and not transmission. Won't that make hospitals hotbeds of asymptomatic transmission?

That’s a very valid point. The expectation is these early vaccines won’t stop transmission just suppress/reduce symptoms. That has worrying implications for the unvaccinated under 50s who engage with healthcare.

@PuzzledObserver : I still think I should be at the back of the queue. The impact on society if I catch it or die from it would be much less than if a nurse/teacher/fireman/engineer/shop assistant/postman catches it or dies from it.

Happy to agree to differ though.

[quote ICouldHaveCheckedFirst]@PuzzledObserver : I still think I should be at the back of the queue. The impact on society if I catch it or die from it would be much less than if a nurse/teacher/fireman/engineer/shop assistant/postman catches it or dies from it.

Happy to agree to differ though.[/quote]
Likewise.

PS - can you imagine the outcry if the priorities were changed so that only people of working age were vaccinated or were vaccinated ahead of retired people.

Also - if you did catch Covid and become seriously ill, you would be unlikely to just die quietly at home. You would be in hospital for days/weeks first.

I think nurses - at least those who work in hospitals - will be greatly relieved when the majority of over 50’s have been vaccinated. Then their wards won’t be clogged up with Covid cases, which are very distressing to treat, however relatively unimportant the people concerned may think their life is.