Why is it not considered necessary to vaccinate now?

[Movinghouseatlast]

Possibly a stupid question.

I just read on another thread about how the vaccine helped people to catch it in a more ' manageable way'. But presumably the vaccines aren't still working , so what has changed?

I am 3 weeks into a horrendous bout of Covid. I really wish I could at at least have paid for a booster. There is no way I could have gone in to work, I have managed an hour or two some days. So surely the economy is going to be impacted if we all end up getting this ill a couple of times a year?

@Neriah people are not routinely tested for covid anymore though. Covid as a contributory factor is likely to be undercounted.

No idea what the criteria are, I have had 5 vaccines now! Had latest booster in October

Yet excess deaths are high in every country.

It is UK's political decision. And it is sad that you can't at least pay for it yourself.

Central Europe, boosters are for free for everyone who wants them, activelly encouraged for vulnerable.
My guess is, that the EU has some deal with manufacturers, so the vaccines are cheaper through quantities, and therefore it made sense to order more.

It comes down to money plus balance of risks (risk from the vaccine vs. risk from the disease itself). Every country's government will weigh that up differently, which is why you see different patterns of availability in different places.

Some people are questioning whether in hindsight it was a good idea to dish out vaccines and boosters to everyone, instead of just the most vulnerable. You may be aware of lawsuits going through the courts at the moment relating to vaccine injuries and deaths.

So surely the economy is going to be impacted if we all end up getting this ill a couple of times a year?

That's not true, though, is it? Only a small proportion of people will get that ill that often. Some people never get ill at all.

Covid is impacting the economy though. It's in the number of sick days, the highest number of applications for PIP, the numbers of long term sick...economists have been shouting about this for a while.

The government continues incompetent.

Covid and long covid harm individuals and the economy (sick absences have risen substantially, covid depresses immune function, so that was entirely to be expected, and has been thoroughly discussed by those often dismissed (wrongly?) as "doom-mongers"

We know full well that covid isn't just a cold, but the policy seems to be hell-bent on trying to pretend it is. So as well as economic damage, we now have unsafe hospitals.

A competent, evidence-based government would be doing some/all of the following, to reduce both the human cost and economic burden of the pandemic (remember, it was only the PHEIC that ended, and it's part of the "minimise/ignore" campaign to extend that to the pandemic as a whole)

• wider vaccination scheme - because it wears off, so autumn campaign for a broader group
• investment in ventilation encouraged across the board, and required for new government buildings and all renovations
• require masks in healthcare settings
• suggest masks on public transport and other crowded indoors places
• ensure surveillance is robust, and publish in timely fashion, so people know when cases are rising (ie when they might want to choose to take further precautions, because no-one can really afford repeated sick leave)
• invest in research in to long covid (as more and more of us come down with it)
• invest in research into better treatments and prophylaxis against the acute disease. And never again be the country that squanders the opportunity for its 1.5m critically vulnerable to benefit from MABs (being the only country who demanded "further research" - which proved effectiveness, but took up so much time there was a new variant against which they did not work so well - even by the standards of a heartless and incompetent government, this was a decision on unusual cruelty)

That's not true, though, is it? Only a small proportion of people will get that ill that often. Some people never get ill at all

The risk of acquiring long covid is roughly one in every 10 infections (not people, each infection) so if you're getting covid 3 times a year, it's going to catch up with a hell of a lot of us.

Best way to never get ill at all is a combination of vaccination, NPIs (such as ventilation and masks, which the virus can never mutate to evade) and having information on prevalence in community so people are able to make risk/benefit judgements about indoors contacts when case numbers are rising substantially.

Well, I'm on Day 31 today. Haven't been able to live a normal life for a whole month. Haven't been out, havent walked more than a few hundred steps a day. I work a few hours when I'm up to it but suffer for it the next day. I'm so behind with work, I've got a month's worth of tasks to catch up on. I'm self employed so it only impacts me and my partner but I keep thinking about what would happen if I had a full time job.

I know I'm not the only person to be this ill for this long. There is a thread in chat at the moment with people sharing their tales of woe.

It's the denial that gets to me. Or people saying 'covid has changed into just being a cold'.

Here's a thread on how cost-effectiveness of vaccines was arrived at

https://x.com/catinthehat/status/1725575757647200639?s=46&t=G9BWOZlYGPa11_pR7aKkbHQ

In the absence of vaccines, I highly recommend a high dose of vitamin D3 (taken with vitamin K2) throughout winter. Masses of evidence that it reduces COVID symptoms, and possibly even the risk of catching it in the first place. I had COVID, and it was very mild, and I'm sure that's partly why.
I'm not anti-vax at all btw. Ideally people would be offered the vaccine and take vitamin D; but as the latter isn't happening, then vitamin D3 may currently be your best defence. Some scientists reckon it's even more effective than vaccines. I haven't looked at the data, so can't comment on that, but clearly it's a great thing anyway...

I take Vit D3. I've had Covid for 5 weeks now, it's been horrific. Maybe I'm the exception but it certainly hasn't worked for me.

I'm sorry to hear this. Have you had COVID before? Did you react badly then too? I wonder if some people just do have a naturally worse reaction to it? I hope you fully recover soon.

Yes, I had it before but it was very mild- just a cough and exhausted. That was just a few months after a booster though.

I'm assuming that the vaccine has worn off now, hence why I'm so ill.

It’s certainly not the ‘just cold’ for some people. It wasn’t for me. I hope you feel better soon.

A weird old virus. I know some people who didn't get a single vaccine who had a very mild case of it. Others both vaccinated and unvaccinated who became severely ill, one hospitalised. I wonder if they'll ever get to the bottom of it. I agree that the vaccine should be made available to those who want it. Get well soon.

No, I'm not impressed that the booster isn't more widely available . It seems odd that people in their 50s/early 60s were previously considered a higher risk, but aren't any longer .

I don’t think it is that unusual in medical terms. It’s like how some people get chicken pox really mildly and others really suffer. It’s down to the individual but other factors such as age do play a part in the overall risk of having a rough time.

We haven't had any vaccines and we are all perfectly fine! You're making yourselves ill.

I and all my family are fully vaccinated - all healthy. The vaccinations don’t make you ill.

How does that work, then?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/06/mrna-jabs-modena-pfizer-quarter-unintended-response/

I saw that. What does it mean?!

Me too - I'm in the over 65's group plus have health conditions including asthma. I had both inoculations in different arms in the same appointment. My mother also had both jabs. 🌹

I’m same as you plus medicated underactive thyroid so got both jabs recently, walked into 2 chemists as one only had one vaccine and they were fine and practically begging me to get these done.