Civilized said:hokiewolf said:That's what my Dr and I discussed. Why get a booster for something that is no longer circulating in the environment? The boosters now don't seem to be keeping up with the variants, and the variant symptoms are getting better, not worse, which makes sense since the virus doesn't want to kill its host ultimately.packgrad said:👇👇 the entire idea you need an annual covid booster was invented by Pfizer and the folks Biden hired to regulate didn't ask questions https://t.co/xils7G7wwz
— Vinay Prasad MD MPH (@VPrasadMDMPH) November 30, 2023
Yeah my impression is that boosters are mostly for the elderly or immunocompromised at this point.
It's the only cohort for whom there is a moderate or better net potential benefit.
Science: Should I get a COVID booster?
The takeaways I got from the article you linked:
- The most common but still rare side effect is myocarditis, almost always easily treated. Other very rare side effects possible (though that can be said for all vaccines)
- There is debate in the medical community that seems to come down to two camps: The vaccine provides little benefit to young healthy people, or the vaccine benefits outweigh any risks, even for the young.
So adding that all up, worst case getting the vaccine doesn't do much for a young adult with no health problems but likely won't hurt them, best case it will actually benefit them more than not having it. Seems like a net positive to me.
Certainly the same rationale as a flu shot... a 4th grader is also very unlikely to die from the flu, but it does happen once in a while, so better safe than sorry.