Will we hit herd immunity?
 

I see in Sumter county the percent of seniors vaccinated for COVID is leveling out at just over 60%. If we need 75% to hit herd immunity we’d need over 90% of those under 65 to be vaccinated, which seems unlikely.

Is there some number of seniors that intend to get vaccinated but haven’t yet? If so, what are they waiting for? I’m hopeful seeing the Villages Health is now inoculating their members.

Given the general definition: immunity or resistance to a particular infection that occurs in a group of animals when a very high percentage of individuals have been vaccinated or previously exposed to the infection, yes, herd immunity, including variants, will likely occur sometime.

It would help if things like cruise lines or planes require vaccinations to go on.

I 100% agree.

However there are special interest groups waiting to pounce on who that would slight or inconvenience or annoy or whatever!! Completely losing sight of the real objective.

Incredibly bad idea. Until someone can explain the logic of this, I'll do what I can to avoid any business that makes a vaccination a requirement.

"Wouldn't you want to know that the person next to you has been vaccinated?" No, it's none of my business and should be none of yours. I will be vaccinated against Covid so whatever goes on inside him will not affect me.

I consider this a very dangerous slippery slope. If this "vaccination passport" idea catches on then why would it stop at Covid? Once I have been vaccinated against Covid I would be far more likely to be affected by an individual with HIV. Do I have a right to know a person's HIV status? Can I demand that an airline or cruise only accept passengers who can prove they are HIV negative?

Once a "vaccination passport" is accepted there will be no limit to the number of things that can be put onto it. You're okay with Covid status on there today but tomorrow it might just be HIV status or something you are not okay with.

You can’t compare HIV with the coronavirus. HIV is not transmitted through the air while the coronavirus is transmitted through the air. If you are not exchanging blood or having sex with the person next to you then you aren’t going to contract HIV.

I haven't gotten it yet. Surprising as that may be it's my business and no one else's. I don't cough or sneeze on anyone else, I wear a mask when required or feel uncomfortable. If a place requires a mask and I don't want to wear or have one then I don't go it.

It's called freedom of choice and since I don't endanger anyone else it's entirely up to me...not social media or any lame news outlet or faucci who has no clue.

Since you will disagree with anything I say about this we can agree to disagree and move on.

Have a nice day.

If I'm vaccinated against Covid then I won't contract it from the passenger next to me. In the case of HIV, you are assuming that no set of circumstances will occur that might lead to exposure to blood. That's a big assumption with pretty serious consequences if the assumption is incorrect. If "better safe than sorry" or "wouldn't you want to know" are the driving principles for the vaccination passport for Covid then someone somewhere is going to decide that those principles apply to measles, TB, HIV, and who knows what else.

Just to be clear, I am absolutely against such a "passport." Any examples I present are what I envision might happen if people become afraid and stop thinking rationally. People become afraid far too often.

Just because you are vaccinated doesn’t mean you won’t be infected by the coronavirus. The vaccine reduces the probability of being infected, by about 20x, but does not eliminate it. Conflating the coronavirus with HIV is not a rational thing to do. However, if you and the person next to you decide to become blood brothers by clenching hands after slicing your palms open then I guess you might contract the HIV virus if your new blood brother is infected.

Well, personally, once everyone has the chance to be vaccinated, I am not wearing a mask or making any concessions to anyone who simply refuses to be vaccinated. Darwin will make those choices for us.

Your conscious choice not to be vaccinated will not impair my right to live within society.

Maybe the anti vaxxers can take a page from the smokers. Just get used to your options becoming limited.

Just a word of warning to readers who have been infected by COVID and believe that they are now immune. It ain't necessarily so-- as my son and his wife found out the hard way, having been reinfected less than a year after their first bout. The ER doctor attributed the reinfection to one of the variants. He said that he had encountered no one reinfected with the original strain.

BTW, despite having been infected, they had been practicing the usual precautions-- until my son decided that it would be reasonably safe to fly on a ski trip, where he apparently picked up the reinfection and brought it home.

Fortunately, the reinfection, at least so far, has been a lot less severe that the first bout, and I only bring up their story in the hope that it will cause former COVID victims to continue to be careful.

The bottom line: achieving herd immunity may be more difficult than some had hoped.

Just so everyone is clear----herd immunity is just that---a high percentage of a group being immune. It says NOTHING about any one individual, whether or not they are immune or whether or not they can spread COVID.

It's very healthy to re-breathe your own carbon dioxide.

Let me get this right.

If you have been given both shots then you are "STILL" afraid if someone else has the 99% survivable flu virus????

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Of course you and everyone else in our wonderful country has freedom of choice. If it is your choice not to be vaccinated, so be it. You just may have difficulty in the future with airline travel or getting on a cruise ship just to name a couple of things.

But,but,but. The good "doctor" says even when vaccinated, you should wear two masks, not one.

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MUCH of America will simply wait for Fauci to give the thumbs up/Green Light as to Herd Immunity. He has lost so much credibility in many folks views, including ours. He's still on the 'double-mask' kick. And 6ft distance. And NOT leading a charge to OPEN schools. He's a guest on so many talk shows and Cable networks. Seems to LOVE the adoration and public image. But when the TOUGH questions come up, as in the Senate panel yesterday, he repeats the same old stuff with cautions of 'prepare to wear masks into 2022'. I recall months ago when he stated that we will need 70-75% vaccinated to reach Herd Immunity. If that IS A FACT - we NEVER WILL, as it appears that 40% won't get the shot, for whatever (dumb) reason.

We got our 2 Moderna's, and will still mask-up where needed, follow simple precautions - But we have a life to live, and have travel planned within the USA mid-year, and will certainly cruise early 2022. The threats of "Severe Covid Speader events" - when they really don't happen is getting old. And the White House statement that we may be able to be with family to celebrate July 4th... stop already... Look at the data - the TRUE data. How long has FLORIDA been belittled by the Media and many in D.C.??? I could go on, but will have to stop.
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Governor DeSantis already said "no to vaccine passports" although other states may implement it.

I do not live in those "other states". Nor do I visit them either.

It’s not a vaccination against a virus. It is gene therapy. Completely different. Research and DD.

My understanding of the variants is they are more easily transmitted but not as deadly, at least according to at least one study I saw. Don't recall where I saw it, sorry.

Most virus mutations go this route. Easier to transmit, less deadly. There are more deadly variants but they kill the host, so don't spread and usually have an R-naught of less than one, so ultimately die off.

Where did you get that information?

Thank you, what I do with my health is my business and only my business...people and their hysteria will not be making my healthcare decisions...nor knowing it..

Herd Immunity
 

How accurate can the Sumter County numbers be if so many of us were vaccinated in other counties? Sumter was way too late in getting their act together, while Lake, Marion and Orange counties were getting it done. I’m quite confident the numbers are much greater for Sumter residents.

I disagree and would love to see mandatory vaccinations for cruises and flying. Its nothing new. Been going on for decades. Your kids can NOT attend school without having certain vaccinations. Why is that good for kids but not good for you to get vaccinated during a pandemic where hundreds of thousands have died?? There is a difference between divulging an illness and making vaccines mandatory to fly. HIV statement is totally unrelated. Would you sit next to someone on a plane who is coughing n sneezing all over without using a tissue?? NO. So, why would you feel its ok to sit next to someone who may be carrying a fatal virus?? Think about it!!

It has not leveled out. Their are well over 1,000 new seniors getting the vaccine every day.

I am just so amazed at the people who eat-up all the info they hear and read and think they are in a position to automatically know and communicate the truth.

Or - I could be wrong. OP - where did you get your advanced degree in epidemiology?

The ignorance around the shot (not a vaccine) is truly amazing to me. Getting the shot does nothing to "reduce the probability of being infected". Whenever you are exposed to the virus (any virus), you are infected. The only hope of any shot (not a vaccine) is to have your body properly defend against it.

Having taken the shot (not a vaccine) is not like "Scotty - shields up". It does nothing to prevent you from inhaling the virus or getting it while picking your nose after coming in contact with it.

Take note: Over time ... EVERYONE will become infected with the virus ... PERIOD. The only thing a shot (not a vaccine) or your innate immune system (my preference) can do is respond to that infection. That RESPONSE is what determines if you get "sick". Lack of getting sick does not mean you have not been "infected".

A quiet controlled response means you won't even know you got infected (i.e. you don't get sick). A wild out-of-control response means you get sick from the infection (and then recover ... or not).

But, don't harbor any illusion that you will never get the virus because you got the shot (not a vaccine). That is inevitable. Everyone will get infected ... EVERYONE.

You are so right. The information is out there if people would research rather than following what someone like Fauci, who has ties to the Wuhan lab, says. Check the cdc site for what's in it. You will be horrified. You can also find out the thousands of people who have been injured by the vaccine. There has not been one study that proves masks work, & before you argue, please post the scientific study. Fauci continually moves the goal post. If you believe anything he says, it's sad.

This attitude is very unhelpful to the protection of this country. I personally hope all public transportation requires the vaccine. I am thrilled the cruise industry and most foreign countries require it for entry. The non vaccine people will be stuck in the USA and that will make my travel much safer.

Lol

Unconstitutional, Mr Stu.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."

I agree, the ignorance is amazing.

The issue is not whether you inhaled the virus, which you (and almost nobody else) consider "infected". The issue is whether you can take the virus into your cells where it can hijack your DNA to self-replicate and then spread it to others. If someone is successfully vaccinated, that can't happen. Period. And there has never been a pandemic where EVERYONE got infected, not even the Andromeda Strain:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

If you look at what was actually evaluated during the Moderna trial you would see they were testing for 2 symptoms plus a positive test for the virus. I believe you needed a negative test to be counted as part of the population that wasn't positive. Their statistics (20x reduction in probability) were based on the trial results. Why you feel the vaccine is not a vaccine is a mystery to me. Please state your qualifications to dispute what medical professionals are calling a vaccine. Please provide some references to support your conclusion that everyone will be infected. Let's start with the baseline that if you cannot detect the infection with the current tests (PCR or antigen) then you aren't infected. Evidence of a previous infection (or vaccination) could be based on an antibody test.

Agree with one exception. The statement that everyone will necessarily get infected is not correct. Although the percentage of humans that get infected may be high, it is extremely unlikely that it will reach an absolute value of 100%. Biology rarely works that way.