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.