Shits really popping off now. This summer, barely knew anyone who had had covid, now like half my friends got it. Was gonna get boosted couple days ago but there was literally half a mile line outside the vaccine place, so skipped. Now I got the virus, so I guess it works as a booster?
Nah, the natural immunity you get from contracting the virus is better
for that specific mutation you caught but it doesn't last as long as the vaccine, and isn't as effective across other variations as the vaccine.
Basically, even if you have gotten the virus, it's still a really good idea to get the vaccine when you're able.
Whats the deal with natural immunity then if he got it twice? Or is this different variants at work
Per above, natural immunity is technically more effective than a vaccine, but only for the exact virus that you caught, and due to lacking the other components of the vaccine the immunity doesn't last as long. Realistically if you were to spread Covid to me, the virus I have would be ever so slightly different than the virus you had. That means your natural immunity is already less effective if we were to interact. Have it spread to say 10 people and make its way back to you? It could be different enough that your natural immunity is now less effective than the vaccine.
My understanding of this, and again, I'm not an expert so don't take it as gospel, is that vaccines, especially vaccines for quickly mutating viruses like Covid, are formulated with multiple antigens so that it basically casts a wider "net". This basically means that it will protect you against multiple possible mutations, and is why the original vaccines are still fairly effective against Delta and Omicron. The trade off for the wider net is that it's not quite as effective as the natural immunity would be against the specific mutation that you caught, but you have overall better protection.
Basically natural immunity is like your camera encountering a person with blonde hair breaking into your house, so it recognizes all people with straight blonde hair, where as a vaccine is like programming your camera to notice people with straight hair of any color.
(Lots of good stuff that I'm trimming for length but quoting to better delineate my post)
I will say if you wear a cloth mask with multiple layers and keep 6 feet between you and others, it's better than nothing. Cloth masks will filter out the large droplets, which are the ones that can actually go and reach others within a few feet of you, but you're right, if you're able to wear a medical mask that seals fairly well that's definitely the better option. The best option would be N95 or KN95 masks, but you do have to be careful about counterfeit masks that don't filter as effectively. There's also the issue of possibly causing a shortage of N95 masks for people that really need them here, and KN95 masks for people who really need them overseas in Asia and other countries where KN95s are approved.
I have some KN95s that I was able to confirm are not counterfeit (Huheta is the brand) and I'll wear those when I know I'll likely be in close proximity to others and medical masks when I know I can easily keep my distance.
The main thing is,
dispose of your masks at least daily/put your masks in the laundry at least daily. I didn't follow this for way too long of a time, and could easily be how I had caught it at the beginning of the year since I would wash my mask weekly since I didn't wear it all day.
It's pretty clear that Biden won't force a shut down because it would be bad PR, and we really need it. The people saying that we "might not be able to afford a shutdown" are stupid because other countries didn't have systems in place to survive a shutdown and they developed systems to make it work. It's not that the US is unable, it's that we're unwilling.
Topic: Covid vaccine (Read 58497 times)