I was trying to make the point about the hyperbole that nobody is exercising a right to kill people like they know they are infected and contagious and purposely try to get other people sick. The poster I was replying to seems to have the general attitude that if you aren't vaccinated, getting boosted every six months, masking with an N95 equivalent and social distancing then you are being negligent and nearing the level of serial killer.
My extreme car example was to illustrate how absurd statements like the one he made are.
Except he's not, and they kind of are.
I'll accept that nobody is going around trying to infect others on purpose. Give or take a COVID party here and there. I never get invited.
But, there are definitely people going around not trying to "not infect" others. I'll also accept that these people aren't trying to kill others on purpose. They are mostly not monsters.
To the people on the other side, it's little comfort if they were infected by someone being negligent instead of on purpose.
The short order cook, under pressure to get meals out fast that skips washing their hands after using the bathroom to save time, isn't trying to make customers sick. They're trying to make them happy by getting their food done faster. They're also not trying to "not make customers sick". To the short term happy diner with the quick meal, they're not going to be happy long term if they're sick because of the skipped step. It wasn't malice, it was negligence. It's also not going to happen every time.
Nobody is recommending extreme measure. Nobody is looking for a booster every 6 months, for everyone to wear and N95, or for nobody to interact at all. That's the boogey man presented as the other side in arguments to do nothing. The ask is to do the things that will provide some level or reduction and not do the things that will increase spread. It's much easier to oppose someone if you change their ask from "help reduce" to "do this extreme thing it's the only thing that will work 100%".
The vaccine safety was tested quickly, but safely. The long term efficacy and whatever will become the final dose schedule was not. We knew the level of efficacy after 6 months against the original strain when we decided it was good enough and safe enough to start giving out. We didn't know the efficacy after a year, if the original dose plan was enough or not. We could have, but that would have delayed starting for another 6 months. Then, the virus changed. So, now we know the efficacy against delta after 6 months, but not so much for a year (or just barely). Again, we'll know eventually as time moves ever forward. That a third dose appears to improve performance today does not mean that another dose will be needed 6 months or even a year later. It may be that 3 is a magic number and that's it. It may be that another dose is needed after a year and that's enough then. It may be that a fourth isn't needed for 5 or 10 years or ever. We don't know. It's just as right to assume that we've finally had enough as it it is to assume we'll need more. We just aren't going to know until that much time has passed and we can see how people with the initial doses and follow ups are doing. Combined with how prevalent spread is at the time. Everyone is effectively 6 months (maybe a year) behind the initial group.
View and print CDC recommended immunization schedules.
www.cdc.gov
Most of the stuff on that chart has more than one dose. I didn't see any with more than 5 and most are less than 5. It's just as likely that COVID ends up like them and not like the flue with a new one every year. So far, a mutation hasn't been enough that a different vaccine is needed. That's why the flu is different every year, the mutation is so different it needs a different vaccine.
From the chart, DTaP looks like 5 doses over a 4-6 year span. We could have waited to start giving out COVID vaccines until we had followed trial participants for 6 years and determined if they need 5 doses over that time. Probably would have needed 8+ years to really know it was done after the 6 years.
Instead, we put everyone on the same path, just 6 months to a year behind them. Imagine the devastation if we had waited 6-8 years to start vaccinating everyone just so we would know the final dose schedule and timing?
Measles looks like 2 doses 3 years apart. Hopefully COVID will land at 3 doses over a year. Maybe it lands at a fourth after more time or maybe not, we'll know when we get there.