I don’t think that makes much difference because I don’t think it has much effect on the total number of infections—you would really be changing the time at which someone gets the virus given that we’re not trying to contain it anymore.
One way round the concern about visiting the retirement home would be to do a lateral flow test before you go in. If you’re seeing extremely vulnerable people a lot, then it might be worth getting the vaccine. But the IFR is now lower than the flu for all ages and I think should be treated accordingly
I think the people I know well over 65 (my parents, my surviving grandparent, some professors) are trying to not get COVID—they go to stores only in off-peak hours, avoid large gatherings, don’t travel much. These seem like basically worth-it decisions to me (low benefit, but even lower cost). This means that their chance of getting COVID is much much higher when, eg, seeing relatives who just took a plane flight to see them.
I agree that the flu is comparably worrisome, and it wouldn’t make sense to get a COVID booster but not a flu vaccine.
I don’t think that makes much difference because I don’t think it has much effect on the total number of infections—you would really be changing the time at which someone gets the virus given that we’re not trying to contain it anymore.
One way round the concern about visiting the retirement home would be to do a lateral flow test before you go in. If you’re seeing extremely vulnerable people a lot, then it might be worth getting the vaccine. But the IFR is now lower than the flu for all ages and I think should be treated accordingly
I think the people I know well over 65 (my parents, my surviving grandparent, some professors) are trying to not get COVID—they go to stores only in off-peak hours, avoid large gatherings, don’t travel much. These seem like basically worth-it decisions to me (low benefit, but even lower cost). This means that their chance of getting COVID is much much higher when, eg, seeing relatives who just took a plane flight to see them.
I agree that the flu is comparably worrisome, and it wouldn’t make sense to get a COVID booster but not a flu vaccine.