To me the most compelling reason to let people go ahead and get all the boosters they want, at this point (as long as they’re reasonably safe) involves going back to the basic function of government: managing human conflict. For over half a year now, the principal axis of conflict has been between people who won’t get vaccinated and people who will (and want more protection from those thar won’t get their shots). At this point, the best way to settle this would be to move towards a boosting-free-for-all, with clear communication that (1) You should really get your first shot if you haven’t already, and if you haven’t yet, that’s a you problem (2) If you’re worried about being beset on all sides by inadequately vaccinated people, that’s also a you problem, help yourself to a shot (3) If there’s a need for any sort of prioritization, make it “virtual”—if you book an appointment and someone in a higher priority score wants your slot with a 48 hour notice, you get bumped
My suspicion is that vaccine doses are way more fungible than we think they are, and the focus should always have been matching willing arms with doses. What was a hard public health problem is mostly a banal manufacturing problem—rapidly creating covid-hardy humans.
To me the most compelling reason to let people go ahead and get all the boosters they want, at this point (as long as they’re reasonably safe) involves going back to the basic function of government: managing human conflict. For over half a year now, the principal axis of conflict has been between people who won’t get vaccinated and people who will (and want more protection from those thar won’t get their shots). At this point, the best way to settle this would be to move towards a boosting-free-for-all, with clear communication that (1) You should really get your first shot if you haven’t already, and if you haven’t yet, that’s a you problem (2) If you’re worried about being beset on all sides by inadequately vaccinated people, that’s also a you problem, help yourself to a shot (3) If there’s a need for any sort of prioritization, make it “virtual”—if you book an appointment and someone in a higher priority score wants your slot with a 48 hour notice, you get bumped
My suspicion is that vaccine doses are way more fungible than we think they are, and the focus should always have been matching willing arms with doses. What was a hard public health problem is mostly a banal manufacturing problem—rapidly creating covid-hardy humans.