I think it logically follows that if you're young and healthy, obtaining natural immunity via infection is the most self-less choice. Vaccinated individuals are problematic carriers. Because symptoms are often not present as early or as severely, and vaccinated people tend to think they cannot be infected, they ignore the symptoms when they do get infected, and then spread the virus much more prolifically than the unvaccinated. I think this is part of the explanation of the seeming paradox of why despite the vaccine providing some protection, especially early on, case count, hospitalizations and death are not correlated with vaccination status on a national level whatsoever.Dan Z wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:24 amThis is a very good point Soloist - all along, common sense learned over generations has provided the best course.Soloist wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:58 amAt this point one needs to consider what we have done with almost every other disease if you are reasonably caring about getting others sick. Don't go see grandma if your child is sick, avoid that immune deficient cousin after you were exposed, stay away from the guy about to get surgery even if its just a cold, don't go to church with coughing children.Dan Z wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:53 am
I think the data are coming around to the idea that, compared to vaccines, getting sick is the best way to keep from getting sick again...unfortunately, it's also the best way to infect your grandparents, the best way to get sent to a hospital, the best way to be put on a ventilator, and the best way to end up dead.
The primary issue in our culture is that people are expected to work sick, or go to school as long as there isn't a fever or vomiting. My father would say it was his boss's job to send him home if he was sick and he needed to still go to work.
With Omicron's vaccine evading mutations, and it's mild symptoms. It seems increasingly inevitable that virtually everyone (vaccinated included) will be infected, and will either recover, gaining natural immunity (stronger if unvaccinated), or will die (in a very small percentage of cases)
Combined with the likelihood that vaccination reduces natural the strength of natural immunity (I showed my math earlier here), for those of us at low risk, the absolute best thing we can do for others, is to get infected and recover.
The older generations also have a responsibility to the younger generations to not lock us all down endlessly just because they are at higher risk, and won't be able to behave exactly the same as the lower risk populations. The elderly need to acknowledge their mortality and sacrifice some comfort and convenience for the younger generations.
