https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00728-2
NEWS FEATURE 18 March 2021
Five reasons why COVID herd immunity is probably impossible
Even with vaccination efforts in full force, the theoretical threshold for vanquishing COVID-19 looks to be out of reach.
EXCERPT
“Herd immunity is only relevant if we have a transmission-blocking vaccine. If we don’t, then the only way to get herd immunity in the population is to give everyone the vaccine,” says Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Vaccine effectiveness for halting transmission needs to be “pretty darn high” for herd immunity to matter, she says, and at the moment, the data aren’t conclusive. “The Moderna and Pfizer data look quite encouraging,” she says, but exactly how well these and other vaccines stop people from transmitting the virus will have big implications.
A Third of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders
“One in three COVID-19 survivors in a study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months, suggesting the pandemic could lead to a wave of mental and neurological problems, scientists said on Tuesday.”
On a personal note today my oldest daughter and her husband got the first of their 2 Moderna shots (qualifying medical conditions) and my middle daughter got her Johnson and Johnson shot also today (an end-of-day use it or lose it vaccine shot at Walgreens ). Since my youngest also got her 2nd Moderna shot this week (essential employee) everyone in my immediate family (less our grandchild) has been vaccinated at least partially (my wife and I got our 2nd shot Feb 28).
Feels good, doesn’t it? My wife and I each have both shots behind us. Hasn’t changed things much. Still wear masks and keep our distance. Don’t cost nothing.
I’m happy to hear you’re getting the 1st shot Thursday .
Personally I wish that CA would hold off on getting rid of all restrictions so soon but I wish even more that other states would be more conservative on their openings.
Moderna here, nothing after #1; after #2 I spent 2nd day in bed with 101.7f fever. Next day tired butt no other symptoms. All good now.
Wife had no concerns other than shot location soreness for a couple days.
I basically had the same experience. 1st shot no big deal, just a sore arm. 2nd shot I had flu like symptoms starting in the evening but fortunately went away the next day. And my wife also only had a sore arm for a few days
My wife and I got the Moderna shot today. Very well run clinic. In and out in no time. I read today we are reaching a point where we will soon have more doses than willing people to get them. No where close to herd immunity yet so not good.
Not good for a second reason too: the rest of the world is desperate for those vaccines
I hope that with the first world using less and less vaccines in a few months time, the production stays in place or even ramps up to vaccinate all the less rich countries, and fast enough to force the remaining pool of coronavirus to become so small that new variants stop emerging. That is decent and to our advantage too.