heybruce

Does your post have anything to do with my faith in current scientific publications from credible sources?

From your source: "Importantly, infection-derived protection was higher after the Delta variant became predominant, a time when vaccine-induced immunity for many persons declined because of immune evasion and immunologic waning (2,5,6). Similar cohort data accounting for booster doses needs to be assessed, as new variants, including Omicron, circulate. Although the epidemiology of COVID-19 might change with the emergence of new variants, vaccination remains the safest strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated complications; all eligible persons should be up to date with COVID-19 vaccination. Additional recommendations for vaccine doses might be warranted in the future as the virus and immunity levels change." We also have the CDC study showing that vaccinated people with boosters are 53 times more likely to survive a Covid infection than the unvaccinated: "During October–November, unvaccinated persons had 13.9 and 53.2 times the risks for infection and COVID-19–associated death, respectively, compared with fully vaccinated persons who received booster doses, and 4.0 and 12.7 times the risks compared with fully vaccinated persons without booster doses." https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220131&instance_id=51759&nl=the-morning&regi_id=135884956&segment_id=81212&te=1&user_id=7ef4c302f3d7b72eda453d22c70af53e

My proportion is of the actual number of vaccinated and unvaccinated people infected in the study. It is easy to understand and relevant. You prefer the difference between percentages, which is not as informative and can be misleading. Reducing the risk of infection is protection against infection. Since infections spread exponentially through a population, reducing the spread from 38% to 25% is very significant.

"It has been shown that natural protection, recovery naturally is better than being protected by vaccination ." Please provide a source for that claim.

Omicron is straining the medical system: "A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has detailed the impact of the Omicron wave on hospitals in the United States. The data indicates disease caused by Omicron may be less severe than prior SARS-CoV-2 variants, but increased transmissibility means the US is facing the heaviest load on its hospitals seen since the pandemic began two years ago." https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/cdc-report-omicron-strain-hospitals-caseload-severity/ It's easy to find similar reports from other countries.

Exactly, it says "enough to have vaccinated". It does not say "has vaccinated". The majority of Israelis have been double vaccinated, many have had one booster, and now they are applying second boosters shots to some people.

Actually I'm pretty good at mathematics. I have a degree in mathematics and two in engineering. I'm glad that you are belatedly acknowledging that my original statement that the unvaccinated are one and a half times more likely to be infected than the vaccinated is correct. Regarding your claim that the difference between 25% and 38% is insignificant, I disagree. An infected population of 100 increasing by 25% a month would lead to 244 infected in four months and 1454 infected in one year. An infected population of 100 increasing by 38% a year would lead to 363 infected in four months and 4770 in one year, more than three times as many. That's how exponential spread works. BTW: I don't jump on chairs, I prefer direct numerical comparisons to percentages (as my posts demonstrate) and I find it amusing that you hypothesize about how I might react and end with "Exactly my point." You imagine me getting excited by something so you can (attempt to) make an excited point.

Your source does not state that Israel has 98% of its population vaccinated. It doesn't. https://ycharts.com/indicators/israel_coronavirus_full_vaccination_rate I suspect the high death rate in Israel, as in other countries, is due to Omicron racing through the unvaccinated part of the population.

I've read stories about people getting rich from buying lottery tickets, but I understand that lotteries are a poor investment. Unusual anecdotes make the news but do not prove anything.

I'm guessing that mathematics is not your best subject. I used the percentages and study numbers to arrive at the actual number of infected. As I stated, it just requires simple arithmetic. If the Lancet study had shown that only 1% of the vaccinated were infected while 14% of the unvaccinated became infected, would you ignore the fact that 14 times as many unvaccinated were infected and still insist it's only a 13% difference?

You reject current studies based on objective analysis of actual cases because some people have been wrong in the past?

That has nothing to do with my post. Was your reply meant for a different post? I am aware that vaccinated people can still get a Covid infection and spread it to others. However they are much less likely to get infected and will not be infectious for as long. So vaccination does reduce the spread of the virus. It's analogous to how sober drivers can cause injury and death in auto accidents, but are much less likely to do so than drunk drivers. For that reason I'm not opposed to all driving, just drunk driving.

How many of the vaccinated people needed hospitalization or died? According to the US Center for Disease Control, unvaccinated people are 53 times more likely to die of a Covid infection than people vaccinated with a booster shot. "During October–November, unvaccinated persons had 13.9 and 53.2 times the risks for infection and COVID-19–associated death, respectively, compared with fully vaccinated persons who received booster doses, and 4.0 and 12.7 times the risks compared with fully vaccinated persons without booster doses. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220131&instance_id=51759&nl=the-morning&regi_id=135884956&segment_id=81212&te=1&user_id=7ef4c302f3d7b72eda453d22c70af53e

I have read a small number of reports of young people having minor heart inflamation after vaccination, which passes in a few days. Can you provide links to stories about people being hospitalized and dying due to vaccinations?

If the protests were about people's freedom to gamble, use marijuana or engage in commercial sex I'd be sympathetic to their cause. However since they are protesting for the right to spread a dangerous disease...

Seriously? Did you miss the sentence "All breakthrough infections were mild, and no hospitilisations and deaths were observed."? Regarding my claim the study shows unvaccinated people were one and a half times more likely to get infected, all that is required is simple arithmetic. 38% of 232 "contacts" is 88 contacts. 25% of 232 contacts is 58 contacts. One and a half times 58 is 87, so the unvaccinated were slightly more than one and a half times more likely to get infected.

The Omicron variant isn't as dangerous as earlier variants, but it is still far more dangerous than a common cold, especially to the unvaccinated. That is why Covid death rates are going up and many hospitals around the world are being overwhelmed again.

Happy to explain. Being vaccinated lowers your chance of infection and greatly lowers the risk of serious illness and death. The greater the proportion of vaccinated people in a population the slower the rate of virus propagation, the less stress on the medical system, and the less opportunity the virus has to mutate into something more dangerous. Having a large portion of the population vaccinated also lowers the risk to people who have medical conditions that preclude vaccination. The greater the proportion of unvaccinated people in a population the faster the rate of virus propagation, the greater the stress on the medical system (often leading to other medical problems being neglected) and the greater the risk of a dangerous mutation of the virus arising. It also presents a greater risk to people who are old or have conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness once infected, regardless of their vaccination status. Does this explanation help you understand why vaccination is not only good for the individual but for society at large as well?

Actually this small study shows the unvaccinated to be one and a half times more likely to contract Covid than the vaccinated. There is also the benefit of the breakthrough infections being mild.

Evidence to date show that the long term effects of a Covid infection are much worse than side effects from the vaccinations.

I wrote a paragraph and you replied to a single sentence without any of the context. That indicates a weak argument.

People in the US military are required to be vaccinated, and they will follow agreed upon rules for preventing infections.

Yes, people have a right to make decisions regarding their health and well being. And businesses have a right and responsibility to decide on how best to keep their employees and customers safe. When there is a pandemic caused by a dangerous and highly contagious virus the responsible decision is to require vaccinations for those entering a crowded business. People who choose not to get vaccinated have to live with this.

"The NIDA poll showed that 52.36% of the respondents agree with the requirement for NGOs to be transparent about their sources of funding, with 58.14% supporting for the same requirement for NGOs receiving foreign funding. 34.70% of the respondents agree that NGOs must not get involved in activities deemed to be a threat to national security or which cause social division." How about requiring government organizations and personnel: elected officials, civil servants, military officers, etc., be transparent about their sources of funding?

As Thailand has repeatedly demonstrated, it doesn't need fighter jets to stage a coup. Since that's the only significant activity of the Thai military, why waste the money?