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Comment by causi | Hacker News Reader

People who got vaccinated five or six months ago are seeing their immunity rate drop to around eighty percent. That's double the risk compared to a fresh vaccination.

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Studies have primarily observed a modest decline in effectiveness among older people and the immunocompromised, which is why some jurisdictions have recommended boosters for these people (Israel, California). There is a reason boosters have not been approved anywhere for the general population, and that is because so far the data does not indicate they are necessary.

Necessary and useful are two vastly different things. My state is throwing expired vaccine into the garbage. I'd take a booster even if it only made me five percent safer.

The meme of people sticking themselves with every needle they can get ahold of is real?

I think this is a bad idea, to make this booster decision on your own. Talk to your doctor first.

I never said I was making a booster decision on my own. I said I'd be willing to accept a booster shot even if it only somewhat increased my immunity.

This is the part I don't understand. There is an oversupply of vaccines, why not let me go get my 3rd shot if it's already here? I understand the desire to take those "extra" vaccines and ship them to other countries, but if the vaccine is already distributed out around the country, it would be more expensive and hazardous to collect them back up safely than to just administer boosters to those who want it.

The vaccines that are already distributed were distributed considering the original plan of only two doses per person. More vaccines would need to be ordered to get enough for a third dose.

Right, but if you order enough to give 100 people 2 doses (200 doses) and only 50 decide to get the vaccine, you have 100 doses left over.

The COVID vaccines have essentially a 6-month shelf life before they are considered expired [1]. So if the example doses above were delivered several months ago, the period for collecting and transporting them to another country is pretty small.

Instead of throwing away this unused vaccine, it could be given to people who are willing to participate in a booster study or would like to have it, without making the booster mandatory. Obviously a mandate wouldn't work for the excess supply sitting around.

[1]https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/unused-co...

Do you have a citation for that 80% number?

The Pfizer vaccine loses 6% effectiveness every two months.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/pfizers-ceo-says-covid-vacci...

That article indicates the Pfizer vaccine loses 6% effectiveness every two months within a six month period. It doesn't say anything about what happens after six months.

Is that entirely true even for people who have a life outside their own home? I would assume being constantly bombarded by the viruses outside would keep their immunity higher than expected?

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