Comment by Reichhardt | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Reichhardt | Hacker News Reader

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From examining Swedish death spike data, you can see that viruses like COVID occur about once a decade, the last being Swine Flu in 2009:

https://swprs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/sweden-monthly-...

Its just that, using Swedish data again, Western societies are significantly more aged: eg. there 120,000 80-84 year old men (prime COVID death territory) in 2020, vs only 101,000 in 2009. Its similar in many other Western countries: about 20% more elderly people, in absolute numbers.

As such, the 'same' types of respiratory viruses will simply kill more people.

The decisions is thus a social and political one: do we lockdown and force 6-monthly vaccinations on everyone, based on elderly deaths that will occur anyway simply due to the baby boomer cohort entering their twilight years?

I think we need to just get more efficient at end-of-life care, focusing on simpler treatments and comfort, as well as euthanasia-on-demand for anyone over age 75.

I think taking a shot every six month is totally worth it if that will let your grandma live two years longer.

IMO casual masking (stores, airplanes, etc) and a shot every 6 months isn't the annoying part about covid, it's the economic damage of lockdowns, school closures, social gatherings missed, extreme isolation of the vulnerable, travel not happening and the supply chain logjams it has been creating everywhere as a result. You can't go to an office consistently and have face to face lunches coworkers with as a result.

I agree. However, the currently existing vaccines don’t seem to do anything at all to stop the spread, so your biannual vaccination does not help grandma much.

How are you estimating what the spread would have been in the absence of vaccination to draw that conclusion?

"Our vaccines are working exceptionally well. They continue to work well for Delta with regard to severe illness and death - they prevent it, but what they can't do anymore is prevent transmission."

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky

It would seem fairly important to actually ask the grandmas what they think about this, rather than decide on their behalf.

The four elderly members of our immediate family are all fairly adamant that the young have suffered enough, and "hell, yes" they want to see their grandkids, and no, they aren't asking about vaccinations and negative tests.

I'm minded to respect their opinions.

Yes, and we don't ask them either if they'd feel better if we took them, we just do it for them, it's understood.

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