I'm in Pfizer's COVID vaccine trial, ask me anything.

[lhamilton1807]

I think there may be a misunderstanding about what vaccine efficacy means. They were meant to prevent severe disease, not specifically prevent catching the bug itself. Diomedes can probably chime in on this. Covid-19 has also mutated multiple times since the vaccines were crafted, and they were made with the original strain as the target. Omicron has a lot of mutations that increase its ability to evade immunity either from prior infection or vaccines. While there’s no way, with the randomness of the virus’s severity and differences between individual immune system strengths, to guarantee you’ll only have minor symptoms, the public health trends are pretty clear: the vast majority of people in the hospital and deaths from the disease are among the unvaccinated. If the public health goal is to get society to the point where the virus has a minimal impact on supply chain, workforce, and health care system disruptions, vaccination seems to be the most effective route. It won’t guarantee no one that’s vaccinated will get seriously sick (because that promise was never made by the manufacturers or the cdc or fda), but the number will be low enough that the hospitals won’t be heavily taxed to the point that ICU patients, regardless of why they’re in the ICU, can get good care and make it back to normal life. There’s also the issue of long Covid (since there’s a lot that can happen other than just living or dying after infection), which vaccines seem to help alleviate.

I agree that there’s a potential for vaccine apartheid, and that’s a big concern of mine as well. As to whether il consider getting boosted a few times a year, sure I will. I’ve seen no legitimate reports of danger surrounding the mRNA vaccines. Of course there are plenty of unsubstantiated theories flying around, but the danger from the vaccines seems legitimately lower than the danger from the disease, even when considering that I’m a relatively healthy person without the vaccine.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

Covid killer right here

[JohnB]

I seem to be in the minority, but decided to wait and see how effective and the results of these experimental "vaccines" after a few years or so. So far kinda glad I did. They seem to have limited upside with downside being a legitimate concern. So far they say your symptoms would be less, but that is the most unverifiable statement I have heard. Someone who isn't vaxd can still be asymptomatic, vaxd can still get the coof bad. Seems like we are still trugging towards medical apartheid, although hopefully that is slowing or reversing. Do you plan on getting boosted every year? Multiple times a year? Seems like coof was lab created and the cure, which doesn't seem to work well, is making pharma bank while the only immunity it provides is to pharma legally. Strange times.

[Jonnydread]

Arthur while having rona:

[Jonnydread]

The hospitals in the US are an absolute dumpster fire right now. Like MAr intimated getting the shot doesn't really make you any less likely to get the virus, it makes it way less likely that you'll need to be hospitalized. You get the Fauci Ouchie not to die and to help your community.

[Arthur]

Been awhile... But Ive caught rona twice. Didn't do much too me, thankfully. Im too toxic and male. I was more pissed about the fact I wasn't supposed to smoke. I still did. Cheers.

[Chuck E Ducky]

It went threw my house. Kids had a stuffy nose. I had migraines in the morning that cleared with Tylenol and a hot shower. My wife got her ass kicked for a week. With body aches weakness migraines and a pretty good fever. She got it the worst. She’s also the only one vaccinated and boosted. Me and the kids are unvax but I had Covid D earlier in the pandemic and was asymptomatic. I caught it after being stuck back to back 16hr shifts on the Covid Unit at work. So I was exposed to it for an entire week for long hours and brought it home to my family.

We have a large number of people at work that are not vaccinated. So far the Vaccinated people are catching it just as much as the unVaccinated. Symptoms Range all over the place regardless of status. Flu is going around to and that’s way worse then Covid. Everyone is going to get it and get over it. It’s burning itself out should be all good in a month or two.

[MAr]

Point is not to die.
Less severe also = less people clogging hospitals

[flyweightnate]

Following a Janssen vaccine early last year I got a cold in early January... and lost my sense of smell for a whopping 6 hours. Complete, can of garlic shells like water, loss of smell, that cleared up by dinner.

Of course, couldn't even find a test within 10 days... but if that's Omicron, welcome to the party. Glad it's more mild, and if studies are any indication, I'm now something like 37 times less likely to contract it again compared to just a shot or two (or three or...).

[lhamilton1807]

The ‘rona went thru our house last week, probably Omicron since that’s apparently 98% of the local case load. My wife & daughter felt awful for a week, with aches, fever, nausea, and congestion (but not all at the same time… each new day brought a different mix of symptoms). No one lost taste or smell. My son and I only had a head cold with mild fatigue for 3 days. *shrug*. I think my November booster really helped - I actually held it off for about 5 days before I got sick - everyone else in the house was sick long before I had so much as a sniffle. Kids aren’t boosted yet since they were about 3 weeks from being eligible. Wife decided one shot of J&J 7 mo ago was enough. This disease is so random it’s hard to know on an individual level whether boosters will help, but it seems that on the macro level boosters really seem to prevent serious disease, so I’m all for them.

[JonM]

a few of the guys in the office got the vaccine and booster and still got it. whats the point moving forward? what can possibly be done at this point to make things better...

While people are still contracting COVID with the initial vaccine and the booster, the severity is greatly diminished. With my wife's breathing issues, there's no doubt in my mind that her situation would have been far worse had she not been vaccinated. I work for a hospital system and I can tell you that the people who have been admitted (and those who are dying) are overwhelmingly unvaccinated. At this point, the vaccine is like wearing a PFD on the water. If the boat sinks, you may not drown but you can still get wet.

[Alexndl]

From what I understood Pfizer will upgrade his vaccine for Omicron around March
I know a lot of people that cough Covid it in the last few week even if they where vaccinated but at least their symptom where only mild. Where one of them that was not vaccinated yet cough it and have been sick for 3 week with a lot of symptom

[Tarsun2]

a few of the guys in the office got the vaccine and booster and still got it. whats the point moving forward? what can possibly be done at this point to make things better...

[BrickHaus]

Its nuts! And when my wife came up positive and there was NO quarantine needed as I feel fine. That was also lunacy. At least this ought to getit spread out well enough to finally peak.

[Magmoormaster]

Yeah, my girlfriend got it, either from a coworker who "only had a cold" (tested positive), or a cousin who also "only had a cold" but couldn't taste or smell anything. The crazy part is that her employer, a freakin medical clinic, is asking her to come back to work before her symptoms are gone. This whole 5 day quarantine recommendation is lunacy.