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Originally Posted by POND_OF_RED
Dang. Just when I thought we were almost out of this COVID stuff we have two borderline DC threads about it in the lounge (not saying they don’t belong here, just sad how fast it spiraled this way) and we seem just as divided as ever still. This is one hell of a pandemic.
Couldn’t a large spread among the unvaccinated be good in the long run as well, though? If they’re likely never going to give in and get the shot, I would think we’d want to spread as much of the natural antibodies around as we can to attempt to reach the herd immunity that way. This is being said by someone who admittedly doesn’t fully grasp the herd immunity, but from my understanding we were always going to need a mixture of both. Are the hospitals getting overrun in some places again or are we just worried about the rising counts of cases themselves. Haven’t followed along lately with things seeming to clear up, but it’s obvious we’re still in this shit.
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I don't think there are truly that many places where hospitals are overrun right now. It's mostly just draining and frustrating for healthcare workers to see so many people getting sick that would have been completely avoided if they would just take the miracle cure we have for it. Of course, we thought things were looking OK last summer as well, so the fall is probably going to be a little rough. (On the plus sides, death rates are much lower now since many vulnerable people are vaccinated, so that should prevent a 2020-level surge in the fall.)
Beyond that, yes, herd immunity comes closer with each shot and each infection, so in a sense it would be a good thing if it just ran wild. It's the whole "people dying" thing that still makes that a less than desirable option.