Quote:
Originally Posted by jfman
That said with vaccine efficacy (against infection, of course) so close to zero it’s hard to make a compelling case vaccine passports do anything to reduce transmission.
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I like the idea in principle (as a short term measure, to allow places like theatres, nightclubs etc to open without needing social distancing) but this fact, in the current situation, makes them somewhat pointless. If you're triple jabbed and can still get Omicron variant even with mild symptoms and infect others, the fact you're jabbed does nothing to say you do not have the virus (whereas a negative LFT is more likely to) and whilst yes it does reduce the effects of the virus and reduce the possibility of transmission it really isn't reliable enough to mean anything but a publicity exercise.
It's like masks all over again, ok so yes even a paper or cloth mask probably has an effect, but not a very good one - and yes, surgical masks like N95s or FFP2s do have more effectiveness, but again people forget why this is a mitigation (i'm sure you personally don't) - it's to protect others from you and not the other way round. A recent negative PCR or (done properly) LFT is more sensible as this shows someone doesn't have the virus in which case the mask is doing absolutely diddly in terms of stopping the virus, because there is no virus from that person to stop. Like all the constant testing (which I do concede is the most useful thing at the moment) it's basically making everyone feel like they must have the virus even if they don't have the virus and/or aren't ill, which is a mentality I don't really like (though absolutely if you're showing signs of infection you probably need to get a test).
Both of them are visual signs of actually looking like you're doing something instead of actual measures which stand much chance of stopping the virus.
The good news is, that actually, failing to stop the virus (which still has Canute-esque attributes fundamentally) is starting to become a bit less of a big deal. Most of the cases I bet which are being picked up now are because people with no symptoms, or symptoms which would ordinarily be dismissed as a cold in other years, and aren't progressing further, are showing this, as well as people wanting to test to ensure they don't have the virus before visiting people over Christmas or NY, as opposed to people who are clearly struggling due to being ill with a serious virus. Whether this is because the vaccines are preventing the serious illness or because Omicron itself is a milder illness is another question, but it's nothing like this time last year where loads of seriously ill people were queueing in ambulances outside hospitals. Plus the data's a bit patchy with various backlogs at this time. If SA is anything to go by it will peak (probably around now if truth be told) then decline almost as quickly as it went up. But we shall see, because no-one can tell the future.