Here are just a few reasons why you should roll up your sleeve for the updated COVID shot:
➡️COVID isn’t gone. COVID is still routinely killing more than 1000 Americans per week, which is worse than a bad flu season (and we still have the flu on top of this).
➡️An updated COVID shot boosts your protection against severe disease.
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness wanes over time. SARS-CoV-2 also mutates over time, which is why we have an updated formula that matches current variants. The vaccines are still our best tool for keeping people out of the hospital and not dying from COVID, but they do have to be refreshed. It’s not a one-and-done vaccine.
➡️You’ll lower your chances of getting infected, especially in the short term.
Antibodies that neutralize the virus increase considerably after COVID vaccination. COVID can be a nasty virus for anyone, so avoiding an infection you might have otherwise gotten is win-win.
➡️It’s not obvious who is high-risk for severe COVID. There is no clearly defined group that is completely safe from severe COVID, and it is not easy to know who is at highest risk.
➡️Vaccination may reduce the risk of long COVID and help in the recovery for some. Evidence is still accumulating here, but there is enough to say there is a potential benefit.
➡️You can help protect those around you.
If my vaccine protects me from an infection, even in the short term, I can’t pass the virus to others. This means that my vaccine also protects other people, particularly those whose immune systems don’t respond as well to vaccines.
➡️The vaccines are extremely safe. COVID is not. The COVID vaccines are among the most extensively monitored in human history, and extremely safe. Your chances of encountering COVID this winter are high. A decision not to get the vaccine is a decision to expose yourself to the virus with less protection than you otherwise could have.
BOTTOM LINE:
Go get that updated COVID vaccine!
Stay Safe, Stay Well.
Love,
Those Nerdy Girls
