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Qualifying for COVID vaccine solely on BMI
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NorthCascades wrote: »pfeiferlindsey wrote: »To piggyback off the COVID vaccine debate...what are your thoughts on states vaccinating people who are classified as overweight or obese as defined by BMI?
I think we need to choose how to look at this, there are two obvious extremes:
* We can be moralistic, blame fat people for being fat, and refuse them the vaccine until cats and dogs have had the shot.
* We can try to keep ICU beds available which means vaccinating vulnerable people who might wind up needing them if they get sick.
The first one is cutting your nose off to spite your face, the second one is sensible policy if the goal is public health.
Remember that 1 in 4 Americans had already had a shot and that vaccinated people are much less likely to spread the virus.
I'm not blaming anyone for being overweight or obese. Especially coming off a 170 pound weight loss.
I think you are not seeing where I am coming from on this. Yes, overweight and obesity carries a higher risk of severe complications from COVID. A BMI above 30 carries a 27% higher risk of severe complications and above 40%, that risk doubles. Not denying that one bit. - https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2020/jun/obesity-and-covid-19-can-your-weight-alone-put-you-at-higher-risk/
Based on my state's criteria, someone carrying 5 extra pounds will be in the next group. Vaccinators will be allowed to prioritize based on supply, but given that 64% of my state is overweight/obese, they basically opened it wide up.4 -
I've gotten a few "how do YOU manage to get a vaccine" when I tell people I have had it as I am 55 and healthy, and vaccine has been in short supply here.
I actually do feel a little bit guilty that maybe someone else needed it more, but I remind myself it is for the protection of the residents in my moms home that I was allowed to get it, not really for me.4 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »pfeiferlindsey wrote: »To piggyback off the COVID vaccine debate...what are your thoughts on states vaccinating people who are classified as overweight or obese as defined by BMI?
I think we need to choose how to look at this, there are two obvious extremes:
* We can be moralistic, blame fat people for being fat, and refuse them the vaccine until cats and dogs have had the shot.
* We can try to keep ICU beds available which means vaccinating vulnerable people who might wind up needing them if they get sick.
The first one is cutting your nose off to spite your face, the second one is sensible policy if the goal is public health.
Remember that 1 in 4 Americans had already had a shot and that vaccinated people are much less likely to spread the virus.
I'm not blaming anyone for being overweight or obese. Especially coming off a 170 pound weight loss.
I think you are not seeing where I am coming from on this. Yes, overweight and obesity carries a higher risk of severe complications from COVID. A BMI above 30 carries a 27% higher risk of severe complications and above 40%, that risk doubles. Not denying that one bit. - https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2020/jun/obesity-and-covid-19-can-your-weight-alone-put-you-at-higher-risk/
Based on my state's criteria, someone carrying 5 extra pounds will be in the next group. Vaccinators will be allowed to prioritize based on supply, but given that 64% of my state is overweight/obese, they basically opened it wide up.
For what it's worth, I'm taking about social attitudes, I'm not going to assume what you're thinking. I'm talking about what I see and what it makes me think a lot of people think, because decisions about how to prioritize a resource like a vaccine or anything else are made partly based on the public's values.
It doesn't seem very crazy to make 64% of the public eligible when 25% have already got a shot. Especially since production seems to be ramping up.3 -
There's some controversy regarding the states who have prioritized current and former smokers.
Without applying any moral judgement, smokers are at higher risk of death from the virus, so we should prioritize people who would be most severely affected.
That said, it seems a good way for some people to cheat the system by saying that they smoke or used to. But, as said, every person who gets vaccinated helps, even if they skip the line.
When this group opens up in our area, I may try to get my husband an appointment. He's 60, smoked heavily for over 20 years. He quit about 20 years ago, but still.5 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »There's some controversy regarding the states who have prioritized current and former smokers.
Without applying any moral judgement, smokers are at higher risk of death from the virus, so we should prioritize people who would be most severely affected.
That said, it seems a good way for some people to cheat the system by saying that they smoke or used to. But, as said, every person who gets vaccinated helps, even if they skip the line.
When this group opens up in our area, I may try to get my husband an appointment. He's 60, smoked heavily for over 20 years. He quit about 20 years ago, but still.
Oh, technically I AM a former smoker. It was almost 40 years ago, but all the CDC says is "former." Hmm.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html#smoking0 -
Looks like our county has snuck on an "additional" list beyond the one the state published, and it also includes "overweight."
Even more oddly, my provider sent a personal invitation to sign up for one of their vaccine clinics this weekend (ie, can't sign my husband up, even though he has the same provider), so I am getting mine before people who are morbidly obese or uncontrolled diabetes or whatever else is on the list...0 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »There's some controversy regarding the states who have prioritized current and former smokers.
Without applying any moral judgement, smokers are at higher risk of death from the virus, so we should prioritize people who would be most severely affected.
That said, it seems a good way for some people to cheat the system by saying that they smoke or used to. But, as said, every person who gets vaccinated helps, even if they skip the line.
When this group opens up in our area, I may try to get my husband an appointment. He's 60, smoked heavily for over 20 years. He quit about 20 years ago, but still.
There's been an uproar in some states because prisoners have been prioritized, too - since they literally cannot practice social distancing, and for many people their time incarcerated is relatively short, so if they're exposed while incarcerated there's a decent chance they would transmit when they left, too.
I think any way you put the order, someone will criticize it. And some of the criticisms might be valid. But the important thing is that they're making them and getting them out. I'm reasonably confident that it will work out and be OK. But I also have been pretty level-headed throughout this whole deal so freaking out about it now doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I can wait my turn. But would also like the kinks to get worked out so distribution can be as swift and efficient as possible.4 -
alisdairsmommy wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »There's some controversy regarding the states who have prioritized current and former smokers.
Without applying any moral judgement, smokers are at higher risk of death from the virus, so we should prioritize people who would be most severely affected.
That said, it seems a good way for some people to cheat the system by saying that they smoke or used to. But, as said, every person who gets vaccinated helps, even if they skip the line.
When this group opens up in our area, I may try to get my husband an appointment. He's 60, smoked heavily for over 20 years. He quit about 20 years ago, but still.
There's been an uproar in some states because prisoners have been prioritized, too - since they literally cannot practice social distancing, and for many people their time incarcerated is relatively short, so if they're exposed while incarcerated there's a decent chance they would transmit when they left, too.
I think any way you put the order, someone will criticize it. And some of the criticisms might be valid. But the important thing is that they're making them and getting them out. I'm reasonably confident that it will work out and be OK. But I also have been pretty level-headed throughout this whole deal so freaking out about it now doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I can wait my turn. But would also like the kinks to get worked out so distribution can be as swift and efficient as possible.
One of the arguments about the prisoners is many of them have not even been convicted yet. As if that matters? So if they have been convicted they don't deserve the vaccine? We had some idiot politicians here posturing about it. Of course inmates should be prioritized, just like everyone else who lives in a congregate setting and is higher risk.11 -
alisdairsmommy wrote: »There's been an uproar in some states because prisoners have been prioritized, too - since they literally cannot practice social distancing, and for many people their time incarcerated is relatively short, so if they're exposed while incarcerated there's a decent chance they would transmit when they left, too.
We had huge outbreaks at our correctional facilities here. Following discharge (since mandating self-isolation was a bit futile in some cases), they spread the virus to our "street" population. Even more difficult to control the spread in that group since they tend to share everything and rely on one another for survival. Our case numbers skyrocketed, and hospital beds filled up since these are people with multiple high risk factors. We quickly set up outreach clinics to vaccinate the shelter/homeless populations as a priority group. I think most people understood the need to stem the tide of infection for the sake of our health care facilities.6 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I think you should take the vaccine whenever you can. It can sound selfish, but actually each person who has it is one less to potentially burden an ICU and one less to pass it on to someone else, so it's actually rather selfless. (Just like taking other precautions, such as wearing a mask.)
I just want to pass this on since a couple of people have said otherwise:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 can still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms. Experts call this “asymptomatic infection.”Mar 5, 20211 -
That's been discussed. It increasingly appears that the likelihood of passing on an infection is much less if one is vaccinated.5
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I think you should take the vaccine whenever you can. It can sound selfish, but actually each person who has it is one less to potentially burden an ICU and one less to pass it on to someone else, so it's actually rather selfless. (Just like taking other precautions, such as wearing a mask.)
I just want to pass this on since a couple of people have said otherwise:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 can still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms. Experts call this “asymptomatic infection.”Mar 5, 2021
It's like how a person wearing a seatbelt can still get killed in a car accident. Even so, it would be dumb not to wear a seatbelt.9 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I think you should take the vaccine whenever you can. It can sound selfish, but actually each person who has it is one less to potentially burden an ICU and one less to pass it on to someone else, so it's actually rather selfless. (Just like taking other precautions, such as wearing a mask.)
I just want to pass this on since a couple of people have said otherwise:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 can still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms. Experts call this “asymptomatic infection.”Mar 5, 2021
I think a more accurate way to describe this would be to say "a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 has not been definitively proven to not still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms."
But if you were able to transmit it, it would be very unusual in the world of vaccines.5 -
I just copied it. Tell the CDC if it should be rewritten.3
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I just copied it. Tell the CDC if it should be rewritten.
Well, they probably won't listen. But I think it's a mistake to phrase it that way for a variety of reasons. This isn't the first beef I've had with the CDC and their recommendations (which for me started well before the pandemic), and it probably won't be the last, either.
I told myself I wasn't going to get into this kind of thing here because it's so contentious and controversial, even with my loved ones offline, and I wish now I just hadn't replied. So, let's drop it and I'll have to remind myself to stop posting on covid-related threads for the time being.4 -
I just copied it. Tell the CDC if it should be rewritten.
It's good to keep people honest. Sometimes the details matter.
It's also good to be an informed consumer including of information.
What the CDC says above is factually true, but can be misunderstood out of context.
A person who has been vaccinated can still carry the virus. This shouldn't surprise anyone because the vaccines have efficacy rates around 95%. If a person who has been vaccinated couldn't still be infected they would be 100% effective. 🙂
Vaccines seem to be 100% effective at preventing death from covid. There is a growing body of evidence that vaccinated people are drastically less able to transmit the virus for the same reason they don't get dead. All we have to do is knock "the R number" below 1 and keep it there.
I hope you don't think 0% protection is better than 95% protection ...11 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I think you should take the vaccine whenever you can. It can sound selfish, but actually each person who has it is one less to potentially burden an ICU and one less to pass it on to someone else, so it's actually rather selfless. (Just like taking other precautions, such as wearing a mask.)
I just want to pass this on since a couple of people have said otherwise:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 can still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms. Experts call this “asymptomatic infection.”Mar 5, 2021
Your immune system isn't a force field preventing the virus from entering your body in the first place, so if you're exposed, some virus will get into your system, so you would be "carrying" some virus. But your immune system after you're vaccinated goes after the virus when it gets into your body, and blocks it as much as possible from getting inside of cells and multiplying. Therefore you would develop a much smaller viral load if at all.3 -
The virus starts multiplying once it gets into your body, it keeps making more and more and more viruses as time goes on.
Either your immune system notices something is up and figures out what's going on and then how to recognize the enemy ... or your immune system has already learned and can get to work right away.
It's kind of like a race. If the virus can make so many more viruses it's overwhelming, your immune system can make you sick when it tries to put the fire out, and also you have plenty virus to shed. If your immune system can get a jump on the virus, the numbers usually never get big enough to cause much damage to you or to shed much.
That's the view from 10,000 feet, it's drastically simplified but I hope it gets the basic point across. So you can see it's true the vaccine doesn't absolutely prevent but that doesn't mean it isn't helpful. It's our way out of this. The mRNA ones especially because they can keep up with mutations. The more people get vaccinated, the less the virus will be able to mutate, and the harder it will be for it to find new people to infect. We don't have another answer.5 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I think you should take the vaccine whenever you can. It can sound selfish, but actually each person who has it is one less to potentially burden an ICU and one less to pass it on to someone else, so it's actually rather selfless. (Just like taking other precautions, such as wearing a mask.)
I just want to pass this on since a couple of people have said otherwise:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person who is vaccinated against COVID-19 can still be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19 while not feeling sick or having symptoms. Experts call this “asymptomatic infection.”Mar 5, 2021
Your immune system isn't a force field preventing the virus from entering your body in the first place, so if you're exposed, some virus will get into your system, so you would be "carrying" some virus. But your immune system after you're vaccinated goes after the virus when it gets into your body, and blocks it as much as possible from getting inside of cells and multiplying. Therefore you would develop a much smaller viral load if at all.
I've seen the excitement in a person's eyes over the ability to visit vulnerable loved ones because of the vaccine, so it worries me. If there's a chance of transmitting the virus even after being vaccinated, people should know so they can make an informed decision. That's my only motivation here.1
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