(Shared from another…)
\nAnd there you have it.
\nME: CDC, should I get poke if I already had Covid?
\nCDC: \u201cYes, you should be poked regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That\u2019s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19.\u201d
\nME: Oh, okay, we don\u2019t know how long natural immunity lasts. Got it. So, how long does poke-induced immunity last?
\nCDC: \u201cThere is still a lot we are learning about COVID-19 pokes and CDC is constantly reviewing evidence and updating guidance. We don\u2019t know how long protection lasts for those who are poked.\u201d
\nME: Okay \u2026 but wait a second. I thought you said the reason I need the poke was because we don\u2019t know how long my natural immunity lasts, but it seems like you\u2019re saying we ALSO don\u2019t know how long poke immunity lasts either. So, how exactly is the poke immunity better than my natural immunity?
\nCDC: \u2026
\nME: Uh \u2026 alright. But, haven\u2019t there been a bunch of studies suggesting that natural immunity could last for years or decades?
\nCDC: Yes.
\nNEWYORKTIMES: \u201cYears, maybe even decades, according to a new study.\u201d
\nME: Ah. So natural immunity might last longer than poke immunity?
\nCDC: Possibly. You never know.
\nME: Okay. If I get the poke, does that mean I won\u2019t get sick?
\nBRITAIN: Nope. We are just now entering a seasonal spike and about half of our infections and hospital admissions are poked people.
\nME: CDC, is this true? Are there a lot of people in the U.S. catching Covid after getting the poke?
\nCDC: We stopped tracking breakthrough cases. We accept voluntary reports of breakthroughs but aren\u2019t out there looking for them.
\nME: Does that mean that if someone comes in the hospital with Covid, you don\u2019t track them because they\u2019ve been poked? You only track the UN-poked Covid cases?
\nCDC: That\u2019s right.
\nME: Oh, okay. Hmm. Well, if I can still get sick after I get the poke, how is it helping me?
\nCDC: We never said you wouldn\u2019t get sick. We said it would reduce your chances of serious illness or death.
\nME: Oh, sorry. Alright, exactly how much does it reduce my chance of serious illness or death.
\nCDC: We don\u2019t know \u201cexactly.\u201d
\nME: Oh. Then what\u2019s your best estimate for how much risk reduction there is?
\nCDC: We don\u2019t know, okay? Next question.
\nME: Um, if I\u2019m healthy and don\u2019t want the poke, is there any reason I should get it?
\nCDC: Yes, for the collective.
\nME: How does the collective benefit from me getting poked?
\nCDC: Because you could spread the virus to someone else who might get sick and die.
\nME: Can a poked person spread the virus to someone else?
\nCDC: Yes.
\nME: So if I get poked, I could still spread the virus to someone else?
\nCDC: Yes.
\nME: But I thought you just said, the REASON I should get poked was to prevent me spreading the virus? How does that make sense if I can still catch Covid and spread it after getting the poke?
\nCDC: Never mind that. The other thing is, if you stay unpoked, there\u2019s a chance the virus could possibly mutate into a strain that escapes the pokes protection, putting all poked people at risk.
\nME: So the poke stops the virus from mutating?
\nCDC: No.
\nME: So it can still mutate in poked people?
\nCDC: Yes.
\nME: This seems confusing. If the poke doesn\u2019t stop mutations, and it doesn\u2019t stop infections, then how does me getting poked help prevent a more deadly strain from evolving to escape the poke?
\nCDC: You aren\u2019t listening, okay? The bottom line is: as long as you are unpoked, you pose a threat to poked people.
\nME: But what KIND of threat??
\nCDC: The threat that they could get a serious case of Covid and possibly die.
\nME: My brain hurts. Didn\u2019t you JUST say that the poke doesn\u2019t keep people from catching Covid, but prevents a serious case or dying? Now it seems like you\u2019re saying poked people can still easily die from Covid even after they got the poke just by running into an unpoked person! Which is it??
\nCDC: That\u2019s it, we\u2019re hanging up now.
\nME: Wait! I just want to make sure I understand all this. So, even if I ALREADY had Covid, I should STILL get poked, because we don\u2019t know how long natural immunity lasts, and we also don\u2019t know how long poke immunity lasts. And I should get the poke to keep a poked person from catching Covid from me, but even if I get the poke, I can give it to the poked person anyways. And, the other poked person can still easily catch a serious case of Covid from me and die. Do I have all that right?
\n\u2026
\nME: Um, hello? Is anyone there?
\nCopied and pasted… ??<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Shared from another…) And there you have it. ME: CDC, should I get poke if I already had Covid? CDC: \u201cYes, you should be poked regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That\u2019s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19.\u201d ME: Oh, okay, … <\/p>\n