>>14096360With the flu, they generally offer a new vaccine every year in order to account for new strains/mutations. With the COVID vaccines, we are being told to get vaccinated for the same strain, even if we already had it. For example, I have already had COVID in 2020, and then had my two shots last summer (2021), and I just contracted omicron over the winter break, but I am still recommended a booster in order to help prevent omicron. It's absolutely unnecessary though. I have virtually no chance of being severely affected by COVID - based on the statistical data, I actually have a much higher chance of being murdered or sustaining a life threatening injury in a freak accident than dying of COVID (that's based on CDC mortality data by age group) - AND I was vaccinated less than a year ago, AND I already had omicron less than a month ago. I have already had 4 incidents of contact with SARS-COV-2 in the recent past - 2 from the vax and 2 from natural infection. Hence, at lest for the short term, I already have most of the immunity that I am capable of building up, and any additional vaccinations are unlikely to confer much benefit. Especially within the next few weeks or months. Maybe in a year or two my immunity will be waning to a more significant degree, but at this point, there is no reason for me to get the vaccine, despite the fact that I am being recommended to get a booster. It's merely a formality. The government recommends boosters as a matter of policy, but each individual case is different. As a matter of public policy, I meet the criteria for someone who would be recommended a booster, but physiologically and immunologically speaking, getting a booster in the next few weeks/months is not really going to have any meaningful benefit for me.
