Last week, I discussed what happens after a herd immunity threshold is reached, an aspect I had not seen widely talked about. Continuing in that vein, let's talk about COVID-19 boosters. Vaccines are valuable both as personal medical interventions and as public health interventions. Those roles overlap, but not completely. Articles like this one do a good job discussing the evidence for why boosters are being considered, and framing their value from a personal medical perspective. However, my sense is that the biggest … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Two for Me, One for You
herd immunity
Science Corner: Shepherding our Immunity
I imagine many of you have learned more about herd immunity in the past 18 months than you ever wanted to: what it is, how many people have to be vaccinated to achieve it, whether we'll ever get there or if that is even the right goal. And yet one aspect I have not seen widely reported on is what happens after we get there. Human behavior remains a significant driver of the pandemic, and our expectations will influence our emotional reactions to future events which will impact our future behavior. So what do you expect … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Shepherding our Immunity