Re:Stanford requires booster shots for all students
by nradov on Friday December 31, 2021 @12:26AM
(#29745247)
I encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated, but vaccination won't prevent the virus from ripping through everyone. The primary benefit is reducing severe symptoms.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646
The current thinking is that mutations are most likely to occur in immunocompromised patients who experience prolonged infections. Vaccines aren't very effective for them.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-variants-ma...
First, there's not just healthy "college-aged" students on campus. With that in mind, there's a risk that area hospitals could get overloaded with patients. You don't want the hospital to be full when there's a car accident or someone needs their stomach pumped, someone suspects they might have an STD, or whatever. Requiring a booster mitigates that risk as it lessens the symptoms to the point where hospitalization is shorter/unlikely.
Second, there's a chance for a mutation each time the virus spreads from one person to another. For that reason, you don't want it ripping through everyone.