Oh Omicron!

And now there is a pill to help when you have the virus

 

By @John T Smith

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I wonder how much the Pfizer (Paxlovid) pills will end up costing individuals.  Early estimates were $500-700 per 5-day course of treatment.

Last year, my friend had monoclonal antibody infusion from a visiting home care nurse in a hazmat suit.  The antibody was covered by govt subsidy and insurance but the infusion and nurse was an extra expense that wasn't covered by insurance. 

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@John T Smith wrote:

Ignoring the science in favor of saying that everyone must be vaccinated is not the right way to go

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The first US omicron fatality was a Texas man in his 50's who had contracted and survived COVID -19. 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/586700-first-omicron-linked-death-in-us-reported-in-texas

So if "natural immunity" is all it takes to stave off mutations, I'd say fine.  But this has gone way beyond that and is no longer something to sneeze (cough) at.  Numbers don't lie even when politicians do.

I'm not a big fan of mandates either but when human risk outweighs personal choice, you have to ask yourself if you want your neighbors to be vaxxed or not.  Personally I'd prefer it if everyone took the vaccine to stay out of hospitals for want of beds for other critical care patients who need them.  But given the current political climate, that probably won't happen. 

So here we are 2 years into COVID with yet another hospital bed shortage, more long-term COVID side-effects if one is lucky or needless fatality when one is not so lucky.  Rolling the dice is not a solution.

Compared to COVID, the free vaccines and boosters are a tiny sacrifice to ensure one's family/friends have some protection from a deadly virus. It's not just sensible to get vaxxed, it's the most responsible thing one can do for everyone around them.