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Even with high rates of vaccinations, the vaccine booster is still not our golden ticket to ending this pandemic. We have a long way to go before we are completely back to normal. As of right now, Connecticut College is very well past the initial outbreak we experienced earlier in the semester with on average only 2 active student cases per week. We are still testing twice a week and following a masking protocol that requires us to wear masks when indoors with the exception of our dorm rooms and dining halls. With the booster now available, there needs to be an increased leniency with how the college copes with COVID-19.
According to the College, over 97.5% of students have reported being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These numbers are crucial for a residential and closed campus. At Connecticut College, having most students vaccinated meant being able to hold outdoor events under the college’s beloved tent above Tempel Green and raising the maximum occupancy limits in indoor spaces (5 people in singles; 10 in doubles, triples, quads, apartments that are not Winchesters/River Ridges; 25 in Winchesters/River Ridges and off-campus properties). Being fully vaccinated gives most individuals confidence that they are protected against the virus. What some forget is that vaccine protection is finite.
Vaccines are shields. In battle or in the midst of a pandemic, your vaccination offers you protection, but like a shield, it can crack and break down over time. As most of us know from trial data, the Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J vaccines have high efficacy rates above 90%. This does not account for the slow decrease in efficacy over time. Moreover, not all vaccinations are created equal. While two individuals can both get the same COVID-19 vaccine, they will have different immunological responses to the vaccine. Even if both people were to be exposed to the virus, it is possible that one could get infected and the other would not. This was displayed during the first few weeks of the semester, when many students went off campus to bars and other locations, leading some to develop COVID-19 while others did not. Their individual vaccine efficacy was lower, which allowed the virus to infect them and make them sick. While their symptoms may have been less severe than if they were unvaccinated, they were still infected and experienced some form of illness.
The students that were infected don’t have to get tested because they would continue to test positive for up to 3 months post-infection. They have gained additional antibodies from the virus remaining in their body for weeks providing their immune systems plenty of time to learn from the virus. Metaphorically, their weak shields that could not fight off a COVID-19 infection got a tune up from it. This still does not change the fact that vaccines are meant to buy more time until the disease can be contained to a manageable level. While there is not enough longitudinal data on the virus, vaccines have been around for decades. The COVID-19 variants have evolved to be more infectious and people should not rely on getting infected as a source of antibodies because this comes with the risk of long-term effects on the body, more so than a vaccine. For many of us who received our vaccines over 6 months ago, our shields have gotten weaker.
The primary reason for offering a COVID-19 booster was to address the fact that over half of the COVID-19 hospitalizations now are made up of immunocompromised and unvaccinated individuals. While those who are not immunocompromised have likely gone back to living life as normal, immunocompromised people don’t share that same luxury. The booster is meant to provide additional protection and buy us more time against the virus, since day by day the virus is evolving into stronger variants. While I presume the majority of our college is not immunocompromised, we do still interact with our community outside campus. With low vaccination rates outside and more time passing from our initial doses, our shields are all due for an upgrade. This is the only way we can ensure our protection until the vaccination rates increase and the number of cases decrease. The ultimate goal is to have the number of vaccinated individuals high enough that the virus does not have the chance to spread nor evolve even amongst the unvaccinated and immunocompromised.
To consider the position fully in favor of the booster, the college would have to take other measures as an incentive for students. Another dose of the vaccine means another round of awful side effects. Currently, most of us are fully vaccinated but we are still living with our guard up, needing to mask up before we go indoors and having to test twice a week. If a booster was mandated, the twice a week testing protocol and masking indoors should be made optional. When the majority of us got vaccinated, we came back with the hope of living life as normal. Instead we got “Modified Alert Level Green.” The current procedures are fairly overkill as the presence of the virus on our campus is virtually nonexistant. If there was to be a booster vaccine mandate in the future, the college should be prepared to guarantee a true return to normal operations.
Even if what I propose were to happen, I do still think that masks have their place in certain situations. While COVID-19 is not ravaging our campus at this moment, every other disease has. With the common cold, and the flu, masks play a role in preventing illness. It seems like any time a person sneezes, it is typically followed with a “don’t worry it’s not COVID.” I think I speak on behalf of many when I say I don’t want to catch whatever is going around even if it’s not COVID. While we have a high efficacy vaccine for COVID-19, we do not for the flu and other types of viral and bacterial infections. This is where masks can be useful in making sure we don’t have to take any sick days. Recently the rates for the common cold and other infections have been much lower simply because of isolation and masking. While we can’t live in isolation and behind a mask forever, there is nothing wrong with masking up when some kid in your class is projectiling non-COVID droplets that is for sure going to leave you with a sore throat and congestion the next morning.
In summary, the booster is a great way to gain additional protection against the virus since we are still in a pandemic and vaccine efficacy does gradually decline over time. While a mandate is unfeasible to implement on our campus at this time, it is possible for the next semester. If the booster mandate were to happen, it should come with incentives of being exempt from testing protocols and having to mask indoors. While the rest of the county is slowly returning to normal operations, it is high time we do the same.
