@siderea on Covid vaccination and immunity

siderea just posted a discussion of vaccination and the transmission of COVID-19: it looks as though, not only are vaccinated people unlikely to catch Covid, but if they do, it's likely to be just a head cold, and not get into the lungs and vascular system.

Also, from that same article, even after one dose of the two-dose vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, people are less likely to transmit the disease.

I tend to trust siderea on this, but she notes that the sources are less than clear here.

If her discussion is correct, unvaccinated people still need to mask to protect themselves and other unvaccinated people, but vaccinated people mostly don't, because we're not likely to be infected, and what we'd be risking from that relatively unlikely infection a bad cold, which wouldn't be pleasant but is a risk most people already take for granted. Exceptions to that guideline include anyone who will be spending time around people who can't be vaccinated yet, either because of supply issues or because they're too young.

[I started writing this as a reply to comments on my previous post, then decided it should be its own entry.]

Alewife Reservation

cattitude and I took the T to Alewife Reservation* this afternoon, to walk around and look for frogs. It was a pleasant walk, on which we saw one (1) frog. We also saw, and heard,a variety of birds, including red-winged blackbirds (heard more than seen), swallows, and Canada geese and mallards. There were also many water lily pads, including a few already in bloom.

On our way back to the T, we saw adult geese with several goslings, and then noticed a woman feeding them bread. We chatted with her briefly, and she told us that she knows these geese, or they know her.**

Alewife Reservation was high on cattitude's list of places to go back to, once it's feasible after the pandemic, and I wanted to walk around outside somewhere. The park was open (and may never have been closed), and we now feel comfortable riding the subway while masked.

* the Alewife Reservation is a park, which includes a nice (recently restored) wetland, near the eponymous T station, which is in turn named for Alewife Brook. The Having looked this up, I am reminded that the park isn't just the area past the "Welcome to Alewife Reservation" sign, and extends north along Alewife Brook.

** I can think of several reasons not to feed the Canada geese, and specifically not to feed them bread, but don't think I need to worry about this.