One in an occasional series of editorials addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
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Minnesotans are doing relatively well on the COVID-19 vaccination front — some 88% of those over 65 are vaccinated, and 61% (about 2.7 million) have had at least one shot, according to the state Health Department.
But that still leaves just under 40% who have yet to receive any one of the three available vaccines. With the state lifting its mask mandate for vaccinated folks on Friday, it's even more critical that more Minnesotans roll up their sleeves. You can bet that many of the unvaccinated potential carriers will ditch their masks, too. Yet they remain at risk for catching and spreading the virus.
Some of them mistakenly believe that if they've already had the coronavirus, there's no need for vaccinations. Remember news about young people having "COVID parties" so that they could get the disease and be done with it?
Most medical experts agree that there are several good reasons to be vaccinated — even if you've already recovered from the virus. Among them: the vaccine offers better, stronger protection than natural immunity, and a previous infection may not protect against a second one. Though relatively rare, it's possible to be reinfected even after recovering from COVID-19.
Dr. Abinash Virk, professor in infectious diseases and co-chair of Mayo Clinic's COVID vaccination work group, told an editorial writer that researchers don't know how long natural immunity lasts from a previous infection.
"We know we're getting good protection from vaccinations, but its likely we'll need boosters going forward that incorporate protection from some of the other variants of the virus," she said. "Every vaccinated person adds to the number we need for herd immunity."
Failure to vaccinate, she added, not only poses risk to the individual, but to others whom they could potentially infect.