decision whether to get new booster

I need to do something…I masked up, but discovered myself unexpectedly in the local ED yesterday to be with my Dad, who had a spell. He had no respiratory symptoms, but a lot there did. Talk about coughing! Not sure what people had, but it sounded severe. I heard that most of the hospital staff was out with covid. It makes me nervous.

In my opinion, it’s awful
docs and hospital staff are not required masks . Not fair to go to your local doc or a hospital and be worried about catching covid . I am the one lonely masker still . I have terrible anxiety about getting covid .

Wear that mask proudly, friend. All the rest of us who are also lonely maskers locally make for a supportive, united front.

Here is a reason why to use a close fitting N95 or similar mask in higher risk areas, and to get the new booster. My nephew is a postmaster and got covid on Sunday, 3 days ago; he started Paxlovid on Monday and feels much better so is planning on going to work tomorrow (some people believe 5 days in itself is enough, one doesn't need to test to see if they are negative). He was last vaccinated in October. Masks that cover your nose and mouth and form a good seal around you face work by decreasing the amount of virus/bacteria/pollen that you inhale. An N95 mask removes at least 95% of 1 micron and larger particles (smaller particles in aerosols[snot] are larger). Even if some virus gets through, the viral load is decreased so your immune system isn't as easily overloaded. If you are immunocompromised a P100 mask/respirator blocks almost 100%. Masks also help by keeping your hands away from your face. Part of my PhD was on fluid and gas flow through porous and permeable media. The mask/no mask mess during the pandemic was a cluster of (1) not enough data yet on the virus or (2) mask availability and efficiency, (3) bureaucrats and politicians mangling scientists' recommendations and initial research, and (4) other infrastructure/committee messes.

I understand your difficulty with this decision. I to got the original Delta four years ago and have suffered long term symptoms ever since. I am choosing not to get the new vaccine because I am not 100 percent sure that the vaccines that I got in the past weren't responsible for my long term symptoms. I will rely on the immunity the I have hopefully built up over the past few years. I also understand that the new covid is like getting a bad common cold. I am not anti-vaccine however I just feel that so much is still unknown about the covid virus and the vaccines. I still to this day cannot get any answers for my symptoms from the many doctors that I have seen. Good Luck with your decision making, I hope you can feel comfortable with whatever you choose to do.

My cardiologist gave me the same advice this time around and I am as torn as you are. I was never sick from any shot. I had all of them. This last time I had the shot and got Covid 5 days later. From all I studied this last Covid had a 10 day incubation period. My shot was received 5 days into the incubation period. so I was very far from full immunity. I plan on getting a second opinion. At 78 I don't think I can stand up to getting Covid again. However, I read this new shot gives less protection because science was not ready for the morph the latest strain evolved to.