Boosters, Bias and Math
From vaccine math to biosafety preprints, recent studies reveal that unreported risks and hidden biases shape our understanding of COVID more than most headlines admit. Remember when getting vaccinated against COVID felt simple? One shot, maybe two, and you were done. Fast forward a few years, and we’ve had first doses, second doses, boosters, updated boosters, and debates about whether you need a booster for your booster . But a recent study crunching UK mortality data says: “Hold up. Maybe more shots aren’t adding as much protection as we think.” Add in your earlier research about antibody changes after repeated doses , and suddenly the COVID vaccine story feels less like “science is settled” and more like “science is a detective novel.” Let’s break it down in plain language. A.J. Oostenbrink’s new preprint looked at COVID and non-COVID death rates in the UK over two years. Instead of assuming COVID deaths rise proportionally with overall health risk, they used a formula: D covi...