I'm not familiar with the studies in question, I am familiar with a few of the studies that suggest that people who get boosted more often are more likely have a positive covid test. (which is different than infection risk)
For instance, the
Cleveland Clinic study -- which I've heard people leverage to make claims similar to what you're suggesting, but that study also noted that behavioral components were the most likely culprit for the association.
1 - People may get that "invincible" feeling after getting a dose, and perhaps be less cautious
2 - The kind of person who obsessively gets boosted more often is the same type of person who is almost certainly more likely to take covid tests every time they get the sniffles, as where a person who's "over it" in terms of being worried about covid, probably hasn't taken a covid test in a few years.
Those are both things to consider, and the Cleveland Clinic study did. They said:
The association of increased risk of COVID-19 with more prior vaccine doses was unexpected. A simplistic explanation might be that those who received more doses were more likely to be individuals at higher risk of COVID-19. A small proportion of individuals may have fit this description. However, the majority of participants in this study were young, and all were eligible to have received ≥3 doses of vaccine by the study start date, which they had every opportunity to do. Therefore, those who received <3 doses (46% of individuals in the study) were not ineligible to receive the vaccine but rather chose not to follow the CDC's recommendations on remaining updated with COVID-19 vaccination, and one could reasonably expect these individuals to have been more likely to exhibit risk-taking behavior. Despite this, their risk of acquiring COVID-19 was lower than that that of participants those who received more prior vaccine doses.
People who
do not get repeated vaccination doses are more likely to exhibit riskier behavior, and yet they still had fewer infections. People who are getting repeatedly vaccinated with boosters in perpetuity exhibit more cautious behavior.
The chart they included in the study is striking. There is a
perfect correlation between an increased number of vaccine doses and an increased number of infections (although your point about positive COVID tests is valid). No matter how you try to explain this, this is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what one would expect to see from any "effective" intervention.
But beyond that Cleveland Clinic study (which also referenced three other studies that also found a correlation between an increased number of doses and increased infections), a more recent study found the same thing:
Repeated COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations increase SARS-CoV-2 IgG4 antibodies, indicating extensive IgG class switching following the first booster dose. This shift in IgG subclasses raises concerns due to the limited ability of IgG4 to mediate Fc-dependent effector functions.
...
Elevated IgG4 levels and higher ratios of non-cytophilic to cytophilic antibodies after booster vaccination were significantly associated with an increased risk of breakthrough infections (IgG4 HR[10-fold increase]=1.8, 95% CI=1.2–2.7; non-cytophilic to cytophilic ratio HR[10-fold increase]=1.5, 95% CI=1.1–1.9). Moreover, an increased non-cytophilic to cytophilic antibody ratio correlated with reduced functionality, including neutralization.
...
These findings suggest a potential association between IgG4 induction by mRNA vaccination and a higher risk of breakthrough infection, warranting further investigation into vaccination strategies to ensure sustained protection.
(for instance, I can't tell you the last time I've taken a covid test... over the past few years, it's quite possible there was a day during allergy season where I had a stuffy nose and scratchy throat and it was actually covid. Whereas, a person who's still obsessing about it -- the kind of person who's still probably getting boosted twice a year -- is going to race out and get tested)
This is absolutely a valid point. I've had exactly one COVID test in my life, as opposed to the hypochondriacs that were testing themselves multiple times daily.
But, even if we pretend for a moment that's it's 100% concrete fact that a person who gets boosted repeatedly somehow increased their own personal infection risk.
While I wouldn't necessarily "support" them getting repeated boosters, I don't think I'd want to legally block them from getting it either.
I think I would be more concerned why our health regulatory agencies, who are tasked with ensuring drugs and vaccines are both safe and effective, would continue to approve and recommend something that was shown to
increase someone's risk. I think it speaks to people's inability to adapt to new information. There is a group of people who have determined that anything called a "vaccine" is automatically "safe and effective", and they are unable to process the idea that there could be harms associated. I'm convinced that if there were a study that showed an irrefutable link between COVID vaccination and increased
death, there would
still be people who would be saying "I should be able to pay my own money if I really want it!"
There's a lot of activities and choices people make that increase their infection risk and risk of having it be more severe.
Right now, obesity and smoking are at the top of that list. If we're going to focus our regulatory efforts (that restrict choices) somewhere in the name of reducing covid severity, that should be the focus long before we get to "legally block a 30 year old from getting a booster jab because it could increase their risk of mild infection by 2%"
I think that this new policy is primarily about attempting to restore trust in regulatory agencies. It's a baby step in the right direction.
Somewhere along the way, people decided that increased antibodies in eight mice was a sufficient correlate to determine if a vaccine would provide protection to every human being, regardless of age. That was always antithetical to the evidence-based medicine and the scientific method, and the result has been a disastrous and concerning loss of confidence not only in COVID vaccines, but in others as well.
