4 ms·
An organization that puts out a tweet (on immunity) that was, in the form it was written, totally void of any biological sense, doesn't rank much on my scale o
by lbeltrame 6y ago
An organization that puts out a tweet (on immunity) that was, in the form it was written, totally void of any biological sense, doesn't rank much on my scale of worthiness.
On the seasonality: at a seminar on the epidemiology of this disease at my institution right today, the evidence on the impact of experimental factors was described as "inconsistent" but not enough to rule out one possibility or the other.
Ironically, a WHO staffer in Italy actually made a claim (or so the media said) about a "second wave" just two weeks ago.
I really don't understand why it is hard for many (not necessarily just the WHO) to say "we don't know".
- danaris 6y agoThere can be multiple waves without the virus itself being seasonal, just due to human behaviour. In particular, if we close everything down, get infections down to a nice low level, then declare victory and throw away all our masks and precautions, you better bet there'll be a "second wave" that has nothing to do with the weather.
- lbeltrame 6y agoHonestly, thinking about winning against this virus with non pharmaceutical interventions is not sustainable on the long run. We need pharmacological means: drugs and vaccines.
- ravenstine 6y agoBy no means am I on the side of the WHO, but I'll try and play devil's advocate here. How will most people interpret "we don't know"? You and I might understand the wisdom behind admitting to not having enough information, but the average person won't, and the media can easily mock this form of honesty. Being knowingly wrong or inconsistent seems to be a better strategy since the attention span of the average person is rather short, and appeal to authority is a pretty effective mind trick.
- lbeltrame 6y agoHowever, this can lead to problematic outcomes, like WHO's tweet on immunity, which is absolutely bonkers from a biological perspective (and that was retracted, thankfully). Appeal to authority may work, but authority can fail. And when that happens, the trust is lost.