5 ms·

"Continuing insanity" ? It's completely absurd to say that we can achieve controlled herd immunity when a) we don't know how much of the population is required

"Continuing insanity" ? It's completely absurd to say that we can achieve controlled herd immunity when a) we don't know how much of the population is required to be infected to achieve it and b) we don't know how long immunity lasts and c) the serology tests are not completely accurate. In order to beat this thing back, we need to use the tools our ancestors did - quarantine and isolation - and complement them with modern strategies. In the US, we still have approximately 40k additional infections a day, and we're drowning in a sea of comorbidities. Re-opening to let however many people die so we can get back to normal isn't a strategy, it's giving up.

guscost 6y ago
I just described a modern strategy that includes tactical quarantine and isolation! What we have done instead (spew absurd panic from every mainstream institution for the better part of a year, while sending kids home from school and COVID patients into nursing homes) is a disgrace. More about the modern strategy that we could have used instead: https://youtu.be/VK0Wtjh3HVA https://youtu.be/VK0Wtjh3HVA
- necrotic_comp 6y ago
  It's the "tactical" part I have a problem with - from what we're seeing, we don't have enough information about the disease to make an informed decision. E.g. the drastic differences in infection rates and mortality in different countries in Europe with nominally similar strategies gives us an indication that there is a lot more to learn. Additionally, we don't know the long term consequences of this thing yet - it's possible that it's going to cause chronic issues a lot of people who would've otherwise been healthy.
  - guscost 6y ago
    The best way to get that information quickly is to expose volunteers to infection, which is admittedly an ethical lapse, but one nowhere near as bad as what actually happened (“spread panic and write off the nursing home residents!”) in my opinion. > Additionally, we don't know the long term consequences of this thing yet - it's possible that it's going to cause chronic issues a lot of people who would've otherwise been healthy. That is a risk I understand and am completely willing to take. Instead, a bunch of people with medical degrees have banned me from making this choice, hiding behind “informed consent” doublespeak (and pernicious nonsense in this case - nobody is informed, the risks from an unprecedented year-long lockdown are unknown too, and those are simply the stakes) while taking a giant dump all over the Hippocratic Oath. The reckoning can’t come soon enough.
    - necrotic_comp 6y ago
      Considering you call your blog article about this "pandemic woo" and start it off with saying "Here we are part-way through 2020, the year humanity started a war against the common cold, and lost", I'm going to say that we'll never even approach middle ground on this and wish you a good day.
      - guscost 6y ago
        Same to you. Hopefully things work out for the best, no matter who is right.

guscost 6y ago

I just described a modern strategy that includes tactical quarantine and isolation! What we have done instead (spew absurd panic from every mainstream institution for the better part of a year, while sending kids home from school and COVID patients into nursing homes) is a disgrace. More about the modern strategy that we could have used instead: https://youtu.be/VK0Wtjh3HVA https://youtu.be/VK0Wtjh3HVA

necrotic_comp 6y ago
It's the "tactical" part I have a problem with - from what we're seeing, we don't have enough information about the disease to make an informed decision. E.g. the drastic differences in infection rates and mortality in different countries in Europe with nominally similar strategies gives us an indication that there is a lot more to learn. Additionally, we don't know the long term consequences of this thing yet - it's possible that it's going to cause chronic issues a lot of people who would've otherwise been healthy.
- guscost 6y ago
  The best way to get that information quickly is to expose volunteers to infection, which is admittedly an ethical lapse, but one nowhere near as bad as what actually happened (“spread panic and write off the nursing home residents!”) in my opinion. > Additionally, we don't know the long term consequences of this thing yet - it's possible that it's going to cause chronic issues a lot of people who would've otherwise been healthy. That is a risk I understand and am completely willing to take. Instead, a bunch of people with medical degrees have banned me from making this choice, hiding behind “informed consent” doublespeak (and pernicious nonsense in this case - nobody is informed, the risks from an unprecedented year-long lockdown are unknown too, and those are simply the stakes) while taking a giant dump all over the Hippocratic Oath. The reckoning can’t come soon enough.
  - necrotic_comp 6y ago
    Considering you call your blog article about this "pandemic woo" and start it off with saying "Here we are part-way through 2020, the year humanity started a war against the common cold, and lost", I'm going to say that we'll never even approach middle ground on this and wish you a good day.
    - guscost 6y ago
      Same to you. Hopefully things work out for the best, no matter who is right.