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I mean come on. A $25,000 donation is kind of laughable when hospitals have no issue charging that much to give a kid some stitches after falling off a bike.

I mean come on. A $25,000 donation is kind of laughable when hospitals have no issue charging that much to give a kid some stitches after falling off a bike. Try 100x that maybe?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
SilasX 6y ago
lol yeah the amounts the hospitals charge is ridiculous. But even beside that, just intuitively, $25k seems low for a life-saving queue-jump during a crisis.
- read_if_gay_ 6y ago
  But it’s not a life saving measure in the same way a surgery might be. It’s life saving in the sense of seatbelts. And given a bit of time everyone can hopefully get it. I’m having trouble imagining many scenarios where getting the vaccine now vs. a bit later makes such a massive difference.
  - freeone3000 6y ago
    Well, if you're a seventy-year-old in a nursing home, or a nurse seeing 70 patients a day, or a doctor involved in COVID care, there's a huge difference. There's a reason deployment is prioritized.
  - flatiron 6y ago
    What I think of is the jet setting sales person. Now worry free back in the skies and in the hotels pounding the pavement. Then I realize who would they go meet?
- worker767424 6y ago
  > $25k seems low for a life-saving queue-jump during a crisis. Not really. Right off the bat, if you figure there's a 1% chance you die if you get it and a 20% change you get it, that values a life at $12.5M. That's a little on the low side for someone rich, but not not by that much. You also have to factor in that it's free in 6 months, and for at least 3 months, it's not like you can do anything. The drug is also experimental, so there's an off chance something really bad happens. The vaccine also means you won't be a long hauler, so that adds some value. $25k feels about right.
  - bilbo0s 6y ago
    The point is, we don't have to worry about what feels right when we have the ability to implement a computerized auction and maximize the wealth we extract from these people in the first place. I agree with OP. I'm betting if you have an open auction, 25k would come in on the low side.
  - SilasX 6y ago
    Echoing what bilbo0 said. Also, you’re not factoring in the reputational and legal risk to those bribed, and the fact that the rich try to get it with the specific intent to ramp up their riskier activities once they get it, which will allow them to do valuable things in a disproportionately valuable time frame.
  - Simulacra 6y ago
    I don't think so, considering that the wealthy were hoarding PPE and ventilators at the height of the crisis. It would be fascinating to see the wealthy scramble for this early vaccine, only to find that it has some horrible side-effect. Darn shame.

I mean come on. A $25,000 donation is kind of laughable when hospitals have no issue charging that much to give a kid some stitches after falling off a bike. Try 100x that maybe?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

SilasX 6y ago

lol yeah the amounts the hospitals charge is ridiculous. But even beside that, just intuitively, $25k seems low for a life-saving queue-jump during a crisis.

read_if_gay_ 6y ago
But it’s not a life saving measure in the same way a surgery might be. It’s life saving in the sense of seatbelts. And given a bit of time everyone can hopefully get it. I’m having trouble imagining many scenarios where getting the vaccine now vs. a bit later makes such a massive difference.
- freeone3000 6y ago
  Well, if you're a seventy-year-old in a nursing home, or a nurse seeing 70 patients a day, or a doctor involved in COVID care, there's a huge difference. There's a reason deployment is prioritized.
- flatiron 6y ago
  What I think of is the jet setting sales person. Now worry free back in the skies and in the hotels pounding the pavement. Then I realize who would they go meet?
worker767424 6y ago
> $25k seems low for a life-saving queue-jump during a crisis. Not really. Right off the bat, if you figure there's a 1% chance you die if you get it and a 20% change you get it, that values a life at $12.5M. That's a little on the low side for someone rich, but not not by that much. You also have to factor in that it's free in 6 months, and for at least 3 months, it's not like you can do anything. The drug is also experimental, so there's an off chance something really bad happens. The vaccine also means you won't be a long hauler, so that adds some value. $25k feels about right.
- bilbo0s 6y ago
  The point is, we don't have to worry about what feels right when we have the ability to implement a computerized auction and maximize the wealth we extract from these people in the first place. I agree with OP. I'm betting if you have an open auction, 25k would come in on the low side.
- SilasX 6y ago
  Echoing what bilbo0 said. Also, you’re not factoring in the reputational and legal risk to those bribed, and the fact that the rich try to get it with the specific intent to ramp up their riskier activities once they get it, which will allow them to do valuable things in a disproportionately valuable time frame.
- Simulacra 6y ago
  I don't think so, considering that the wealthy were hoarding PPE and ventilators at the height of the crisis. It would be fascinating to see the wealthy scramble for this early vaccine, only to find that it has some horrible side-effect. Darn shame.