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When he gets asked about what percentage of people need to get vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity he keeps pulling out different numbers from his ass

When he gets asked about what percentage of people need to get vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity he keeps pulling out different numbers from his ass until he's pressed to give a fully accurate and honest answer. The truth is that we can't know for certain, but we can use models from existing diseases in order to try and make guesses which gives us a range which will vary in magnitude depending on the accuracy and correctness of the underlying model and its parameters. I don't think it's such a complex concept that people would be incapable of understanding a high level overview. Then as more data comes in or newer models are developed, you can tweak the range while providing a simple explanation for why the newer changes are believed to be more accurate. Fauci is a bad faith science communicator. Edit: He has also admitted to providing different numbers over time in order to get people more comfortable with the idea. He needs to cut that paternalistic bullshit and just be straight with us.

deanCommie 6y ago
When 1/3 of the country thinks the pandemic danger is already exaggerated if not completely made up, how can you possibly expect him to be honest about the harsh realities of what is still ahead? Hell, what in the last 4 years has made you believe that half of the country ISN'T worth talking down to...
- account42 6y ago
  > When 1/3 of the country thinks the pandemic danger is already exaggerated if not completely made up Maybe they think that because people in power keep lying to them.
darkerside 6y ago
That may work with you, but what makes you think it's the right approach for communicating to everybody? Public health reminds me a bit of behavioral finance, in which we admit that people don't act rationally in all cases and give advice accordingly. You can argue it's a cop out, that it's paternalistic, that is morally wrong. You'd be at least partially right about all of those things, but what if people achieve better outcomes?

deanCommie 6y ago

When 1/3 of the country thinks the pandemic danger is already exaggerated if not completely made up, how can you possibly expect him to be honest about the harsh realities of what is still ahead? Hell, what in the last 4 years has made you believe that half of the country ISN'T worth talking down to...

account42 6y ago
> When 1/3 of the country thinks the pandemic danger is already exaggerated if not completely made up Maybe they think that because people in power keep lying to them.

darkerside 6y ago

That may work with you, but what makes you think it's the right approach for communicating to everybody? Public health reminds me a bit of behavioral finance, in which we admit that people don't act rationally in all cases and give advice accordingly. You can argue it's a cop out, that it's paternalistic, that is morally wrong. You'd be at least partially right about all of those things, but what if people achieve better outcomes?