Most of those examples had no consent though, let alone informed consent. I do agree with OP that it's condescending to say that a non-PHD can't educate themse

Most of those examples had no consent though, let alone informed consent. I do agree with OP that it's condescending to say that a non-PHD can't educate themselves enough for informed consent right now. To me the time frame makes a difference though. Could one give informed consent in the first few months of a pandemic when we didn't know anything about the short and long term consequences? I think yeah it's their body they can jump in to benefit their family and all of us. What about now that we have more data about immediate safety in younger adults and a bit more about potential longer term effects? I agree with OP and don't think it's comparable to the serious problems you list. Us non-scientists can understand enough to make this risk / society reward decision with our own bodies.