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> The vaccine does not in fact guarantee person X will not be infected or hospitalized. Widespread vaccination does result in systemic reduction in community sp
by mfer 5y ago
> The vaccine does not in fact guarantee person X will not be infected or hospitalized. Widespread vaccination does result in systemic reduction in community spread.
We aren't going to wipe out COVID. It's here to stay. From people to animals. At some point most of us will likely get it. There has been a fair amount written on this.
If we look at past times we had pandemics (e.g., pandemic of 1889-90) we can see patterns. There the virus hit people and was bad the first year and gradually was less and less until they stopped tracking it. When we get hit the first time we get some immunity. For the virus from that pandemic it happens today as kids. Antibodies fade over time (while T cells remain). That means our nose and throat can easily get reinfected but after the first time we usually just get a simple cold (and first time is usually a simple cold, too).
That situation moved from pandemic to endemic. The same will happen here.
Yet, every year ~40k people in the US die from cold/flu.
We can't stop it. How we treat people along the way will say a lot about us and impact our relationships once we hit the endemic stage.
We'll get to endemic without or without the vaccine. The vaccine will help. Forcing people is going to create enemies and the side effect will live beyond the pandemic.
Just a thought to ponder.
- jonahbenton 5y ago"How we treat people along the way" is super important. Associating public health mandates with (EDIT correcting typo) "forcing people is going to create enemies" is the opposite of being respectful of people. Best wishes to you.
- ctrlp 5y agoPut your reading glasses on. He said "forcing people is going to create enemies".
- jonahbenton 5y agoFixed, typo. The idea that enemies are made by enforcement of a public health mandate, and that that enemy creation is evidence of poor example of how to treat people and will redound....elides the rather obvious point that those who refuse to volunteer for vaccination in this context are exhibiting...poor treatment of others. In any kind of social context it is grotesque sociopathy. To accede to this notion of "enemy creation" is irrational and cowardly. Cheers.
- SpicyLemonZest 5y agoDid the MMR vaccine mandates from the 70s and 80s create permanent enemies? Lots of people say this is a huge world-shaking issue for them, and I believe that they believe that, but politically active people are heavily incentivized to learn how to see everything in maximalist terms. If most businesses begin mandating the vaccine and infection rates are low next year, I'm confident the vast majority of people won't remember why it was supposed to be a big deal.