6 ms·

Presumably they're manufacturing polio vaccine

hga 12y ago
Indeed, the article mentions that this was "released into the environment by the pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline". I originally read about this at this excellent site I'm following for Ebola news, http://promedmail.org/ http://promedmail.org/ (and also now using to learn a lot about plant pathogens etc.) Their item quotes a source with more info and has some very good editorial content on potential problems, including details on recent downstream outbreaks: http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=2771817 http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=2771817
- riffraff 12y ago
  let's cross fingers this doesn't become the obvious "vaccine manufacturers are spreading viruses" that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists need.
  - k-mcgrady 12y ago
    Even if that were true wouldn't you still want the vaccine to protect you from the virus these guys are supposedly unleashing?
    - tomjen3 12y ago
      I would, assuming it was the best, but I also wouldn't pay them for it.
  - Iv 12y ago
    Well as much as I hate it, it is indeed a case of a vaccine manufacturer spreading the virus it makes vaccines against. Let's just hope that there is a a deep inquiry and that they do more than just fire the employee who did a mistake.
    - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
      >the employee who did a mistake // Single employees, no matter how senior they are, shouldn't be able to perform an action like this. There's got to be systemic gross incompetence to even allow a single employee opportunity to access a large batch of fatal disease carrying material without oversight. I doubt very much this was a case of "oh the intern threw out the wrong barrel of disease, shucks".
      - hga 12y ago
        Here are examples of domains where the two-man rule is used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-man_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-man_rule Given that most people are effectively vaccinated for polio, I can see this plant being not quite so strict.
  - bsaul 12y ago
    Or if one employee involved happends to be muslim, that this become labelled a terrorist act.
    - themartorana 12y ago
      Only if it were determined to not have been human error, but human intentional action.
  - coldtea 12y ago
    >let's cross fingers this doesn't become the obvious "vaccine manufacturers are spreading viruses" that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists need. Well, considering the historical behavior of for profit enterprises, it's not something that would be beneath them. If it wasn't for tight regulation and the huge media backslash they'd be pouring the stuff by the tons. But in any place/country/era where they could bypass such stuff, businesses have done so.
    - evan_ 12y ago
      Just so we are clear, you believe that the individual people working at this pharmaceutical company- many thousands of people- are all mass murderers, held in check only by the orders of their PR department.
      - epochwolf 12y ago
        I think a better way to look at it is a pharmaceutical company is full of people that would obey the ignorant orders of a middle manager in a hierarchy with incorrect safety procedures or obey the orders of a small group of evil managers colluding to bypass those procedures without the knowledge of their subordinates. There's no reason you need more than a handful of people to be deliberately evil. Plenty of people will follow them unknowingly or under the threat of losing their jobs.
      - coldtea 12y ago
        Do you believe that the German people in 1933-1945 were all (or many millions of them) mass murderers and "evil"? The reality of it is that they just followed orders, and that doing a little part doesn't directly feel like being a murderer, especially if its celebrated by your peers and superiors. The "banality of evil" and all. But in the case we're talking about it's even easier. For one, it doesn't have to be "many thousands of people" working in the company. Just a few, entrusted by the upper echelons. In the same way that companies historically employed thugs, mafia etc, to beat and even murder union members and strikers. It's not like it was something openly decided in a company meeting. Usually it takes the form "take care of the problem, the less I know the better" from some superiors (with an implicit knowledge of what that entails).

hga 12y ago

Indeed, the article mentions that this was "released into the environment by the pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline". I originally read about this at this excellent site I'm following for Ebola news, http://promedmail.org/ http://promedmail.org/ (and also now using to learn a lot about plant pathogens etc.) Their item quotes a source with more info and has some very good editorial content on potential problems, including details on recent downstream outbreaks: http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=2771817 http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=2771817

riffraff 12y ago
let's cross fingers this doesn't become the obvious "vaccine manufacturers are spreading viruses" that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists need.
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  Even if that were true wouldn't you still want the vaccine to protect you from the virus these guys are supposedly unleashing?
  - tomjen3 12y ago
    I would, assuming it was the best, but I also wouldn't pay them for it.
- Iv 12y ago
  Well as much as I hate it, it is indeed a case of a vaccine manufacturer spreading the virus it makes vaccines against. Let's just hope that there is a a deep inquiry and that they do more than just fire the employee who did a mistake.
  - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
    >the employee who did a mistake // Single employees, no matter how senior they are, shouldn't be able to perform an action like this. There's got to be systemic gross incompetence to even allow a single employee opportunity to access a large batch of fatal disease carrying material without oversight. I doubt very much this was a case of "oh the intern threw out the wrong barrel of disease, shucks".
    - hga 12y ago
      Here are examples of domains where the two-man rule is used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-man_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-man_rule Given that most people are effectively vaccinated for polio, I can see this plant being not quite so strict.
- bsaul 12y ago
  Or if one employee involved happends to be muslim, that this become labelled a terrorist act.
  - themartorana 12y ago
    Only if it were determined to not have been human error, but human intentional action.
- coldtea 12y ago
  >let's cross fingers this doesn't become the obvious "vaccine manufacturers are spreading viruses" that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists need. Well, considering the historical behavior of for profit enterprises, it's not something that would be beneath them. If it wasn't for tight regulation and the huge media backslash they'd be pouring the stuff by the tons. But in any place/country/era where they could bypass such stuff, businesses have done so.
  - evan_ 12y ago
    Just so we are clear, you believe that the individual people working at this pharmaceutical company- many thousands of people- are all mass murderers, held in check only by the orders of their PR department.
    - epochwolf 12y ago
      I think a better way to look at it is a pharmaceutical company is full of people that would obey the ignorant orders of a middle manager in a hierarchy with incorrect safety procedures or obey the orders of a small group of evil managers colluding to bypass those procedures without the knowledge of their subordinates. There's no reason you need more than a handful of people to be deliberately evil. Plenty of people will follow them unknowingly or under the threat of losing their jobs.
    - coldtea 12y ago
      Do you believe that the German people in 1933-1945 were all (or many millions of them) mass murderers and "evil"? The reality of it is that they just followed orders, and that doing a little part doesn't directly feel like being a murderer, especially if its celebrated by your peers and superiors. The "banality of evil" and all. But in the case we're talking about it's even easier. For one, it doesn't have to be "many thousands of people" working in the company. Just a few, entrusted by the upper echelons. In the same way that companies historically employed thugs, mafia etc, to beat and even murder union members and strikers. It's not like it was something openly decided in a company meeting. Usually it takes the form "take care of the problem, the less I know the better" from some superiors (with an implicit knowledge of what that entails).