The US and a few other wealthy nations have announced intentions to give booster shots to their fully inoculated citizens from September in a bid to improve their immunity. This is at at time when about 5 billion humans are yet to receive the vaccine and there are people who believe this is a moral outrage.
Let’s pretend for a moment you were the policy maker and is intent on vaccine uptake at home and elsewhere, especially faced with a situation where there are vaccine skeptics, would you encourage a booster shot for the fully inoculated or would you persuade the unvaccinated to get their shots thus improving the chances of the community?
In the meantime, keep safe. And if you can, avoid staying in crowded places for long, among many other things you can do to protect yourself.
Random thoughts 
How are the African numbers?….not hearing anything. AND…..have any vaccinations been started?
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Oh yes, vaccination drives are on in several parts of the continent.
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Glad to hear it!
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They don’t have numbers in Africa, they just trade things for chickens and goats.
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Oh okay, thanks for updating me….hahahahaha……
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You’re welcome. Keep going and you might get a chicken yourself.
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I’ll look forward to it.
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Pink at this rate I will have you banned from your own blog. You must respect chicken and goats
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I’ve never banned anyone!
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That’s well put.. And I’d say then there are nations, that aren’t even able to provide one shot to every citizen.
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I think my country plans to have vaccines for all adults by 2023! Or thereabouts.
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Why would anyone want someone, like myself, to take a vaccine even tho I have survived the disease and have a robust immunity? I have 100% immunity whereas the shots are giving about 30% immunity, what is wrong with this scemerio?
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The shots give immunity of between 85 and 95% but the efficacy declines over time. So far even those who have had the disease are still at risk of reinfection. So if you are at a place where the vaccine is available, you ought to take it especially if you interact with large crowds and have other related risk factors.
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According to Professor Bhakdi and many other well qualitified medics/virologists, recovered natural immunity is robust. Even big pharma MERCK announced this, saying vaccines were not as good as naturally acquired immunity. Being vaccinated on top of existent immunity is not a good idea. Everyone’s immunity status should be tested before jabbing. The odd thing about the boosters in the US is the trials on dosage seem to have scarcely started and don’t appear to conclude until May 2025. In other words, they have yet to discover the affect of re-jabbing people so soon; also to work out appropriate dosage:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04889209
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This is interesting. Why are they in a rush to give booster shots so soon?
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That is a very big question, Mak. $$$$$$
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Being vaccinated on top of existent immunity is not a good idea. — I would say this “conclusion” comes a bit late for a lot of people
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Well I believe it’s a fairly long-established piece of medical knowledge.
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You miss Nan’s point. By a mile. IN the quest for the mythical herd immunity and “natural immunity” thousands and thousands and thousands have died. But sure, a random wackaloon on the internet has PROOF, PROOF I TELL YOU that the vaccines are all just a scam.
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Facts: everything so far known about the vaccines is provisional. They are issued under emergency use (EUA) only as there have been no long-term safety studies because they have only been around for a short time. Only yesterday did the FDA in the US give regulatory approval for Pfizer for 16 years plus, but not for younger children. They are all still in trial, not set to end until 2022/2023 depending on the product. The manufacturers’ claims for them are that they may reduce the worst symptoms and hospitalisation. They were not trialled to stop infection and transmission. In the UK doctors are reporting a rise in infection among the double jabbed. This is also happening in Israel and othe countries.
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CDC’s definition of immunity, both natural and immunity gained through vaccination:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.htm
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Of particular note is the following statement:
“However, passive immunity lasts only for a few weeks or months. Only active immunity is long-lasting.”
A fact that seems to be ignored by all the COVID drug pushers.
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Interestingly Dr Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins presents a balanced perspective on the topic:
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I RARELY watch videos, but I clicked through to this one — and then watched the one that followed put out by MedCram. EXCELLENT! Provided a very clear and concise analysis of the virus as related to immunity in a person previously infected (or not) and vaccinations. Thanks for sharing.
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Am glad you found it useful. I think there’s so much we need to learn – or re-learn in some cases. Too much politicking has got mixed up with health. Pretty toxic mix, I’m thinking.
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I like this.
It sheds light on the discussion we should be having.
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That’s it exactly. We need to be able to exchange information freely. Debate has been pretty closed down. We’ve also been primed to turn on each other, when what we ordinary mortals all want is the best outcomes and some truthfully informed plans of action.
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I think because so many have lost relatives or friends to the pandemic, it is too emotive and this makes debate hard but it is the more reason we should have debate
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There has also been great loss too from people who have not received needed medical attention for other conditions. The waiting list for hospital visits in the UK is apparently around 4 million.
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There have been a dearth in funding for other illnesses too
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Yes, and that will have effects for years to come too. I don’t understand why ยฃยฃยฃยฃs were spent in the UK on Nightingale hospitals for the expected masses of ill people, and then not used. It might have been a good way to separate those who were infected from the mainstream hospitals. We used to have fever hospitals for just this purpose.
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Here is the research from Israel https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.24.21262415v1
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This is interesting
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Just get the vaccine is the byline. A powerful line by the way.
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I think this was the case for Sweden at the very beginning when they didnโt have any restrictions. But Tish is not saying guys go get infected. Just that those who have had COVID most likely have antibodies making them immune to reinfection or serious ailment and I think thatโs a discussion worth having while encouraging people to get inoculated.
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Hello Tish. Interesting it seems we have competing sources and ideas. Dr. Francis Collins at the NIH states that the protection coverage from taking the vaccine is more wide spread to cover variants than simply getting a case of Covid can give you.
https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/06/22/how-immunity-generated-from-covid-19-vaccines-differs-from-an-infection/
So the answer to why you should get the vaccine is simply the vaccine will protect you better from more than a single strain of the virus. Hugs
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Interesting article and comments, Scott.
As to your conclusion, i did read from the comments that it is contracted by data being released from Israel.
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America is made up of a new species of humans called Homo Stupidous Dumbellious. A third of our population thinks the vaccines are filled with metallic tracking devices and will most likely kill them if they get them. About the same amount of Americans think the earth is flat, god made it only 5000 years ago, and praying is as effective, if not more so, than getting vaccinated to prevent covid-19 infection. We’re in deep shit here as a country. Stupid reigns as King in a land of glorious stupidity. I’m embarrassed for my country. I’ll get a booster shot, but it will do little to stop the spread of the numerous variants of covid-19 that are coming our way due to the plethora of cheese-heads who refuse to even get the first shot of the original covid-19 vaccine. Perhaps if this were another outbreak of polio or smallpox, these idiots would be behaving differently, but I greatly doubt it. Stupidity is an illness for which no amount of vaccinations can cure, sadly.
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Nan called the new species homo stupidous stupidous.
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I’ve also heard them called homo dumbous fuckous
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I think the very sad cases are those of public figures or loudmouths who have only changed tune after contracting the virus and are advising their friends to take it seriously.
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It’s sickening.
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Just remember Jeff, these are your people.
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Sad, but true.
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Some people scream at and even attack the health care people in the ICU while their loved ones gasp their last breaths! “COVID is a lie” while their kin flatlines. If things get really bad, hospitals should triage. No vaccine? No hospital care. Sorry.
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You are joking, right? So what is it they think is killing their loved ones?
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He’s not joking. I have/had an aunt and uncle who were right-wing nutters. Both denied covid was a problem. Both refused to wear masks or get vaccinated. Both got covid. Both died. I wasn’t close to them, but my sister was in contact with their kids, my cousins, as they both were dying in hospital. Both swore with their last breath that covid wasn’t real and they merely had a bad “flu”. Their kids, my cousins, are white supremacists and massive Trump lovers. They, too, don’t believe in covid, and, according to my sister, both of them had pretty bad cases of it. They are part of the new breed of human known simply as “homo stupidious dumb-fuckeous”.
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This however is really sad.
I hope they are not waiting for trump to be sworn in before end of august
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Oh, I’m certain they are.
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Best comment Iโve seen!โค๏ธ
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I won a Pulitzer for it.
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But Juan Pablo, interviewed (maskless) in a liquor store parking lot during one of the main newspaper’s Cletus Safaris to Antioch, CA, has not been CONVINCED by the science. They have just not proven it to his learned self. Of course, Juan Pablo was interviewed while sucking on a cancer stick, but hey! Freedom! Science!
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I think he has chosen how he wants to leave this rock
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Haha what a wonderful comment! ๐๐ Very very well said! Totally agree with you!
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The only thing I will add to this discussion is that I’m staying away from this discussion. ๐
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Haha. My dear friend, you got to say something more
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I got a nice smiley faced sticker to wear after each of my 2 sticks. And I will probably get another after my booster early next year.
Does that do it?
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Yes, that does.
How are you today? I am well suffering from what is likely delayed onset of muscle soreness and a chest pain, but nothing serious.
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Muscle soreness is OK. But not chest pain. Speaking from experience. Take care.
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There is so much conflicting data. Just get vaccinated isnโt really a logical answer.
From Israel we now see the fully vaccinated surpassing those unvaccinated in current hospitalization.
โ few real-world epidemiologic studies exist to support the benefit of vaccination for previously infected persons, wrote the U.S. CDCโs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued on August 6, 2021.
Some studies show natural immunity is handling the variants just fine, so just get vaccinated? At the same time Pfizer is strong arming the poorer Latin American countries for complete immunity from lawsuits regarding the vaccination. Itโs really about the money. And yes, it is unethical to serve the wealthy full immunity ahead of anyone else.
Being skeptical about gene editing (no one knows the long term affect of this) and vaccine mandates, the money flow and the fact that science is beyond reproach, isnโt that concerning? Trust the experts? Which ones? The ones with the money?
In the back of my mind this is an extended case study of the garbage dump baboons.
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There is money, a lot of involved. Just recently moderna and Pfizer increased their prices due to increased demand.
What gamble are you ready to take? Natural immunity or vaccine? Scientists just like humans in other fields make mistakes and to believe otherwise would be naive. But to not consider inoculation because Scientists make mistakes would border on irresponsible.
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Does it border on irresponsible if youโve already had covid? Since scientists make mistakes, how is it irresponsible to scrutinize the data and make a personal decision contrary to the big push?
Really my question would be, is this vaccination in the best interest of humanity propping up overpopulation and constantly fighting natural selection?
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Last I heard, Macron had suggested something to the effect that Africans needed family planning because of overpopulation. So in my mind, while it could be true there is overpopulation, the suggestion that people should be left to die off is an ill advised one. In the movie god on trial, a father was given an option to choose who among his two sons should live and he asks, how is he to choose?
If you have had covid and choose not to get inoculated, I say we’ll and good. Hopefully you are immune to all the variants or can shed a new infection without hospitalization.
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It is unethical to cater to the wealthy over this. If someone wants/needs the vaccine they should get it regardless of what backroom negotiations are taking place.
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You are aware there has been vaccine nationalism from the time the vaccine was developed?
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Sure. I am also aware that in my small community, every single person I know that has received the vaccine has got covid sometime after. I know itโs a small sampling, but I have not gotten it again even though Iโve spent time with at least ten people who did.
Covid vaccine and boosters is becoming the new norm. For the rest of our lives we will be vaccinated. I donโt see this as an enjoyable way to spend the short time we have. Thereโs got to be a better way.
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That’s interesting.
And I agree, we can’t live life making drug companies rich by requiring a booster shot every 6 months. A better way need be found.
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We are pretty sure my other-half had COVID-19 back in February 2020 — before it was “confirmed” as a virus. So how does one determine whether or not to get vaccinated based on what COULD be natural immunity?
As it so happens, both of use chose to get vaccinated. Even so, we continue to take precautions.
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Evidently there is more money in vaccination than testing for antibodies. Vaccination is a perpetual cash cow.
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Interestingly, we both got a “quick test” for antibodies last November — and he did have some present. Of course “they” say such tests aren’t that reliable, plus “they” say antibodies don’t usually stick around “forever” so it’s best to be vaccinated.
As you said … the bottom line is, has been, and will forever be … $$$$$.
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I have seen the UK will be offering antibody testing from next week. It will be interesting to see what the results tell us.
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Sure. It would be nice to know if natural immunity could save some vaccines for other countries.
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Only time will tell. And then it would be late for some
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We, or most of us, do it every year with the flu shotโฆ
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I’ve died 57 times from flu shots! It’s a conspiracy to kill us all, I tellz ya!
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Man, you keep changing the number of times you have died!
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No doubt Jeebus resurrected him, which meant he needed to kick the bucket again. Makes sense, doncha’ think?
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When you put it like that, you have a point, unless itโs you or a loved one who is dying and it could have been prevented, most likely
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FYI, after my inoculation for covid, I died. 7 or 8 times. Also, I was implanted with close to 56 pounds of surveillance equipment so the “deep state” government could keep an eye on my. It’s been hell, man! Hell!!! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to write this while bein dead AND having 56 pounds on metal tracking equipment in my right arm!!?? IT. IS. HELL!!!
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What makes me sad is I was not invited to any of the wakes held after your numerous deaths.
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Sorry. I was dead or I’d have invited you.
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For your next death, leave a note with the undertaker to invite me. I have a few things to say
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Will do
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Thank you
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Some studies show … A favorite line used by individuals on BOTH sides of the fence to validate/prove their viewpoint.
And this isn’t inclusive to COVID discussions … as I’m sure you know.
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As long as the studies are credible, it pays to read them, I think.
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Of course, Mak! But there are many who reference studies that hardly fall under the definition of “credible.” IOW, it essentially comes down to personal preferences/biases.
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That they must be allowed to do. The only way to test which is valid is to look at the method not the authority of the persons who carried out the study.
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Follow the money. Who’s profiting from the “vaccine” rollouts?
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We expect stock prices of Pfizer to go up on Monday when they get fda licensing. The best time to buy their stocks was Friday
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Call me foolish, but there are certain industries (Pharmaceuticals, Tobacco, US arms dealers, etc.) I will not knowingly invest in, no matter what the potential profit margin.
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You are not a good capitalist, Ron. You should say one thing while doing the exact opposite with your money. For example you should talk of renewable energy but put your money in oil stocks
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That would make me a politician. And as some ancient Jewish rabbi once noted: What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
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He goes to space for 11 minutes!
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Then I guess that’s about as close to god as one is ever likely to get. But as exciting as that “thrill ride” experience might be, I’m more attuned to the “highs” experienced while hiking and biking the wilds because they last longer and can be achieved at a fraction of the cost.
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I would want that thrill if i didn’t have to spend a quarter of a country’s gdp for 11 minutes of flight.
And i agree, hikes and rides in the wild are great
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The same ones that are strong-arming poorer counties into deals they canโt afford to sign, and not to sign.
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I do know DeSantis (the great anti mask governor in Florida) was given big bucks for his campaign (may do a presidential run in 2024)by the president or CEO of Regeneron, the drug to fight covid, so it would seem it also is big bucks to keep covid around there too.
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Let’s put things in perspective:
The WHO reports that there have been ~4400 COVID-related deaths in Kenya between 3 Jan 2020 and 5:22 CEST, 20 Aug 2021. (Source: https://covid19.who.int/region/afro/country/ke)
So based on current population estimates of ~54 million, that represents about 0.008% of the population over the span of 20 months.
Or viewed another way:
World Population Review reports that there are about 807 deaths per day in Kenya. So over the span of 509 days, there were ~411k deaths in total, of which ~4400 were attributed to COVID, which works out to a death rate of ~1.07%.
Now compare this to the annual death rates from other causes reported in 2012 (yes, it’s severely dated, but it’s the last year I could find):
Pop (2012 est.) – 44.5 million
Cause – 000s |% by cause | % of pop
HIV/Aids – 54.5 | 14.8| 0.122
Diarrhoea – 23.4 | 12.3 | 0.053
Malnutrition – 15.3 | 6.3 | 0.034
Birth trauma – 14.9 | 4.1 | 0.033
Stroke – 14.5 | 4.0| 0.033
Preterm birth – 13.5 | 3.7 | 0.030
Malaria – 12 | 3.2| 0.027
Tuberculosis – 9.4 | 2.5| 0.021
Heart disease – 9.2 | 2.5| 0.021
https://www.who.int/gho/countries/ken.pdf?ua=1
Given that 93% of the Kenyan population is under 65 and the median age is 20.1 years (Source: CIA Factbook), you’re 12x more likely to die from diarrhea, and 3x more likely to die from malaria than from COVID.
TL;DR
You have bigger health problems to worry about than the vaccine availability for a low-risk disease.
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Correction: that should read: 12x more likely to die of diarrhea and 3x more likely to die of malaria
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They should add to that list police violence. More people died from police brutality in the early days than from any covid complications
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Yes, I remember reading the first COVID casualty was a young teen shot dead for breaking the COVID curfew.
https://toofab.com/2020/03/31/13-year-old-boy-shot-dead-on-own-balcony-by-police-enforcing-coronavirus-curfew/
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The latest I think are two brothers who died in police custody over the same story. It is madness if you ask me
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Ron, on this we are agreed. But for those 4400, this news is not comforting.
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People are born; people die. It’s the circle of life.
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Reminds me of Somerset’s short story about death in Baghdad. Can one escape the grim reaper?
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“On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.โ
โ Narrator, Fight Club
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Where is the middle ground between we die anyway, the virus might kill you and many things kill you anyway?
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It’s titled appointment in Samara
There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.ย She looked at me and made a threatening gesture,ย now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.ย I will go to Samara and there Death will not find me.ย The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.ย Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?ย That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise.ย I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samara.
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I’ve read similar tales, but I like this one for its brevity.
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It drives its point home in very few words. You can’t escape death or your appointment with death
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Exactly. Which is why I remind people to stop worrying about death and get on with living their lives.
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Is it Plutarch or Seneca who said many lives look short because most of it is wasted away with worry
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Not sure, but I know that fussing over things I have no control over has never improved the situation one iota.
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Hello Mak. You ask about the booster vaccine shots for wealthy nations vs the first vaccine shots for the poor nations who have not been able to buy them yet. I think that the countries that can and have bought the vaccines should give the boosters, and they also should help the poorer countries get the first doses. The reason is that if the boosters are not given all the effort of the nation to get people vaccinated is lost as a variant overwhelms the usefulness of the vaccine. You are basically back to square one. You have to start over again, losing all the benefit you worked to gain. That makes no sense. However if we want to stop the variants we need to get the entire world vaccinated including boosters. It is a small world these days and people / viruses travel widely. So the solution is to push production world wide to the safe maximum. Hugs
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if the reason the virus is mutating fast is because there are millions who are unvaccinated, it does seem to me to be an exercise in futility to have booster shots unless you are also planning to build walls around you.
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Hello Mak. Most people in the US do not travel far from their local communities. Now with Covid most people are careful to hang out with people they know well enough to know if they are vaccinated and wear masks when in public. It is true the problems with the variants in the US are the unvaccinated, but that again is mitigated by knowing who the people you hang out with are. It is not like the majority of the US populations are going to countries that have not managed to vaccinate their people. Hugs
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It may be true, Scottie, that some people don’t travel far — but in their local area, many DO hang out with others who don’t wear masks and/or are not vaccinated. AND they gather in groups and attend parties and — case in point — Trump’s recent rally.
Now I will say those who have a lick of sense tend to limit their social activities and wear masks.
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Hello Nan. Which is why I said “Now with Covid most people are careful to hang out with people they know well enough to know if they are vaccinated and wear masks when in public.” Maybe I should have said most thinking reasonable people try to do so. Hugs
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Then there are the ones who have managed to get across our border & get caught vacationing here in Canada, when they weren’t supposed to be here in the first place.
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yeah! Especially all those Canada Geese traversing the continent with nary a concern about the negative impact their frequent travels might have upon their avian cousins. ๐
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So inconsiderate.
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Exactly. My few good friends that I hang out with, are all vaccinated and wear masks. Iโm not friends with the other type because they tend also to be bullies, pro trump and super religiousโฆnot my cup of tea at all.
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They say to always choose your friends wisely
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It is the case even here that most people donโt travel far and in most interactions, people wear masks. Though there are places in this country where you would be the odd one out if you were wearing a mask. I donโt think it is because they lack sense but on the contrary they are being quite sensible. They have had almost no cases of COVID among other things.
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Iโm on the fence a bit on this. Iโm fully vaccinated no problems and will be 8 months in Oct. but I have read conflicting articles from reliable sources about the booster shot.
I lean towards getting the other poor countries vaccinated first, but will that realistically happen? Many poor countries have very corrupt governments. It may take a very long time and in the meantimeโฆ
Iโm old but Iโm not ready to die yet, so I lean towards getting the booster..better safe than sorry notion.
I do feel covid will either peter out eventually or variants even worse will continue to pop up and make the vaccines less capable. And we donโt know which. And we donโt know if it really helps to get a booster. Only time will tell that. This is all new.
Hereโs an interesting take on the boosters from The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/08/covid-booster-shots-biden-8-months/619789/
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Hello Mary. I see booster shots being like the yearly flu shot we get. Every year the manufactures will try to figure out how to cover the newest variants and it will be on a yearly checklist. Like so many other things as we age. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ๐ Hugs
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some of us don’t get flu shots in the first place.
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Hello Mak. Ah each to their own. I can safety say in my area it is normal for most people to get them. Hugs
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Be careful, Scottie! Last time I got a flu shot I was injected with over 700 pounds of electronic monitoring equipment so Hillary Clinton and Tom Hanks can keep an eye on my whereabouts. It’s hell, man!! Hell!!!
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You are the funniest guy!
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You misunderstood me. Here flu is not a big problem requiring yearly shots. We have bigger problems like malaria, diarrhea etc
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Hello Mak. Yes I did misunderstand, sorry. I live in Florida, a place with so many elderly they call it gods waiting room. In the last two decades there has been a race here to see how far and how fast we can dumb the state down to the lowest common denominator or cult of tRump. Hugs
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No problem.
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Weโre pretty much near the bottom except maybe for Ala. and Miss.
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“Florida Man” is a meme for a reason. ๐
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Even where the governments are not corrupt access to the virus has been a challenge. First the richer nations had placed demands that meant poorer countries couldn’t get the shots even if they wanted. Two, with the economic downturn, some of these countries may just not afford to buy the shots needed to inoculate all their citizens.
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I am very bothered by one of the repeated memes in this comment thread: the constant mantra that it is “all” “about the money”
OK. How many of you work for free? Especially in a career that inoles years of training, massive capital investment, burdensome regulatory costs? OF COURSE it is about the money. We live in a capitalist society, and even ostensibly Marxist societies like China still pay their workers, worry about return on investment, and the like. Maka: Do you work for free (for commercial clients, you are a charitable guy). Should you earn more than a basic contractor who has no education or training?
Plus, I think there is a great deal of rather snarky dismissal of the hard work needed to develop a ground breaking drug. It is not only about the money for the vast majority of researchers, I would bet. There is intellectual challenge, and yes, a commitment to solving/ameliorating a MAJOR public health crisis. It is easy to dismiss the doctors, scientists, yes regulatory experts who shepherd drugs through trials….when one is grousing on a blog.
Yes, “Big Pharma” does some bad things (Purdue). But I trust Big Pharma far more than I do the woo-peddlers. Sure, drugs are expensive, but given that IT IS JUST WATER, the obscene pricing of homeopathic remedies, let alone dangerous drugs and chemicals promoted by “alternative” medicine is a bigger crime to me. And I certainly trust Dr. Faucci more than I do a crazy conspiracy nut or some pomaded, pompous “Bible College” preacher whose lips are still moist from doing you-know-what to Donald Trump’s tiny…
And yes, you can find crazy claims on the web that sound plausible. None of us have the real knowledge base to really evaluate any of the claims. So…who do you trust? Despite the evident problems, I know who I ultimately have to go with.
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Good points.
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Brian, you wrote: It is not only about the money for the vast majority of researchers — and I would agree the actual researchers are most likely NOT focused on the money.
HOWEVER, what they produce from their research is the commodity that Big Business gloms onto and turns into a bargaining chip.
As for “woo” peddlers, I agree they are the biggest hypocrites around, but when the “market” is there (which, unfortunately, it is), they’re going to take advantage of the patsies and watch their bank accounts grow.
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So: not to repeat myself, but how can anything not be at least partly “about the money”? I am no doctrinaire “socialist,” but I work for a government and I am not sure making drug development solely the province of government agencies is the solution, either. It costs money to develop drugs, even if some of the basic foundation research is indeed performed by nonprofit and academic entities. And ultimately, they need money, too. Academics don’t work for free.
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I don’t think we’re on the same page here. One of us apparently missed the point of the other. But that’s OK. It happens quite frequently on the internet. ๐
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Of course it must be about the money. One of the reasons given for lack of vaccines for some ailments is that there is no funding for it or they donโt affect the *right persons* (kidding but it could as well be true) to warrant investment.
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Brian I donโt work for free for corporate clients. I am not a charity but I have done a lot of charity work. And it is not like I am asking they give the vaccines for free. My point is on the question of natural immunity that isnโt being researched as much while the mantra is just get the vaccine. In a post I did a while back on free speech, one of the arguments for why science works is through discussion- questioning methods and results- peer review and all. To see anyone questioning the dominant storyline as not well educated is to fail to be a good scientist. If the sources are whacko, then we must say so. But credible sources must be given a hearing.
For one, I donโt trust woo peddlers. I see a lot of them starting from your last president promoting bleach to other nondescript individuals pushing zinc inhalation as a cure.
And donโt commit the sin of argument from authority. Allow yourself some room to doubt that authority if there is credible information that contradicts the position of the said authority.
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An interesting thought indeed! Perhaps the governments should start working on vaccinating more people before proceeding with the boosters. Scrolling through the comments, Iโve been able to notice some people who prove your point about being vaccine skeptics.
Hope the world heals quickly!
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Hey, but Cletus is SKEPTICAL dontcha know about the vaccines. They have not convinced him of their safety. As Cletus sucks on a cigarette while being interviewed in a liquor store parking lot during a major air quality event.
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Governments should make the vaccines available to as many people as it probably can.
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Some very good information hereโฆas Iโm not immunodeficient, Iโm not in a big hurry to get the booster, plus Iโm not at eight months yet.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02158-6
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Thanks for sharing. This is quite good
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I’m at 9 months today! The baby is due ANY minute now!!! ๐
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Jeff, long live. This place would be dull without you
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๐
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Yourr trip to Brazil was a success, “Jeff” (sorry for the oldname)?
http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2021/get-a-head-transplant-instead/
Congratualtions!:
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Could this be the reason he has died so many times?
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My secret is out! I’ve going to soon be giving birth to gender neutral mr. Potato head named Sam.
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It should be Mx Potato Head. Don’t stab them in the stomach with a knife by using the wrong terms!
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I know you will like this๐
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I really think the term โunvaccinatedโ is far too broad to be helpful. Not only does it carry the negative connotation of uninformed, lazy, dangerous, or anti-scientific, it also lumps all auto-immune diseased, priorly infected, and other medically exempt people together. It is not a one-size fits all category. Itโs a said state of affairs that we cannot think outside of the boxes, vaccinated and unvaccinated, today.
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Unvaccinated and republican could be synonymous at the moment regardless of where one is on this rock.
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I assume that is supposed to be offensive in some manner? Also, not being an American, I can offer some unbiased opinion on this matter. Senator Paul is not wrong about natural immunity. Masking children without parental consent will not stem the tide of the virus, nor uphold the parents rights, and is ultimately anti-American. Democrats โfleeingโ their duty from a โdangerousโrepublican state is an absolute embarrassment to America. Nobody takes your president or his party seriously on the global stage. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
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Well yes. I am no American either.
Don’t anger their government by saying no one takes them seriously, you may just be sanctioned for thinking differently
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It’s entirely possible that some folk have natural immunity. But for an ophthalmologist to make that statement somehow loses its impact.
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If we take the level of infectiousness given to even Alpha, 2 transmitted to for every person infected, with the number of cases in the US, we should expect a large number of previously infected people. Facts are facts, regardless who says them. Maybe they shouldnโt be trusted outright, but maybe nothing should. ๐๐ป
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What if that statement is echoed by microbiologists and immunologists?
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00203-2#%20
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You totally missed the point of my comment.
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That’s entirely possible. My take was that you meant ophthalmologists are unqualified to address matters concerning virology and immunology because it falls outside their specialized area of expertise. But I’m open to further elaboration.
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Yes, actually, that was my point. But your comment (and article reference) seemed (to me) to bypass this. Anyway, the end point was Ron Paul is hardly the person to reference as related to knowledge about the virus.
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Sorry Mak … I meant this to be a “reply” to Ron. Not sure what I did wrong. ๐ค
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Not a problem.
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I think Privacybadge was referring to Rand Paul, because his father (Ron) practiced obstetrics and gynecology.
But that aside, an ophthalmologist must complete the same medical program as all the other specialists; so he would at least be familiar with the basics (anatomy, physiology, neurology, microbiology, pathology, cardiology, urology, radiology, anaesthetics, immunology, etc.) of the human body in the same manner that a “brake specialist” would have a basic familiarity with how the other components of an automobile function; and like most professionals, he would have to keep abreast of new developments in other fields, even if it’s only at a superficial level.
Moreover, in this particular case, it appears that his views are supported by those who do specialize in those fields.
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