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Imperator wrote (edited )

Reply to comment by zab_ in Have you gotten your COVID vaccination? Do you plan to? Why or why not? by Rambler

Not from the UK so can't comment on that.

Call me naive but where I come from the authorities traditionally have the interest of the public at heart. Sure, I might not like all of their methods: the lockdown sucks, mismanagement happens and wrong decisions are made from time to time. But if you, like me, share the opinion that a vaccine really is the only way out of this mess (because natural herd immunity isn't really taking off), then of course you want to encourage people to get one by using social media and influencers. It's a good strategic move. I absolutely don't think that critical news should be censored, on the contrary that's imperative for a healthy discussion. On the flip side, much of that "critical news" is unscientific populist fearmongering that does not contribute at all to an end to the situation. I certainly understand that it can be frustrating (for politicians and authorities) to see this impair genuine effort to fight the virus.

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zab_ wrote

I believe that authorities genuinely have the best interest of the public in mind. I also believe they tend to be incompetent idiots.

I don't buy any of the conspiracy theories floating around either. I do buy that it's physically impossible to foresee any side effects that may appear 5 years after vaccination for a vaccine that has been in development for 9 months or so.

So, everyone, please go ahead and beta-test this thing for me. I'll join you in a couple of years.

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Imperator wrote

I completely agree with you that it remains to be seen what, if any, long term effects the vaccines will have. I certainly understand your reservation in this regard. So that's a fair argument.

I trust the judgement of the various medical agencies when they say that the benefits outweigh the risks, I'll send you a message when I grow an additional toe :)

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Wahaha wrote

Maybe you should check whether that trust is warranted..

https://ramble.pw/f/funny/2583/i-m-a-scientist-you-can-trust-me

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Imperator wrote

Many of the examples that are in that meme stem from a time when regulation was minimal and the scientific community relatively small. To get a new product approved in the EU nowadays, a company has to navigate a labyrinth of red tape before it hits the market.

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Wahaha wrote (edited )

Nobody has to check plastics, though. Bisphenol A can still be sold without repercussions. There's also this whole thing about cell phone towers they place on school roofs maybe causing health issues and scientists assuring everyone that 5G is safe. Like they did 100 years ago that tobacco was safe.

It's just so incredibly hard to trust what scientists say.

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