Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters • Hacker News Board

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#81

Post by mrtesthah » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:41 PM UTC

newacct583 wrote: post #63

trollied wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine if this pandemic was actually Smallpox? Pretty sure there'd be none of the anti-vaxxing stuff etc. Visible, horrible symptoms.

Yeah. I've made this point to friends too. In some sense covid sits at exactly the pessimal spot. Any less severe, and we'd have just let it roll over us without the societal breakdown. Any more severe and the mitigation strategy couldn't have become a political issue. Maybe there's a side-channel attack where we can convince the conspiracy folks that this actually is a Chinese bioweapon designed to destroy the polit…

Ironically, many of them already believe that. Conspiracy-theory beliefs (i.e., evidence-free conclusions) are a symptom of underlying mental illness, which inhibits critical thinking skills. As such, they have no problem holding completely contradictory viewpoints.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#82

Post by veemjeem » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:42 PM UTC

akira2501 wrote: post #67

newacct583 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's dystopian It's already the law , and has been for like half a century ( edit: more like 80 years, actually ). If you aren't vaccinated you can't attend school. You can't serve in the military. You can't work in many health care fields. We requires our citizenry to be vaccinated against major preventable diseases. We always have. And this policy is, objectively, the second[1] biggest success story in the last f…

> If you aren't vaccinated you can't attend school. Unless you get an exemption, which can be requested and are often granted on a variety of grounds. > We requires our citizenry to be vaccinated against major preventable diseases. We always have. We clearly don't, though. As a citizen you can be entirely unvaccinated and live a completely normal life.

> We clearly don't, though. As a citizen you can be entirely unvaccinated and live a completely normal life.

This is only because the majority of the populace is vaccinated against polio, measles. If the majority of the population was also unvaccinated, these viruses would make life not fun. Most of us live a very sheltered life and have never directly experienced living with measles or polio.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#83

Post by beachy » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:42 PM UTC

briefcomment wrote: post #57

beachy wrote: post #17

Anti-vaxxers are setting the stage for enormous profits for big pharma by creating the conditions for breeding new variants that will require more big pharma to combat them. I feel my grandkids will grow up in a world quite different from mine, where travel and experiences will be gated and limited by fear of contagious disease. That sucks and didn't need to happen. Thought experiment for anti-vaxxers - what if there…

What if we built a device that could trace a particle from your car's exhaust and could tell you if that particle lodged itself in someone's lung at just the right moment to cause a stroke? Or how about a device that could trace the germs from when you skipped washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with a lather because you were late to your 1 on 1 with your boss, which then caused your elderly neighbor to catch…

Every one of your contrived examples has one thing in common - it's not anything to do with an infectious disease, which multiplies exponentially.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#84

Post by myko » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:42 PM UTC

loceng wrote: post #14

superkuh wrote: post #5

It's obvious we need booster vaccinations. But not another intramuscular that only seeps in serum IgG antibodies into the lower lungs. The levels of antibodies in the upper respiratory mucosa are never very high and drop rapidly. Viral infection of the mucosa and shedding still occurs. We need operation warp speed type money for funding the two good intranasal sars-cov-2 vaccine trials going on right now and to start…

This same conversation has been trying to be had for existing medication Ivermectin, except little money to be made with it so the industry has been suppressing it and dismissing it nudging government institutions, who seem to rely on what pharma says, to also dismiss/ignore it.

Actually, no, there just isn't evidence that ivermectin (or hydroxychloroquine before it) are effective at combatting COVID-19.

There is a lot of evidence that the vaccines are good at combatting COVID-19 though.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-shoul...

Where did you first hear about using this drug to combat COVID-19, and did they describe the mechanism by which this parasite killing drug would combat the virus?

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#85

Post by TravisHusky » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

akira2501 wrote: post #67

newacct583 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's dystopian It's already the law , and has been for like half a century ( edit: more like 80 years, actually ). If you aren't vaccinated you can't attend school. You can't serve in the military. You can't work in many health care fields. We requires our citizenry to be vaccinated against major preventable diseases. We always have. And this policy is, objectively, the second[1] biggest success story in the last f…

> If you aren't vaccinated you can't attend school. Unless you get an exemption, which can be requested and are often granted on a variety of grounds. > We requires our citizenry to be vaccinated against major preventable diseases. We always have. We clearly don't, though. As a citizen you can be entirely unvaccinated and live a completely normal life.

To counter your first point about school vaccination, I live in the US and the state I live in has very few exemptions which also apply to the COVID-19 vaccine. There are religious and medical exemptions, and the religious exemptions are hard to get and basically are not available for 99.9% of people.

So yeah sure, if you have a specific medical problem, or very very limited religious reason, you can be exempted from vaccination, which is the same for the COVID vaccine.

Literally nothing has changed, the COVID vaccine is now just part of the list of required vaccines (and as of right now COVID vaccination is actually not required at most universities as they are waiting for final FDA approval which will likely be here sometime in late August).

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#86

Post by seanicus » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

Panther34543 wrote: post #11

In summary: A.) Pfizer is raking in over $33 billion from vaccine sales. B.) Due to the PREP Act, they are completely immune from lawsuits arising from any form of complications arising from those vaccines. C.) If you don't take this vaccine, you may lose your job[0]. D.) If you don't take this vaccine, you may be barred from normal everyday social activities[1][2]. I can't be the only one who is incredibly uncomfort…

How many people are you one degree of separation from that died on w/ a tube stuck down their throat? I've got 3. I'm cool with A-D and esp. C. If you aren't vaxxed, GTFO of my office. If your kid isn't vaxxed, get them as far away from my kid as possible

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#87

Post by kook_throwaway » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

beachy wrote: post #17

Anti-vaxxers are setting the stage for enormous profits for big pharma by creating the conditions for breeding new variants that will require more big pharma to combat them. I feel my grandkids will grow up in a world quite different from mine, where travel and experiences will be gated and limited by fear of contagious disease. That sucks and didn't need to happen. Thought experiment for anti-vaxxers - what if there…

If the vaccines prevent symptoms but not transmission, that sounds like a much better breeding ground for continued spread and mutation than folks that know they are sick and stay home because they are coughing or have a runny nose.

The world isn't nearly as black and white as your 'punish the anti vaxxers' fanfic.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#88

Post by 627467 » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

Panther34543 wrote: post #11

In summary: A.) Pfizer is raking in over $33 billion from vaccine sales. B.) Due to the PREP Act, they are completely immune from lawsuits arising from any form of complications arising from those vaccines. C.) If you don't take this vaccine, you may lose your job[0]. D.) If you don't take this vaccine, you may be barred from normal everyday social activities[1][2]. I can't be the only one who is incredibly uncomfort…

I get the discomfort but what is the alternative?

NOT approve emergency measures (such as PREP Act) that hopes to push risk down and face much slow development for vaccines?

Emminent domain pharmaceutical supply chain?

Nationalize vaccine research efforts to "force" the creation of a new vaccine?

Stop "forcing" people to take vaccine to reduce demand to penalize private enterprise?

These are genuine questions. All vaccines makers/suppliers are poised to rake in profits, be it in capital or some other geopolitical favours.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#89

Post by estebank » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

akira2501 wrote: post #52

mint2 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that: A. Pfizer isn’t the only vaccine option. B. If one doesn’t take the vaccine, one’s chances of dying or being disabled for years or permanently are much higher. C. If one doesn’t take the vaccine there is a significant chance they give the virus to someone else, killing them. I think it’s the best option out of all non-great options to mandate vaccines in order to participate in crowded settings. It’s a ma…

> one’s chances of dying or being disabled for years or permanently are much higher. What is "much higher" in a number? > If one doesn’t take the vaccine there is a significant chance they give the virus to someone else, killing them. "Significant" would depend on their lifestyle, would it not? Are the rural unvaccinated as "significant" as the urban unvacinnated? > Civic responsibility isn’t brought up much these da…

>> one’s chances of dying or being disabled for years or permanently are much higher.

> What is "much higher" in a number?

The analysis revealed that vaccination efficacy in terms of protection against deaths was equal to 72%, with a lower reduction of number of deaths for B.1.1.7 versus non-B.1.1.7 variants (70% and 78%, respectively). Other factors significantly related to mortality were arrivals at airports, mobility change from the pre-pandemic level and temperature.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.26.21257844v...

An estimated 10,400 deaths have been averted [in the UK] as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination programme up to the end of March 2021.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

>> If one doesn’t take the vaccine there is a significant chance they give the virus to someone else, killing them.

> "Significant" would depend on their lifestyle, would it not? Are the rural unvaccinated as "significant" as the urban unvacinnated?

Living in a rural environment does not mean that the virus doesn't spread, otherwise the "Cases/Deaths per 100,000" maps at https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/01/8167071... would have wide divergence per state, but they all are around 11K deaths per 100,000.

A common thing I heard from some early in the pandemic was that places with lower density would fare better, but that never made much sense to me: even if you have only 10K people in a 50 mile diameter circle, they all still shop and socialize in a handful of places.

Re: Pfizer says 2021 Covid-19 vaccine sales to top $33.5 bln, sees need for boosters

#90

Post by ScoobleDoodle » Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 7:44 PM UTC

mrtesthah wrote: post #61

vetinari wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C and D... are you aware of Nuremberg Code, a set of principles created after Nuremberg trials? If you are fine with C and D, you might find yourself in a company that most people would not like to be.

Fact check: Nuremberg Code Addresses Experimentation, Not Vaccines https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/nuremberg-code-addresses-e...

This vaccine is still unapproved, meaning it's being used experimentally at this point. It has not been approved nor completed normal testing trials. Otherwise it wouldn't have had to receive emergency use authorization.

> An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Under an EUA, FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.

https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/emerge...