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Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

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Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#641

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You just agreed that adenoviruses are proven to be safe and effective at scale. I don't think anyone can argue conclusively that mRNA vaccines are, though there is mounting evidence that the incidence of short-time side effects is low. If you follow that rule, it should be obvious what rule the division of categories take and why they are grounded in evidence. I have trouble following your line of argument. You thi…

Either you don't understand what a strawman argument is or just lack the understanding of it and I need to spell it out for you. A strawman argument is when you misrepresent someone's argument and attack it in a misguided attempt to refute the original one. In this case, you are misrepresenting the argument I'm trying to convey by comparing it to something that is proven without a shadow of a doubt (the earth is roun…

> In this case, you are misrepresenting the argument I'm trying to convey by comparing it to something

Ah, i see where the confusion came in. You don't know what misrepresent means.

Misrepresent means to say someone said X when they really said Y.

To compare something is to say, someone said X (when they really truly did), and I think that X is similar or equivalent to Y due to reason Z.

The key difference is I'm not saying the other person said Y, I'm saying that i think its equivalent. I'm not making claims about the other person's beliefs, i'm making claims about my own beliefs about what they said. An on looker can clearly distinguish what are my beliefs and what the original person's beliefs are, and judge for themselves. In a misrepresentation they can't honestly tell where the original person's belief end and the new person's beliefs start. See the difference?

> by comparing it to something that is proven without a shadow of a doubt

That is generally how argument ad absurdum works (well usually the negation of something proven beyond a shadow of a doubt). Which is very different from a strawman.

If the conclusion wasn't proven false beyond a shadow of a doubt, it would hardly be fitting to call it absurd

> You absolutely do need more evidence to conclude with high probability that the covid vaccines are safe long-term

Yes, i was dismissing your evidence as stupid (i.e. the existence of some unnamed person somewhere believing a proposition having any bearing on the truth of the proposition), not the need for evidence in general.

> What is this patently false position you speak of?

The absurd concludion that the earth is flat. (Its more clear in context)

> You should definitely go read up on what a strawman argument is

You just quoted it at me. I stand by my statement. A priori, "saying that you can apply this logic to anything" cannot be a strawman since there is no misrepresentation involved which is a neccesary condition for it to be a strawman, according to the definition you just quoted.

> I have many friends who are immunologists and pharmaceutical scientists who know about the history of mRNA vaccines...

Really now? Its basically a meme at this point to use a line like this when talking about race relations (e.g. "i'm not racist, i have black friends!"). I'm not sure why you think this would be anymore compelling in a different context.

> One of the vaccine types (hint: adenovirus vectored) has an instance that has approval for use by EMA

Which one? The covid adenovirus ones are emergency approval, which to be clear, is still an approval, but i thought the bar you had was approval without caveats. The ebola one also has caveats - "Zabdeno has been authorised under ‘exceptional circumstances’. This is because it has not been possible to obtain complete information about Zabdeno for scientific and ethical reasons." - https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/zabdeno

Is there an adenovirus based vaccine i don't know about that has full approval?

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#642
post #640

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We know what the long term consequences of vaccination are: reduction of risk of the long term consequences of COVID. These include breathing difficulties, fatigue and cognitive impairment. The objectively proven benefits of vaccination are so starkly and concretely conclusive that it is functionally impossible for anyone's imagined fantastical, hypothetical concerns to outweigh them. A vaccine isn't even really medi…

> vaccine material There is no single "vaccine material" and pretending there is this single magic completely disappearing thing in all vaccines is disingenuous at best. Also, just because something disappear from the body does not mean that it will have long lasting impacts (of course that is the point, where the gained immunity is a positive impact, but there could also be negative)

I never said that vaccine material was singular; my intent was for "material" to represent the totality of all material content in the vaccine dose, save perhaps for the water molecules it is suspended in.

If you want to go down that rabbit hole of "long lasting impacts" then you must equally accept that everything you eat is a risk. Everything you wear against your skin is a risk. Every breath you take. Every move you make. Every bond you break. Risk is everywhere.

Running away from a Komodo dragon carries the risk present in any form of physical activity. It's possible that you might trip, fall, and hit your head in a particularly nasty way. But the fact that running isn't entirely free of risk doesn't mean running away from a Komodo dragon is a bad idea.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#643

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you’ll be opting to stay home? If everyone in the office is vaccinated you’ll be around only potentially infectious people. >Unvaccinated people have made a choice to risk their lives, they don’t get the choice to risk mine. Doesn’t the vaccine cover for this? You get the vaccine and it reduces your symptoms, making you less likely to end up hospitalized or die. Even vaccinated you can still get infected, get si…

I said *avoidable* risk. Avoidable is the key. Driving a car has risks, that doesn't excuse idiots driving drunk or racing into my vehicle. Unvaccinated people are literally like drunks. They can be drunk at home, they don't get to be drunk while on the road, and I shouldn't have to stay home so that they can drive dangerously. > Doesn’t the vaccine cover for this? You get the vaccine and it reduces your symptom I do…

> Unvaccinated people are literally like drunks.

There are a number of assumptions underlying this perception. And under each of these assumptions, there is some information that you base on trust on some entities.

And if you vary this trust, the perception changes drastically. So you cannot change things like this objectively.

But with these kinds of mandates, it effectively impose your trust, onto others.

I don't think that is ethical.

Also, going by your reason, every other human being on this planet is a potential source of risk for you. Does that mean everyone should drop dead to make you feel safe. Sure I know you mention this "avoidable" thing.

But don't you see that for a person who is concerned about the vaccines, vaccines are this "avoidable" thing?

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#644

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Either you don't understand what a strawman argument is or just lack the understanding of it and I need to spell it out for you. A strawman argument is when you misrepresent someone's argument and attack it in a misguided attempt to refute the original one. In this case, you are misrepresenting the argument I'm trying to convey by comparing it to something that is proven without a shadow of a doubt (the earth is roun…

> In this case, you are misrepresenting the argument I'm trying to convey by comparing it to something Ah, i see where the confusion came in. You don't know what misrepresent means. Misrepresent means to say someone said X when they really said Y. To compare something is to say, someone said X (when they really truly did), and I think that X is similar or equivalent to Y due to reason Z. The key difference is I'm not…

Re: the strawman argument, I already clearly stated where you misrepresented my argument so if you're still unclear about it read it several times. Your point about ad absurdum is wrong because you're not making a statement on my initial argument about the amount of evidence required to make a high confidence decision on long term safety.

Re: "existence of some unnamed person somewhere believing a proposition having any bearing on the truth of the proposition"

You seem to be making things up now, if you make absurd claims, back it up with evidence. Where did I say such a thing? My point has always been about the amount of evidence, if you understood otherwise you misinterpreted what I said. At least now, you are starting to agree with my point about the need for evidence, so we are making some progress here.

> Really now? Its basically a meme at this point to use a line like this when talking about race relations

This is such a dumb thing to say with no relevance to the point at all. If you feel the need to resort to such analogies to strawman (yes, read what it means if you don't get the use of the term here and keep re-reading till you understand) my argument, it is clear you have nothing of substance to say. The reason I brought this up is not to virtue-signal as you seem to have misrepresented but rather to inform you about the sources I'm getting my information from. All of my friends who work in these fields agree with these risks and advise against getting the vaccine until there is more data unless its unavoidable.

Re: Zabdeno - The fact that it is an exceptional use authorization is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that it is approved and has been in use for over a year. That reduces the uncertainty about long-term effects. If you don't trust the rigor of the EMA and doubt that it is safe despite being in use for over a year, it is up to you to discount the evidence. Irrelevant to the point.

In any case, I have not heard anything convincing from your end as to why the people who are holding off of getting the vaccine because of the lack of long term safety data are wrong. And instead, it is increasingly clear that you have not done your research or thought about this matter deeply enough. I know it is not representative of all the people who are pro-vaccine so I would like to allocate my time hearing from those who have actually thought about this and have substantial things to say. Good day.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who also started reading the comments in this thread, I can wholeheartedly second this. Remember, nobody is going to change their mind on this issue because of a perfectly worded response in an internet discussion. If you want to change anyone's mind, focus on the people you can speak to in the real world—and have a conversation filled with love and respect. Fear of vaccination is a powerful meme which can…

> Remember, nobody is going to change their mind on this issue because of a perfectly worded response in an internet discussion. People have absolutely changed their minds because of internet discussions. Usually it's not one of the participants, though.

My advice was meant to be interpreted in a more holistic sense. It is true that occasionally, people have had their minds changed by reading an internet discussion. But most people are more likely to change someone's mind by speaking to people they know in the real world, than they are by contributing to the noise on the Internet.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If a small but militant group insists in putting everyone at risk by intentionally and systematically violating basic health and safety precautions then the only hope society has is to mitigate this risk. Who is militant? And they aren't putting "everyone" at risk. They are putting themselves at risk surely, but the risk doesn't really spread to people who have been vaccinated. >You need to prove you are vaccinated…

> They are putting themselves at risk surely, but the risk doesn't really spread to people who have been vaccinated. They _are_ putting those who have been vaccinated at risk since vaccinated people can still get sick. Also this ignores all of those who wish to, but can't be vaccinated for one reason or another.

> since vaccinated people can still get sick.

Then may be you should complain to people who gave you the vaccine, instead of pushing others to take this thing that apparently does not work as advertised.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#647
post #646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are putting themselves at risk surely, but the risk doesn't really spread to people who have been vaccinated. They _are_ putting those who have been vaccinated at risk since vaccinated people can still get sick. Also this ignores all of those who wish to, but can't be vaccinated for one reason or another.

> since vaccinated people can still get sick. Then may be you should complain to people who gave you the vaccine, instead of pushing others to take this thing that apparently does not work as advertised.

> Then may be you should complain to people who gave you the vaccine, instead of pushing others to take this thing that apparently does not work as advertised.

You clearly don't understand how vaccines work. No vaccine in history has ever kept all vaccinated people from getting sick.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#648
post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some unvaccinated idiot won himself a trip to the ICU Don't know what it's like over in the US, but here in the UK 'the vaccinated' aren't some tiny percentage of hospitalisations. Actually, they're currently sitting around 40%, which means there's almost as much chance of your VACCINATED colleague "winning himself a trip to the ICU" as the unvaccinated. You might want to use the word 'idiot' more cautiously. https…

But there are more vaccinated people than unvaccinated people, so it’s proportionally not “almost as much chance”. Ultimately when enough of the population is vaccinated, you’d expect the majority of hospitalizations to be vaccinated.

>Ultimately when enough of the population is vaccinated, you’d expect the majority of hospitalizations to be vaccinated.

So apparently, vaccines can never fail, by definition!

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#649
post #640

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> vaccine material There is no single "vaccine material" and pretending there is this single magic completely disappearing thing in all vaccines is disingenuous at best. Also, just because something disappear from the body does not mean that it will have long lasting impacts (of course that is the point, where the gained immunity is a positive impact, but there could also be negative)

I never said that vaccine material was singular; my intent was for "material" to represent the totality of all material content in the vaccine dose, save perhaps for the water molecules it is suspended in. If you want to go down that rabbit hole of "long lasting impacts" then you must equally accept that everything you eat is a risk. Everything you wear against your skin is a risk. Every breath you take. Every move y…

>then you must equally accept that everything you eat is a risk.

I do. That is why I am not going to dictate what you should eat, and why I think that will be very wrong.

Re: Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices

#650

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In this case, you are misrepresenting the argument I'm trying to convey by comparing it to something Ah, i see where the confusion came in. You don't know what misrepresent means. Misrepresent means to say someone said X when they really said Y. To compare something is to say, someone said X (when they really truly did), and I think that X is similar or equivalent to Y due to reason Z. The key difference is I'm not…

Re: the strawman argument, I already clearly stated where you misrepresented my argument so if you're still unclear about it read it several times. Your point about ad absurdum is wrong because you're not making a statement on my initial argument about the amount of evidence required to make a high confidence decision on long term safety. Re: "existence of some unnamed person somewhere believing a proposition having…

> Re: the strawman argument, I already clearly stated where you misrepresented my argument

And i disagreed that making a comparison from one thing to another is a misrepresentation provided that one accurately describes the initial thing. As far as i can tell you haven't disputed my counterargument as to what the words misrepresent and comparison mean, as of yet. My evidence is the dictionary. > Re: "existence of some unnamed person somewhere believing a proposition having any bearing on the truth of the proposition" > You seem to be making things up now, if you make absurd claims, back it up with evidence. Where did I say such a thing?

I'm responding to "From what I understand the vaccine hesitant population includes medical professionals and many well informed people who are simply waiting for more evidence about its safety"

To be fair, you did qualify that with weasel words about medical professional & well informed people. They were unnamed though. I should have used the same qualification. I don't think changing it to be "existence of some unnamed medical professional or person somebody deems to be well informed somewhere believing a proposition having any bearing on the truth of the proposition" has any material impact on my argument.

> The fact that it is an exceptional use authorization is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that it is approved and has been in use for over a year. That reduces the uncertainty about long-term effects.

Look at those goal posts shift.

> I brought this up is not to virtue-signal as you seem to have misrepresented but rather to inform you about the sources I'm getting my information from.

Yes, indeed, that's why i compared it to the racism context, since that's how that argument is used in that context too - as an appeal to authority that cannot be assailed because the authority is hidden (or potentially made up) making it very difficult to criticize the authority. Maybe its a bit of an obnoxious comparison since its borderline ad hominem to compare to that subject matter. Nonetheless all the reasons that's an unreasonable argument in that context apply here too.

> In any case, I have not heard anything convincing from your end as to why the people who are holding off of getting the vaccine because of the lack of long term safety data are wrong.

Indeed, the primary point i was arguing is that your position is irrational and inconsistent. This has nothing to do with vaccines. I can't actually tell if you are pro or against it, since you seem to be pro adenovirus vaccines, and most covid vaccines other than moderna or pfizer are adenovirus based. Regardless, you'd be wrong if you were pro, you'd be wrong if you were anti, you'd be wrong if we were talking about what type of shoes to wear. The reasons you're wrong for the most part have nothing to do with the subject at hand.

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