Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#311

Post by h3cate » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:49 PM UTC

throwaway201103 wrote: post #286

postalrat wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too many people are claiming they are following the science but instead are playing politics.

Also too many people are claiming they are following the science but don't know the first thing about how science works. Edit: not accusing anyone in particular, just e.g. when some mayor says "we're following the science" I know he's just parroting what he's been told because he has no scientific training whatsoever.

Next time somebody tells you they're just following the science, simply ask them to explain it so you can understand.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#312

Post by IgorPartola » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:49 PM UTC

grawprog wrote: post #289

arpyzo wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's my answer the to "why". We need to achieve herd immunity and you're part of that. Get it for the sake of other people. Someday the tables may be turned and you'll be hoping others make a sacrifice for you.

Why? It's a disease with a 97% survival rate. A huge majority of cases are asymptomatic. As in zero symptoms, zero negative health effects, none. Why does it even matter either way? 3% of the population is severely at risk from this. 3%. If those 3% of people are vaccinated, then why does it even matter if anyone else is?

For one because 3% of 7 billion is a lot. For another, because a good percentage of those who survive will have super long recovery times and suffer needlessly. For a third, because are you willing to risk it being considered a preexisitng condition and not having your lungs covered by any medical insurance in the future?

And lastly because it’s really fucking dumb to skip it because “I’ll only kill 3% of my friends and family.” Don’t be a nitwit. Get the fucking vaccine.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#313

Post by adrr » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:49 PM UTC

ageitgey wrote: post #34

pedro2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pfizer? Side-effects?

Oxford. Side effects were just a day of feeling half-crummy. Not a big deal.

Curious do you feel crummy after other vaccinations like Flu, MMR, etc? Or was this the first time with those symptoms from a vaccine?

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#314

Post by slg » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

kthxbye123 wrote: post #151

bognition wrote: post #12

I'm surprised to see such a high percentage of "NO" responses. I'm genuinely curious to understand why

There are a lot of half-wits, especially in tech, who think reflexive contrarianism is a sure sign of intelligence and wisdom.

Why do I need the vaccine? I can just just setup rsync on a Linux box instead.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#315

Post by dragonwriter » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

mlyle wrote: post #265

nvahalik wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about the testing, but as someone else pointed out to me, if you touch someone with dirty gloves, dirt will rub off. I am not sure if asymptomatic transmission has been confirmed or not. I kept hearing that if you didn't have symptoms then you couldn't transfer it, but given the uptick in cases, it wouldn't seem like that is the case.

> I am not sure if asymptomatic transmission has been confirmed or not. It's been confirmed, from early experience e.g. with the Diamond Princess and USS Theodore Roosevelt. It seems to be rare. But paucisymptomatic transmission -- transmission before symptoms have manifested in people who will eventually be symptomatic -- is much less rare. So just quarantining people with symptoms doesn't work.

> But paucisymptomatic transmission – transmission before symptoms have manifested in people who will eventually be symptomatic – is much less rare.

The definition you give is for presymptomatic not paucisymptomatic (the latter is basically having trivial/mild symptoms that don’t raise complaints), but transmission in both cases is a significant risk, much more so than true asymptomatic transmission.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#316

Post by csa » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

Dayshine wrote: post #252

nicoburns wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don’t forget how many people don’t even take the flu shot. That's a funny comparison from a UK perspective where the flu shot isn't even offered to the general population (only the elderly, vulnerable or those whose work in healthcare or similar). I'd say there is much more reason to take the COVID vaccine than the flu shot.

What are you talking about? Most companies offer the flu jab to their employees for free, and otherwise it's like a tenner to save yourself the risk of 2/3 days of feeling horrible.

Fwiw, every time I have taken a flu shot, it has guaranteed 2/3 days of feeling horrible.

That said, I don’t get the flu every year (iirc, I’ve had it twice in the past 20 years).

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#317

Post by NikolaeVarius » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #144

asutekku wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And, of course the #1 reasons even in tech circles: ”BILL GATES IS GOING TO MICROCHIP AS ALL” or ”Covid is just a flu, it’s not going to affect me”

You do yourself a disservice when you mock people who hold opposite viewpoints.

The microchip is not a opposite viewpoint. It is a fantasy that is trivially debunked.

It is on the same level of the viewpoint that the vaccine is unicorn blood.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#318

Post by jpttsn » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

Omnus wrote: post #129

h3cate wrote: post #88

I'm genuinely curious as to why people have so much faith in big pharma after the whole benzo crisis that's hit America. Weren't these same companies paying doctors to get people hooked on Xanax?

"So much faith"? People are just following the science. Are you really arguing that because one bad situation has occurred involving pharmaceutical companies, we should assume every new drug or treatment is bogus or based on evil motives?

In 2020 there’s science and The Science. The latter seems to be more religious in its application and what it means to its devotees. That makes life difficult.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#319

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #250

majormajor wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could use some elaboration. Have you been in all three of those countries recently? Or "watched" meaning "saw people talking about online" or such? Or something in between?

I was in Germany in October and with the individual the day they took the second shot. France is a professional contact who mentioned it on the phone, as is China. Same thing happened with tests a few months ago in Palo Alto. Billionaires with boxes of them at their homes while public stocks ran low.

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#320

Post by blueline » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:50 PM UTC

tux1968 wrote: post #274

blueline wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The vaccine is not field tested what exactly would you call phase 3 trials for the various vaccines that were done on thousands/tens of thousands of people?

Not enough to know with absolute certainty what will happen when millions of people get it. Especially unforeseen reactions that take several years to appear. As much as you trust each of the (5?) vaccines, you yourself can not know for certainty.. there is some doubt. You may judge that that uncertainty and risk is minimal and well worth taking the vaccine, another completely rational person may decide that it is no…

Well luckily we _do_ know what happens with a great deal of certainty when you get actually infected with covid, and it turns out it sucks pretty hard.

i find this "better the devil you know" mindset really weird when the "devil you know" is an extremely infectious virus that has killed _three hundred thousand_ americans (not to mention more worldwide), and thousands more by the day.

these hypothetical vaccine side effects that have not come up during any of the trials that have been going on for _months_, across thousands and thousands of participants, would have to be pretty insanely bad in order to outweigh the negatives of millions more people contracting the actual virus.