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

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#691

Post by Omnus » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:51 AM UTC

chopin wrote: post #542

Omnus wrote: post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to explain how clinical trials work and why you should trust that process. Again, bad situations do not invalidate all work being done in a field.

Are we talking about the same process which allowed companies for decades to hide trials which where not in their favor? Or until recently where not obliged to publish the trial results? Not to forget, many trials are not reproducible either. Compared to the "hard" sciences, medicine has not very high standards. And trials are completely profit-motivated, that's a bad incentive. These trials are conducted by the same…

None of those criticisms apply to these vaccine studies. There are many issues that can arise in trials, of course. But the current batch of 3-phase mRNA-based vaccine trials have all been intensely scrutinized at every turn. I think it will be difficult for you to argue otherwise, but feel free to enlighten us about the data corruption conspiracy if you have some evidence.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#692

Post by SamBam » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:53 AM UTC

mrkramer wrote: post #224

radicalbyte wrote: post #27

I'll take it but only later in the year when it is more widely available. People at high risk should go first, then people who are super social (or stupid + spreading the plague). Especially younger people, they need to get pricked. Do you really think they're going to avoid drinking close physical contact in spring? Me neither.

> People who are super social (or stupid + spreading the plague) What if somebody has asymptomatic covid infection? He or she spreads it without intent, you can not blame them.

Of course you can blame them, given what has publicly been known about the virus for months.

This virus has been primarily spread by people who are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic, particularly indoors and maskless.

At this point, if you're indoors and maskless with anyone outside your family or "pod" you are completely culpable if you spread the disease. Probably not legally, but morally.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#693

Post by anonu » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:54 AM UTC

jkw wrote: post #49

I think there's a difference between: (a) I WILL WAIT because I don't trust it yet, and (b) I WILL WAIT because I want to let the more at-risk people to have access it to first That seems to be lost in the poll

People could be conflating those two reasons.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#694

Post by guscost » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:55 AM UTC

rglullis wrote: post #662

guscost wrote: post #623

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone has the inalienable right to decline the vaccine for any reason, including: - They think it will be bad for their health or public health - They think it is some UN microchip plot - They have a moral objection to how it was developed - They think it is the actual “mark of the beast” from the Bible The people who decline will be in the minority (at least visibly), and they will be bullied relentlessly by the…

I am not sure I follow. I understand that people have the right to reject the vaccine, but it doesn't mean that I on principle should reject it as well. If you don't want to take it for any reason whatsoever, fair enough. It's your right. But at least be honest and defend your choice on its own instead of hiding behind some "principle" that doesn't really exist.

The principle is simply: It is important to exercise our rights.

In a different circumstance, I would probably only get it for convenience, because I don’t really believe in messing with peoples’ immune systems without a much clearer benefit. I’m not convinced about the long-term public health benefit of flu shots either. You may disagree, which would not surprise me.

But again, that thinking is irrelevant in this case, because exercising liberty is FAR more important than “staying safe”.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#695

Post by lukeschlather » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:56 AM UTC

jolmg wrote: post #616

progval wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lowers the risk you are infected and infect other people and/or take a bed in a crowded hospital

> Lowers the risk you ... infect other people Not necessarily: > Pfizer chairman: We're not sure if someone can transmit Covid after vaccination https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25298299 People that don't know that might be confident they don't need to keep distance or wear a mask anymore.

It's still your civic duty to get the vaccine just like distancing and mask wearing. Just because it's not proven to be a silver bullet doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#696

Post by jolmg » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:56 AM UTC

lukeschlather wrote: post #695

jolmg wrote: post #616

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lowers the risk you ... infect other people Not necessarily: > Pfizer chairman: We're not sure if someone can transmit Covid after vaccination https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25298299 People that don't know that might be confident they don't need to keep distance or wear a mask anymore.

It's still your civic duty to get the vaccine just like distancing and mask wearing. Just because it's not proven to be a silver bullet doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.

I never said otherwise.

The reason why I'm backing h3cate and the reason why he probably spoke up is that the notion that this is a civic duty invites the idea that it's sure to protect other people, when it hasn't yet been proven to do so.

Indeed, one should get it on the chance that it does, but I'm betting a lot of people will assume the vaccine suffices for others' protection.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#697

Post by jm4 » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:57 AM UTC

dilap wrote: post #519

bognition wrote: post #12

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

I feel reasonably confident my overall health is good enough that if I got COVID it would be OK. The vaccine, while probably fine, seems like more of a wildcard to me. It seems like a low-probability lottery ticket to bad news, whereas COVID seems like a lower-probability lottery ticket to bad news. (Of course, the government may force the issue. I hope not, though. My body, my choice and all that.)

I'm young, I was in good overall health, I took precautions, I developed covid symptoms 2 weeks ago and I'm fighting it off in a hospital right now. I came in with partially collapsed lungs and pneumonia. I'm expected to be here until next week. This virus is something from hell. It is a miserable and scary experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

I would take a vaccine (only Pfizer or Moderna) and the associated risks over the experience I'm having now 10/10.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#698

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:57 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#699

Post by ketamine__ » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 1:59 AM UTC

phased20 wrote: post #582

h3cate wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it your civic duty? What will you having this vaccine do for anybody but yourself?

Assuming this is a good faith question: while this is not guaranteed, it is highly likely a vaccine will prevent disease transmission (given how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines help create an antibody response to coronavirus's spike protein), breaking chains in viral spread. Edit: correction to better reflect the mRNA vaccine mechanism.

Assuming this is a good faith response: Maybe and maybe not.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/health/coronavirus-nasal-...

> Without a strong mucosal response, injected vaccines may be less likely to produce so-called sterilizing immunity, a phenomenon in which a pathogen is purged from the body before it’s able to infect cells, Dr. Durbin said. Vaccinated people might be protected from severe disease, but could still be infected, experience mild symptoms and occasionally pass small quantities of the germ onto others.

Re: Poll: Will you take the Covid vaccine?

#700

Post by ketamine__ » Sat, Dec 12, 2020, 2:04 AM UTC

jhayward wrote: post #310

throwaway201103 wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean the admin that funded and fast-tracked the development and trials?

No, they mean the administration that still hasn't provided for adequate PPE, that turned down the offer of another 100 million doses of the 95% efficacy Pfizer vaccine, which is available now, and instead bought 300 million doses of the Astra-Zenica 62% efficacy vaccine, which does not meet the task force's minimum efficacy requirements and will not be available until summer.

Wasn't minimum efficacy 50% or greater?