Cascade Youth

People’s bodies were conscripted off of their couches and forced to go get shot at and shot up overseas not terribly long ago. This generation of anti-vaxxers would make fighting the Nazis an “inherent personal choice.” And it goes beyond that with you - it’s one thing to promote sanctity of the body as an overarching end (maybe a bit odd but it’s an ethos I suppose). But you go even farther here - you seem to cheer on every crackpot on this site who spouts misinformation and bogus fears and it’s beyond bizarre. I’ve known self-hating lawyers in my profession and you just might be a self-hating doctor.

The flu isn’t nearly as deadly so no. But polio vaccines? Definitely. And my kids aren’t allowed in public school without proof of having them (nor was I).

OMG are you seriously comparing the (now FDA-approved) Covid vaccine to thalidomide? Seriously?? Among a zillion other differences, a pill for morning sickness wasn’t encouraged (let alone mandated) to stave off a public health crisis. Again, among about a zillion other differences.

No. Vaccines are decidedly NOT an individual choice. They are designed to protect the greater good. You may understand medicine but you are woefully (perhaps purposely) ignorant of public health policy. If someone wants to completely shut themselves in from society then yes of course, they can choose not to vaccinate themselves from a dangerous communicable disease. For everyone else - which is basically everyone who ventures into town to shop at the nearest Bass Pro Shop, attends sporting events and concerts, eats at restaurants or avails themselves of public health resources such as when they end up in the E.R. with late-stage Covid and start begging for horse pills and formaldehyde - everyone who avails themselves of the commons and community resources needs to get the damn jab. Period.

Yes it’s all a giant conspiracy by Big Pharma and the Democrats with the goal of laying the groundwork for a Green New Deal whereby sweeping life-altering body-controlling job-killing regulations will be passed en masse under the auspices of solving a public health crisis and us sheeple will already be pumped so full of the Govt Similac we will let it all happen. Something like that right? Get bent. Seriously. EDIT: Also, the Neville Chamberlains who go around saying “I don’t judge anyone for not getting the vaccine, it’s a personal decision!” can get bent too. Quit appeasing. It’s ok to judge the sh- out of mouth-breathing conspiracy-slinging Neanderthals. Enough is enough with this garbage.

I'm gonna chalk this up to the after-effects of horse deworming pills.

Just stop.

Eichel seems to be enrolled at the Aaron Rogers School of Passive-Aggressive Behavior.

Excellent article, though depressing as hell. I suspect the strong anti-vax sentiment has to do with people feeling like they don’t have control over their lives, and fear that government and big corporations make most of the decisions that affect their well-being. They draw the line in the sand and exercise control where they think they can: what they choose to put into their own bodies. And they tend to justify that position with a host of flimsy “reasons” that don’t hold up under scrutiny, as that article highlights. The “I just don’t trust the science yet” view often goes out the window as soon as one’s life is threatened by actually getting sick and it’s time to pick a treatment option. The issue is that your life is threatened NOW if you’re not yet sick but not yet vaccinated - the same logic applies NOW. It makes no sense to wait. The level of skepticism that some folks are applying to this particular vaccine is unique - most of these same people engage in all kinds of equally risky behavior on a regular basis yet have chosen to draw the line HERE. Why? Because (I posit) they feel like they’re losing control and status. It’s the same sentiment that is driving a lot of what we’re seeing in politics and that’s why it’s many of the same people. I’ll stop there. But it’s so frustrating.

It’s Teenglish

You are giving him credit for an argument he didn’t really make.

The Twitter equivalent of “I’m all what? And she’s like, yah! And I’m like, whatever!”

Not as risky based on what? I know multiple - many - people who got COVID pre-vaccine availability and have all kinds of serious lingering issues as a result. What are you basing your risk assessment on? It’s not actual science and data, it seems. As for “what are you worried about” - I’m worried about my kids, first, who aren’t eligible for the vaccine, and second, for potential mutations caused by the virus staying in circulation because of millions of people making the same ridiculously bad calculation that you’ve been making. Humans are just hurtling toward extinction. Vaccines are a singular achievement in human history and they’re being squandered and politicized by folks who choose their “gut” over science. It’s sad but seems to be inevitable at this point - we’re done. This is the beginning of the Series Finale.

It’s just unbelievable.

Again, it’s a choice between: 1. Documented serious long- and short-term health risks, including death, if you don’t get the vaccine. vs. 2. The possibility - so far completely undocumented, not actually experienced by like anyone - of long-term side effects from a species of vaccine that has been used for decades (albeit not this specific vaccine). There is only one choice - unless you discount all of the science and go with your “gut” telling you that the risks of getting COVID without being vaccinated are being overblown/politicized. If that’s the case, just say so. You may not like it. But vaccines like this one have been proven safe and effective for decades. The risk of dying or having serious long-term health effects from COVID are real and documented. There is no good reason for a healthy individual (other than religious objection) to decline vaccination. NONE. This should not even be debated.

There are significant, documented long-term effects from getting COVID for many, many people. To me (and I'd posit, anyone who is sane and rational), that documented evidence strongly outweighs the completely unknown long-term effects of the vaccine. Not being vaccinated and getting COVID significantly increases your chances of getting very sick and dying, or, if you don't die, having serious long-term side effects. Getting vaccinated overwhelmingly has been shown to prevent all of this and so far there are close to ZERO documented long-term side effects of the vaccine. This is not really a choice between two competing options. Not getting vaccinated - unless you have a serious health issue (like shingles) or some sort of religious objection to vaccinations generally (will save my comments on that for elsewhere) is borderline insane.

My friend in Houston and her husband just got breakthrough COVID. They’re fine, but furious - they feel strongly that the Governor’s policies have put everyone at unnecessary risk. And they’re terrified about their kids returning to (unmasked) schools next week - they’re convinced their kids will have COVID within weeks. Can you imagine?

I think it’s just applauding him for a well thought-out exercise of his freedom.

There is basically no one opposed to this in NYS.

You understand that’s not how percentages work, right?

Six people in Belgium, definitely tragic, sounds like most had pre-existing conditions, still well under 1%.

Yes - I think the Upstate Inferiority Complex is real, and watching Eichel do well in the biggest media market in the country, especially in the current political climate in NYS, will be an impossibly tough pill to swallow for Buffalo fans who are already at their limit.

None of those things were told to you. And the death rate from Delta for vaccinated people is pretty close to zero. Please stop getting your information from Facebook.