It would be refreshing if. instead of appealing to people to carry out voluntarily the mandatory programs they despair of achieving compliance with, they would simply admit they're not at all sure that lockdowns or masks have any significant effect on transmission of the virus. That being the case, they could present the evidence for and against various behavioral approaches to prevention and let everyone decide for himself--without the whining demands that we continue to comply, and the implicit threat that, if we don't, every case of illness from now on will be our own fault, instead of simply an inevitable result of having a virus loose in the world.
I read today that 40% of current service US Marines are refusing the vaccines. That makes sense, though, given that they're mostly 18-30, in excellent physical health, and (due to the USMC's obsessive focus on BMI) neither overweight nor obese.
In principle we should be able to allow those who want the vaccine to take it, and feel safe and protected by it. I have a feeling that instead the Biden administration will at some point mandate the Marines take the thing.
One of the recurrent themes over the last year has been concern that we, the public, don't trust government and health officials. I think the real story is that government and health officials don't trust us. We're just reciprocating.
I'm generally a skeptic of governments and bureaucrats, but the events of the last 12-15 months show that if anything I was shockingly credulous. From all appearances they might have been doing everything humanly possible to undermine their reputation for thinking clearly or speaking honestly on any issue of public health.
Any faith I had in the NIH, CDC, and several state health departments has vanished since December 2019. And that's very worrisome, because I know the next time something serious does make it to the US (what if the people in WA and OR who were being monitored for Ebola had indeed gotten sick?), my first reaction will be to discount anything the CDC and NIH say.
Most of the current and former military people I know are either in the "wait and see" mode still, or have decided to opt out of the vaccine. A few are going to get the J&J one. I'm on the fence at the moment, although if I have to get the shot in order to do some things (international travel), it will be the J&J.
6 comments:
It would be refreshing if. instead of appealing to people to carry out voluntarily the mandatory programs they despair of achieving compliance with, they would simply admit they're not at all sure that lockdowns or masks have any significant effect on transmission of the virus. That being the case, they could present the evidence for and against various behavioral approaches to prevention and let everyone decide for himself--without the whining demands that we continue to comply, and the implicit threat that, if we don't, every case of illness from now on will be our own fault, instead of simply an inevitable result of having a virus loose in the world.
I read today that 40% of current service US Marines are refusing the vaccines. That makes sense, though, given that they're mostly 18-30, in excellent physical health, and (due to the USMC's obsessive focus on BMI) neither overweight nor obese.
In principle we should be able to allow those who want the vaccine to take it, and feel safe and protected by it. I have a feeling that instead the Biden administration will at some point mandate the Marines take the thing.
One of the recurrent themes over the last year has been concern that we, the public, don't trust government and health officials. I think the real story is that government and health officials don't trust us. We're just reciprocating.
As you say. If we don't trust them -- and I definitely don't trust them -- they've worked hard to earn it.
I'm generally a skeptic of governments and bureaucrats, but the events of the last 12-15 months show that if anything I was shockingly credulous. From all appearances they might have been doing everything humanly possible to undermine their reputation for thinking clearly or speaking honestly on any issue of public health.
Any faith I had in the NIH, CDC, and several state health departments has vanished since December 2019. And that's very worrisome, because I know the next time something serious does make it to the US (what if the people in WA and OR who were being monitored for Ebola had indeed gotten sick?), my first reaction will be to discount anything the CDC and NIH say.
Most of the current and former military people I know are either in the "wait and see" mode still, or have decided to opt out of the vaccine. A few are going to get the J&J one. I'm on the fence at the moment, although if I have to get the shot in order to do some things (international travel), it will be the J&J.
LittleRed1
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