Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” Employees at CDC

Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by ceejayoz on Saturday October 15, 2022 @02:07PM (#33217107)

> Some of us also remember the health authorities promising herd immunity (and end of lockdowns) after X% get vaccinated.

Herd immunity was a key argument of the anti lockdown folks; the people responsible for the Great Barrington Declaration regularly claimed it was almost here. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02948-4

"Despite widespread critique, the idea keeps popping up among politicians and policymakers in numerous countries, including Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. US President Donald Trump spoke positively about it in September, using the malapropism “herd mentality”. And even a few scientists have pushed the agenda. In early October, a libertarian think tank and a small group of scientists released a document called the Great Barrington Declaration. In it, they call for a return to normal life for people at lower risk of severe COVID-19, to allow SARS-CoV-2 to spread to a sufficient level to give herd immunity."

Fauci and others openly noted they didn’t know the exact amount of immunization needed to reach it - numbers given were openly stated to be an estimate - and we never hit the 80-90% numbers often speculatively thrown around. Variants then made things worse.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by ajsnigrutin on Saturday October 15, 2022 @02:13PM (#33217164)

> Fauci and others openly noted they didn’t know the exact amount of immunization needed to reach it, and we never hit the 80-90% numbers speculatively thrown around. Variants then made things worse.

As I said... health authorities threw out numbers, making people believe, that as we reach <whatever number>, we'll be able to stop the lockdowns... so get vaccinated, you won't get sick (atleast with 90%+ chance), you won't transmit it to others and you'll "save grandma", and we'll be able to reopen soon.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by ceejayoz on Saturday October 15, 2022 @02:40PM (#33217406)

> health authorities threw out numbers

They gave estimates - stated as such - based on existing knowledge about disease and vaccines.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by peteradio on Saturday October 15, 2022 @03:02PM (#33217583)

They didn't just give estimates, they gave recommendations based on weak knowledge.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by ceejayoz on Saturday October 15, 2022 @03:04PM (#33217605)

Yes, that's what you do when there are a lot of unknowns. You make an educated guess, based on the available information.

Some were wrong, like discouraging masking. Others were correct. Getting them all correct would've required a time machine.

IT folks should understand this pretty well. "Reboot your computer, it might help" is a recommendation based on weak knowledge, made with a wealth of experience behind it.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by peteradio on Saturday October 15, 2022 @04:13PM (#33218203)

Weak evidence calls for more research not mandates in a free nation. If I wasn't sure if my prescription for fixing your computer would cause data loss or some other harm I might recommend you hold off or that we explore other options.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by ceejayoz on Saturday October 15, 2022 @04:29PM (#33218310)

This thinking is great when you're not in an emergency. Less so when things are time-critical. Inaction has its own risks; in your analogy, rebooting and not rebooting have a risk of data loss, and our educated guess is that rebooting is the safer choice.

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Re:Public Relations Company for Big Pharma Now “Embedding” E... by peteradio on Saturday October 15, 2022 @06:42PM (#33219325)

A more accurate analogy would be a cold call from an non-reputable source demanding you download and install a nightly patch which fixes a feature you don't have installed. And when you say NO! They contact your employer on linkedin and demand they fire you.

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