ok...I keep hearing this % of population issue. Fine...600+K people dead are no big deal....I get it...that is acceptable numbers for you and others. Got it.
Unfortunately I don't accept that when 200+K likely could have been saved if vaccine acceptance had not been challenged by certain media and politicians driving down the rate of vaccination. I go to work every day working on new therapeutics for everything from oncology to autoimmune disease...many target populations of these therapeutics are for those with unmet clinical need with annual death rates far below what we have seen with Covid in under 2 years. However those people matter and their lives matter. If we can treat pediatric AML and avoid another child dying from that disease it is worth the effort.
This country has become hollow to the lives of their fellow Americans. They would rather tout their individual freedoms without any regard for the impact to the larger population. Its screwed up and not how I was raised.
My time on this topic is done here. I sincerely do hope everyone on this board is spared the loss of a friend or family member to this virus. Many will never experience infection. Many may experience asymptomatic infection without even knowing it...hopefully not transmitting to anyone who is not so fortunate.
I have watched staff members lose unvaccinated family members...I have extended family in the hospital now with it.
None of this is personal with any members on this board...my statements and debate are born out of concern and facts as I know them as a scientist and cellular immunologist.
Take care...be safe....go Titans.
I give you a cheers because of that last statement.
Fully agree regarding the topic that discussion without making any of this personal is necessary.
Your Opening has some subjective discussion though. I know it was a random number but you threw out 200k “likely could have been saved”. How did yo come up with this number? Was this really just random or based off something else?
Second, of those 600K a couple what if comparisons can be thrown out just the same.
1) pretend covid didn’t exist, based on our average deaths every year, does anyone know what the actual difference has been? It’s not that I don’t care, but I can’t pretend that many of these lives were going to be lossy regardless, it’s only how they’re reported.
2) Covid itself is not an isolated issue. Many of the decisions regarding covid as a whole being made have other ramifications not directly linked to covid. Suicide as an example was already on the rise. Continued, indefinite, social isolation only exacerbated that problem. Financial issues for individuals are reaching all time highs. Children learning social skills are at extreme lows. People fearing for the job has additional affects at home or at work.
At some point, my particular argument from the rip, is that these covid decisions, despite potential lives saved, did not outweigh the problems increased by not just continuing as normal with a new disease out there.
Continuing as normal didn’t have to change anything in regards to vaccine creation and distribution.
For hospitalization issues being reported, there have on multiple occasions been additional national Guard/military assistance provided, but local governments keep telling them to pack up. If it’s necessary still, then its necessary.