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cgbb's avatar

Great post. I actually believe vaccine uptake would have been higher--at least among everyone above the age of about 30--had there been more honesty from the start. The extent to which health officials have destroyed their credibility during this pandemic may prove to be one of its most harmful long term effects.

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MarginalPotato's avatar

IтАЩve often wondered if the vaccine acceptance would have been different if Trump was re-elected. The left doesnтАЩt like to admit it, but he was a factor in fast-tracking vaccine development. And we all know heтАЩs bitter thatтАЩs heтАЩs not being given enough credit for it. Would the left have rolled up their sleeves as eagerly for a Trump-branded vaccine? WeтАЩll never know.

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Anthony's avatar

We absolutely know. Abundant video statements and tweets show them vehemently speaking against the vaccine and its dangers. They were all anti-vaxxers before they got in power.

There's a fun Twitter account that puts tweets like that side-by-side so people can easily so how radically and directly some of them contradicted themselves.

Twitter tried to ban the account for 'ban evasion' before they'd actually been banned.

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Laura's avatar

Yes we do. We have footage of Kamala etc. Saying there's no way they would take the vaccine. It is political theater.

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Skeptical but Optimistic's avatar

Yep! Sooooo many copies of that video. So far no apologies that I'm aware of. Anyone? Anyone?

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Lynne Morris's avatar

IMO Fauci, Birk et al were Trump's greatest failure.

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Candis's avatar

But without Trump, Fauci would still happily be incognito pulling all of those strings and wasting all those dogs behind the curtain.

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Lynne Morris's avatar

Maybe but I think Trump did what he does when covid reared its ugly head - he brought in experts and relied on them. IMO he may have been the first of us that got played. I do believe good things can come out of bad and if we, as a society, can recognize the problems, admit them, and correct them we will all be better off. But that has not happened at this point.

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Candis's avatar

Sure did learn a lot about the Left with the 180 about face regarding the Experimental Gene Therapy the very second Trump was gone though!

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FedUpDeb's avatar

I still donтАЩt trust the rushed development, legal immunity and lack of testing the pharmaceutical companies did. It will take years before IтАЩll be comfortable with the shots and public health, from the federal government to local health departments made such a hash of the Covid response that I doubt IтАЩll ever trust them again.

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Lynne Morris's avatar

It will take years before the results are in because that is the way science works. We are merely in the experiment stage.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

mRNA vaccines have actually been in development and some use for years. The mRNA platform is designed to pivot quickly, and probably much more accurately than our annual attenuated virus flu vaccines. I think the technology will play a huge role in the future. At the same time, I totally get the hesitation around the lack of long term studies about side effects. We donтАЩt know what we donтАЩt know. And, like the flu vaccine, the COVID vaccines arenтАЩt a long term solution, but thatтАЩs probably due to the craftiness of these viruses. With so many deaths, I would like to see the world demand answers and transparency around the origins of the virus from China.

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Anthony's avatar

Also important to note, the delivery and immune system mechanism for mRNA works, and it's definitely an incredible miracle of science and progress.

BUT.

Each mRNA shot will be delivering different genetic instructions to your cells, and how well do you think the ones studying and producing the shots understand the details of what every single gene does and what effect it will have on disparate bodies?

The vague statement that "mRNA technology is safe" does not actually mean that the rna they are feeding to your cells is itself totally safe. Without substantial, massive, long term studies, we won't know what those effects are, and every mRNA shot will be different.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

I agree. ThereтАЩs so much we donтАЩt know about this new therapy. Hesitation is not surprising. My long term hope is that, just as we customize the vaccine, we someday have the same genetic understanding of each recipient such that every dose is a customized accident matched to each individual. Do you think that day will come?

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Anthony's avatar

It sounds like plausible science fiction to me. AI in particular is a very powerful tool for learning more about genetics, so maybe in the bright distant future a custom-made mRNA shot for each individual can eliminate diseases with precision. It's fun to think about!

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Lynne Morris's avatar

I agree. How can we know anything about the virus with certainty if we do not know where and how it originated. And at this point I think that ship has sailed.

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Skeptical but Optimistic's avatar

Consider this hypothetical. If a dozen cobras were spotted at the local playground how fast would everyone be pinpointing exactly what freaky neighbor was collecting these?

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Lynne Morris's avatar

True. It is common sense.

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vernon's avatar

mRNA technology has been studied for years, you are correct. Several therapeutics and vaccines went to clinical trial a handful of times over those years ... but NONE of them were approved for use. The trials were canceled, data didn't even go to the FDA. You should read the article Leah Rose listed below. It's excellent and very informative.

These vaccines are the first mRNA drugs to be approved for use, after only testing them for a couple of months.

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a peacock's avatar

Exactly! So mRNA never successfully brought to market before now AND thereтАЩs never been an effective vaccine for a respiratory virus before (except flu vaccine -kinda maybe sometimes effective). This project was only ever a тАЬHail MaryтАЭ and I feel like itтАЩs still wobbling through the air while we all hold our breath and see what happens in the long run.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Fair comments, Vernon. I'll look forward to reading the article. Thanks!

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Leah Rose's avatar

Here's some pre-pandemic info worth reading, about Moderna and their efforts (and failures) using mRNA technology. And we're supposed to believe that less than five years later these companies using mRNA for Covid "vaccines" just happened to land perfectly on a "safe and effective" product? Well, I've got a bridge...

https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/10/moderna-trouble-mrna/

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Anthony's avatar

Wow! I read the headline, "Lavishly funded Moderna hits safety problems" and immediately thought, how can they get away with a headline like that!

Then I realized it was 2017, pre-pandemic, when news outlets were still permitted to present Big Pharma in a negative light.

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Candis's avatar

Man, that's some great dancing right there!

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BikerChick's avatar

I'm with you, I'm a natural born skeptic to begin with and they lost all my trust.

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Bruce Miller's avatar

There was no "one size fits all." Older people and those with underlying health concerns were well advised to take the vaccines. The young and healthy were being lied to and the vaccine mandates were idiotic, especially when the vaccine proved impotent against the omicron variant.

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Jeff M's avatar

It may be ME thatтАЩs missing your point but when most of us refer to тАЬone size fits allтАЭ, weтАЩre not saying that the measures (vaccines, lockdowns, mandates) actually WERE тАЬone size fits allтАЭ, they were just being pushed as if they did fit all. They certainly didnтАЩt fit all.

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publius_x's avatar

It would also be better if they didn't compare this vaccine to the polio vaccine, which was completely different. This is a prophylactic theraputic mRNA injection, not a dead virus vaccine as made famous by Jonas Salk. Those vaccines did promote natural immunity, and prevent infection and spread. The mRNA theraputic boosts response to this virus, but doesn't confer immunity.

All people aren't stupid - they can note the difference, and when you bend the truth - it catches up to you. When Biden says the vaccinated can't be infected and won't spread the disease, and it turns out to be absolutely false, he has no more credibility than the idiot who scrawls graffiti saying THE VAX = AIDS, as seen in New York City, no less.

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BikerChick's avatar

Is it honest to call it a vaccine? I think therapeutic is better term.

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Anthony's avatar

EXACTLY and controlling the language is so essential to soft power.

I always call them the gene therapies, immunotherapies, or 'therapeutic injection'.

Pre-pandemic, "breakthrough infection" was not a term used by medical science. They called it "vaccine failure".

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Candis's avatar

Don't give away the game.

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Candis's avatar

Maybe not AIDS, but the long term consequences of the Kool Aid concoction cooked up by companies that have already paid billions in criminal fines and civil settlements for botched up, negligent and outright fraudulent products (just since the start of the century) are now starting to emerge. It's definitely not the good news that you are looking for. There is some good news. Congress has completely exempted Pharma from any liability for this particular emerging fiasco. After all, it was "your choice!"

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MCZ's avatar

Guess who was in charge of developing the public health response to HIV? Just guess. First name that pops in your head....

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Anthony's avatar

Is it St. Fauci the Deceiver?

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Candis's avatar

The Gremlin? I went through that fiasco with my closest (most perfect human ever) brother. The AZT took him out just in time for a spot on the quilt.

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Feb 16, 2022Edited
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Candis's avatar

It's about compliance, not science.

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Lynne Morris's avatar

Well all of these things generate profits.

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