Covid-19 Megathread

[SuperBacon]

I really want to see Rage Against The Machine live again before I die, so please everyone get the jab. Thanks.

[Devon Malcolm]

I'm not saying this is the case with @FelatioLips but what irritates me most about the negative responses to the revelation of the vaccine is those using the 'feels rushed to me!' argument as a reason not to take it. Like medical science just stands still and works at the same pace and makes no advances at all, in which case we should all be liberally applying leeches to suck out the Covid or something.

It's a pandemic. It's one of the worst health crises the world has ever seen. Far more scientists have been working on this, and more intensely, than on possibly anything that has gone before. That's why they've been able to find something 'fast' - and actually it's not even been that fast considering this thing has been around for a year!

[Chris B]

I can get some of the hesitation. We've not been through a pandemic like this in living memory, so I think we're naturally inclined to think of this closer to something like cancer or AIDs than the flu. You kind of expect to hear more of a journey of 'they have potential of a vaccine', 'they're getting close to a vaccine', 'they think they might have a vaccine', and 'finally, it's confirmed that there's a vaccine!'. And it feels a little like it's been rushed to the end. This is doubly the case, since we've had Trump and Putin both loudly proclaiming a vaccine/cure months ago, that were both snake-oil.

However, it's not like the media is likely to be jumping all over those earlier stages of the process. So the general public hasn't seen that process  in the public way you might expect, while people in the research have. So, to an extent, we have to listen to the experts and trust their confidence.

It's pretty natural for something like this to be scary. I'm reading @FelatioLipsmore like saying 'I'd need more convincing to be in the first 10%' than 'I need much more convincing before I'll consider it'.

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by Chris B

[King Coconut]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Are you really saying vaccines we were given as kids were only tested for 6 months before being put out to the public? Thalidomide was apparently safe, but as it wasn't tested on pregnant woman they later discovered the issues. Even on the NHS website it confirms this "It often takes many years for a vaccine to make it through the trials and tests it needs to pass for approval." I am all for vaccines, but I can't say for sure I have as much confidence in a vaccine pushed through this quickly as being completely safe unless there is some conclusive scientific discussions about the cocktail. 

I didn't say a word about the speed of development and thalidomide wasn't a vaccine. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

4 minutes ago, King Coconut said:

I didn't say a word about the speed of development and thalidomide wasn't a vaccine. 

1 hour ago, King Coconut said:

The vaccines that we all had as children were not tested any more vigorously than any future vaccines will be. If anything, as I'm sure you can imagine, the standards have improved immeasurably with time.

 

15 minutes ago, Chris B said:

I can get some of the hesitation. We've not been through a pandemic like this in living memory, so I think we're naturally inclined to think of this closer to something like cancer or AIDs than the flu. You kind of expect to hear more of a journey of 'they have potential of a vaccine', 'they're getting close to a vaccine', 'they think they might have a vaccine', and 'finally, it's confirmed that there's a vaccine!'. And it feels a little like it's been rushed to the end. This is doubly the case, since we've had Trump and Putin both loudly proclaiming a vaccine/cure months ago, that were both snake-oil.

However, it's not like the media is likely to be jumping all over those earlier stages of the process. So the general public hasn't seen that process  in the public way you might expect, while people in the research have. So, to an extent, we have to listen to the experts and trust their confidence.

It's pretty natural for something like this to be scary. I'm reading @FelatioLipsmore like saying 'I'd need more convincing to be in the first 10%' than 'I need much more convincing before I'll consider it'.

 

That's my feeling as well. I am not a tinfoil hat Bill Gates wants to track me guy at all, but I would like to see more testing. But it won't matter as I won't be getting a dose this year, or for months as I am low down on the priority list

[King Coconut]

You don't know what vigour is. And thalidomide creating cripples sort of backs up my point that pharma used to be much shoddier. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

4 minutes ago, King Coconut said:

You don't know what vigour is. And thalidomide creating cripples sort of backs up my point that pharma used to be much shoddier. 

Not sure you do either and using that slur in this day and age? Really?  

[Keith Houchen]

I completely understand the reservations regarding long term effects. What assures me that the vaccine will be safe is usually funding is what hampers research but labs have had money thrown at them for this, instead of the usual fighting for scraps. 
And given the world we live in, anything rushed out or that has serious long term effects will result in the biggest lawsuits in history. Given money is pharmaceutical companies biggest motivation, I’m confident they’ll have this covered before it’s released. 

[SuperBacon]

Dont worry lads, Listerine has this thing licked.

 

[wordsfromlee]

I’m just going to stick to injecting bleach into my bollocks for now. 

[RedRooster]

I think it's pretty natural to feel apprehension in a situation like this. I have to admit, I myself feel apprehensive about the vaccine, not excited. 

We've all been beaten down by this virus, whether we've had it, lost someone to it, or had the liberties we took for granted affected by it - it's very easy to feel as though life is bleak right now and there's no light on the horizon. Particularly in Boris Johnson's Britain where the truth is optional at best.  

However, the testing that any credibly developed vaccine has to go through is beyond thorough - particularly when you consider they'll have to account for how many people will be using this. They can't afford to cut corners. 

Even then, the vaccine has to overcome hurdles before it's approved for use in the UK. 

 

I know all this and I still feel nervous, but I think that's OK. We're essentially being trained by shitty leadership to feel like good outcomes can't possibly be real. But our shitty leadership didn't develop this vaccine, world leading scientists did. I think it's important to keep telling yourself that, I know I need to remind myself that I don't need to approach everything with cynicism, feeling that way is a product of the times we live in, unfortunately. 

 

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

And given the world we live in, anything rushed out or that has serious long term effects will result in the biggest lawsuits in history. Given money is pharmaceutical companies biggest motivation, I’m confident they’ll have this covered before it’s released. 

I wouldn't be so sure on that https://www.ft.com/content/12f7da5b-92c8-4050-bcea-e726b75eef4d

[SuperBacon]

2 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I wouldn't be so sure on that https://www.ft.com/content/12f7da5b-92c8-4050-bcea-e726b75eef4d

Anyone lend me a quid so I can read this?

[Hannibal Scorch]

8 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Anyone lend me a quid so I can read this?

Here’s a freebie https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.euronews.com/amp/2020/09/03/pharmaceutical-industry-looking-to-avoid-lawsuits-in-covid-vaccine-race

[Keith Houchen]

So the lawsuits would still exist, it’s just liability would be shared.