Comment by Jenda_ | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Jenda_ | Hacker News Reader

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> perhaps the viral spike protein was causing all the tissues' damage and the vaccine included the spike protein

Yes, but without the vaccine, most people will get infected by real COVID, which introduces the same spike protein (in an uncontrolled quantity, as the virus is replicating) and several other proteins, causing even more damage. Is this a better outcome?

> we have government regulations and protocols that concern drug approvals to make sure that the general population is not exposed to unnecessary risks

These protocols are tuned to be super-safe when there is little at stake. With a raging pandemic, with a nontrivial mortality/long-term effects/economic and societal effects, you are going to change this.

Let's remind ourselves that many, many people are not at risk of covid[0]. It's just like asking everyone to wear hip airbags because falls can cause death when you're 90+.

[0]: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investi...

If I may use your metaphor, falls aren't infectious. And because they aren't infectious, they don't overwhelm the medical system.

Yes, it's true that many people who get covid will have a mild case. Broadly speaking, the younger someone is, the better their chances.

And it is just as true that hospital systems in hotspot areas are overwhelmed, causing emergency standards of care, burnout among medical staff, long waits, and the postponement of things like surgery for cancer patients.

I understand that covid is infectious, however, for the people at risk for whom the risk-benefit balance is clearly in favor of benefit, then they can get vaccinated, right?

Yes they can. But that's an individual approach to a public health crisis: people not at risk can pass the virus on to those who are at risk. If you were in a high risk group, wouldn't you appreciate your neighbor -- who might not be in a high risk category -- getting vaccinated?

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