People need to recalibrate vaccine expectations

Lol is that your opinion or a fact?

I do admit I did not have my glasses reading your article. I missed the small print. I do see it is by a gp from Hawaii. It expresses his opinion as to how much info patients should be told about Covid 19 and to tell them all the info not just selective portions of it.

I appreciate his comments. I don't agree with many of them for reasons already argued. I also have a problem with any assumption his patients will take the time to understand what he is explaining or even understand it.

However I wish to make it clear you provided more than a subjective opinion thank you.

 

The words you did not quote that I provided.

 

uhh, whut? My words that I did not quote, yet just re-quoted to you, which you did not provide?

Is this opposite day or something? Are you some sort of Mr. Miyag or Yoda? You quote not, you quote yes, quote yes you did, yet quote not I quote.

 

I have never stated the CDC has been error free. Do not make false representations as to what you think I meant. If you want to throw out anything the CDC has stated because its changed its opinions go ahead.

 

You stated:

"a doctor who still recommends the vaccine, but wants to cut through the BS"?

That is not these words he stated:

"Do I still recommend a Covid-19 vaccine for the vast majority of my patients? Yes. It just takes a couple extra minutes to discuss
now "

You forgot the "vast majority of his patients".

 

Now let us discuss your issue Bronco. You found a gp who has stated he wants more info disclosed to patients about the vaccines and feels benefits or certain info as to the vaccines are problematic and has stated the CDC's changing opinions as well as info over-emphasizing the benefits of the vaccine has contributed to concerns and doubt about the vaccines.

The fact is ANY information about Covid 19 and its vaccines by the CDC et al, are subject to change because of continuing developments. No one at the CDC has claimed they are perfect and their opinions and advice as changed as they get new information. That happens. It doesn't mean you ignore the CDC. As for the effective rates of the vaccines, no one has claimed those rates will not be subject to change as more and more info comes in. The information is a work in progress.

The fact is with any changing medical event information constantly changes. Its the nature of the subject matter.

What I challenge is when anti vaxxers distort and focus only on certain information and ignore all the rest and rather than simply look for a physician with an opinion I want to hear I try look at all kinds of courses to educate myself. I can not speak for others.

I think it is unfair because the CDC and many other agencies are reporting on a medical issue subject to change, that when their recommendations change because of new information, this makes them untrustworthy and I believe Buzz Hollander did not take sufficient time to point out that the fact the CDC has changed its recommendations did not simply happen because they are incompetent or to blame.

I go to this article to help explain the media distortions going on when discussing Covid 19:

https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-misinformation-is-distorting-covid-policies-and-behaviors/

It states:

"Oolitical affiliation has deeply shaped how people understand and respond to the pandemic. As noted in parallel research from Gallup and others, attitudes about COVID’s risks and willingness to engage in disease-suppression behaviors like social distancing are strongly related to politics, even more so than to local exposure to the virus or demographic factors that predict severe health consequences from the virus like age or pre-existing medical conditions.ts of the vaccines is not creating a clear picture for patients and is contributing to their concerns."

Indeed if this political forum is anything to go buy, often anti-vaxxers are people with a political ideology that does not trust government and identified with Donald Trump's messages about Covid 19 tied in to his other messages of not trusting anyone or anything but himself.

In fact the final paragraph of the above article I believe explains the underlying phenomena for how people deal with the vaccine:

"The Economics of Recovery Study contributes to this research by showing that the polarization of the pandemic goes beyond behavior and policy preferences. It is happening at the most basic level: the interpretation of facts. Republicans consistently underestimate risks, while Democrats consistently overestimate them."

Blaming the CDC or pharmaceutical companies, creating conspiracy theories, disseminating false information about the vaccines is about
people engaging in politics and allowing their political opinions to govern their decisions as to medical issues.

The bottom line is people who do not trust authority and have an axe to grind with it are far less likely to take the vaccine. More to the point the vast majority of people who will not take the vaccine other than for legitimate medical reasons will be dependent on the information they obtained from others from the internet to make their decision.

We live in an age where people feel they have all the knowledge they need to know at their finger tips and just have to move their thumbs, and instead truth comes up on the screen.

With that in mind I refer to this article:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2772693

and I quote:

"Antiscience rhetoric has consequences. While only 4% of the world’s population resides in the US, the US has accounted for 20% of the world’s deaths related to COVID-19 and has performed less well than several other wealthy nations.2 Low science literacy contributes to denial of science. The relationship between antiscience viewpoints and low science literacy underscores new findings regarding the brain mechanisms that form and maintain false beliefs."

and:

For someone without strong science literacy, absorbing and interpreting a graph of data about COVID-19 infections may be as difficult as it is for someone with dementia with Lewy bodies to interpret a face. Without reliable sensory data, individuals may be forced to look for other sources of information that resonate with their own feelings, including conspiracies that deny the existence of a threat. Rather than engaging with information that is difficult to “see” and that may require changes in behavior, it may be easier to take in data that are simple and reassuring. Conspiracy theories may bring security and calm, as with the patient with frontotemporal dementia who is content to believe they are rich. This problem is magnified by social media because before the internet, conspiracy theories usually remained siloed and quickly died off due to lack of supporters. Now, social media–fueled echo chambers amplify these theories, reinforcing false beliefs and discouraging people from seeking the truth."

 

Conspiracy theories are a way for dumb people to think they are smart so that they can feel better about themselves. "I'm smarter than all the sheeple, I'm in the know." It's pitiful because their beliefs are dumb and absurd.