Peter Lederman in Second Bout With COVID-19

Dr. Desch, MnMark, ediver, and Lewm... thank you all for your professional, expert, opinions. I am NOT a virologist, MD, clinician, et all, But, I listen to experts! My own experience - I had covid - it was not that bad when I did. I did loose taste and smell. I was fatigued. My nose was stuffy. But, I would compare it to a sinus infection. For others, it's fatal. I was lucky. My first shot sucked and that's actually when I had the worst vaccine side effects, the second shot was a breeze. (Both times, my arm felt like I had been hit by a 100 mph baseball. The shots were nothing - ZERO pain - but for a few days after, each time, my arm was killing me. But overall, I was fine! And, I would rather have that than covid again) That is my anecdotal experience. Others, as with all people, will be different. 

I don't know if any of you were on the front lines, but our country tends to applaud fire and police. But the truth is, Doctors, experts, are the real heros in this country. A cop might save 1 or 2 people in the course of his / her career, a doctor, saves thousands in that same time. Keep your chins up - and please know, you're very appreciated. 

As an audiophile with more to learn than contribute at this point in my development, I mostly lurk on these pages. I hope to be more of an accurate contributor soon. 

That said, I am certain that there are hundreds more like me reading posts by ignorant blowhards with advanced Dunning-Kruger spreading lies about covid and vaccines, and shaking our collective heads in disgust. 
I’m looking at you miller carbon. 

Until this thread I had thought this forum was a fairly small and shallow pond.  But there are deeper waters here, and those fins circling on the surface are just sunfish and crappies.

I have 45 years experience as an MD/scientist with a research interest in  certain human pathogenic viruses and vaccine development, both on the developer side and on the reviewer side.  I retired 2 years too early to have been involved in the fight against COVID. Based on the past 20+ year history of using RNA in a vaccine, all unsuccessful, and on what was known a priori about Coronavirus immunology, I was very skeptical about the eventual utility of an RNA vaccine in preventing COVID and particularly about the longevity of the immune response one might expect from an RNA vaccine, even if there were short term protection. So I view the success of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as nothing short of a miracle.  But it is not magic; there is solid science behind the unprecedented success of these particular RNAs. Most lay people cannot and do not appreciate how lucky we are that advanced thinking bore such fruit.  Only a very few licensed vaccines achieve 95% or better efficacy in preventing disease. Think where we would be now and for the indefinite future, if the current vaccines were failing. That is why I am continually dismayed by the doubters and conspiracy theorists, although I do understand that some may be put off by the reports of side effects.  What is almost never mentioned in the press is the rarity and transitory nature of these events and the fact that there are treatments and preventatives available.