Peter Lederman in Second Bout With COVID-19

Up above, where I contradicted rpeluso on the composition of the mRNA in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, he was correct, and I was wrong.  I apologize for any confusion.  I had in mind a candidate vaccine still under development.

@theophile  Thank you for the kind words. 
Unbelievable. 

This group has had contempt for my difference of opinions since day one but no one has actually wished death upon me. 
I wish you and your loved ones good health, happiness and good fortune in life.

I actually would like to thank you for giving me reason not to follow this thread any longer. I'm not going to start my day with someone wishing for my demise first thing in the morning.  It's simply not worth it. 

At the onset, I was hoping that I could exchange my opinions and hear a difference of opinion from other people and each side could see this issue from a different angle. 
It certainly hasn't turned out that way.

With that, I'm out.

I'm glad Peter is better. COVID almost killed me but once I got into the hospital I immediately started to get better and by day 2 I was generating my own antibodies. Stayed for my full 5 doses of Remdesivir and then they kicked me out. I NEVER get sick - no colds, no flu, no anything all my life. A very strong immune system with quick healing has always been my M.O. It can happen to you. (and I have the thinning hair side effect that will eventually fill in but that really pisses me off!)

If I was generating my own antibodies, why would I need to get vaccinated now? Why aren't we calculating into the equation those who survived this and have antibodies? Why not test for antibodies first and then provide vaccinations to those who cannot generate their own defenses?

I'm a little taken aback by the data available by the CDC on their VAERS website that allows you to sort their data. You can sort in a multitude of ways and one path I chose most recently is by COVID vaccine, by death,  days in hospital, adverse effects of previous COVID shots, and medications. Obviously many folks have underlying conditions that impede the body's ability to fight COVID while it is busy with the other conditions. While in the COVID ward most of the really "sick" folks were overweight severely, had Diabetes, COPD, etc., which when you need to get air into your lungs can be a really difficult task for the body to accomplish on its own.  The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) Request (cdc.gov)  wonder/cdc/gov/vaers

Unfortunately, over 5247 "events", or deaths since December 2020 with my selection criteria. Not much discussion about this downside. Sure, not all caused by the vaccines - you have to read the comments columns closely, but enough to give pause to the curious. 100-200 flu deaths each year, thousands from the COVID meds in less than a year. 

As usual, the old saw "The truth lies somewhere in-between" applies.

It is a fact that the mRNA vaccines are being employed on a mass scale without any way of predicting medium, let alone lone-term side effects. It's an experiment without any remote precedent.

It is a fact that the data strongly suggests that some mRNA vaccines pose particular dangers for pregnant women.

It is a fact that the data strongly suggests that in a certain percentage of people (mostly younger) some mRNA vaccines are causing heart inflammation, a condition which typically has very bad, long-term implications.

Beyond those facts, which could reasonably give thoughtful people at least some pause before choosing to be vaccinated with those products, there are other facts that underscore how ignorant it is to crudely divide the issue into two groups (i.e. pro and anti-vax).

When looking at the data, it is known that a fairly high percentage of those who experience the worst outcomes are in poor condition, and/or have co-morbidities, and/or are vitamin D deficient. So those who do not fall into those categories are, broadly speaking, far less likely to have bad outcomes.

Furthermore, we know that exposure to a high viral load is a key to being infected, yet many people continue to engage in reckless behavior, and are obviously therefore at much greater risk of both becoming infected, and spreading the virus, than those who are careful. And this includes those who have been vaccinated!

We know that COVID, like other respiratory viruses, typically enters the body through the nose and mouth, and settles on regions called the nasopharynx and oropharynx, where it reproduces rapidly, and then spreads into the body further. Gargling with an appropriate product reaches the oropharynx and kills such viruses. Yet what percentage of people do readers imagine are gargling as a proactive defense? A very small number, I would surmise.

So, at the very least, those who stress the science, and related, popular wisdom supporting the need for everyone to get vaccinated, should be careful not to lump all of those who may have reservations into a single, damning category.