Path: ...!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: Bernard Peek Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom Subject: Re: Readercon code of conduct Date: 30 May 2024 10:18:16 GMT Lines: 44 Message-ID: References: <0001HW.2C03BE750045EC7470000856B38F@news.supernews.com> <6c70bb08-bf62-3bf8-1e39-25eca1609d63@example.net> <20240527172850.1573690f03e57af47ef1906f@127.0.0.1> X-Trace: individual.net Fe2ohmxTRof0b6G48u0xMA1K77qU9KNBYPatFN8/97setQ11Tb Cancel-Lock: sha1:6rxS1p6xpvTm6wmgdyeiXrxWR9s= sha256:RVW5b1Vcgjhr7waebfGM/oORVLz7WxLtl4imWlb4COU= User-Agent: slrn/1.0.3 (Linux) Bytes: 2545 On 2024-05-27, Mike Van Pelt wrote: > > What mRNA brings to the table is the ability to create a > vaccine for a novel pathogen quickly, in weeks, rather than > months or years. The first candidate mRNA Covid vaccine took nine hours to produce. Some of the older vaccine technologies wouldn't have reached that stage for the best part of a year. The next problem to crack is speeding up testing. The safety of mRNA vaccines should help there too. > This is so hugely valuable a technology that > I was perfectly happy to be part of the large-scale trials. > At 66, I was in the "starting to be at risk" population for > COVID. Two Moderna shots, and every booster that was offered. > I have never gotten COVID, unless it was asymptomatic or one > of those "minor cold" things I've gotten once or twice since > the pandemic. When I did take a COVID test, it was negative. > > If something much worse than COVID comes along (like MERS > or SARS cutting loose) we will be very glad the tech exists. We were lucky with Covid, the mortality rate was no higher than 0.5% at any point. Spanish flu was more dangerous at about 2.5%. On the other hand it has given a lot of people a false sense of security. There are some interesting parallels with the Y2K problem. > > Still, I can see some justification for considering the shot > *slightly* on the experimental side, and am uneasy about the > draconian mandates. > The measures were probably excessive for a disease with a mortality of 0.5% but would have been woefully inadequate if it had been 2.5% instead. We took months to impose pretty feeble restrictions. I would like to see response-times measured in hours. -- Bernard Peek bap@shrdlu.com Wigan