We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it – and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again – and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.
Mark Twain
When visiting the farmer’s market a while ago, I did overhear a conversation between (very) elderly shoppers. They were talking about Covid and the so-called vaccinations. I was expecting them to be in favor of them, it’s a farmer’s market after all in a more … eco-conscious area. But instead, one of them attributed his heart problems to the so-called vaccine, to which another agreed and recommended a specialist who was open to the possibility. One of them said he will not get vaccinated again in his lifetime, as his health problems started after his fourth(!) Covid shot.
That comment stuck with me.
I have made no secret that I did not and do not trust the so-called Covid vaccinations. I think they were developed too quickly and with the wrong incentives (two decades in science made me … skeptical). Furthermore, due to the government pressure to get vaccinated, I would not have taken them even if they were working as advertised. Why would I encourage the government to see the (not «its», we put them in power) citizens as cattle?
But with all criticism of these vaccines, I am not against (actual) vaccinations in general. If they make sense and are developed well. One negative consequence of the whole Covid debacle might be that people’s distrust of health measures might generalize. Akin to what happened to the relationship between blacks in the south of the USA and health officials after the Tuskegee Study became public. Similarly, health officials might have burned a lot of people.
And yeah, they should not be trusted, but evaluated critically. After all, they are working under incentives as well — or move in and out of the pharmaceutical industry. But the criticism should be done with an open mind.
After all, one day there might be a pandemic with a completely different profile — and if people do not get treated due to past experiences …
But even in that case, I still want to be convinced by the process and the product.
