Re: Readercon code of conduct

No vaccine is 100%.  None.  That's just the facts.  What you
hope to do with vaccines is get the population transmission
down to R<1.0.  "Someone caught <disease> after getting
vaccinated, that proves the vaccine is worthless" is a silly,
nonsensical statement.

That said, mRNA vaccines have been around for a while.
First human trials on them were done in 2001.  Clinical
trials of a mRNA rabies vaccine were done on humans in 2013.
What had not been done was really large-scale trials.

Let's call that one done.

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.  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.

Still, I can see some justification for considering the shot
*slightly* on the experimental side, and am uneasy about the
draconian mandates.

People who object to taking the mRNA vaccine, but do not
object to other vaccines, I have little problem with.

The across the board anti-vaxxers, on the other hand, the
ones who are reponsible for the return of measels, diptheria,
whooping cough, rubella, etc...  those people are PERNICIOUS
MORONS who should go live on an isolated island somewhere so
they can only infect each other.

(Talking at YOU, RFKJr.)
--
Mike Van Pelt       |  "I don't advise it unless you're nuts."
mvp at calweb.com   |   -- Ray Wilkinson, after riding out Hurricane
KE6BVH              |      Ike on Surfside Beach in Galveston