I think you're thinking of Thalidomide. It took the best scientific minds about 5 years to make the connection with it and birth defects.
This (admittedly unlikely) chance of long-term problems is one of many reasons that I believe that the vaccines being introduced into a mass audience at this time is the dumbest risk-management decision in the history of humanity.
I find it fascinating the number of people who seem to follow this reasoning, but don't think it's more likely that having covid-19 will cause long term problems years->decades down the line. Chicken pox causes singles, a number of viruses are associated with various cancers, but you think it's more likely that a carefully engineered and studied vaccine will have negative long-term effects than a novel virus?
> it is a short-lived antigen that trains your immune system, then goes away.
The injection being "short-lived" is completely irrelevant, as its effects on your body are permanent. As we don't have long-term knowledge of its effects, the (admittedly unlikely) possibility of long-term problems exists until proven otherwise.
Feel free to disagree if you want to, but I judge that risk to be a bigger threat to me and society than the comparatively small risk from Covid.
> This isn’t 1960, it’s 2021
I'm sure people in the 1950s were saying something similar, perhaps something like, "This isn't the ancient world and we're no longer messing around with leeches or trepanning. We have sophisticated modern laboratories, have modern medicine that has boosted life expectancy tremendously, and man has even harnessed the atom's powers. The days of medical errors are over."
Scientists should always be wary of hubris.
> It’s safe, certainly safer than COVID,
First you say it's safe, then you say it's safer. Which is it? I know how to identify weaselly language when I see it.
> and necessary to protect you, your family, your neighbors, and our society.
This is a slogan.
The risk-management calculation is different for every individual.
Can you please stop posting flamewar comments to HN, regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are? It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for.
Can you please stop posting flamewar comments to HN, regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are? It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for.
Edit: you posted 30 comments to this thread, and most of them broke the site guidelines. That's way beyond the pale. I'm not going to ban you for this because your commenting history before this looks fine, and everyone goes on tilt sometimes—but for heaven's sake please don't do it in the future!
Thank you. As a pharmacist, I am at the end of my rope when it comes to the war I fight every day against people who are disrespecting those who have died of this virus. What you are seeing here is the frustration of a health care professional. I will stop posting, but I take issue when one says the argument has devolved. I made some good points and then the ignorant horde starts using admins to stop a doctor from making points. I like this site and hope it will stay a place where people can share different views, as I have done here.
I hear the frustration and empathize, but we can't allow the downward spiral that results when people who feel strongly about something for good reason take it as a license to break the rules. I know it's not easy to do otherwise.
This (admittedly unlikely) chance of long-term problems is one of many reasons that I believe that the vaccines being introduced into a mass audience at this time is the dumbest risk-management decision in the history of humanity.