I hate scepticism over vaccines, but when it has just been announced that vaccines can be sold to the public for around £100 each, and then this comes along. They say ignore how many are being admitted to hospital as other consequences are more dangerous.

I have followed the hospital rates as a metric for over a year now. I don't see any other metric as valid. The death rate is reduced as the most vulnerable have been seen off. The reporting rate is non-existent because people are not interested anymore. People are under pressure to attend work with covid now, so why would they bother with the testing kits. Patients in hospital is the most sensible data point to me.

Why are we not being told of which areas are showing the most cases? Covid cases are drastically reduced now. Which hospitals are taking in large amounts of cases?

It would be stupid to take unnecessary risks, but this has a bad smell of fear mongering to sell vaccines around it for me.

[–] Shinji_Ikari@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago

I'm left to wonder what is more likely, a company taking advantage of a public health emergency to turn a profit, or a company manufacturing an entire public health scare to sell their product.

To be safe, I'd go with the former. Stay healthy.

[–] ButtBidet@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Christina Pagel was urging locking, masking, and caution since early 2020, which is well before vaccines were even available. And she's taking the time to present the evidence, which you can clearly interrogate. Your unsubstantiated conspiracy theory is as dangerous as it is embarrassing.

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't argue against taking precautions. I agree that people should not take things for granted and protect themselves. I even added the proviso:

It would be stupid to take unnecessary risks

Vaccines work, I am far from anti vaccine. If the government procured the vaccines and were using them across the population, then I would be all for it. When you add a £100 price tag into the equation then you take more time to consider your options.

There is one thing that is indisputable regarding the drop in cases which can easily be matched against hospital admissions. When everyone was tracking covid infections with tests hospital admissions went up at the same time as positive covid infection went up. We do not have a credible method of tracking infections because of the reasons I have already stated, with the exception of people who are suffering so badly that they need to be admitted in for professional care. We are being asked to ignore what I see as a credible data source at the same time as vaccines have become available at a cost.

If you wish to track the data then by all means fill your boots: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

If you want the advice she is given to be taken with more ardour from myself, then give me something to see with infection rates, deaths or recorded issues.

[–] ButtBidet@hexbear.net 1 points 1 year ago

but this has a bad smell of fear mongering to sell vaccines around it for me.

This is rude and dangerous af. This is what I'm concerned with. Dr. Pagel has no connection with the pharmaceutical industry, so this is also just entirely misinformed. It must be nice to just shoot from the hip and not have to back up your assertions.

[–] bjfar@reddthat.com 4 points 1 year ago

If the government was trying to funnel money to vaccine companies they'd just make the vaccines free and pay for them with government funds, forever. That makes a lot more money than having the companies try to get people to fork out 100 pounds for them.

[–] Piers@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Keep in mind that a) that was the conversion from the US pricing. Chances are it will be a different price if and when they hit the market in the UK. Additionally keep in mind that the reporting was that hypothetically they may become commercially available in the UK next year. I highly doubt anyone is trying to create fear in the UK today to drive purchases of a product that might become available in the UK in 2024.

[–] starlinguk@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

The vaccines are still free in many countries. PS the latest booster vaccinated against the wrong variant.