DEX
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,404 
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Post by DEX on Dec 21, 2021 5:35:34 GMT
I know of some companies that require employees to complete a health assessment if they want discounted health insurance. Based on this survey they have points assigned for each question such as:
Do you go to the doctor?
Do you smoke?
Height/Weight for BMI
Alcohol use
The higher your number, the lower the cost for your health insurance. I wish more companies would incentivize lowered health care costs for people who do take care of themselves.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 24, 2024 18:42:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2021 13:56:16 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. How about blatant stupidity? Because when there is a world full of science based facts but people still insist on fabricated talking points, that right there is all about bad choices. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 24, 2024 18:42:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2021 14:04:22 GMT
I sure wish there was a vaccine against stupid. But first you'd have to eradicate the Dunning-Kruger effect. That right there is the true epidemic. |
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janeinbama
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Posts: 3,214
Location: Alabama
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Post by janeinbama on Dec 21, 2021 14:48:09 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. our insurance does charge more for some of those. Smoking, unless it's been more than so many years (i think 5 or 7?) since you quit. You also pay more if you have a higher BMI and/or a certain waist/height ratio which catches a lot of the people who subsist on only fast food or make poor diet choices. Our insurance charges more for smoking, however, they do will pay for a quit smoking class and 1 prescription for Chantix. |
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Post by circusjohnson on Dec 21, 2021 14:57:41 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. Well my husbands company LabCorp (with at least 10,000 employees) charges you more if your a smoker and if you are over weight. You have to get a a form filled out with your DR yearly. Smoking, diabetes, being overweight aren't infectious diseases that effect other workers in the company. |
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Post by SockMonkey on Dec 21, 2021 15:04:43 GMT
Charging more for something like obesity isn't analogous to not getting the COVID vaccine. Obesity is a complex medical condition with many factors; it's not just "oh, they eat poorly so they're fat." So, let's just stop all that mess talk now, shall we? I actually don't agree with higher insurance rates for something like this.
A more analogous comparison would be refusing something you're eligible for like a measles vaccine or a polio vaccine and insurance would be higher. That I would support, because this is a more direct comparison, and based on a person's choice to ignore science, unlike a medical condition that may or may not be within a patient's control.
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Post by SockMonkey on Dec 21, 2021 15:06:36 GMT
Also:
Ingredients
48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 - 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsps milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar for rolling
Step-By-Step Directions
Equipment Needed
OVEN
MIXING BOWL
MIXER
COOKIE SHEET
WIRE RACK
1
Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies.
2
Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.
3
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies.
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,012
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Post by blue tulip on Dec 21, 2021 17:32:52 GMT
our insurance does charge more for some of those. Smoking, unless it's been more than so many years (i think 5 or 7?) since you quit. You also pay more if you have a higher BMI and/or a certain waist/height ratio which catches a lot of the people who subsist on only fast food or make poor diet choices. Our insurance charges more for smoking, however, they do will pay for a quit smoking class and 1 prescription for Chantix. now that you say that, i believe ours does too. which is totally fine with me! |
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Post by mikklynn on Dec 22, 2021 13:01:48 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. The difference is my obesity will not make YOU sick. I can't infect all my coworkers, thus shutting down an entire business. |
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crm1367
Junior Member
Posts: 81 
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Post by crm1367 on Dec 22, 2021 15:05:36 GMT
I sure wish there was a vaccine against stupid. That would require a daily booster for some lol |
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Dec 22, 2021 15:34:14 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. The difference is my obesity will not make YOU sick. I can't infect all my coworkers, thus shutting down an entire business. I’m not disagreeing with you or the policy at all. But, while obesity isn’t contagious it does cost the insurer more which forces premiums up across the board. The increased COVID premium isn’t so much to protect coworkers as it is to protector the insurers bottoms line (of course it’s unlikely that $50/mo is enough). I think Krogers policy is a good two prong one (the increased premium and the removal of additional sick time). |
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anonaname
Full Member
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Aug 18, 2021 0:04:22 GMT
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Post by anonaname on Dec 22, 2021 17:12:16 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. The difference is my obesity will not make YOU sick. I can't infect all my coworkers, thus shutting down an entire business. You say that like vaccinated people can't spread covid-19 and/or all variants of covid019.  |
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
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Post by peppermintpatty on Dec 22, 2021 17:23:46 GMT
Wrong!! You should probably check out science. Vaccines CAN stop a person from getting covid. What they don’t do is “cure” covid. Per the CDC: “COVID-19 vaccination causes a more predictable immune response than infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine gives most people a high level of protection against COVID-19 and can provide added protection for people who already had COVID-19. One study showed that, for people who already had COVID-19, those who do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more than 2 times as likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get fully vaccinated after their recovery. All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19. Getting sick with COVID-19 can offer some protection from future illness, sometimes called “natural immunity,” but the level of protection people get from having COVID-19 may vary depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age. Getting a COVID-19 vaccination is also a safer way to build protection than getting sick with COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without you having to experience sickness. Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Getting sick with COVID-19 can cause severe illness or death, and we can’t reliably predict who will have mild or severe illness. If you get sick, you can spread COVID-19 to others. You can also continue to have long-term health issues after COVID-19 infection.” They don’t stop people from getting covid. Three times vaxxed and masked people are getting covid. Once again. IF stupid people would get the damn shots, then we would reduce the number of variants, thus lessening the chance for more mutations, thus lessening the chance that you would get a breakthrough infection. How is it that people don't seem to understand that because 40% of this country is unvaccinated, those who ARE vaccinated are still put at risk? Covid is a coronavirus. It is a version of the common cold, everyone gets a cold at some point but there are so many variants, it is impossible to get a vaccine for them. It is NEVER going to go away, you WILL get it at some point. Vaxxed, double vaxxed, triple vaxxed, quadruple vaxxed. It doesn't matter. We will need boosters every year, forever. Just like the flu vaccine. The point is to get the R naught number down to below 1 where it cannot easily be transmissible. When stupid people don't get their shots, that number cannot go down. This is not rocket science. To assume that if you got the shots, you would never get Covid is not understanding what has been said all along. The vaccine was never going to "cure" Covid. It has NEVER been said that it would. People assumed it would and they assumed incorrectly. |
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,785
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Dec 22, 2021 17:56:03 GMT
I sure wish there was a vaccine against stupid. That would require a daily booster for some lol This made me LOL. We’d need to put it in the water supply.  |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 22, 2021 18:21:02 GMT
They don’t stop people from getting covid. Three times vaxxed and masked people are getting covid. Once again. IF stupid people would get the damn shots, then we would reduce the number of variants, thus lessening the chance for more mutations, thus lessening the chance that you would get a breakthrough infection. How is it that people don't seem to understand that because 40% of this country is unvaccinated, those who ARE vaccinated are still put at risk? Covid is a coronavirus. It is a version of the common cold, everyone gets a cold at some point but there are so many variants, it is impossible to get a vaccine for them. It is NEVER going to go away, you WILL get it at some point. Vaxxed, double vaxxed, triple vaxxed, quadruple vaxxed. It doesn't matter. We will need boosters every year, forever. Just like the flu vaccine. The point is to get the R naught number down to below 1 where it cannot easily be transmissible. When stupid people don't get their shots, that number cannot go down. This is not rocket science. To assume that if you got the shots, you would never get Covid is not understanding what has been said all along. The vaccine was never going to "cure" Covid. It has NEVER been said that it would. People assumed it would and they assumed incorrectly. I agree with all of your post except the last part. My understanding was that when they first talked about vaccines, and people started getting them, they *were* saying that it would keep people from getting Covid. Thus, the term “breakthrough case” as if it was an exception, and talk of herd immunity. With time, scientists learned that it wasn’t as rare for the vaccinated to get Covid as they thought. I can understand that since it was a new vaccine and we are dealing with a pandemic. Some don’t seem to understand that. But to say that it was “never” said that the vaccine would keep people from getting the virus is false, imo. |
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melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
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Post by melissa on Dec 22, 2021 20:11:23 GMT
Great idea! Let's add fast food for overweight people. Obesity is a big concern health wise and I sure would like to see those people making those choices pay more too. What about smokers? Alcoholics? Type II Diabetics? All conditions that can be cured but often aren't because of lifestyle decisions. Let's penalize ALL OF THEM. You are so entertaining. Have seen you post more than once on this board recently with some not so brilliant comments, hiding behind this anonaname. Are you not aware that some companies REWARD people for positive lifestyle choices??? One could say that those that don't make those choices are penalized. Depends if you are a glass half full person or half empty. A previous employer had monetary rewards for bringing down weight, cholesterol, A1C and smoking cessation. Welcome to this planet, anonaname. I am wondering which one you live on. I have a short fuse today. Not going to apologize for it. Omicron surge here isn't pretty. Some YOUNG people may die unnecessarily because of the stupidity of so many spreading misinformation. |
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Post by wholarmor on Dec 22, 2021 20:52:02 GMT
I sure wish there was a vaccine against stupid. Except the stupid wouldn't get it... |
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Post by aj2hall on Dec 22, 2021 23:16:18 GMT
Once again. IF stupid people would get the damn shots, then we would reduce the number of variants, thus lessening the chance for more mutations, thus lessening the chance that you would get a breakthrough infection. How is it that people don't seem to understand that because 40% of this country is unvaccinated, those who ARE vaccinated are still put at risk? Covid is a coronavirus. It is a version of the common cold, everyone gets a cold at some point but there are so many variants, it is impossible to get a vaccine for them. It is NEVER going to go away, you WILL get it at some point. Vaxxed, double vaxxed, triple vaxxed, quadruple vaxxed. It doesn't matter. We will need boosters every year, forever. Just like the flu vaccine. The point is to get the R naught number down to below 1 where it cannot easily be transmissible. When stupid people don't get their shots, that number cannot go down. This is not rocket science. To assume that if you got the shots, you would never get Covid is not understanding what has been said all along. The vaccine was never going to "cure" Covid. It has NEVER been said that it would. People assumed it would and they assumed incorrectly. I agree with all of your post except the last part. My understanding was that when they first talked about vaccines, and people started getting them, they *were* saying that it would keep people from getting Covid. Thus, the term “breakthrough case” as if it was an exception, and talk of herd immunity. With time, scientists learned that it wasn’t as rare for the vaccinated to get Covid as they thought. I can understand that since it was a new vaccine and we are dealing with a pandemic. Some don’t seem to understand that. But to say that it was “never” said that the vaccine would keep people from getting the virus is false, imo. Respectfully, I disagree. No, they didn't promise it would prevent infection, just severe illness. www.pbs.org/newshour/health/covid-19-vaccines-never-promised-perfection-experts-say-its-time-to-curb-our-highest-expectationsAnd some interesting charts and information about the vaccines in 2021 worldwide. www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03686-x |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Dec 22, 2021 23:30:30 GMT
I agree with all of your post except the last part. My understanding was that when they first talked about vaccines, and people started getting them, they *were* saying that it would keep people from getting Covid. Thus, the term “breakthrough case” as if it was an exception, and talk of herd immunity. With time, scientists learned that it wasn’t as rare for the vaccinated to get Covid as they thought. I can understand that since it was a new vaccine and we are dealing with a pandemic. Some don’t seem to understand that. But to say that it was “never” said that the vaccine would keep people from getting the virus is false, imo. Respectfully, I disagree. No, they didn't promise it would prevent infection, just severe illness. www.pbs.org/newshour/health/covid-19-vaccines-never-promised-perfection-experts-say-its-time-to-curb-our-highest-expectationsAnd some interesting charts and information about the vaccines in 2021 worldwide. www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03686-xYep, vaccine efficacy in trials was always measured vs death and severe illness/hospitalization. Sterilizing immunity is entirely different. |
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Post by Merge on Dec 22, 2021 23:46:29 GMT
An article from back in January that talks about the difference between sterilizing immunity and severe disease prevention, and why the former is rarely achieved. www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/coronavirus-few-vaccines-prevent-infection-heres-why-thats-not-a-problem-152204Measles vaccines don’t provide sterilizing immunity, either., but we’ve been very successful at eradicating measles because almost the entire population is vaccinated. Even here in Texas, where some would have you believe there are huge populations of school kids running around without childhood vaccines, state records show only 2-3% of kids enrolled in public or private school request an exemption for any reason. If we had that level of vaccine compliance for Covid, we wouldn’t all still be dealing with this at the level we are. Sterilizing immunity or not. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 22, 2021 23:47:03 GMT
Yep, vaccine efficacy in trials was always measured vs death and severe illness/hospitalization. Sterilizing immunity is entirely different. Well, I disagree. My perception was that they initially said that vaccines were going to be the answer to stopping the virus, and that vaccinated people wouldn't get it. That is why they made such a big deal of professional athletes and other vaccinated people testing positive. Perhaps the drug companies didn't focus on that, but the media sure did. I'm sure that there were threads here that discussed that as well. But, you can go on thinking that I and others who thought that initially are idiots like you want to portray. It really doesn't matter. That isn't where we are at with the vaccines now, but trying to say that there hasn't been different information given about the vaccine and how effective it is at preventing infection (or if people who were vaccinated could be spreaders) has changed is false. |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Dec 22, 2021 23:54:04 GMT
Yep, vaccine efficacy in trials was always measured vs death and severe illness/hospitalization. Sterilizing immunity is entirely different. Well, I disagree. My perception was that they initially said that vaccines were going to be the answer to stopping the virus, and that vaccinated people wouldn't get it. That is why they made such a big deal of professional athletes and other vaccinated people testing positive. Perhaps the drug companies didn't focus on that, but the media sure did. I'm sure that there were threads here that discussed that as well. But, you can go on thinking that I and others who thought that initially are idiots like you want to portray. It really doesn't matter. That isn't where we are at with the vaccines now. 🤷🏼♀️ I guess I got my info on them from immunologists and virologists who were clear on the difference between the two, and what expectations should be, so I can’t answer to where you got that idea from. Very few vaccines (even ones like mmr) have sterilizing immunity. That was something I learned from their podcast (TWIV) I hadn’t realized that. ETA, I think it was Merge who suggested Dr Peter Hotez in early 2020, I’ve been following for a while and he’d talked about how hard it would be to come up with one for Covid. Even the polio highly effective as it is, isn’t. It’s really interesting. www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-07-30/warp-speed-coronavirus-vaccine-fda?_amp=trueI get that the use of breakthrough somewhat implies otherwise though, most of those virologists object to the contextual use of it, for that reason. |
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Post by aj2hall on Dec 23, 2021 0:48:13 GMT
Yep, vaccine efficacy in trials was always measured vs death and severe illness/hospitalization. Sterilizing immunity is entirely different. Well, I disagree. My perception was that they initially said that vaccines were going to be the answer to stopping the virus, and that vaccinated people wouldn't get it. That is why they made such a big deal of professional athletes and other vaccinated people testing positive. Perhaps the drug companies didn't focus on that, but the media sure did. I'm sure that there were threads here that discussed that as well. But, you can go on thinking that I and others who thought that initially are idiots like you want to portray. It really doesn't matter. That isn't where we are at with the vaccines now, but trying to say that there hasn't been different information given about the vaccine and how effective it is at preventing infection (or if people who were vaccinated could be spreaders) has changed is false. Respectfully, I disagree that the information from government scientists and experts suggested anything other than protection from death or severe illness. I understand your perception, but that's not what the experts promised. No one is suggesting that you're an idiot, just that your information or perception might be inaccurate. I specifically remember Dr Fauci early last spring talking about differences between the vaccines and which one to get. The concern was that the J&J one was less effective than the mRNA ones at preventing disease. He pointed out that J&J was effective against severe illness or death and answered get the one that's available. President Biden did exaggerate the effectiveness of the vaccine in a July town hall. www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/22/joe-biden/biden-exaggerates-efficacy-covid-19-vaccines/When delta started to surge early last summer, everyone talked about how the hospitals were filled with the unvaccinated and how the majority of the deaths were the unvaccinated. www.pbs.org/newshour/health/traumatized-arkansas-hospital-workers-struggle-as-covid-surges-among-unvaccinatedBreakthrough cases and vaccinated people transmitting covid were just rare in the spring/ early summer but that changed with delta. |
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Post by mollycoddle on Dec 23, 2021 2:24:59 GMT
I’m not sure that it matters at this point what was said then vs now. Variants have changed the game, and who could have predicted that so many people would refuse to get the vaccine? Honestly, I did not think that such a lot of people would be foolish enough to take such risks. I was naive.
But here we are.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Dec 23, 2021 3:40:12 GMT
I’m not sure that it matters at this point what was said then vs now. Variants have changed the game, and who could have predicted that so many people would refuse to get the vaccine? Honestly, I did not think that such a lot of people would be foolish enough to take such risks. I was naive. But here we are. I didn’t think so many people would outright refuse either. It’s truly mind boggling to me. |
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AmeliaBloomer
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Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Dec 23, 2021 14:37:19 GMT
[snip] I get that the use of breakthrough somewhat implies otherwise though, most of those virologists object to the contextual use of it, for that reason. It’s interesting how much language can color information, e.g. your “breakthrough” example. My podcast epidemiologist has for many months objected to the term “booster.” From the beginning, he’s said the vaccine was rolled out with a two-shots-within-weeks protocols as an emergency measure. Since then, it’s become clear that three-shots-spaced-out-longer is a better protocol, and always would have been proposed with the benefit of the time built into a non-emergency “save who you can” scenario. So, he always refers to boosters as “third shots.” He also objects to “corrected science” and prefers “evolving science.” With “corrected,” the lay listener can infer a “they got it wrong and had to fix it” context - like an unprepared student who has to correct wrong answers on a test. People don’t consider that we’ve all taken plenty of tests whose answers BECAME wrong after the fact, or sincerely believed things in our professional lives and eventually changed with the times, and instead jump to a crazy, bumbling scientists conclusion. As I write this, I’m realizing “evolving science” is probably fraught, too. Cause, you know, evolution is just a theory. LOL. Yeah, that word “theory.” And on and on we go with language, made worse by a social media and clickbait media world that thrives on a the-fewer-words-the-better communication style. |
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
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Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Dec 23, 2021 14:52:56 GMT
I’m not sure that it matters at this point what was said then vs now. Variants have changed the game, and who could have predicted that so many people would refuse to get the vaccine? Honestly, I did not think that such a lot of people would be foolish enough to take such risks. I was naive. But here we are. I didn’t think so many people would outright refuse either. It’s truly mind boggling to me. Right? I remember thinking "OMG how are they going to manage to vaccinate EVERYONE quick enough?" I remember thinking about the super long lines we are going to have to stand in. When my age group came up for eligibility I was absolutely frantic to book DH and my appointments. I was dumbfounded when just a couple of weeks later there were plenty of slots open and they were starting to have to beg and bribe people to get vaccinated. Its still shocking to me. I can remember, as a young child living in the barrio in East LA standing with my mother, my aunt and my cousins in a line that snaked around the block for hours waiting to get our shots. I remember it vividly and the absolute terror when we finally got the end of the line and my mother promising to take me to Woolworth to get a set of paper dolls if I was a brave, big girl. No one thought twice about it, mothers were desperate to keep their children safe. How far backward we've gone. |
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AmeliaBloomer
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Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Dec 23, 2021 14:55:27 GMT
Yep, vaccine efficacy in trials was always measured vs death and severe illness/hospitalization. Sterilizing immunity is entirely different. Well, I disagree. My perception was that they initially said that vaccines were going to be the answer to stopping the virus, and that vaccinated people wouldn't get it. That is why they made such a big deal of professional athletes and other vaccinated people testing positive. Perhaps the drug companies didn't focus on that, but the media sure did. I'm sure that there were threads here that discussed that as well. But, you can go on thinking that I and others who thought that initially are idiots like you want to portray. It really doesn't matter. That isn't where we are at with the vaccines now, but trying to say that there hasn't been different information given about the vaccine and how effective it is at preventing infection (or if people who were vaccinated could be spreaders) has changed is false. fwiw, I didn’t see any replies trying to portray you as an idiot. I do agree that my pre-Delta belief was there would be many fewer breakthrough cases. However, I definitely never thought that my vaccination would mean I could never get Covid; I went into it believing my chances for hospitalization and death would be significantly lowered. I know it could be easy to take this as an insult, but know that I don’t intend it: I think much of perception depends on how/where one gets the information - and the information continuum is so vast now. On the very extreme end of that continuum, as this plays out, I see posts here (not you) with accusatory “ But they told us [insert something so distorted that it could only have been learned on social media or some other really sensationalist media].” Who the hell are They? It’s implied They are public health and pandemic specialists, but those people are probably scratching their heads over the claims. |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Dec 23, 2021 14:57:19 GMT
[snip] I get that the use of breakthrough somewhat implies otherwise though, most of those virologists object to the contextual use of it, for that reason. It’s interesting how much language can color information, e.g. your “breakthrough” example. My podcast epidemiologist has for many months objected to the term “booster.” From the beginning, he’s said the vaccine was rolled out with a two-shots-within-weeks protocols as an emergency measure. Since then, it’s become clear that three-shots-spaced-out-longer is a better protocol, and always would have been proposed with the benefit of the time built into a non-emergency “save who you can” scenario. So, he always refers to boosters as “third shots.” He also objects to “corrected science” and prefers “evolving science.” With “corrected,” the lay listener can infer a “they got it wrong and had to fix it” context - like an unprepared student who has to correct wrong answers on a test. People don’t consider that we’ve all taken plenty of tests whose answers BECAME wrong after the fact, or sincerely believed things in our professional lives and eventually changed with the times, and instead jump to a crazy, bumbling scientists conclusion. As I write this, I’m realizing “evolving science” is probably fraught, too. Cause, you know, evolution is just a theory. LOL. Yeah, that word “theory.” And on and on we go with language, made worse by a social media and clickbait media world that thrives on a the-fewer-words-the-better communication style. It really does. I haven’t listened for a week or two due to being busy at work, but I’m fairly sure they would likely not care for the term booster for the same reasoning. I do understand why Kristin has the perception she does, I’m quite sure she herself does a lot of reading/listening to stay informed, but a consistent bombardment of word usage like this, does impact ones thinking. To be clear, I definitely don’t think you’re stupid at all, Kristin. I apologize if it was my response that caused you to feel that in any way. That was not my intent at all. I really find discussions of all this fascinating and interesting, so I like to have back and forth discussions on it. |
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sassyangel
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Post by sassyangel on Dec 23, 2021 15:10:27 GMT
I didn’t think so many people would outright refuse either. It’s truly mind boggling to me. Right? I remember thinking "OMG how are they going to manage to vaccinate EVERYONE quick enough?" I remember thinking about the super long lines we are going to have to stand in. When my age group came up for eligibility I was absolutely frantic to book DH and my appointments. I was dumbfounded when just a couple of weeks later there were plenty of slots open and they were starting to have to beg and bribe people to get vaccinated. Its still shocking to me. I can remember, as a young child living in the barrio in East LA standing with my mother, my aunt and my cousins in a line that snaked around the block for hours waiting to get our shots. I remember it vividly and the absolute terror when we finally got the end of the line and my mother promising to take me to Woolworth to get a set of paper dolls if I was a brave, big girl. No one thought twice about it, mothers were desperate to keep their children safe. How far backward we've gone. Yep. Sadly, I was initially basing some of my initial thinking on the vaccine rollout on the movie contagion, where everyone was desperate for it. Where it was in scarce supply at first so it has to be rationed and effectively triaged. (Which was true here). The rollout after that, was done by birthday lottery, like the draft. We were fortunate it didn’t come to that here. I almost wonder if it hadn’t been so readily and freely available if these still refusing people would’ve wanted it more. |
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