Conversation

Assume for the moment that Covid-vaccine hesitancy is unfounded: Now imagine there is a safe, cheap and effective alternative that actually could quickly reach and protect the world (including from breakthrough cases) but it is aggressively portrayed as dangerous and ineffective.

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Claire Lehmann

@clairlemon

· Jul 19, 2021

Can you imagine being in a poor country (or incompetent country like Australia) where people are crying out for vaccines & then you learn that people in rich countries are turning them down because they’re afraid they’re not “safe”. If you have access to vaccination you are lucky

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Alex

@alexabelson9

Jul 19, 2021

Hey Bret, what’d you do for 15 years during your PhD? Published 1 paper that was just a hypothesis proposal, and your thesis was that x3. As a scientist it seems you have never actually engaged real-world data, only fantasized about how things might work. Why should we trust you?

雲水

@foodofthegods3

Jul 19, 2021

Perhaps by not appealing to authority, and instead considering what he is saying and scientifically evaluating the points he makes?

Alex

@alexabelson9

Jul 19, 2021

He claims authority. When has he ever failed to mention is PhD in Evo Biology? He goes on Fox News with that label. You can’t have it both ways.

Replying to

and

All it means is that the guy has a background in stuff like this, and hence might make good points. Evaluating those points is the scientific process. It seems like the original commenter wanted rather to hear a reason to believe in what he says instead of thinking critically.

9:55 PM · Jul 19, 2021Twitter Web App

Replying to

and

I understand your point, but I am not a virologist or a doctor. And neither is he. i can read some abstracts and read his claims, but at some point I have to defer to people with more experience. And I have to make judgements about people's qualifications and motives.

雲水

@foodofthegods3

Jul 19, 2021

Absolutely. But virologists and doctors are not exempt from ignorance, or missing the forest for the trees, and thus an outsider perspective could even prove vital—which is why it is important for also the doctors and virologists not to be inflated by their authority.

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