Shacknews LoL

Kinda bad timing with the sc decision and fallout that’s a little important

Because it's all bullshit.

I will not mince words here - Omicron has been a major setback for vaccines and the whole pro-vaccine movement because of the sheer number of breakthrough cases that have occurred. Hospitalizations and deaths have still been largely reduced thanks to vaccines but I’ve become disillusioned seeing just how many people, including several people on this very site, can’t seem to appreciate that because they still got sick. I wonder if the enthusiasm for vaccination has been considerably dampened thanks to Omicron, a variant nobody could have seen coming and nobody could have prepared for. Omicron is still the same virus, but its biology seems to be the most dramatic departure compared to the original Wuhan strain that we have seen yet, and the scientific community is still trying to come up with the best ways to analyze the thing.

I do want to clear up some misconceptions, without getting into the specific science of things. First of all, last November both mRNA vaccine companies applied for booster authorization from the FDA and they requested the use of the original 2019 Spike protein. This was not done out of laziness. There were mountains and mountains of data, generated by myself and many others, indicating that variant-specific boosters only had a marginal effect on antibody titers and efficacy. The rationale to change the formula simply wasn’t there. The layman probably assumes that if you match the vaccine to whatever is the most prevalent variant then it should work better, but it’s not that simple.

Second, the booster EUA request and approval happened BEFORE Omicron. There was literally no way to get an Omicron booster out the door in time. But let’s say, for the sake of imagination, that Omicron had been detected and announced before those EUAs were filed. Yes, these vaccines can be designed quickly but they still need to be manufactured and (most importantly) tested in human populations. You can’t just go to the FDA and say you *think* this new booster should do better than the original vaccine. You need to fucking demonstrate that there is added value to what you’re doing. If this were the flu or another well-known and studied virus then sure, you might be able to get away with that, but not with a novel virus in the context of a global pandemic.

Third, it is insanely difficult to hit a moving target, especially when we don’t know what will be needed in a few month’s time. Say we magically had the BA2 vaccine ready to go 2-3 months from now. Say it worked against BA2 better than the other variant-specific boosters did (something that we still can’t say for sure). Who is to say that it will still matter in 2-3 months? Maybe cases drop to nothing, meaning that you’d just be contributing to general vaccine fatigue. Or maybe some other variant has supplanted it, one where the BA2 variant does not fare any better than any other variant booster. Coming up with ways to future-proof this stuff is a daunting task because it’s not just a moving target but a target that is moving in multiple directions at once. This virus does not evolve in a linear fashion; if it did then this pandemic would have been over for awhile now.

I am not telling you guys this because I want praise and adulation for the work that my colleagues and I are doing. I don’t give a fuck about that. What I care about is you all knowing and understanding that each decision in this process is not made lightly. We might get it right or we might get it wrong, but I promise you that it’s never as simple as you think it is.

Morning Joe is pretty much perfect. Leave it I say.

You're overanalyzing things. Even if you do absolutely nothing you are far better for this world than all of the selfish dipshits doing so very much for themselves.

Legacy is overrated. It's just some narcissistic concept people who accumulated lots of money or power masturbated into existence so they could feel that they are infinite. But no one is infinite. We'll all eventually turn to dust and be meaningless in the infinite expanse of time.

So just focus on being good to the people you see every day. Be kind to the delivery people, your barista, a cleaning lady. Tip an Uber or a Lyft driver and don't leave them a 1 star rating because they didn't kiss your ass. Seek to be more empathetic and understanding of all the shit everyone around you goes through.

That alone makes you important in this world. You'll be doing a lot of good - much more than many.

And if you haven't done that up to this point, today is your day to start.

Fuck a legacy dude. The world is only now, and you can only seek to make the most of what is here now that you can. I care if you die!

Ok NOW I’M STEPPING IN.

Female here. THIS IS BULLSHIT.

I say, have a VERY serious conversation IN PRIVATE with grandma. Explain how all this craziness is destroying you, your wife’s recovery and your relationship. Tell her the first step is these sisters have to go. They are fucking shit up right and left and they really are not welcome anymore.

Then tell her the second step is your wife needs to get back into whatever program is needed to stabilize her recovery and get her over these toxic sisters of hers, because they are banned for the foreseeable future from being in both of your house or proximity.

Discuss all this in advance with your therapist if necessary, just so you know you can keep a clear head. You sound like you are too traumatized right now to think straight, to be honest. Please try to marshal your strength. You need it to get through this phase of cutting these crazy bitches out of the life of you and your wife.

I subscribe to the idea that if you can't mentally treat it like you're losing the money and be okay with that, then you shouldn't do it.

Trump dump is a better name. This is dumb.

well, god. i am sorry. that is horrible. i hope this can be a place where you can unburden yourself and feel comfortable. we can try to make it that way.

I use mine to fix the DPI back to normal after I’ve accidentally bumped the button.