theepochtimes.com/…

@user2617804 And seatbelts/airbags don't stop car crashes or associated fatalities. They are, however, highly effective at reducing the risk of death, for both topics. More to the point, there's been repeated evidence that vaccines reduce transmission, but the virus will continue to mutate as long as there's a large unvaccinated population for it to continue multiplying in.

@AndrasDeak I doubt the Phd student refused to be vaccinated between the ages of three months and 12 years. Can minors in the US refuse to be vaccinated if their parents make an appointment at the health center? If the student is unvaccinated against any disease that probably reveals more about the family environment than their personal convictions.

@Mari-LouA last time I checked PhD students were adults. If you realise your family has been wrong you start getting your shots, with covid the latest. If you don't realise your family was wrong you're a vehement anti-vaxxer all the same. Just because it's due to upbringing doesn't change the fact at all.

"Vehement anti-vaxxer due to childhood fear and distrust". Do you see where I'm going? :P

Many people have plausible motivation for holding wrong beliefs. They still hold those wrong beliefs.

@Mari-LouA The problem is that for the fears to be "reasonable" requires rational assessment of those fears. This isn't the case - their fears are absolutely irrational at this point. That's not to say it's not real - I don't like the dark either. But I'm perfectly able to recognize that this isn't a rational fear and I won't use it to put other people at risk.

@Graham well, there's no "reasonable fear" concerning vaccinations as a thing. Against individual vaccines, maybe. All vaccines? Yeah, no. (But this is beside my original point, because I'm not talking about moral judgement.)

and pretending that "I don't trust vaccines" is a valid stance in 2021 is very harmful