[Duckeh]

> We usually have long testing periods, but we didn't this time, for reasons that remain unclear

A pandemic ravaging the globe doesn't seem clear?

> Please remind me, when was the last time that we gave people vaccines not to protect that person specifically, but to allegedly protect some unknown other person, somewhere?

Herd immunity and personal protection are both parts of every vaccine, they go hand in hand. I'm surprised this is even a discussion on a place like HN... I guess I'm feeding the trolls...

[premium-gecko]

> A pandemic ravaging the globe doesn't seem clear?

A fear campaign ravaged the globe. If there hadn't been a fear campaign, I don't think anybody but doctors and immunologists and such would have been aware anything significant was happening. Similar to previous seasonal illnesses that were technically pandemics, but no normal person recalls doing anything about it. For example, ask people who are old enough what they remember about the HK flu in 1968.

> Herd immunity and personal protection are both parts of every vaccine, they go hand in hand

I'm still waiting for the example from the past where we administered a vaccine to someone, saying to them "this is not to protect you, since you are not at risk from this virus, but it is just to protect someone out there, we don't know whom". Are you able to provide such an example?

[Nursie]

> If there hadn't been a fear campaign, I don't think anybody but doctors and immunologists and such would have been aware anything significant was happening.

So the excess deaths, the health services stretched to capacity, this is nothing, nobody would have noticed at all?

I think this is a very, very strong claim given the numbers and would take some extraordinary evidence to back up.