Not op, but I recovered from covid shortly before vaccines were available, and then opted not to get the shots based on available data on reinfections.
That decision has only seemed better supported as time has gone on, yet I still have to desperately avoid the topic in polite conversation if I don't want your average person to make all sorts of incorrect assumptions about me. There was also the risk to my livelihood from employer mandates.
I would have to see them go back and say "hey, that wasn't a deplorable decision, and we're sorry for encouraging everyone to think terrible things about you for making it."
I understand the noble lie argument, it just means that now I can't feel comfortable taking anything that comes out of public health at face value.
Doubling down on failed lockdown policy long after it was known to be ineffective and hurt more people than it helped. Profiteering off of the pandemic crisis. Rampant censorship of people who turned out be correct and were trying to warn us.
If they knew that there was something wrong with the vaccine, I expect them to lie about it, and censor and coerce whistle blowers into silence. They have demonstrated their eagerness to do so over the last two years.
So what good is the word of "the science" about how effective vaccines are? These are the same people that told us that we should trust the Chinese government.
> What did you need to see from those in power that would have maintained or built that trust?
Absolute transparency. Admitting that they made mistakes and committing to avoiding those mistakes in the future with meaningful policy changes. Reparations paid to those who were needlessly harmed by their mistakes.
At the very least, something like the settlements from toxic waste dumping coverups would be a good start.
If you’re in the US, you never experienced a ‘lockdown’ policy.
And nobody has been harmed on the order of the victims of toxic waste dumping.
You seem to be assuming that the vaccination programs that have been given to millions of people globally have had some kind of devastating consequences: mass disabilities, cancers and reproductive harms…
I wasn't even talking specifically about vaccinations at all. There are so many examples of injustices caused by our leaders during the pandemic. An example of a group that was harmed was the Canadian first nation communities. They had their community centers and churches closed indefinitely, while Walmart got the keep all of their stores open.
Not just were people's lives ruined by sloppy and corrupt government pandemic policies, but communities were shattered. The rich got way richer, and working class people were thrown into poverty. And it was so avoidable. Our decision makers at different layers were either corrupt and using the pandemic a cover to profiteer and consolidate power, or they were just incompetent and didn't enact effective policy.
They should be held accountable. They should have to face some kind of justice. Again, look to how corporations that were found to be engaging in illegal pollution were dealt with as a good starting point. Assets should be seized, arrests made. Ideally trusts can be set up to try to repair the damage done to people and communities. People that concealed information about the pandemic should be arrested and tried.
What did you need to see from those in power that would have maintained or built that trust?