Pulmonary Artery Blood Clot Images Courtesy of the Vaccine Hesitant

[Kukulkan]

So sorry to hear that Chap.

I contracted COVID back late last year and let me tell you it was an incredibly terrifying experience. Luckily I was never hospitalized but there were moments I was close to getting someone to drive me in. I had asthma as a kid, which as I grew older grew less severe, but this bout of COVID has seemingly brought me back to where I was asthma-wise when I was a kid. I now have been re-prescribed an albuterol inhaler and I have to use it fairly often again. It sucks. Taste and smell as still incredibly diminished and it has been months since I have recovered. COVID is no joke. I know it affects everyone differently but I am young and it kept me bed ridden for a solid month. I still got the vaccine despite having some level of natural immunity, and the side effects were nothing compared to the real deal.

That blood clot picture is haunting.

[Gunnar]

(Of course, at no stage did the National Health Service send him a bill for any of the skilled and devoted care he received. Horrifying, ajax, isn't it? Better to die alone and uncared for than to suffer such Soviet levels of oppression.)

Sadly, some rightwing extremists actually openly express similar sentiments. Rick Perry, for instance, when confronted with how abiding by the government regulations Texas rejected in order to save money (like requiring power systems, including wind turbines, be winterized and hardened to protect against weather extremes) would have prevented or ameliorated much of the horrible hardship Texas suffered through during the recent severe cold snap, actually defiantly declared he would rather die than have to abide by those government regulations, even though intended to augment safety and health and save human lives.

[DrW]

So sorry to hear that Chap.

I contracted COVID back late last year and let me tell you it was an incredibly terrifying experience. Luckily I was never hospitalized but there were moments I was close to getting someone to drive me in. I had asthma as a kid, which as I grew older grew less severe, but this bout of COVID has seemingly brought me back to where I was asthma-wise when I was a kid. I now have been re-prescribed an albuterol inhaler and I have to use it fairly often again. It sucks. Taste and smell as still incredibly diminished and it has been months since I have recovered. COVID is no joke. I know it affects everyone differently but I am young and it kept me bed ridden for a solid month. I still got the vaccine despite having some level of natural immunity, and the side effects were nothing compared to the real deal.

That blood clot picture is haunting.

Sorry to hear that you contracted Covid-19. No one should have to go through that. Getting the vaccine was a wise choice though, especially if it was one of the mRNA types.

As you have learned, there can be longer lasting negative health effects, even from relatively mild cases. Hopefully these will improve with diet exercise and time. The MD who sent the blood clot image recently remarked that recent patients seemed to be younger than earlier in the pandemic. He said that many had lingering respiratory system problems, even from cases that did not require hospitalization. Apparently this is from scarring in the lungs. His colleagues are keeping an eye on several of the most affected who sought medical care for the aftereffects. They are concerned that these patients may have permanently reduced lung function.

Why would anyone take such a risk now, when the vaccines are available, highly effective, essentially painless and free?

[Kukulkan]

So sorry to hear that Chap.

I contracted COVID back late last year and let me tell you it was an incredibly terrifying experience. Luckily I was never hospitalized but there were moments I was close to getting someone to drive me in. I had asthma as a kid, which as I grew older grew less severe, but this bout of COVID has seemingly brought me back to where I was asthma-wise when I was a kid. I now have been re-prescribed an albuterol inhaler and I have to use it fairly often again. It sucks. Taste and smell as still incredibly diminished and it has been months since I have recovered. COVID is no joke. I know it affects everyone differently but I am young and it kept me bed ridden for a solid month. I still got the vaccine despite having some level of natural immunity, and the side effects were nothing compared to the real deal.

That blood clot picture is haunting.

Sorry to hear that you contracted Covid-19. No one should have to go through that. Getting the vaccine was a wise choice though, especially if it was one of the mRNA types.

As you have learned, there can be longer lasting negative health effects, even from relatively mild cases. Hopefully these will improve with diet exercise and time. The MD who sent the blood clot image recently remarked that recent patients seemed to be younger than earlier in the pandemic. He said that many had lingering respiratory system problems, even from cases that did not require hospitalization. Apparently this is from scarring in the lungs. His colleagues are keeping an eye on several of the most affected who sought medical care for the aftereffects. They are concerned that these patients may have permanently reduced lung function.

Why would anyone take such a risk now, when the vaccines are available, highly effective, essentially painless and free?

I do hope that my asthma/lung functions do get better with time. I work with a great doctor who feels confident that with continued exercise and proper diet that I will get better. I have several family members in healthcare that seem to be seeing the same worrying trends. Younger patients, aftereffects that we are only beginning to notice, etc. It has been really eye opening to have those in healthcare close as it has shown a side of COVID that I don't think everyone has been able to witness.

Modern medicine is amazing. Get the damn vaccine!

[DrW]

From the annals of vaccine hesitancy: a former colleague called me on Whats App yesterday. After no contact for more than ten years, the main reason for the call was to ask what I thought about mRNA vaccines, and whether I had been vaccinated.

Upon hearing that my wife and I were fully mRNA vaccinated, he said a reliable source in Fiji had told him that important data from the animal studies phase of vaccine development at Pfizer had not been disclosed to the public. According to this source, when mRNA vaccinated animals in the study had been exposed to a “new virus” (not a SARS – CoV-2 variant) later in life, their immune system over-reacted, responding with a cytokine storm, causing most of the animals in the study to die.

The absence of tourists over the last year or so because of Covid-19 has decimated the Fijian economy. This individual’s business there was in trouble and he needed to have proof of vaccination before he could return to Fiji from Australia. He was truly hesitant about getting the mRNA vaccine, as were others in his circle, even though not doing so could eventually mean the loss of his business.

I reminded him of the fact that more than 100 million people in the US have received mRNA vaccines, and that these have proven to be among the most safe and effective vaccines ever developed. This information did not seem to diminish his concern. According to this conspiracy theory, based on the supposed outcome of the animal studies mentioned, the real risk would come later when he was exposed to some “new virus”.

I asked him if he had done any checking to verify the central claims of this particular anti-vaxxer theory. He said that research would be no use because if the animal study results had been hidden, there would be nothing to find. He said that there was a video that had leaked out describing the whole thing but had no further details.

This individual is in his 50s. He has an MBA and the wherewithal to start a company to compete with Fiji water. Yet he was apparently willing to put that business at risk because of a sketchy sounding and apparently unfalsifiable conspiracy theory for which there is overwhelming contrary evidence.

After expressing doubts about this story, we agreed that he would email me and I would look into the issue and get back with him if I found anything. Most folks on this board can probably guess what happened next. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-fact ... SKBN2A22UW

VERDICT
False. Animals vaccinated in the 2012 study referred to in this video did not die when exposed to a live virus and the research did not involve mRNA vaccines, according to the lead author of the study referenced.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/about .

The kind of unfounded belief that my old friend displayed here becomes a real danger in the face of a global pandemic cause by a rapidly mutating virus. I emailed him with what was readily available from a reliable source regarding this particular anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory. I have no confidence that it will alter his attitude or his behavior any more than it would for the fifty percent of Mormons who reportedly say they are unlikely to get vaccinated. Yet another example of Darwinian evolution at work.

[Gunnar]

The kind of unfounded belief that my old friend displayed here becomes a real danger in the face of a global pandemic cause by a rapidly mutating virus. I emailed him with what was readily available from a reliable source regarding this particular anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory. I have no confidence that it will alter his attitude or his behavior any more than it would for the fifty percent of Mormons who reportedly say they are unlikely to get vaccinated. Yet another example of Darwinian evolution at work.

Here's hoping that your friend doesn't turn himself into yet another Darwin Awards winner, or even an honorable mention.

[Themis]

The kind of unfounded belief that my old friend displayed here becomes a real danger in the face of a global pandemic cause by a rapidly mutating virus. I emailed him with what was readily available from a reliable source regarding this particular anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory. I have no confidence that it will alter his attitude or his behavior any more than it would for the fifty percent of Mormons who reportedly say they are unlikely to get vaccinated. Yet another example of Darwinian evolution at work.

Here's hoping that your friend doesn't turn himself into yet another Darwin Awards winner, or even an honorable mention.

Odds are his friend will not die, but they are more likely to pass it around to someone who will die. This is why Governments have the right to control behavior in times of crisis to save lives. Even the lives of Morons.