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Comment by Vysero | Hacker News Reader

That's completely beside the point. What I asked is, why should I care what her opinion on the mater is? Why was this quote included in this article? Also it doesn't "sound like" that at all. You could not possibly make that judgment based on the two sentences included in the quote.

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It seems odd to write an impassioned comment about how little one cares about someone else’s opinion. Wouldn’t shrugging and then immediately forgetting what they think and moving on be more consistent with your claimed state of mind?

He’s pointing out that the article has political undertones. If it were purely about the virus, kamala harris, or any politician for that matter, wouldn't have even been mentioned

In the US, public health is politicized. It's absolutely reasonable to discuss the public health doctrine of the current administration and/or a possible future one.

Of course it has political undertones; the only reason these companies felt compelled to issue this statement was to counter the widely-spread fear that the sitting president of the U.S. would attempt to corrupt the standard vaccine process to his political benefit.

No it wouldn't be consistent with that. That would be consistent with not thinking critically. The hypocrisy of quoting a politician in order to reinforce your narrative whilst simultaneous talking about how the narrative your trying to reinforce is being driven by political motivations is... well it's sad really.

Such a bizarre argument. Direct quote from your comment:

> Tell me again why I should care what Kamala Harris opinion on the matter is?

Literally no one else is telling you that you should care what Kamala Harris' opinion on the matter is. You are the only one that seems to care what her opinion on the matter is.

By including the quote from a political candidate the author is saying (without words) that her opinion on the mater matters. Therefore, the AUTHOR is telling me that I should care what Kamala Harris' opinion on the matter is. How can you not see that?

I understand your position, but I don't see why this is cause for getting worked up.

After 9/11, the media famously asked rapper Ja Rule what he thought of the terrorist attacks. Obviously he wasn't an expert in international relations or counterinsurgency tactics. If it offends you that the media ask celebrities and well known individuals what their opinion is, then I scarcely can imagine any mass media channel that won't raise your blood pressure.

I'd just ignore it and move on. Media wants clicks, it is what it is.

Because she's a U.S. Senator who may be the Vice President soon. That's why people care, even if you don't. You know that already so please spare us the personal commentary masked as a question.

"Because she's a U.S. Senator who may be the Vice President soon. That's why people care, even if you don't."

This is exactly my point. You are part of the problem the article was pointing out. I personally, don't care what her opinion is because she's not an expert. Just like I don't care what Trump's opinion is because he's not an expert. The fact that the article says I should shows that it's politically biased, and the hypocrisy of talking about how political motivations are causing problems while simultaneous politically charging your own article is disgusting.

When did becoming a US senator give you expertise on determining the scientific merit of a vaccine?

Those are two questions. (a) No one can make you care about anything. You are totally free to live in apathy. (b) Her quote was included because she is a prominent political figure in the US, and her position is explicitly contrasted with that of the current administration. This contrast is relevant because of the upcoming election.

The 1976 swine flu vaccine was similarly rushed and look how it turned out.

I trust scientist to provide something that is safe, but if their decisions are overridden by a politician (doesn't matter whether Republican or Democrat) that is something that seriously dissolves that trust.

I care because she is my future vice president. It was clear what her intent was.

Because the article is about is about political involvement tainting public trust in the vaccine development process, and she is a prominent politician who recently made remarks about the matter.

Because shes running as the VP to the most powerful political office in the world?

because she's a public leader and vaccines dont work if people don't take them, and if people see people in positions of power avoiding the vaccine, they're going to be inclined to do the same. The science of getting the vaccine to work is only a part of the process of ending this pandemic. The enfire endeavor is useless if people don't take the vaccine because they don't trust it. And the everyday person is not a virologist.

She was asked by CNN, given that she's running on the Biden-Harris ticket. No one particularly cares whether you care or not, but she is clearly a rather important person right now and was asked this question given that public health has marched to political drums rather than safety drums lately.

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