Hacker News Reader

Comment by QuarterReptile | Hacker News Reader

This is another problem of the modal Western approach. Few people have any knowledge of mitigating strategies or medications because we've moved so aggressively to eradicate discussion of those things.

View on HN

We have entire industries and research institutions funded to the tune of billons of dollars doing exactly that, using the very latest technology and scientific techniques. If there were effective treatment strategies that were easily discoverable, It'd have been patented, clinically trialed and be available from a counter near you at an affordable price extremely quickly. If it was cheap or safe enough, whole foods and such places would have shelves full of it. Capitalism is pretty good at that sort of thing, just look at all the vaccines we got in less than a year.

No, what we've done is that some parts of our press have denounced shilling of snake oil that doesn't work. There's no shortage of that shilling still taking place, though.

And as for knowledge, step into a hospital, and you'll see plenty of medications being used to treat actual cases of COVID. Doctors don't just put an oxygen mask on your face, and wait for you to die. You'll find a bit more knowledge there than you will in a deraged InfoWars rant, or a Joe Rogan podcast.

Unfortunately, that knowledge doesn't have 190 million monthly listeners. [1]

[1] If the most popular podcast[2] in America is your definition of 'eradicating' discussion, it's certainly an odd one.

[2] Or, if you're looking for variety in your media, you could always tune in to AM radio. Or the biggest television news syndicate in the world.

Shutting down qanon snake oil like hydroxy-c and ivermectin was sensible and necessary. Also injecting clorox was a bad idea as well. I didn't see any successful "non mainstream" treatments come out there were worth a lick. Certainly acupuncture isn't going to work either.

You seem to be implying that the Eastern approach is better, but the evidence doesn't support that at all.

Sorry, 'Western' was lazy shorthand for 'Western civilization', which covers most places geographically. I meant to exclude from my statement only poorer societies that don't have the luxury of being stupid in their healthcare approach to this disease and time.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com