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Comment by tboyd47 | Hacker News Reader

Well, it's easier to accuse someone of lying when their opinions are based on facts, which are in the realm of objectivity, making them vulnerable to being proven wrong.

> When I went into the more conservative, rural areas of east Texas, essentially everyone I talked to had lost a loved one because they refused a COVID-19 vaccine.

Tell me where the facts are in a statement like this, because I see a whole lot of political framing and appeals to emotion, and no facts.

> In the intensive-care unit, you saw some people deny COVID-19 existed, yet in their dying words feel remorse and advise their friends: ‘Don’t do what I did, get your COVID-19 immunization.’

The idea of a conservative person in rural east Texas saying anything like this is already somewhat questionable, but the wording Hotez chose for this li'l slice of drama is downright ludicrous.

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> Well, it's easier to accuse someone of lying when their opinions are based on facts, which are in the realm of objectivity, making them vulnerable to being proven wrong.

This is word salad.

> Tell me where the facts are in a statement like this, because I see a whole lot of political framing and appeals to emotion, and no facts.

The statement you provided is an account of an experience. Unsure what you think you're proving or disproving, but vaccine data generally isn't represented in "A single person knows of it working or not"-style data.

> This is word salad.

Try reading it again, maybe twice or more, and figuring out what is meant.

> Try reading it again, maybe twice or more, and figuring out what is meant.

No thanks, I suspect antivaxx propaganda like this would give me brain damage.

This is where a scientific approach to measuring opinions and experiences of multiple people would help. Peter Hotez has not demonstrated such an approach and has instead provided a possibly exaggerated and unproven anecdote as an input into discussion on how science is under threat.

He also did not bring up the issue of synthetic polyclonal antibodies, they seem quite relevant to the health of those who lack antibodies, and the transfer of antibodies from those who had developed them through their own COVID exposure or vaccination to those in most need of the antibodies.

I guess he did not even mention or give much thought to other ways that people who need the antibodies could get them, because he's much more interested in promoting vaccines, and treating vaccines as though they are the only option, and those who were on their last breaths could not have had their lives saved through other medical interventions after symptoms developed.

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