ACIP was still erring on the side of Pharma, which they presumably have to due to the sponsored-Congress problem. They may have got it right, they may not.
I think the problem lies in the social psychology of public perceptions. The default reaction of most Westerners is that someone who has donned a white coat by virtue of a medical degree and wears a stethoscope around the neck, has taken on the garment and symbolic accessory of an angelic being. Nobody would ever say that ‘their’ doctor is a crook, or is mainly in it for the money, because that would mean admitting that the patient was a gullible fool.
The same with the pharmaceutical companies. The assumption of most of the public is that an indissoluble chain of trust exists that links the noble scientists of the ‘altruistic’ pharmaceutical company to the quality assurance obligations of the government regulator and the prescribing doctor - the latter being assumed to be thoroughly on top of all available knowledge relating to the drug/vaccine that is being prescribed. I too naively assumed that that must be the case five years ago - and then the Covid disaster happened. Now I see things very differently.
By not being scrupulously honest with their customers, the greed of the pharmaceutical corporates, the medical $cientists, and the medical industry in general, made what will probably tun out to be biggest mistake in their history - namely, they destroyed their most valuable asset - trust.
It amazes me how many people think the pharma companies would not cut corners, mislead or pressure the government to make more money.
I think the problem lies in the social psychology of public perceptions. The default reaction of most Westerners is that someone who has donned a white coat by virtue of a medical degree and wears a stethoscope around the neck, has taken on the garment and symbolic accessory of an angelic being. Nobody would ever say that ‘their’ doctor is a crook, or is mainly in it for the money, because that would mean admitting that the patient was a gullible fool.
The same with the pharmaceutical companies. The assumption of most of the public is that an indissoluble chain of trust exists that links the noble scientists of the ‘altruistic’ pharmaceutical company to the quality assurance obligations of the government regulator and the prescribing doctor - the latter being assumed to be thoroughly on top of all available knowledge relating to the drug/vaccine that is being prescribed. I too naively assumed that that must be the case five years ago - and then the Covid disaster happened. Now I see things very differently.
By not being scrupulously honest with their customers, the greed of the pharmaceutical corporates, the medical $cientists, and the medical industry in general, made what will probably tun out to be biggest mistake in their history - namely, they destroyed their most valuable asset - trust.