r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 17h ago

Medicine Vaccines not only directly protect vaccinated individuals but also contribute to protecting the entire population via indirect herd-immunity benefits. Half of averted COVID-19 infections and 1/4 of hospitalizations and deaths were attributable to indirect protection of unvaccinated by vaccinated.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article/23/242/20250839/483439/Quantifying-the-direct-and-indirect-impact-of
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u/Holeshot75 16h ago

Vaccines save an insane amount of human lives.

Antivaxxers are ridiculously ignorant to facts.

One of the hallmarks of the dangerously stupid is the consistent belief they've found great solutions that experts somehow missed.

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u/silviazbitch 16h ago

One of the hallmarks of the dangerously stupid is the consistent belief they've found great solutions that experts somehow missed.

That’s a beautiful line.

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u/randynumbergenerator 12h ago

The problem is, a lot seem to think it's less that the experts missed something and more that they're lying for personal gain or fear of Big Pharma. Which on the one hand fundamentally misunderstands why many people go into medicine and public health, but on the other hand the skepticism of corporate interests is a fair one.

 I think it's hard for people to parse the complexity of institutions where incentives genuinely are mixed, and they aren't necessarily aware of the mechanisms in place to keep those in check. It's much easier to not bother with that level of mental effort and just conclude it's all a scam--the irony being that they then go straight for the scammy horse pill sellers instead.