Brian Cohen writes The Gate travel blog and has declared that he will not get vaccinated against Covid-19. I want to take his arguments seriously, because vaccine hesitancy – while continuing to decline – remains one of the major barriers to ending the pandemic.
Cohen says he doesn’t need a vaccine, and doesn’t want to virtue signal by getting one. And he has concerns. He says he is “not completely convinced that it is effective” because “we [do not] know what side effects may result in the short term and long term.”
Ultimately he says “no vaccine is guaranteed to be 100 percent effective for 100 percent of the people — and the side effects can potentially be significant.”
The ways in which this is wrong are manifold.
- These vaccines are highly effective not just in trial data but in real world data. When we talk about effectiveness like ‘95%’ (phase 3 trial for Pfizer-BioNTech) that’s just against symptoms, the vaccines are even more effective against severe disease, hospitalization, and death – the things we care about. Pfizer reports 97% effectiveness in Israel.
- These vaccines protect other people, not just yourself Pfizer reports 94% effectiveness against asymptomatic cases (so the possibility that someone is a silent carrier who spreads the virus). The CDC found that Pfizer and Moderna together were 90% effective against asymptomatic infection.
The case fatality rate for those diagnosed with Covid-19 who are over 80 years old is around 15%. Since vaccines reduce the chance you’ll spread the virus, getting vaccinated keeps you from killing grandma.
You might say but older people should get vaccinated to be protected but vaccines are also less effective in those taking certain drugs for other medical conditions. And this is a travel blogger writing, remember that vaccine availability is much greater in the U.S. than elsewhere, 80 year olds in much of the world haven’t had a chance to get vaccinated yet.
- Contra Brian, we do know the short-term side effects. For the mRNA vaccines there’s about a 1 in 100,000 risk of anaphylaxis, due to allergy to the lipid nanoparticles used to deliver the mRNA. And since that’s a known risk, vaccinated patients don’t leave immediately after getting their shot and those providing doses have medicine on hand to counteract the effects.
The most common side effect is soreness at the injection site, but some people experience headache, fatigue, and chills – especially for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after the second shot (unless they’ve already had Covid-19 then more frequently after the first shot). These generally resolve themselves within 24-48 hours.
- Risks of vaccines have to be compared to risks of Covid-19. Even rare blood clotting which has been attributed to the AstraZeneca vaccines – which isn’t approved for use in the U.S. but is approved in over 70 countries – is treatable and overall worth the risk given the effectiveness against Covid-19, especially against hospitalization and death.
Already almost one in 500 Americans has died of Covid-19, and we’re not done. And death isn’t the only bad outcome, being hospitalized is miserable, and so is having a terrible version of the flu for two weeks. While there are ‘risks’ associated with vaccines, there are greater risks associated with that which the vaccines protect against.
- Getting vaccinated reduces the risk of mutations. Covid-19, like all viruses, mutates within human hosts. The more potential hosts, the more possible mutation opportunities. If you don’t get vaccinated you’re more likely to contract the virus, and allow it to mutate in ways that could become more transmissible, lead to more severe disease, and potentially escape vaccines. Do you really want to risk moral culpability on par with the guy who first ate that bat? (I know, I know, it likely wasn’t direct bat to human transmission.)
- Brian sets an impossible standard. We haven’t followed test subjects for 20 years so by definition we cannot say based on empirical evidence what happens 20 years post-vaccination. But we do understand the science of the vaccines – viral vector vaccines deliver the spike protein, mRNA vaccines tell the body to create it – the body fights these off and then it disappears.
Moreover we have evidence of safety from over 600 million vaccine doses administered worldwide. There’s never been a vaccination campaign this closely watched in human history. Trial subjects were scrutinized to an incredible degree, did you know that one of Moderna’s phase 3 trial participants was struck by lightning and that incident had to be dismissed as not being the result of vaccination?
Brian writes that he’s gotten other vaccines, even ones that aren’t 100% protective, and against risks that are far more remote than contracting severe Covid. He says he doesn’t like virtue signaling but seems to be doing just that, against getting vaccinated for what’s a very real risk right now. That’s disappointing.
Thank goodness we’ve had access to these vaccines. Getting to shots in arms less than a year since human-to-human transmission of the virus was first identified is akin to the first moon landing. We all owe bioscience a huge debt of thanks. And Pfizer is now even prepared to file for full FDA approval, which is great because that will take off the table the misleading talking point of the anti-vaxxers that the vaccines ‘aren’t fully approved’.,
“Nothing is impossible to the man who will not listen to reason”, John Belushi in Animal House.
Unfortunately you cannot use logic on people who have their minds made up and willfully ignore facts. I say this as a person who has been teaching for over 40 years. Hopefully Mr. Cohen will neither get sick nor infect others, but for whatever reason he has decided to set a terrible example. Like the parents who let their kids get measles and mumps, ignoring the danger they pose to others, it’s always somebody else’s fault.
An excellent deconstruction of the stupid arguments over at The Gate.
I am not planning to read The Gate any more.
I’m never shy to criticize Gary: but credit where credit is due. This is an excellent post.
Nonsense from the Gate.
And “I’m getting the vaccine” is absolutely a virtue we should be signaling.
Is there a way to block this guys post on boardingarea? I’m done with his blog when he claimed that Uber rolling out a female only service was a total mistake.
First I am proud and pleased to report, not only am I vaccinated, I am past the two-week period. We have had others who are vaccinated over and it was great to not worry and wear a mask in the privacy of our home with family. I listen to people who do not want the vaccine and assume without hesitation they will take meds their Dr. prescribes that have known side effects that are worse than the original problem. Yet they will not accept a vaccine for a virus that is known to kill some who get it and has no significant side effects so far beyond the first 48 hours. A vaccine that will save lives and help end the pandemic. But they will take meds that can cause a list of adverse effects and in one commercial I listen to plus others we may not know about.
Brian is an idiot. Wow. Rarely have ever read him. Always read you Gary. Thank you for pointing out the science and sense of vaccines.
Excellent article. Agree 100%. About to get my second shot of Moderna and couldn’t be more excited. The more of us that get it, the sooner travel will feel normal!
Brian is cherry picking his science and engaging in whataboutism to deflect from the fact that he made up his mind beforehand and doesn’t feel like altering it now. My reasons for getting vaccinated are both selfish and altruistic: selfishly I want to travel, eat indoors, watch a movie, etc. without getting sick; altruistically it was pounded into me as a child that I have a personal responsibility and patriotic duty to this country (insert comment about this being trite if you must) and sometimes that means doing things I may not like, such as jury duty or getting vaccinated to protect my fellow citizens.
I don’t always agree with you, but you’re 100% right on this. Brian has lost his mind.
Everyone over 16 should get vaccinated at the earlier opportunity. The sooner everyone is vaccinated, the better for everyone.
Brian is a shit bag.
As others have said, I am quick to call out your bad posts, however on this one you are spot on. Credit where credit is due. Get your shots, and lets move on. The longer people DON’T get their shots, the more this will go on for.
Does anyone know why Brian uses a picture that is at least 15 years old on the front page of his blog? He certainly has taken a passport portrait since then.
I am sorry about Brian Cohen. I do not wish him to have long term health problems nor for him to get infected then infect someone else who dies. These are not low probability scenarios as evidenced by over half a million Americans who have already died. That is what would happen in a nuclear warhead exploded over Chicago….there would be half a million dead.
If you’re over 80 and already on death’s door, or have other serious morbidity factors no matter what age you are, the common flu or cold could easily be the final straw that leads to health complications and end of life. So if you’re consistent, you should be demanding everyone wear a mask and socially distance forever or until we have a vaccine for the common flu or cold. But you don’t. Because you’re not consistent. You’re fine with people dying from the common flu or pneumonia or whatever. Just like we all were pre-covid. But now you’re dutifully regurgitating the Left’s dogma on this sudden health awareness. Hate to break it to you, but old people are going to die of something eventually. It’s just so weird that you’re all perfectly fine with all those deaths because “that’s life” EXCEPT when anyone dies of anything covid-related. Nobody is allowed to die of that. Pneumonia? That’s cool. But NOT covid. So weird. Feel free to get vaccinated. But please stop all of your hypocrisy on this. (It’ll never stop.) Carry on.
You can’t fix stupid. I’ll not be reading The Gate. The Gate’s next trip should be to visit an ICU full of vented Covid patients.
Bravo. I’m a physician and when I read Brian’s article, lots of head shaking occurred. The argument about not getting the flu vaccine because he’s never gotten the flu is the exact rationale that anti-vaxxers use when they refuse vaccines for their kids. That’s like saying why should I wear a seat belt if I’ve never gotten into a car accident? Why buy home owners or car insurance if I’ve never had a tornado destroy my house or gotten into a car accident? Why buy life insurance because I’ve never died? The whole point of the vaccines are that if you happen to be exposed to it, it mitigates the severity of the disease and even better, prevents the virus from ever getting a foothold in the first place.
Your point about the variants/mutations is my main concern about not getting as many people vaccinated as much as possible. We need to get as many shots in arms as fast as we can to decrease the prospective pool of uninfected/unvaccinated people in order to decrease the substrate for mutations.
Brian probably thought he had a clever argument but the logic has flaws.
Thank you for pushing the vaccine! Everyone should be getting the vaccine if eligible and if there’ no health reasons not to get it. Not getting the vaccine is incredibly selfish, as the vaccine also helps protecting others.
Shot #2 already in the arm. #trustscience
Waiting to hear the “Getting the vaccine is like Jim Crow” excuse…..don’t laugh…..its coming from one of these idiots. The USA needs to set a date…..say, August 1st. By this time, anyone in this country who wants a vaccine will have had it. So this will be the date that ALL restrictions end…. and I do mean ALL. If you’re too thick-headed to get vaccinated, fair enough, that’s your right but my rights don’t end where yours start. You can take your chances in an open society. If you contract it, (which you probably wont) I wish you a speedy recovery.
Selfish! Just unsubscribed to his blog. One who travels so much should know better.
Stupid is as stupid does. – Aristotle.
Brian is a travel blogger? What type of travel is he expecting to do in the future, if he isn’t vaccinated? Can’t imagine he will have much to write about if he is limited to domestic travel. Oh yeah, maybe RV park reviews and the best roller coasters at local amusement parks. Writing from his recliner, I guess–a real authoritative source. Hmmm.
Why are you so afraid of other people having a different opinion?
I hugely applaud Brian for having the guts to go against the narrative. For me, it’s a shame being part of BoardingArea nowadays. Too scared to lose your “clicks” by saying anything that contradicts the narrative… We don’t need nor want this toxic “vaccine”. Nobody who is capable of critical thinking does. Gotta respect that, Gary.
I’m officially done with The Gate. It is almost a lampoon of a good Boarding Area writer. Gary, Thanks for providing excellent and thoughtful content that I can trust.
It’s helpful to get insight into the minds of the vaccine hesitant, so I appreciate his transparency.
As we transition from the time when people are hustling to be vaccinated to the time when supply is ample and we’re begging laggards to take them, the nonvaccinated like Brian will be the folks who keep us out of herd immunity and allow covid room to mutate into forms that resist available vaccines, hit children harder, or spread more effectively.
People like Brian will be directly responsible for these foreseeable consequences. Understanding how society should treat the nonvaccinated will be an important way of charting our way out.
Interesting to read that he never gets the seasonal flu shot too — I didn’t realize that. The strain of late 2019/early 2020 was really bad for pediatric mortality :/
Going into fall 2020 I was cautious about vaccines because of the ultra rushed process and regulatory control by a federal government who didn’t always seem to have American lives as a high priority. What I did was actually watch the VRBPAC materials and read the supporting documents, including the peer reviewed articles with efficacy data, and talk to trusted MD friends. I was excited to take the Moderna vaccine when it was available for my demographic.
Here’s what’s undeniable: we don’t know what we don’t know. “Informed consent” is simply not possible where no long term studies exist. There’s little to no information on potential reproductive system impacts. The vaccine is not “FDA Approved.” It is instead authorized for emergency use only. The two most widely available vaccines stateside are predicated on a technology that has never before been used in the vaccine sphere. And outside of nursing homes, survival rate vs. the disease is 99.97%.
Now, if you look at that, take your personal health profile into account, and determine that getting the shot is the right play, then good for you. But lots of folks are going to conclude otherwise, and their underlying reasoning is often sound.
Very well said Gary…and as far as the one person on here (AL) that disagrees…..so far.
Getting the vaccine isn’t just about protecting yourself or your chances of dying if you do get
Covid, it’s about protecting others from getting it. It’s profoundly selfish to say you aren’t worried about getting Covid because you are not in a high risk demographic or think you know more then the experts on the subject and “Covid is overblown”
Essentially you are saying you have no problem with you getting infected and sitting next to an 80 year couple on an airplane and passing it on to them.
That’s the reality of your perspective.
The vaccinations have already saved 1000’s of lives and the more people that get vaccinated the more lives will be saved. The Q anon/Plandemic/ Mercola anti vax crowd all come from a very self centered point of view. Their entire argument is always about what about me and never a hint about what’s good for society.
I agree with Brian but not for his reasons…. show me a vaccine that has absolutely no connection to abortion and I’ll take it. Otherwise just can’t do it.
Gary,
Interesting article. I happen to agree with your points, and got my vaccine several months ago (I’m in the health care field). But what happened to civil discourse? The name calling from commenters because someone expressed a different opinion is ridiculous. Would you speak to any person that way face to face? While you can discuss the facts about the vaccine (and this article presents them well) Brian’s opinion about what to do for himself is just that, an opinion. It’s not right or wrong, it can’t be “fact checked.” And we all wonder why there is such a decline in sophistication in debating and discussing public policy- everyone is a genius or a moron, with nothing in between. My experience is that there are very few geniuses or morons (well, maybe more than a few). And trying to “shut him up;” are we afraid of any point of view different from our own? That’s what leads to book burning.
I have no idea who this guy is. Given he averages 0 comments on his posts I imagine few do either.
Its people like Brian that will make travel in the near term questionable. The problem he is not alone in his views. While vaccinated my wife and I decided to cancel our trip to London this summer, reason being how enjoyable can travel be with FA’s dressed like they’re working in an operating room, food service margin, then facing the same in London a city we love. To date we hav cancelled two previous trips now this one hoping next year will be more agreeable.
So Brian like you so goes your column to shit.
The blog I see on Boarding Area and call “The Face” isn’t worth reading anyway.
The guy should change the site name to FoolsGate. In my mind I already have and will never again click through to any further information or points of view that he has because he as identified himself as a huge fool. The dangerous thing is that unfortunately there are far to many people in the world that will listen to an idiot.
These vaccines have been shown to be effective and safe in millions of people.
I wonder if Brian and friends will refuse to fly on a new plane until it has made millions of successful new trips
I’m happy to get vaccinated so that free riders like Brian don’t have to. That’s all he’s doing. Once everyone has easy access to a vaccine, let Darwin take the wheel.
I was hoping Brian’s post was a poor attempt at April Fool’s humor, but it seems he’s serious. I’ve never found The Gate interesting or useful, but now it’s advocating dangerous behavior. Boarding Area should stop hosting his blog.
You gave this way more logical thinking and rationale then it deserves. Brian is a moron plain and simple
His blog is the worst one on boarding area. “Get $5 off of when you buy 2 snickers bars at Walmart”… ring a bell?
I got my first shot yesterday. I finally feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Where is your left wing tolerance, Gary?
Why can’t you (and some of your low information readers) simply be accepting of different or opposing viewpoints?
“getting vaccinated for what’s a very real risk right now”.
A real risk from what .. getting COVID or dying? If it’s COVID,, big deal. The survival rate is 99% or higher for most people under 70. If it’s dying.. this narrative has been proven to be a big nothing-burger. But don’t let facts get in the way of a good narrative..
Meanwhile.. you all are so gung-ho with Mrna-based vaccines, but are you aware that these types of vaccines CAN alter DNA? Personally, I’ll let you all “beta” test this vaccines out – and I’ll carefully watch the results for the next few years. Even then, I still might not take the vaccine – SIMPLY BECAUSE I DON’T NEED IT. And stop this line about also “hurting others” by not taking it because are you all going to apologize when you require another COVID vaccine a year from now because the current ones didn’t work?
Oh – for those so strung up at at Brian’s post – one thing you have to admit (but you prob won’t because you are too prideful): he was dead right out COVID a year ago as he stated COVID was a big nothing-burger. He was the only travel blogger around this time last year to outright state that COVID was not worth living in fear for and to stop traveling, and he is 100% CORRECT on that. There is very little difference in terms of infection rates between communities that got locked down and those that didn’t. Bottom line: stop acting like a total fascist when it comes to other people’s opinions. I don’t know what colleges you folks went to, but they are doing a great job to make sure you try to silence all dissent to the officially approve narrative. If COVID was such a threat, why is big tech and big gov going over the top in trying to convince people it is soooooo scary… when the CDC stats say otherwise.
In all.. NO – we’re not all in this together. The l3ftist nut jobs that keep locking down human beings in the name of COVID should be put in jail permanently. Tens of millions of jobs were lost for absolutely nothing.. all caused by heartless and cowardly bureaucrats who didn’t miss one paycheck – only to be funded by those who they screwed over.
You folks who think that Brian should be cancelled or say “well i’m not going to visit his blog again”… get a life and learn how to accept opinions that don’t align with yours.
I used to read The Gate. Then he wrote some nonsense post basically supporting antimaskers, and that pretty much sums up his idiocy. I even posted on his blog pointing out the fallacy and lack of societal responsibility. His replies were just rehash of the tired arguments of an antimasker.
The guy claims he’s presenting balanced views, but he’s kinda like Fox News / Breitbart / OAN for travel.
I’ll append my prior post to clarify; it wasn’t about the masks, it was about social distancing, restricting businesses and closing parts of the economy to flatten the curve. His point was basically willing to let a percentage of the population become infected with COVID-19 (herd immunity) and die off (himself included in his reply), instead of shutting down parts of the economy. That was back in February / March of 2020, and now with 550K+ deaths, I wonder what his take is now. Especially considering it could have been even worse if everyone were allowed to go about without closing up gyms and other high risk areas.
Gray can sometimes hold opinion that I do not necessarily agree with, but this piece deserves kudos.
It boils down to comparative risks: are you and your community at a lower risk should you choose to (a) vaccinate everybody or (b) refuse to get a jab? Based on existing evidence (a) stands out.
Hahaha that guy has always been straddling the line between moron and imbecile so this comes as no surprise. The only redeeming feature of The Gate is that when you inevitably flame him for his retarded posts he won’t censor you; he just takes it in stride.
Lol, the self-righteous attitude in these responses is hilarious. And Gary is still sanctimonious. Good luck, America. Brian may well be wrong to avoid vaccination at this time. He is not alone. Getting 330 million people to agree on anything at the same moment is not common. Americans, particularly Gary’s biggest fans, have fallen in love with insulting all that disagree with them. And for their brilliant counsel america delivers poor health outcomes, violence and toxic social interactions. Gary, you whip this up for an extra click or two. Don’t you think you might just be part of the problem?
gotta say there are many who have had the wool pulled over their eyes here.
You really believe the 95% efficacy? You’ve been suckered. The biggest thing was the results are from summer/early fall. Peak immune strength in the N. Hemisphere / USA. Lots more holes…manipulation as well. Namely – nobody died of C19 in the trials (Ok – 1 in Moderna)…meanwhile in USA – 75,000+ died in same time frame.
Website/Books to read:
Dissolving Illusions – 1500 Amazon reviews
Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies – #1 on Amazon – Health Policy now
Learn the Risk website – easy to read…can see the vax fraud for what it is easily.
oh yeah…the 4 primary VOC (Variants of Concern) all originated from the primary vax test countries – USA, UK, South Africa, and Brazil. Brazil is #1 test country for VARIETY of vax. Guess who is having mega problems now?
Vaxinated in USA / Europe will be dying in big numbers soon enough…
Not sure on Brian’s reasoning…but it ain’t dumb.
Check out a video on Youtube – it’s bacteria but same principle:
evolution of bacteria petri dish – a 2 min video from Harvard.
In the Miller’s Review book you find published science like:
Pertussis vaccines caused new, vaccine-resistant strains of pertussis to emerge and increased cases of the disease – study #92 of 400 in the book
from this study: Population diversity among Bordetella pertussis isolates, United States, 1935-2009 [search that…look at the graphs]
pHARMa vax will kill many more people than if we just did nothing for something 99.6%+ under 70 or so (99.9x for younger set) survive.
but hey…believe it’s all a conspiracy / fake news…when the joke will be on the masses.
@whocares
Does that incoherent drivel work on your FB friends?
Your article is wholly inflammatory from the first line: “he will not get vaccinated against Covid-19″… when the article is actually titled “Why I Am Not Getting a Vaccine At This Time.”
This is a blatant misquote meant to make an inaccurate point. You should be ashamed at this attempt to flame a fellow blogger for your own gain. Honest disagreement is one thing. This is a despicable display.
There is no vaccine for any ailment required in this country. TB? No, despite 1.8 million people dying from it in 2019. Measles? No. Pneumonia? No. Flu. No. Nothing. Yet, you and others set out to vilify anyone who will not blindly toe the line and accept the Covid vaccine. Why this mob mentality over only one of the countless ways we are in danger every day?!
That guy and his woeful blog is still around? And the head in the header, c’mon! His denial would have been worth a footnote at best, now you’ve given him the voice he so strongly desired.
Mistake or not, at the end it’s HIS mistake and he’ll have to live with that decision as does everyone else who makes personal medical decisions. People believe whatever they choose to believe in, usually mistakes aren’t visible until years later.
How about it’s his choice same as yours to make?!
What is your favorite part of the experimental covid gene therapy ‘vaccine’?
– That you still need to wear a mask?
– That you still need to social distance?
– That you can still get covid?
– That you can still die from covid?
– That the drug wasn’t tested on unhealthy people, and thus, received high efficacy rates?
– That you’ve taken an experimental drug that hasn’t been tested on animals?
– That your health insurance is VOID in some countries if you take the vaccine?
– That some businesses are BANNING people who have been vaxxed because of unknown health effects that their public liability insurance policy won’t cover you being in their store?
– That you have no idea of long term health complications from taking it?
– That you get free Krispy Kreme?
You can both be pro-vax, and anti-covid-vax.
Covid vax is NOT the same as other vaccines.
Nice rebuttal Gary
Brian isn’t an idiot. He just made a foolish post. He’s also a free rider. There’s a risk with all vaccines. For COVID-19 (and most other diseases) that risk is much smaller than that of the disease. That’s why we don’t vaccinate for small pox anymore. Society collectively benefits from each individual that is vaccinated. Brian wants the rest of us to take the risk while he enjoys the benefit. I would like that too. Unfortunately, it’s not a sustainable strategy.
Don’t be selfish. If your doctor clears you to take the shot, take the shot.
Thank you for calling a spade a spade.
Anti-vaxxers kill.
@whocares: Step away from the pipe!
Everyone else: Who are you going to believe, all of the best doctors and medical scientists in the world, or a few wing-nuts on the internet?
Thank you for this. Brian’s article all derived from him claiming to be pro-vaxx because even though he doesn’t want the covid vaccine, he got a yellow fever vaccine (which of course he later admitted was required to travel). I called him out on this fallacy and he dug himself into a hole he can’t escape from. His logic is so warped, it’s astonishing. Again, I’m sure if/when the vaccine will be required for travel, he will change his tune.
Most, if not all of the readers on BordingArea, follow these blogs because they love to travel. The covid vaccine is perhaps the only way we can have can travel truly return to normal. This “industry” should be promoting any safe and logical way to make that happen. If Brian can’t promote the science, then readers should ignore him and save our clicks for other bloggers.
Much respect for you Gary.
Vaccines do not need to be administered to 100% of the population to prevent pandemics. Hopefully only a small minority will choose otherwise. They should have the right.
Simple fact is if no one got vaccinated hundreds of thousands more would die, if everyone got vaccinated hundreds of thousands of lives would be saved. Not rocket science, just common sense. The people who think they have special knowledge about the vaccine that they learned on the Internet are simply disregarding the common good for their own self centered perspective and their desire for a conspiracy theory to give their lives some meaning.
Excellent post. I got my second Moderna shot about 10 days ago and I am stoked.
I do, however, disagree with the concept of not reading somebody because we disagree on an issue (or issues). Part of the problem with the world today is so many people only read, watch, and listen to what they agree with, I feel it’s better to see both sides, and then hopefully know which is best. Granted this requires more thinking, and less enjoyment of the preaching to the choir.
Only listening to those you agree with leads to the sharp polarization we have today. Many people can’t debate an issue without resorting to personal attacks (stupid, moron, imbecile, etc.). I watch CNN and Fox, and see both are biased and cheery-pick what they’ll feed the audience, Sometimes it’s like the two blind men trying to describe an elephant, when one was holding the tail and the other the trunk.
That’s an unfair take Gary. What even being it up.
Cohen recognizes the risk of taking a vaccine are greater than the risk of Covid. Covid has a 99.999% survival rate. It has been purposely exaggerated by the media/academia/institutions/the government for political and ideological purposes. It’s used as a pretext to curb civil liberties and fundamental freedoms. The various vaccines have a lot of reported side effects and numerous people have died after getting the vaccines. Of course the institutionalist and globalist medical community downplays the risker the vaccine. When government/academia/the media/globalists want the public to do something, it’s probably better to do the opposite.
@Jackson Waterson – check your math. The claim that “Covid has a 99.999% survival rate” is 100% false.
– There have been 554,000 Covid deaths in the U.S.
– If every single American had already had Covid-19 it would be a 99.8% survival rate. Of course not everyone has already had it.
Your number is literally impossible. And as I wrote in the post, ~ 15% of diagnosed 80+ patients die of this. Younger people who are less likely to die *spread it* to those 80+ year olds.
“numerous people have died after getting the vaccines” and numerous people have had their dishwashers break after getting the vaccines, that doesn’t mean the dishwashers are the cause, cite your sources on deaths *from* the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that are approved for use in the United States?
Very soon most of us will conclude that we have been willing to put up with some restrictions for a time because some haven’t had the chance to get vaccinated yet, but we are not willing to put up with restrictions to protect those who make the poor decision not to get vaccinated when they could have been. Either there will need to be a vaccine passport system whereby vaccinated people can participate in all normal activities while the unvaccinated are barred from some things; or restrictions will need to end entirely Those who keep dying will be those who chose to put themselves at that risk; and any health care professionals who remain at risk will be those who chose to be.
At the international level, it is certain that many countries will require proof of vaccination for admittance, and of course those who don’t have it will be free not to go.
Wow… who knew that so many sitting in the same plane that I may be on are raving morons.
Great post and thank you for taking a stance. I just got my second dose and, to be honest, am really hoping that the vaccine passports comes sooner rather than later. I don’t want to fly on planes with people like Brian and would be glad to know that everyone in that metal tube has already been vaccinated
Great article, Gary. A couple things I would add:
The outcomes from COVID-19 are not just you die or you don’t die. We shouldn’t just look at the fatality rate, many people are suffering from “long COVID” and this is a drain on society.
As for the timing of how quickly the vaccines reached EUA: The main reason that vaccine trials have historically taken much longer is the population attack rate of natural infection is much slower for other diseases. Because we are in the middle of a raging pandemic, it is much easier to measure and calculate the statistical difference between the vaccine and placebo groups in the trial. It only took a few months for high case numbers to appear in the placebo group and low case numbers to appear in the vaccine group to prove the statistical efficacy of the vaccines.
As for long term side effects, at this point hundreds of millions of people have gotten vaccines, the longest time being about a year. There is no precedent in the history of immunology for a vaccine side effect suddenly appearing that long after immunization. (ADE not a concern here, the antibodies are doing their job zapping the virus!)
Spot on Gary, but we’d all be better off ignoring rather than feeding this indignant and dangerous nonsense. Brian’s blog seems to be mostly ignored, I rarely see any engagement with his posts, likely because he doesn’t bring any relevant news or analysis to the table. That’s not meant as a personal attack, I normally just ignore his posts as a Boarding Area follower, but I’m guessing his controversial stance has brought him significantly more attention than he’s ever received, or deserved based on the content he writes. Now you have a prominent blogger with a significantly larger following amplifying his selfishness and directing more people to him. I’d rather ostracize people like this than shine a light on them.
I can’t wait for the anti-vaxxer covidiots to be banned from traveling. Not having to have an annoying-as-Ted Cruz travel blogger like Cohen posting pics of specs of dust on a lie-flat seat he freeloaded and a close up of warm nuts while complaining of something entirely trivial while 550,000 dead American bodies pile up will be a nice respite from a year of misery. I look forward to the covidiots isolating themselves into oblivion. They are the most selfish, anti-science, foolish, ridiculous people on earth. It will make Americans be able to restore our badly damaged reputation abroad when only vaccinated science-believing logical people are allowed to travel. And I won’t associate with any of the anti-vaxxer pro-death crowd or allow any of them anywhere near me. Enjoy your caves, troglodytes! You’ve earned a spot in history among the dumbest! Way to go. Concierge Key Idiot Level Unlocked!
Brian will change his tune as soon as the Penis Museum requires him to be vaccinated to enter. How will he be able to go on without making his return visit??
The only upside of all this is maybe by not getting it he catches it and then we don’t have to read his blog for a while! And yes he is an idiot!
@Heidi The vast majority of those saying they are waiting for the vaccine, or some other similar statement when I ask them what vaccines have they taken its crickets. Many if not all have not taken a flu shot. They are anti-vaxxers for anything. Your other comments way off base. For example, those who took JNJ in the studies none were hospitalized after getting Covid. If you want 100% absolutes of anything with medicine or vaccines -illogical thinking.
The CDC reports that there have been more than 2100 COVID VAX deaths associated with vaccination. This makes the vaccine more deadly than the placebo in the Pfizer study. QED.
One good thing about the Liberal mindset is if those with vaccine passports are ok to fly then those with IDs are ok to vote.
It’s not mandatory. And even if it becomes so, the ways around mandatory things when you have enough money is laughable. And until then, I’ll keep going to Mexico and Costa Rica every few weeks since they are wide open.
The fact remains that it’s experimental. You are talking out of your a44 again, Gary.
What are the possible effects after 4 years? Answer: Don’t know.
I respect everyone’s right to get it or not get it. But don’t shame someone for not wanting to get it (there are credible reasons).
And no – you don’t “kill” grandma if you don’t take it. In fact my Aunt died after she was GIVEN the vaccine. So blow it out of your a44, Gary, you suck a44 you.
Bruce. do you understand that’s what people calling lying?
The CDC has actually said about 2500 people have died since receiving the vaccine and do not see any correlation between the deaths and the vaccine…….people do die and the vaccine doesn’t prevent death from everything, just Covid.
@Bruce
Bull shit. Period. Link to proof or troll elsewhere.
@Plinkerton Plank “The fact remains that it’s experimental.” this is simply false.
@Bruce also 100% false, people who have gotten the vaccine have died, people who have gotten the vaccine have had their dishwashers break, and people who have gotten the vaccine have had some delicious meals but the vaccine didn’t enhance their taste buds (except by preventing Covid which can affect sense of taste).
Well done, Gary!
I have e-mailed your posts on this issue to my friends on both sides of the political spectrum and they are in agreement with you — and myself.
It is totally stupid not to get a vaccine — even the Astra Zeneca one, although that in not available in the USA (although the blood clotting risk is miniscule compared to the complications that could arise from Covid).
Mask adherence after vaccination is another thing.
Although I can eat in restaurants with more assurance that I won’t contract Covid, I’m just not ready yet to do so — that is a personal choice, as is, whether I will always strictly adhere to always wearing a mask for however length of time I may be outdoors.
Indoors and where required, I will still do so, if not for myself, then for others who are still fearful of contracting this disease.
I think brian is just trying to stir up controversy. After all his blog is so successful that I had never heard of it. I am already convinced he is dumb though.
Somebody above claims that the CDC reports 2500 deaths after receiving the vaccine. This is true. However, the entire paragraph reads as follows:
“Over 145 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through March 29, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 2,509 reports of death (0.0017%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC and FDA physicians review each case report of death as soon as notified and CDC requests medical records to further assess reports. A review of available clinical information including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records revealed no evidence that vaccination contributed to patient deaths. CDC and FDA will continue to investigate reports of adverse events, including deaths, reported to VAERS.”
Speaking as someone who has had Covid, and is still dealing with long haul neurological symptoms, and who got vaccinated, I WILL say that Brian Cohen is a dumb ass.
The politicization of the Covid situation is one of the more irrational moments in American history.
I got the vaccine after suffering through Covid to both protect both myself and others, be they Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Trumpies, QAnon creatures, whoever.
It’s a virus, not a political statement. And Cohen IS “virtue signaling” in the negative.
Gary, for someone who explicitly speaks out against virtue signaling, you’re laying it on pretty thick. Who are you to decide what risks are and aren’t acceptable to someone else? Get off the soapbox, eagerly await your place in the largest experimental drug trial in the history of mankind, and give others the dignity to decide for themselves without shaming them.
Time to realize the hoax. How many were told that radiation didn’t affect you if you wore your goggles, and protected yourself from the blast during nuclear testing? Most of those service members died of radiation poisoning. How many were told Agent Orange did no harm? Thousands of vets come down with cancer and die each year. How many were used for syph experiments and not told the truth? Same with coke. You take the jab. BTW, it’s not a vaccine. Any animal trials?
@Phil – yes there were animal trials (https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:9792931264) but you do realize the six figure million doses that have been given so far, some dating back a year, and that we have real world safety and efficacy data right?
@Ben it’s not just about risks to the individual, it’s the risk that they spread it to others.
But if someone who opts not to get vaccinated wants to 100% isolate themselves so they can’t spread the virus and kill other people [until everyone has had the chance to get vaccinated], and wants to sign away any obligation of others to treat them if they get sick, then ok pass on vaccines.
He’s a clown.
I suggest that the next time he gets a headache, to call a piano tuner, instead of seeing an MD !
What an idiot !!!
(5 generations of MDs in the family, and counting…)
@GEOFFREY NATHAN
So the CDC sees zero correlation between 2500 deaths of recently-vaccinated individuals within 3.5 months yet insists that everyone who dies with coronavirus in their system died from Covid?! And this is reasonable science?!
Of course, some post-vaccine deaths are not directly caused by the vaccine *AND* some people who die with Covid did not die from Covid. But no one can reasonably say no deaths were related to the vaccine *and* all deaths are related to Covid. Cause and effect works both ways – not just when it suits.
The point remains that when, how, why, and if anyone chooses to get a vaccine is up to them. No one should welcome an angry mob deciding their health decisions – that should be terrifying for everyone.
@ Gary Leff
We endanger the lives of everyone around us all the time… through ailment and behavior. That is part of living and dying.
@Gary – Where did my comment go? I saw it after posting and there was nothing worth dropping it for. It just said people should be capable of listening to different views without then resorting to personal attacks (the comments – not you). Too many people only take in content they agree with and it has led to the polarization that exists today.
@Gary – Never mind. I now see post. Weird.
I don’t understand the rationale of the anti-axxers. Do they think that if we do nothing that Covid will just magically disappear? That sounds like something Trump said a year ago. Time to give their head a shake.
“anti-vaxxers” of course
@Gary Leff look @ http://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-vaccine-trial-no-animal-testing.html. those mice can’t catch the C19 like humans. They could run the tests on only standard mice because the other type had no been bred. Suspending rights and ethical conduct should not be done. Folks have a short memory. Nuremberg Trials pointed out humans do NOT get mandatory injections for experiments. Does “My body, my choice.” ring a bell? How about answering the questions on Agent Orange and Nuclear testing. You were fast on the first one… As for me even the State and County Health Dept couldn’t answer my questions about C19. I’m over 70 and had C19 .It will be a real cold day if I’m forced to take the jab. One question- Where are the studies on the antibodies of those 1200 or so C19 infected sailors from the U.S.S. ROOSEVELT last April?. A. prime opportunity.
@Sarah…………So you want the FREEDOM to continue spreading the virus? I don’t hear any solutions from you.
Sarah where is the threat to ‘freedom of speech’ (government censorship) I note your comment appears here without editing.
The vaccines are not ‘gene therapy’ though they do not alter your genes
Viral vector vaccines deliver the spike protein attached to a harnless virus your body learns to recognize and fight that protein that is part of SARS-CoV-2.
The mRNA vaccines work differently. Pfizer and Moderna fall into this category. Let’s review how they work. DNA creates RNA and RNA makes protein. The vaccines deliver an RNA instruction to your body to make protein – the spike protein of the virus. Your body makes that protein, fights it off (it is not the rest of the virus). Then the rna instruction and spike protein you create are gone.
There is no ‘editing of genes’ involved. That is just false..
Heidi and Brian and several others here are the only ones reading the REAL SCIENCE! Gary you need to get together with dan from dans deals, as you both are travel specialists, but you have been propagandized by the media, the technocrats, the deep state, the drug companies making billions. Why is there such censorship if they are so sure their gene therapy works and is safe? Why is it called a vaccine anyway, when it is a gene therapy. Please read their application for emergency use authorization. And this is ONLY part of the issue. The real issue is defending out FREEDOM. Maintain8ng free speech. Not having our bodies be used as tests for down the road, if not sooner, when other problems may be created. Read Robert f. Kennedy Jr. and his children’s defense league. Read de.mercola.com. These and m ay others are dedicated people who promote health and well being and are among others being chastised. Very disappointed you people don’t believe in freedom.
@Gary – Jackson Waterson is a known white supremacist (in addition to being an outright liar, as you note). I get you don’t want to ban people, but the combination of racism + endless misinformation doesn’t exactly add much to the dialogue.
It is beyond foolish to criticize someone for not wanting to get a Covid vaccination. First of all, young people should definitely NOT be vaccinated at this point. Did you know that fewer than 1,000 Americans under 25 have died “with” — and not “from” — Covid? This includes some gunshot victims, by the way. Fewer than 2 percent of the (very few) deaths of young Americans have been from Covid — far fewer than even (traditionally) from flu. Just because everyone is hysterical and is being fed misinformation is not a reason to get a vaccine.
Especially when the vaccine is still experimental. I think it very unlikely that the vaccine will turn out to be “dangerous,” but it certainly could. History is filled with examples of medicines that turned out to kill people. If you don’t think that couldn’t happen now, you probably think that mask wearing has been highly effective in “stopping” Covid. Meanwhile, I know many young people who have been vaccinated and have had bad side effects. My own cousin was bedridden for 4 days after being vaxed — worse than a typical reaction to GETTING Covid at that age.
.
As you get older, the risks from Covid get greater. I personally think the risk/reward becomes favorable to being vaccinated at about age 45. But that’s a personal decision. I would never say someone is foolish for making a different choice. In general, we all need to stop criticizing people for making choices different from our own, especially when the facts are far less clear than the conventional wisdom suggests.
@chopsticks –
first, it is highly misleading to call these vaccines “experimental” – no corners have been cut in testing, there was substantial trial data on their safety and efficacy, and now we have tremendous real world data as well.
second, there’s pretty much no scientific theory that tells a story around how vaccines – given over 600 million times, and with some people followed as long as a year – “turn[..] out to kill people.” what’s the scientific process by which this could happen?
third, actually getting covid varies in its severity for young people, death is highly highly unlikely, though it can be a miserable experience and in rare cases with prolonged effects. but that’s rather beside the point. the vaccines are highly effective at stopping spread, which means a young person can be around others without making them sick.
I stopped reading that joker years ago.
Glad you wrote this, Gary.
Gary, if you agree that reducing mutated variants is a valid public health objective, then why are you supporting non-essential travel? We already know that the vaccines that most Americans received are significantly less effective against some variants (such as the South Africa and Brazil ones) — multiple studies have shown neutralizing antibody titers dropping by more than ~6x for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. They still offer strong protection against severe disease, likely because the killer T-cells work across all known variants, but because these T-cells can only act after our cells are already infected with the virus, this protection is NOT sufficient to prevent us from spreading the virus to others. The CDC data you keep on citing about vaccines preventing spread is mostly for the original and UK variants, which have been the dominant variants in the US so far. But as data from Israel has shown, once you get enough people vaccinated against the original and UK variants, those vaccinated selectively serve as attractive hosts for the ZA and BR variants, so it is important to reduce any unnecessary exposure points against those variants BEFORE they become significant in number here. The fact that the numbers are low right now for those variants is no reason to shoo off this risk, because (again, as Israel data has shown) an exponential growth from a low number is still a scary proposition. In terms of those immunity-evading variants, we might as well be back in early 2020, where small numbers of hosts were starting to spread the virus, and we could have prevented a lot of infections by early mitigatory measures. Sure, it won’t be as bad as spring 2020, because the vaccines are still halfway effective against these variants, but what you are advocating for will effectively lead to the class of vaccinated people (with low individual risk against severe disease even if they get one of the ZA or BR variants) taking their privilege and freedom and contributing to the accelerated spread of the worst variants and creating more risk down the road for the less fortunate who will be last in line to get vaccines and last in line to get boosters for those variants.
Countering misinformation is important. Thanks for doing the work to respond to the anti-science.
Reading this string actually gives me hope that we can get enough people vaccinated
to protect society as a whole. Most of the people on here seem to be all in with getting
a jab that essentially eliminates the possibility of dying from Covid.
Amazing the core argument of many of the anti-vax crowd is they don’t think they would die if they got Covid because they are healthy, so why get the shot?
They completely miss the simple fact that yes, they may escape serious complications from Covid, but ignore the fact that they could pass it on to someone that won’t be so lucky.
We all know about the the “Greatest Generation” who won WW2 by putting aside differences to accomplish an important goal…..what’s this generation gonna be known as in 50 years….the “narcissism generation”?
I should also add the other line of “reasoning” of the anti vax crowd is based entirely on
conspiracy theorists who specialize in feeding off peoples fears or vulnerabilities for profit…anyone selling an “alternative” to vaccines . I think that Mercola guy is one of those.
@O.K. – the variants are already in the US and spreading, and what you seem to be missing on studies of antibody responses generated by the Pfizer vaccine against the South African variant is that those antibody levels are *higher than* what the body produces against it as a result of prior natural infection. We also know that the U.K. variant is what’s generally becoming dominant, both here and abroad, and that vaccines appear to work just as well against it. We do not have actual clinical evidence of the mRNA vaccines failing against variants.
As the director of the CDC said, “vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don`t get sick, and that it`s not just in the clinical trials but it`s also in real world data.”
@ Gary. The average longevity for males in the US is 78.6! It makes sense that since basically this is the AVERAGE, 50% will live longer and 50% less. Of course the 15% of those over 80 may die and may die WITH or FROM Covid or even bacterial/viral FLU . . . both are devastating to elderly health. Regardless, I agree with Heidi and will add turn off M5M.
Well said Heidi as well as Amazing Larry, chopsticks and Sarah.
It’s scary how ignorant so many of the commenters are that have replied to this article.
People that don’t wish to get the “vaccine” aren’t anti-vaxxers as many of you virtue signalers like to point out. Vaccines take years of trials to be deemed safe for humans but this was pushed out in months. I find it hilarious, as Heidi eloquently points out, that even after you receive the “vaccine” you still have to do EVERYTHING that a person that doesn’t have the “vaccine” has to do to “prevent the spread”. But you got a free Krispy Kreme! LOL.
The 11 scariest words you could ever hear are “I am with the government and I am here to help”.
Of course we can all see the argument put forth supporting vaccine hesitancy.
Nothing is ever black and white.
A lot of “Internet educated” people arguing that the leading scientists and researchers in the field aren’t infallible….valid point. However much of what is being put out their to discredit them is dubious to say the least. Plandemic/ Mercola etc.
The bottom line is there has been no indication that the vaccines present a danger yet it’s understandable why some people are fearful, skeptical etc…it’s just human nature and never gonna change.
It’s basically a choice between doing what will save untold thousands of lives and help return us all to normalcy or not.
That’s not being a virtue signaler, that’s just a simple observation.
Oceanfront property available for cheap in Arizona!
Covid vaccine 95% effective. Totally safe!
Well if you head over to Amarillo you can get the vaccination by morning……
@Amazing Larry
Please see your physician forthwith for an adjustment to your psychiatric meds.
You might also want to re-enroll in your anger management classes…..before you end up in prison.
Don’t bother reading the science behind the disease or vaccines, though, since you appear to be too far gone to understand it.
Gary, I am not sure which preprints or publications you’ve read about the immune response generated by the mRNA vaccines against the South Africa or Brazil variants, but it is quite unlikely that the *reduced* level of neutralizing titers is still stronger than natural immunity. There have been at least 5 or 6 studies I’ve read on this, and apart from ONE study released by Pfizer that seemed to be a statistical anomaly, all of the studies conducted by independent, well-reputed research institutions have concluded that the neutralizing antibodies drop off by a factor of 6~10x. Now, as you say, it is true that they start off with antibodies that are several times higher than those of recovered patients, but at levels that are 6~10x lower, they are at the level where we generally see only 50~75% immunity.
Of course, neutralizing antibodies is not the only component of immunity. T-cells, for example, also play a heavy role. Both mRNA vaccines generate some level of killer T-cell response (Pfizer/BioNTech seems slightly more robust than Moderna here), and those CD8+ cells act effectively against all variants, so it is likely that they help significantly with the ZA and BR variants. This is why the J&J vaccine, which starts off with a fairly low efficacy that relies heavily on killer T-cells, does not see that efficacy drop too steeply against the ZA variant, whereas Novavax, which starts with antibodies that are world-leading but fewer killer T-cells, sees the efficacy drop off steeply against the ZA variant. But in any case, killer T-cells can only kill cells that are already infected. This means that the protection offered by mRNA vaccines against the ZA or BR variants will NOT be sterilizing, and that you CAN in fact spread the virus significantly to others.
You say those variants are already here. True, but the worst immunity-evading variants, such as the ZA and BR ones, are low in number so far, and we’re mostly dealing with the UK variant (which does not evade immunity). You ignore the countless epidemic models that all unanimously show that reducing contact across different regions and communities slows down the spread of a new virus or variant quite significantly. Look at what is happening in Canada, where experts suspect that the Brazil variant seems to be doubling every few days. Again, the vaccines may protect the traveler against this variant, but it will NOT prevent that traveler from spreading that variant to others in his path as he travels around.
BTW, from what I understand, the CDC director made that statement about the original and UK variants of the virus, but she misspoke in failing to make that distinction clear. That is why the CDC had to walk back her statement later. This is a serious communication mistake, especially given how dire the situation is about to become with the Brazil variant soon, with that variant spreading right across the border in Canada at 2~2.5x the speed of the original variant (and even faster than the UK variant), evading immunity, and likely showing higher mortality rates in younger populations that are currently the least vaccinated. May I remind you that the Brazil variant absolutely decimated a city that had already reached herd immunity? The CDC director wasn’t crying for no reason. She sees a lot of reason for concern. She is trying to walk that fine line between giving people hope and also urging proper caution. The CDC is trying to give reasonable guidelines and not make those guidelines too restrictive, because we know people ignore guidelines when they are difficult to follow. But encouraging non-essential, discretionary travel for pleasure that adds extra points of cross-regional transmission for every variant is NOT what the CDC is recommending. You obviously understand this already, and yet you choose to interpret the CDC’s words in the direction you want.