Thread: Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19.

Being in 2 high risk groups I was privileged to have had the 1st dose of this vaccine a few days ago. I'll need the second one in 2-3 weeks.
Only side effect was a sore arm overnight.
1st dose gives about 52% immunity.
2nd about 95%.
Potential for more severe side effects after 2nd in the form of chills, headaches, joint pains.

Next time I'm in Gloucester Cathedral I'll pay my respects to Edward Jenner.
He is the man credited with saving more lives that any other through the invention of vaccination.
He came from nearby Berkeley and there's a statue of him just inside the main entrance.

https://jennermuseum.com/

Medicine has saved the lives of untold numbers of people over the last few centuries, when quackery slowly gave way to real medical treatments that helped people survive.

It has been estimated that just in its last 100 years of rampaging through human populations around the globe, smallpox killed upwards of 500 million people. Jenner was of course instrumental in the eradication of this scourge, using cowpox as a vaccine, particularly after noting that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox.

But the issue now is what do we do about all the people which have resulted from the wonders of modern medicine?

In 1940, at the start of World War II, there were about 2.3 billion people on the planet. That war claimed only ca. 3% of these, despite the enormous battle casualties and related events.

Today, with the help of modern medicine, the global population has reached about 7.8 billion (U.N. estimate).

Sadly, this enormous rise in humans trampling the planet has led to a mass extinction event that now threatens the existence of ca. 1 million species, according to some estimates.

While modern medicine has saved so many lives, some would conclude that it may end up taking many more than it ever saved, based on the current course of events. Those lives, spared by medicine to breed into many billions, have resulted in an overpopulation which is now clearly driving the demise of earth's biosphere, and with it many humans. Billions could perish from many causes (war not the least of them this time), most of which modern medicine will be helpless to prevent.

How do we curtail these on-going calamities? There is no vaccine for humans pushing and amplifying their own demise. It could be said that this is the ultimate example of "The Rule of Unintended Consequences."

Ironically, modern medicine appears to be a double-edged sword. And for all those humans, who rule over all the earth, that sword might very well be that of Dr. Damocles.

Originally Posted by Double Helix

Medicine has saved the lives of untold numbers of people over the last few centuries, when quackery slowly gave way to real medical treatments that helped people survive.

It has been estimated that just in its last 100 years of rampaging through human populations around the globe, smallpox killed upwards of 500 million people. Jenner was of course instrumental in the eradication of this scourge, using cowpox as a vaccine, particularly after noting that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox.

But the issue now is what do we do about all the people which have resulted from the wonders of modern medicine?

In 1940, at the start of World War II, there were about 2.3 billion people on the planet. That war claimed only ca. 3% of these, despite the enormous battle casualties and related events.

Today, with the help of modern medicine, the global population has reached about 7.8 billion (U.N. estimate).

Sadly, this enormous rise in humans trampling the planet has led to a mass extinction event that now threatens the existence of ca. 1 million species, according to some estimates.

While modern medicine has saved so many lives, some would conclude that it may end up taking many more than it ever saved, based on the current course of events. Those lives, spared by medicine to breed into many billions, have resulted in an overpopulation which is now clearly driving the demise of earth's biosphere, and with it many humans. Billions could perish from many causes (war not the least of them this time), most of which modern medicine will be helpless to prevent.

How do we curtail these on-going calamities? There is no vaccine for humans pushing and amplifying their own demise. It could be said that this is the ultimate example of "The Rule of Unintended Consequences."

Ironically, modern medicine appears to be a double-edged sword. And for all those humans, who rule over all the earth, that sword might very well be that of Dr. Damocles.

Who was Dr. Damocles? I've never heard of him.

"The Sword of Damocles" is an ancient anecdote about the perils of those in power.

It is used here to denote the potentially fatal aspects of the use, or the abuse, of that power by humans.

The "Dr." is an honorary title bestowed by this author to dramatize the issue.

Originally Posted by Double Helix

How do we curtail these on-going calamities? There is no vaccine for humans pushing and amplifying their own demise. It could be said that this is the ultimate example of "The Rule of Unintended Consequences."

Ironically, modern medicine appears to be a double-edged sword. And for all those humans, who rule over all the earth, that sword might very well be that of Dr. Damocles.

An inconvenient truth is that humans have overpopulated the earth. But by the end of this century the population might be halved.
Right now viruses have plenty to feed on. I think we have to limit air travel in particular. What took years now takes hours to spread around the world.

The price for overpopulation has to be paid in some way.
Modern medicine does not help to limit population and is a barrier to evolution by natural selection which is based on cruelty and suffering.
Except that for the last few thousand years of their history humans have wanted an antidote to suffering. I can't see that changing.

[QUOTE=ox;631250]

Originally Posted by Double Helix

Modern medicine does not help to limit population and is a barrier to evolution by natural selection which is based on cruelty and suffering.

This is so very true. One can only wonder how humans would have evolved without modern medicine.

Considering our penchant for waging wars and conquests of others, we might have ended up looking (and acting) like Klingons, at best. (Some of us have the acting part down already!)

And it is also very true the "price for overpopulation has to be paid in some way." That will almost certainly be the demise of billions of humans, joining all the other species we are driving to their demise. Quite appropriate, some might think......

The availability of potable water and sufficient nutrition will likely be the biggest problem (excepting a global nuclear exchange). Actually, it already is in many areas of high population density.

Viruses, as we can see, could also get into the act, as might antibiotic-resistant super bacteria, also brought to us by modern medicine.

It is likely someone wrote a book about all this, or needs to.

Just had my delayed 2nd dose of Pfizer vaccine.
After a slow and uncertain start it now seems the UK has done extremely well.
Why has the rest of Europe not done so well, I don't know.
I'll blame it on the bureaucracy of the EU.

Originally Posted by exchemist

Originally Posted by Double Helix

Medicine has saved the lives of untold numbers of people over the last few centuries, when quackery slowly gave way to real medical treatments that helped people survive.

It has been estimated that just in its last 100 years of rampaging through human populations around the globe, smallpox killed upwards of 500 million people. Jenner was of course instrumental in the eradication of this scourge, using cowpox as a vaccine, particularly after noting that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox.

But the issue now is what do we do about all the people which have resulted from the wonders of modern medicine?

In 1940, at the start of World War II, there were about 2.3 billion people on the planet. That war claimed only ca. 3% of these, despite the enormous battle casualties and related events.

Today, with the help of modern medicine, the global population has reached about 7.8 billion (U.N. estimate).

Sadly, this enormous rise in humans trampling the planet has led to a mass extinction event that now threatens the existence of ca. 1 million species, according to some estimates.

While modern medicine has saved so many lives, some would conclude that it may end up taking many more than it ever saved, based on the current course of events. Those lives, spared by medicine to breed into many billions, have resulted in an overpopulation which is now clearly driving the demise of earth's biosphere, and with it many humans. Billions could perish from many causes (war not the least of them this time), most of which modern medicine will be helpless to prevent.

How do we curtail these on-going calamities? There is no vaccine for humans pushing and amplifying their own demise. It could be said that this is the ultimate example of "The Rule of Unintended Consequences."

Ironically, modern medicine appears to be a double-edged sword. And for all those humans, who rule over all the earth, that sword might very well be that of Dr. Damocles.

Who was Dr. Damocles? I've never heard of him.

A likely reference to the "Sword of Damocles"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles

A confusion between Damocles and Hippocrates(one of the first doctors after whom the Hippocratic Oath is named)

There is also the Rod of Asclepius which looks a bit like a sword

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius