I’ve seen this image popping up on social media many times this week. As a retired meteorologist, I have a huge dose of respect for science. I have taken many science classes and lived in a world where not only was I expected to be 100% accurate in an inexact science but I was also expected to be an expert in geology, astronomy, seismology, etc. I believe in science but I also know what happens to science and good scientists when the almighty dollar becomes involved. I’ve seen it firsthand. As a matter of fact that is why I left the meteorology field. I was told to put the facts of science aside to protect the reputation of the company I worked for. In other words lie or find another job. I found another job. I realize some people don’t have that luxury and I know I am lucky I did. That is why I am sure that there are outstanding scientists out there every day being put in precarious positions for the sake of money.
Maybe I’m jaded but let’s consider the pharmaceutical companies for a minute. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been railing the pharmaceutical companies for years. I’ve also been calling for a complete overhaul of our healthcare system. There is absolutely no reason that healthcare and prescription drugs cost as much as they do. Nobody should go into debt, lose everything they own or die because they can’t afford their healthcare bills. It is preposterous! Yet it happens every day. Our politicians have the ability to do something about it so why haven’t they? Back to the Benjamins again. The pharmaceutical companies and healthcare conglomerates line their pockets so they remain mum while our citizens are DYING!
Enter COVID. If you listened hard enough you could almost hear the pharmaceutical companies licking their chops. They spent money, which was provided to them by the government (you and I, the taxpayers) to find vaccines which were then rushed through the testing process (usually this takes years and in some cases decades) and everyone was encouraged to get vaccinated. Many people even told me that there was no reason not to get vaccinated because the vaccines are free! Let’s think about that for a minute. Do you honestly think that the same companies that would cause citizens to lose everything they own to pay for the prescriptions that are keeping them alive would give all of us the vaccine for free??? I highly doubt it. The government is paying them for the vaccines which means that once again we are all paying for the vaccines. So not only did we provide them with the funding to research and make the vaccines but then we bought the vaccines that we already paid for back from them. Business is booming in pharmaceutical land!
Now let’s talk about testing. According to www.health.ny.gov most vaccines require 10-15 years of research and testing before they are made available to the general public. The polio vaccine took 50 years!!!!! 50 years. Let that sink in for a minute. According to biospace.com the fastest vaccine developed was for mumps and that took 4 years. Think about how quickly the COVID vaccines were developed, tested and made available. I’m not being a conspiracy theorist, I’m being a scientist and telling you to look at the scientific facts. Hopefully the vaccines are safe but do you have questions about that? Was the scientific model followed? I understand the necessity of a fast solution in this instance but you have to ask yourself, was this science or business or politics?
This brings me to my last problem with this image. Now that we’ve established the science I can’t help but wonder is this image a rallying call for science, a go science if you will or a means of shaming? I tend to think it’s the latter. Despite the constant stream of propaganda (whether you agree with it or not that is what it is) the vaccination rate for COVID has slowed or even stalled altogether. So now as a society we have resorted to shaming people into getting a vaccine. The true irony here is that the people doing the shaming are mostly the people who criticize others for shaming yet here they are doing what they fervently chastise others for doing. If there is one thing I can’t stand it is a hypocrite. I know you think you are doing what is best for society as a whole but stop. There may be a very good reason why someone decides not to get the vaccine and science may or may not have anything to do with it.
For those who don’t believe me according to britannica.com the definition of
propaganda is, “the dissemination of information - FACTS, arguments, rumors, half-truths or lies - to influence public opinion.” Food for thought.
