RM>> I don't see how it 'profits' any gov't to keep Covid going or to give peopl
  >> Vaccines they don't need given the many millions of dollars spent in suppor
  >> of the sick and the loss in tax revenues with many businesses operating at
  >> fraction of their normal capacity or not at all.

MP>I don't really see how, either, but that could be why I wouldn't make a
  >good politician or despot.  

To be fair, as someone else said, whenever disaster strikes there will always
be people who will find a way to profit from it.

This one is confusing though. Several governments are trying to talk or force
the vaccine makers into letting poorer countries manufacture it and pay them
nothing. I'm all for trying to help people out, and dead against big Pharma
ripping people off on drugs they can't survive without, but I still think they
should make some money on things they produce. Maybe a more fair idea would
be to give them a number of years to repay a certain amount per dose instead
of asking them to pay right now in super hard times.

RM>> Myself and my mother got the shot last week and other than some tenderness
  >> around the muscle at the injection site, there were no ill effects.
  >> My sister got it 2 weeks ago and had headaches for 2 or 3 days and was
  >> nauseous for part of one day, and then fine afterwards. She is not in great
  >> health and has immunity issues due to cancer treatments a few years back wh
  >> might explain her stronger reaction.  (These were all the Pfizer Vaccine)

MP>Was that your first or second?

That was our first. They say it may take up to 4 months to get an appointment
for a second dose but I'm hoping increases in supply will lessen that wait.

MP>My father's wife doesn't want to get it.  One of her daughters is an
  >anti-vaxer and told her she couldn't see her grandkids if she got it
  >because the daughter is afraid she could bring it to them without knowing
  >she has it if she's been vaxed.  That, or she thinks being vaxed means you
  >can make other sick.  Not sure.

That's unfortunate. As I understand it the vaccine does not totally stop you
from getting Covid, but it lessens the chance and lessens the symptoms so it's
less likely you will spread it around or land in the hospital yourself.

MP>Some people have reservations and I can respect that.  I can't help feel
  >like I am part of someone's science project, but that is what happens when
  >a previously-unseen virus becomes so prevalent.

This is true, but we are seeing how well doing nothing worked so all we can do
is hope that the vaccine helps reduce things.
There are areas that with a decent precentage of people vaccinated are seeing
reductions in new cases of 60% or better so, it may not be perfect, but it
seems to be helping.

MP>I don't have to worry about bringing it home to someone, but I do if I want
  >to visit my folks.  Mom and Dad both got shot, so I am hoping we are all
  >covered. I got it for that reason and that I suspect they will eventually
  >cut us off from working from home.

So you are working from home at the moment?
I'm surviving Covid better than most because I live alone most of the year and
see no one other than on my shopping run, one day every 2 weeks, so I've sort
of been living in Quarantine for years now..   B)

I spend winters with my mother who can't manage on her own once the snow
starts flying and such, plus with Covid around she hasn't left the house in
the past year other than for doctor's appointments so I'm doing everything
that she needs done outside of the home for over a year now. Before Covid I
would take her shopping for her own groceries but now she doesn't get any sort
of outings at all.

MP>Also, here, it is difficult to maintain social distancing because people
  >here like to get into your personal space.  We may never get to where we
  >cannot wear masks.  As long as the shot doesn't make me sick, it cannot
  >hurt me as much as the people around me could.

Yes, that's rough. Where I am the people are all being fairly cautious and the
population is low. Right now with the 3rd wave running rampant, in the health
district where I live (about 44,000 people), we are getting about one new case
a day, about 139 since the very start, 1 person is in hospital with it at the
moment, and a single death since the start, a woman who had serious health
issues before she caught Covid.

MP>I hope so.  I try to also.  Someone reminded me the other day that the
  >Spanish Flu lasted about 3-4 years so, at that rate, we may not be quite
  >half-way through this yet.

I just read: It ran from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million
people - about a third of the world's population at the time.

I didn't realise it took that long for it to burn itself out.

Why can't we find perfect cures for these things in a few hours or days like
they always did on Star Trek?    B)

---
 * SLMR Rob  * The cake jumps out of a bulimic stripper
 * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1)