[ONLINE]8/10 (Tue.) Vaccination: Public Good vs. Personal Freedom (Host: Iris)

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Iris Wu
YOYO member
文章: 894
註冊時間: 週二 5月 20, 2014 4:33 pm

[ONLINE]8/10 (Tue.) Vaccination: Public Good vs. Personal Freedom (Host: Iris)

文章 Iris Wu »

Before the uptick in COVID-19 cases in May, the willingness of Taiwanese to receive vaccination was very low, because the risk of side effects seemed to outweigh the benefits of inoculation.

The narrative totally turned upside down after a surge of new COVID infections in mid of May. Obviously, the 14-month long “most vaunted” defense strategy was not a true solution. It only gave Taiwanese a false sense of security. Without vaccines, life would never return to normal.

On the other hand, the technology of COVID vaccines seems so young, and the approval process has been rushed. Between the risk of getting a coronavirus infection and entering an uncharted immune territory, most people have to choose a lesser of two evils.

For the majority of people, the dilemma does not end here. The subsequent decisions prolong the nightmare. What brand of vaccines to take? Will the vaccine be available at the right time for the right group? Shall we take a mix-and-match approach for our second dose?

What was your decision process? Have you considered not getting the jabs? Should it be an option at all? Big Pharma quickly developed the vaccines, but they have been criticized for prioritizing “profit over lives.” Is that a fair statement to these companies?

Reference Materials:
  • How do vaccines work? (4 min)
    Why you can't compare Covid-19 vaccines (7 min)
    Ethical Issues and Vaccines
    (Please read (1) U.S. Vaccine Mandates and Objections, and (4) Access (disparities) Issues.)
    https://www.historyofvaccines.org/conte ... -vaccines

    The Huge Economic Costs of Refusing the COVID-19 Vaccine - The Atlantic
    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... s/618528/
Optional Reading:
  • Covid-19: what will it take to vaccinate the world? | The Economist (10 min)
    Patenting The Covid-19 Vaccine Is Unethical (forbes.com)
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalz ... 7461ee32f5

    What Are No-Vaxxers Thinking? - The Atlantic
    https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... e/618765/

Session I: Your Vaccine Choices
Q1: If you had completely free will and the supply of a variety of WHO-approved vaccines were sufficient, would you choose to be vaccinated or not to be vaccinated? Why?

Q2: Let’s make a hypothetic assumption here: Assume that we had sufficient COVID vaccines:
  • a) MVC (Taiwan): protein subunit
    b) Pfizer/BNT: mRNA
    c) Moderna: mRNA
    d) Janssen (J&J): viral vector
    e) AstraZeneca/Oxford: viral vector
Which vaccine would you choose? Why? Would you try a mix-and-match approach for your second dose?

Q3: Do you support Taiwan’s vaccine development? Do you trust the two vaccines developed by local biomedical companies (Medigen and United Biomedical Inc.)? What was done right and what went wrong in terms of the government’s involvement in the process?

Q4: Are you happy with your vaccine decision? Do you think it was a decision of your free will? If not, what was that?

Session II: Ethical Issues and Vaccines
Q1: Once a society has sufficient vaccines for all of its citizens, should the vaccination be mandatory? Why? Will you impose a moral judgment on those who choose not to get vaccinated (without any special medical conditions)? Is it “their duty too to help all of us reach herd immunity?”

Q2: What do you think that “Vaccine Refusal Will Come at a Cost—For All of Us. People who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine will have higher healthcare costs. The rest of us will foot the bill.”?
Do you still think vaccine refusal is personal freedom and vaccination should not be mandated?

Q3: Do you think patenting the COVID vaccine is unethical? Why?
Considering the worldwide vaccine shortage and distribution issues, what do you think about the equality of human rights in the context of medicine availability? Is it fair to say that Big Pharma prioritize “profit over lives” and reap large rewards from the vaccines?

ONLINE Meeting Info.:
Agenda:
6:45 ~ 7:00pm Zoom set up & Free Talk
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:00 ~ 7:40pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
7:40 ~ 7:55pm Summarization (15 mins)
7:55 ~ 8:00pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 5 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:00 ~ 8:40pm Discussion Session (30 mins)
8:40 ~ 8:55pm Summarization and conclusion (15 mins)

? If you don't have Zoom:
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? To download Zoom: https://zoom.us/download
? Please get the Zoom Meeting Link from YoYo Line Group. If you are a newcomer, please contact to yoyo.club.tw@gmail.com
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Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2162
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: [ONLINE]8/10 (Tue.) Vaccination: Public Good vs. Personal Freedom (Host: Iris)

文章 Rock »

Iris Wu 寫:
週二 8月 03, 2021 9:57 pm
Q3: Do you think patenting the COVID vaccine is unethical? Why?
Considering the worldwide vaccine shortage and distribution issues, what do you think about the equality of human rights in the context of medicine availability? Is it fair to say that Big Pharma prioritize “profit over lives” and reap large rewards from the vaccines?
It's not only unethical; it's simply ridiculous. Why did only private, for profit companies develop vaccines? What is UN and WHO for? Why there is no single one vaccine that is developed not for profit and open to everybody, especially for the poor countries that cannot afford it or cannot get it, like poor Taiwan. :cccry:
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
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