Oh man why didn't I think of this? The Vaccine I'm about to get is the third one for a very popular disease, and somehow it will just ... maybe possibly keep me from catching it for ... maybe a year or something?
Of course, alternative treatments such as the nasal spray that is supposed to totally eliminate the disease have, well, lost funding[0].
But I guess those vaccines, right? They just prove that we don't live in a rent-seeking society.
Even family guy had a episode about this. Rich Father-in-law is sitting on a cure for cancer because he owns the pharmaceutical and can profit more off cancer treatment.
Not saying that FG is a good oracle to go off of, but if it's such a prolific mindset that comedy shows are riffing on the concept the people up top have definitely crunched numbers on such factors.
This is the rhetorical equivalent of saying “no offense” and then saying something offensive. Either you think it’s a meaningful example, which you manifestly do, or you think that it’s a joke and shouldn’t be considered seriously. You can’t have it both ways, and trying to just removes credence from your argument.
Family Guy also jokes about virtually every other conspiracy theory, yet birds do in fact exist.
>Either you think it’s a meaningful example, which you manifestly do, or you think that it’s a joke and shouldn’t be considered seriously.
comedy is awareness, and awareness is an important first step. But awareness is not hard proof. It's at best a step to start investigations with.
So I don't know what you want me to say. I do see it both ways. Maybe there is a point, but nothing I can argue in a real capacity.
>Family Guy also jokes about virtually every other conspiracy theory
Indeed. but FG can be strangely prohetic at times. Not always (Trump Guy aired in like, 2019, 3-4 years after everyone made every joke in the book. And FG didn't add much there), but said episode aired in 2012. So we're talking nearly a decade before the internet consensus started taking this hard cynical anti-capitalistic approach.
Comedy is awareness of what’s funny. That’s it. It might tangentially be related to what’s true, but that’s at best a happy accident.
I take it you weren’t around in the 90s when Chris Rock made this exact joke (it was on Bigger and Blacker), and it killed. People have thought that doctors were after repeat business for as long as there have been doctors.
This is a commonly held belief because treating symptoms always* come first. It always comes first not because the pharmacryptoluminati are ghouls after money, but because it’s easier. But that’s not a good punchline.
>People have thought that doctors were after repeat business for as long as there have been doctors.
I'm sure there's always been cynicism. I'm less sure that this isn't yet another peak of cynicism, with the main difference being that that whole faux politeness is crumbling away. Companies can't even keep up that facade anymore like the various 90's "companies are evil" that has been satarized and parodied constantly.
I think the big difference between back than and now is that patents are extremely rampant in a bad way. I can't envision a Jonas Salk of modern times because so much of doctors (especially R&D) has become privatized and because any potential treatment (let alone cure) will be restricted for quite a while before the public (already dependent on insurance to pay for this) can benefit.
You sound unhinged and unaware of history, so you should be aware that nothing you’re saying is new and it’s just as untrue now as it has been for previous generations. People have been talking this same nonsense about how “it’s the corporations, man” despite the steady progress in healthcare for at least the last 60 years. I’m genuinely at a loss for how we can be creating new vaccines at the rate we are and people can simultaneously think such ludicrous things.
> I can't envision a Jonas Salk of modern times…
Fortunately overcoming your baseless skepticism is not a prerequisite for winning the Nobel.
>so you should be aware that nothing you’re saying is new and it’s just as untrue now as it has been for previous generations.
okay, that's perfectly fine. I just wanted to talk about a family Guy episode, I wasn't looking to convince you of... well, whatever we're arguing about at this point. You win.
>Fortunately overcoming your baseless skepticism is not a prerequisite for winning the Nobel.
the COVID vaccine is the exact kind of example of why modern pharmaceuticals is a mess. I understand it was a global emergency, but the mess between 3 companies and the lack of clarification early on regarding insurance and what's covered or not (even though it was also offered insurance free). It shouldn't have been this debate on Pfizer or Moderna or J&J. It shoulda just been "COVID vaccine".
But yes, good on Katalin Karikó. I'm very glad she's getting and gotten the recognition she deserves.
Anyways this discussion has long ran its course and when you resort to insults it's time to disengage. Take care.
You don’t have to look very hard to realize this trope is totally wrong, just google “vaccine”.