Follow which science?

Or whose scientists?

When ardent pro-covid-vaxxers jump down the throats of the hesitant, some variation of "trust the science" is part of the overall Deus Vult crusade sermon.

And yet, nothing has exposed the problems with the American medical establishment quite like a global pandemic with a novel virus.

We could factor in the politicization of American medicine, which promises to reap quite a pile of caskets in coming years. The early preview here being the seeming magical belief that virtuous protests confer immunities that unvirtuous ones do not. But let's circle back to that one later.

No, right now the main problem is that there's a welter of problems with the actual collection and genuine scientific analysis of medical data relating to the plague. 

Now, understand that this is coming from, depending on your vax perspective, a Citizen Hero or Traditor Drone who got his Pfizer shots in April of this year. Me, I just ran some calculations with the data and it seemed that I was high-risk for bad corona results, so that's what I think of it.

Further, having had the flu vaccine before, I recognize the corona versions are not and cannot be magic bullets. But like flu shots, they do promise to and have successfully reduced the severity of symptoms for breakthrough infections.

• Which brings us to problem one: how many breakthrough infections are there? 

Thanks in part to our continuing grievous failure to develop fast, cheap and effective tests, we have no idea at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that My Much Better Half and I had mild cases back in August which were beaten back by the vaccine. You see, our son had a Little League teammate who got a mild case in late July, but since my son was vaxxed along with his teammates, the season went on. Quite possibly corona...then again, summer cold? "Worst" symptoms gone in 48 hours and lasted a week total. But it sure would have been nice to have those cheap home tests like the Brits do.

• Which then, as the first story below the bullet notes, points to problem two: do the vaccines, particularly the Pfizer one, wear off quickly--i.e., within six months?

Sure looks that way, he says with a measure of disquiet after a quick glance at the calendar. 

So, it sounds like boosters would be called for, which is what Israel did after that nation experienced a post-vaccine wave, tamping it back down.

• Which brings me to problem three: the experts aren't remotely in agreement on that idea, with some arguing against doing so ten days ago:
  

The discussions have taken place amid ongoing tensions between scientists at the CDC and FDA and other federal officials working on the Covid-19 response about the administration’s public messaging on vaccine efficacy and boosters, given the gaps in available data.

The Sept. 27 call was originally planned for the week before. The White House abruptly rescheduled it after the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee recommended that the Pfizer-BioNTech booster be reserved for high-risk groups, including the elderly.

The rescheduled call was the tensest one to date, according to the three people with information on the talks. Fauci argued that the CDC committee’s stance — that science did not support giving boosters to all adults — was incorrect. And he dismissed suggestions that the administration had to choose between a broad U.S. booster campaign and donating vaccines to countries in need.

The president’s chief medical adviser also told the outside experts that boosters could, and should, be given widely to reduce the spread of the coronavirus rather than only to prevent severe disease or death.

Fauci’s remarks drew disagreement on the call, the five people familiar with the matter said. Several participants were left mystified about the goal of the government’s vaccination campaign.

“It was very tense,” one person said. “More than anything, it was like Fauci felt he needed to make a point.”

Since the FDA and CDC authorized limited use of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster in late September, top administration health officials have said publicly that they will follow the recommendations of scientists in planning the booster rollout.

But hours after the Pfizer-BioNTech decision, Biden predicted that booster shots would soon be available “across the board.”

“In the near term, we’re probably going to open this up,” the president said.

So which is it? Boosters or no?

Trust the science? 

Sure.

Which set of results? 

It seems that knowledgeable experts are in disagreement. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and there are mandates shoving needles into arms.