THE BIG RETHINK
BANNED By MEDIUM
I was so careful to follow Medium's COVID-19 policies. Where did I go wrong?
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My article Why I’m Holding Out On Getting Vaccinated had all the statistical signs of going viral until Medium pulled the plug. I got the following message:
“Due to elevated risk of potential harm to persons or public health, Medium’s Trust & Safety team has removed the following content under its rules (https://medium.com/policy/medium-rules-30e5502c4eb4)."
What? I did no such thing!
Why did Medium interpret my story in such a negative way?
I don’t know. Medium won’t say.
A little background
The major thrust of the removed article is to point out, using statistics (not opinion), the moving-target nature of this pandemic. The statistics included in the article show we need to alter our expectations of this pandemic’s duration and the mRNA vaccine’s effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
I never say in my article that a person should avoid these vaccines because they are dangerous to a healthy adult.
Yes, real-world vaccine effectiveness may not be 90% like the CDC had forecasted, but a 50% effectiveness is better than 0%. mRNA vaccine effectiveness is similar to a flu vaccine at this point in its development. And few dispute or disparage the flu vaccine’s 50% effectiveness and say you shouldn’t get vaccinated.
We have learned through trial and error over the past year and a half that COVID-19 is not going away. Booster shots are now needed to fortify against the mutating nature of the virus. New social protocols may be required. People are losing their health, jobs, loved ones, and freedoms. These are significant impacts on our way of life.
The CDC and politicians made statements and predictions, to the best of their knowledge, about what we should expect regarding masks, lock-downs, quarantines, travel restrictions, and so on. Those rules have had tremendous repercussions in our day-to-day lives and fortunes. Our leader's statements and predictions continue to change even today.
