Making Sense with Sam Harris #256 — A Contagion of Bad Ideas
22 snips
Jul 23, 2021 
Eric Topol, a prominent cardiologist and medical researcher, joins to discuss pressing vaccine hesitancy issues. They explore how misinformation fuels public skepticism, especially regarding mRNA vaccines and their efficacy. The conversation highlights the dangers of political silos and the misuse of reporting systems like VAERS. Topol emphasizes the urgency of accurate data interpretation to combat misconceptions surrounding vaccines and the need for rebuilding trust in public health systems.
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Reverse Herd Immunity
- Unvaccinated individuals now infect vaccinated people due to the Delta variant's increased transmissibility.
- This reverses the intended herd immunity model where vaccinated individuals protect the unvaccinated.
Vaccine Effectiveness
- mRNA vaccines demonstrated 95% efficacy in trials and real-world effectiveness against original strains.
- Effectiveness remains high (88-90%) against Delta, with 96% effectiveness against death or hospitalization.
Breakthrough Infections
- Anti-vaxxers highlight breakthrough infections to argue vaccines are ineffective.
- Topol explains this is statistically misleading, as higher vaccination rates lead to more breakthroughs, not lower vaccine effectiveness.
