Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content #256 - A Contagion of Bad Ideas
Jul 23, 2021
In this engaging conversation, Eric Topol, a leading cardiologist and expert in genomic medicine, discusses vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation. He addresses the political and social divides affecting public trust in vaccines, the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines, and the dangers of misinterpreting data. Topol critiques the use of ivermectin and the ethical issues of emergency use authorization, as well as the challenges of navigating misinformation in the digital age. He emphasizes the urgent need for evidence-based strategies to enhance public health.
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Restaurant Mask Moment
- Sam noticed restaurant staff split on mask use with policy that vaccinated need not mask while unvaccinated must.
- He inferred many unvaccinated are influenced by podcast-driven misinformation rather than rational risk assessment.
Herd Immunity Model Has Flipped
- Eric explains the epidemic flipped: unvaccinated clusters now seed infections among the vaccinated because of Delta's higher transmissibility.
- Herd immunity expectations failed as a small unvaccinated minority became a major transmission reservoir.
Vaccines Maintain High Real-World Effectiveness
- The original mRNA trials showed ~95% efficacy and large real-world datasets matched that performance.
- Against Delta there's only a modest drop, with vaccines still ~88–90% effective and ~96% protective versus hospitalization/death.
