Interesting Links for 10-12-2020

[andrewducker]

Lost Muppet Christmas Carol song rediscovered

(tags:muppets movies Disney Christmas )

Covid in Scotland: Lockdown nearly eliminated it, but the second wave was reignited by summer holidays

(tags:pandemic Scotland holidays OhForFucksSake )

"A damn stupid thing to do"—the origins of the C programming language

(tags:programming history computers )

Looks like one in every few thousand people is allergic to the Covid vaccine

(tags:pandemic vaccine allergies )

Tyrannosaurs probably sounded like geese

(tags:birds dinosaurs sound )

Five reasons why the "Nordic Model" is a terrible approach to sex worker legislation

(tags:sexwork law )

Top 10 student and graduate design projects of 2020

(tags:design architecture )

I don't usually talk about new battery technology, but this one looks like it might actually happen

(tags:batteries technology )

British public now supports proportional representation 42% - 33%

(tags:voting reform polls )

Nicolas Cage To Host 'History Of Swear Words' At Netflix

(tags:niccage swearing Netflix )

Some more info on the Pfizer vaccine and its safety and efficacy

(tags:vaccine safety )

Comments

[naath]

Some people get bad allergic reactions to 'flu vaccine, and to other regular vaccinations, the system tries to identify who will react badly ahead of time, to not give them it (if you are allergic to eggs you can't get the regular 'flu shot for instance), but for every allergic person there has to be a first time the allergy shows up. It is impossible to never have a single adverse reaction (this year's 'flu shot gave me a sore arm; a side effect I am entirely willing to put up with), and yes, the calculation of lives saved vs bad outcomes is done, it is done in all medical research, there is no medical intervention without risk, there is no possibility of a life lived without risk, There are experts in quantifying these risks, working hard to get it right.

One hopes of course for zero deaths by allergy, but part of that is ensuring that prompt treatment is available, this vaccine is being provided in health care settings where someone having an allergic reaction can be treated immediately.