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points by pavlov 4 days ago | 0 comments
The Trump administration and RFK Jr. are actively working to prevent mRNA vaccines from reaching the market.

People like Marc Andreessen, Larry Ellison and Elon Musk are actively supporting the administration, including hundreds of millions in donations to MAGA political campaigns in recent months.

Should we hold these people accountable for the damage they're indirectly doing to public health? If not, why?

[–] nfw2 4 days ago
First I agree RFK jr is the worst possible HHS secretary imaginable. There has been tons of funding pulled for mrna vaccine research for respiratory viruses which is terrible.

That said:

1. Funding hasn't been pulled for mrna vaccines for cancer. rfk has been equivocal about the topic. NCI is stilling rewarding grants for mrna-vaccine cancer trials.

2. Pulling funding is different from blocking vaccines from reaching the market. The new season's covid vaccine is presumably an mrna vaccine. For cancer vaccines, it would be very strange to fund a vaccine just to block it from the market.

Should we hold these people accountable?

What do you mean? The court of public opinion seems to hold them accountable. Are you proposing legal punishments for Marc Andreessen? For what specifically?

[–] lokar 4 days ago
He is playing games with vaccine liability rules and recommendations (which can impact insurance coverage). He is trying to undermine the business model.
[–] soon_to_be_sb 4 days ago
>The Trump administration and RFK Jr. are actively working to prevent mRNA vaccines from reaching the market.

Why though? Would they get paid by "crakpots" more than they could get paid by Big pharma !?

Apparently everyone knows Trump is only interested in him and friends making money. So how do you rationalize your claim?

[–] ceejayoz 4 days ago
> Would they get paid by "crakpots" more than they could get paid by Big pharma !?

Yes. A whole bunch of the prominent "MAHA" folks sell/promote supplements, peptides, miracle cures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Health_Defense

https://www.cspi.org/press-release/peptides-fda-urged-overru...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/12/03/dr-oz-influ...

There's a shitload of money in alternative medicine, and you can get away with more.

[–] soon_to_be_sb 4 days ago
Nothing in your links support the claim that there is more money in those things than there is in big pharma! Not to mention the bad PR you get for supporting them....
[–] ceejayoz 3 days ago
Does the guy whose political campaign was "it's me, the guy who left a dead bear in Central Park (https://www.npr.org/2024/08/05/nx-s1-5063939/rfk-jr-central-...), deliberately swam in raw sewage (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-rock-c...) and who had a brainworm (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-me...) that presumably died of malnourishment?" seem like someone concerned with bad PR?

Does he seem like the sort big pharma would go "yes, fund that guy, great spokesperson!" Someone who endorses misama theory over germ theory? https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/14/nx...

[–] soon_to_be_sb 2 days ago
Why though? Why aren't they concerned about bad PR when they can make more money by doing good PR stuff..

You can say that they are really wrong. But then it becomes a subjective thing...

[–] soon_to_be_sb 2 days ago
>You can say that they are really wrong. But then it becomes a subjective thing...

I mean, you can say that they truly believe in what they are trying to do, but they are very wrong (and stupid). But then it becomes a subjective thing...

[–] ceejayoz 1 day ago
Did your bot forget which user it was replying to?
[–] nfw2 4 days ago
It isn't a cynical scam to make money. They are genuinely stupid.
[–] apercu 4 days ago
Or both.
[–] nfw2 3 days ago
One can't be both earnest and cynical.
[–] maram 4 days ago
>>Should we hold these people accountable for the damage they're indirectly doing to public health?

How much did Moderna and Pfizer profit from the vaccines? I always go back to PG’s 2020 tweet: “Anyone else notice Fauci seems happier? I don’t think it’s just the vaccine.” https://x.com/paulg/status/1328075680492511232?s=46

[–] poly2it 4 days ago
This is a relevant question. Is it ethical to indirectly kill people for profit? If so, under what circumstances? Phrased like this, it sounds ridiculous, but that must imply that the acts being committed are not understood by the people causing them through the lens I am interpreting them.
[–] JumpCrisscross 4 days ago
> This is a relevant question

Important? Yes. Relevant? No.