@Edmund those skeptical of the Covid vaccine won the day. Very few people are taking the boosters. Relitigating the arguments of from years ago doesn’t change anyone’s opinions—it hardens them.
It might be useful to deconstruct the PR/Propaganda campaigns, the failure (removal) of protocols that should have kept those shots and the from seeing the light of day, the failure of to weigh lockdowns on traditional cost/benefit analysis that’s still playing itself out it terms of wealth destruction and impaired childhood development. It wasn’t all about stock prices. Most of those failures probably originated with people trying to do the right(ish) thing—prevent deaths from a novel airborne virus. It’s impossible to stop such a spread, but something caused doctors to forget that. And to the extent that the vaccines were/are dangerous (I’m not doubting they have risks—serious risks and uncertain benefits) and the lockdowns created huge problems, a lot of doctors (the vast majority) took the vaccines and abided by the lockdowns. They weren’t trying to help Pfizer, maim people or depopulate the planet. They weren’t/aren’t stupid, but their minds were captured in a way that only the pursuit of good can manage to do. Yes, there was suppression of reports of side effects and trial results, but the rationale for that suppression is that they believed Covid was worse and that people needed to be vaccinated to stop it.
To repeat they weren’t stupid. In fact, the experts had to be fairly bright to make these mistakes. And the simple fact is that most people don’t have the time or the means to doubt experts. Doctors don’t and neither do most patients or the general population.
We need a high trust, high verify society to prevent a reoccurrence. Only by re-installing the devil’s advocate position in science, journalism, and public policy can we achieve this. Stay positive and focused on that mission.