The following is the headline over today's Vancouver Sun COVID-19 wrap-up:
Under the headline, the story that more than half of double-dosed folks do not plan to 'rush' to get a third booster shot of the vaccine is based on a recent poll from Ipsos. Here is how the VSun reporter, Stephanie Ip, describes it:
A new Ipsos poll found that 56 per cent of B.C. respondents with both their first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine don’t plan to get their booster immediately.
The remainder say they are undecided or have chosen not to receive a booster at all...
While Ms. Ip's piece does include a quote from the president of the BC Pharmacy Association about how double dose protection wanes six months after immunization nowhere does it include, or even describe, widely available data like the following:
Or, perhaps even more to the point, data like the following:
Now, it is entirely possible that Ms. Ip's original draft may have included a description of data such as those shown above.
Regardless, however, one has to wonder why her (presumably) editor or editors would choose to run with the 'people are over it' theme for both the headline and the story without clearly and fully informing those same people, a number of whom are presumably their readers, that folks who choose to not get the booster in a timely manner are putting themselves in harm's way - particularly those folks that have any comorbidities.
Why am I fussing about this kind of thing?
Because I could imagine that some folks who are on the fence who read stories like this like just might just ask themselves the following: 'If most people aren't bothering, why should I?' They might also decide that those super smart folks who discuss vaccines with, say, that nice Mr. Rogan just might have a point.
OK?
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Another reason this (really) matters?....This.
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4 comments:
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/Fewer-Half-Two-Doses-Vaccine-Plan-Get-Booster-Shot
BC Booster Shots: Fewer than Half (44%) of British Columbians with Two Doses of a COVID-19 Vaccine Plan to Get Their Booster Shot as Soon as Available
The Vancouver Sun is not a great newspaper. Its one of those "legacy" firms which ought to have died a natural death instead of receiving tax dollars. there isn't much information they provide and this is an e.g. of it. They don't care about the general public and they may feel they don't want to "offfend" the anti vaccers and protestors.
The information you provide in the graphs are great. /certainly easy to figure out and get informed. If I didn't have my third shot already, if I saw a graph like yours, I'd be getting my third shot.
The press has a responsibility to report information which is useful to the general public. Of course that maybe an outdated view, given the real purpose is for them to make money and keep their shareholders happy.
Of course this is the same newspaper which used to "endorse" the Socreds election after election regardless of how bad they were. Pretty much the same when the B.C. Lieberals took over. /we ought not to expect much from the vancouver Sun.
Thanks NVG--
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e.a.f--
I just think that if they are going to run 'horse racey' - type numbers every day that they should also include numbers that actually matter and inform their readers in a meaningful way.
Or.
Put another way, the fact that over half of folks that are clearly amenable to being vaccinated, given that they've already received two shots, means that the information that matters is not getting to a lot of them.
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Bolded Footnote in that there Ipsos Poll for BC Pharmacy Association
Vancouver BC, February 10, 2022 — A new online poll conducted on behalf of the BC Pharmacy Association
About the Study
These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Resource Works.
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