“In delineating a national strategy, humility is essential. The precise duration of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 from vaccination or prior infection is unknown. Also unknown is whether SARS-CoV-2 will become a seasonal infection; whether antiviral therapies will prevent long COVID; or whether even more transmissible, immune-evading, or virulent variants will arise after Omicron.
Another part of this humility is recognizing that predictions are necessary but educated guesses, not mathematical certainty. The virus, host response, and data will evolve. Biomedical and public health tools will expand, along with better understanding of their limitations. The incidence of SARS-CoV-2, vaccination rates, hospital capacity, tolerance for risk, and willingness to implement different interventions will vary geographically, and national recommendations will need to be adapted locally.”
I was ready to reject any policy recommendation from the AMA as biased and self-serving. Their track record over decades has not been flawless.
This is the most succinct, coherent and downright wise guidance for managing COVID in 2021 I’ve read.
And a call for humility by the medical community? That’s downright unprecedented. Of historic import, like acknowledging that the new-fangled “germ theory” might have some merit after all.
Another part of this humility is recognizing that predictions are necessary but educated guesses, not mathematical certainty. The virus, host response, and data will evolve. Biomedical and public health tools will expand, along with better understanding of their limitations. The incidence of SARS-CoV-2, vaccination rates, hospital capacity, tolerance for risk, and willingness to implement different interventions will vary geographically, and national recommendations will need to be adapted locally.”
I was ready to reject any policy recommendation from the AMA as biased and self-serving. Their track record over decades has not been flawless.
This is the most succinct, coherent and downright wise guidance for managing COVID in 2021 I’ve read.
And a call for humility by the medical community? That’s downright unprecedented. Of historic import, like acknowledging that the new-fangled “germ theory” might have some merit after all.
Science-informed, not “science”-determined.