The crazy anti-vaxxers have certainly been a problem, but that doesn’t excuse the bad behavior by the folks on the other side of the fence. The cherry picking of data is hardly one sided (to be fair at least the ‘yes this is a real problem’ folks are typically at least cherry picking from real data).
I’ve watched two of the most prolific posters in this thread laughingly insinuate it would be acceptable use violence against someone walking by them outdoors for not wearing a mask. An event where chance of infection is extremely low probability. That isn’t any better than someone suggesting they would cough on others if they tested positive.
As of yet we don’t have a clear understanding of how effective masks are. The real world studies so far have not supported the same level of effectiveness shown by controlled lab experiments. Most data suggests they do provide a level of benefit but there are too many who tend to exaggerate the extent almost as much as the anti-maskers ignore it.
If you want to make a credible argument then you need to ruthlessly fact check yourself. Don’t make the same mistakes as those parroting misinformation.
My personal experience:
I’m now ‘fully’ vaccinated (more than two weeks from my 2nd Moderna shot). No side effects after the 1st (injection site sore to the touch, but I don’t count that). The day of the 2nd shot I lost someone very close to me, so I was already pretty out of it when I got the shot. The next day I mostly slept, but not sure if that was due to the shot or mental exhaustion from the death.
Since Gov Dewine (Ohio) immediately followed the recent CDC guidelines I’m no longer required to wear a mask but I’ll go ahead and do so until 2 June when the entire ordinance expires.
My dad (74 next month) had little to no reaction to either of his shots (Pfizer). He had Covid in Dec with only minor symptoms.
His wife (69) had a strong reaction to each shot. She was hospitalized with Covid in Dec for 2 two days but recovered with no (so far) long term effects.
My children’s maternal grandfather (72?) passed away after contracting Covid last summer (in Sweden).
Only one other ‘close’ Covid death. A female friend in her early 30s.