Editing 2455: Virus Consulting
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]]. | + | This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]]. |
− | This comic imagines a scenario where [[Ponytail]] works for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?), consisting of [[Hairbun]], [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], that though they are worried about | + | This comic imagines a scenario where [[Ponytail]] works for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?), consisting of [[Hairbun]], [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], that though they are worried about COVID-19 variants, the fact that the number of people vaccinated is increasing considerably is a good sign. Hairbun then accuses Ponytail's firm of simply "telling them what they want to hear", accusing her firm of giving them false hope to make them keep retaining her firm. |
The punchline comes in the final panel where it turns out that Ponytail's colleague, [[Black Hat]], is consulting a different set of clients, which are the viruses themselves. He presents the exact same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the idea of [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]] where the pandemic is seen from the virus' perspective. As in that previous comic, it is the virus that is in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation. (That humanity will survive is also good for the virus, which needs living humans so that it can spread.) This is not the first time that Black Hat has given advice to natural disasters that can kill humans, see [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]]. | The punchline comes in the final panel where it turns out that Ponytail's colleague, [[Black Hat]], is consulting a different set of clients, which are the viruses themselves. He presents the exact same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the idea of [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]] where the pandemic is seen from the virus' perspective. As in that previous comic, it is the virus that is in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation. (That humanity will survive is also good for the virus, which needs living humans so that it can spread.) This is not the first time that Black Hat has given advice to natural disasters that can kill humans, see [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]]. | ||
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Secondarily, the comic is making fun of the perception that consulting firms will offer their services to whoever can pay, even if they are harmful to society, a perception with {{w|McKinsey & Company#Controversies|some basis in fact}}. | Secondarily, the comic is making fun of the perception that consulting firms will offer their services to whoever can pay, even if they are harmful to society, a perception with {{w|McKinsey & Company#Controversies|some basis in fact}}. | ||
− | + | {{w|Variants of SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 variants}}, commonly called "COVID variants", have been in the news. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated into many different strains, some of which spread more easily among humans. It is unknown whether the different variants have a greater individual fatality rate. The current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as the Regeneron therapeutic monoclonal | |
+ | antibodies all effectively protect against at least the New York ({{w|Lineage B.1.526}}), South African ({{w|Lineage B.1.351}}), and U.K. ({{w|Lineage B.1.1.7}}) variants according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/health/covid-ny-variant-vaccine.html two recent study preprints] released April 22, 2021. Further research and peer review is ongoing. | ||
− | + | The title text notes that the firm's "virus division" (the group advising the viruses themselves) has started to get worried that their jobs are becoming obsolete, due to vaccine efficacy. Thus, they are demanding to be paid "up front", before consulting/advising services have been rendered to their clients. Dependent upon the expectations of each party, payment can be asked for "up front", deferred for invoicing once services have been rendered, or a combination of the two. The weaker party to a contract may need to submit their transaction, or a guarantor, before the other spends too much effort in fulfilling their side of the contract. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |