Given that the vaccines saved some millions of lives over 2 and a bit years, can one be forgiven boosterism? Harder to forgive telling people the vaccines didn't really work, caused sudden death, cancer... no shortage of quotes, and I think the bigger issue in promoting distrust.

In the article I can't see a reference to the scientists who were claiming that the vaccines were perfect and refused to acknowledge uncertainty? There must have been some - there always are a few - but I can't really remember who and I don't think it was a majority.

I feel the pain. What happens if you click "yes"? Inquiring minds....

Antibiotics were effective on infant mortality in the MORDOR trial and in other trials - that's why they did this trial to follow up. Also vaccines, bednets, many other interventions good for mortality as well as schooling.

Sure, fair enough, and I can see that in the Ethiopia/Trachoma context the transmission effect might be key, but I think less easy to see that in MORDOR, and also if key mortality is GNR sepsis hard to imagine population level transmission reductions except with WASH. All very puzzling.

Yeah, but what should public health do with the infrastructure changes - give azithromycin or not give azithromycin? It seems like there might be lives at stake if it is got wrong.

Would that imply that all or at least most of the transmission is happening in the under 5 year old age group? I would have thought that where WASH is a challenge there would be broader transmission than that?

Completely agree, one often doesn't want to take the chance. Refusing to cite a paper or two does not seem like the right hill to die on.