There is a common saying in public health that “vaccines don’t save lives, vaccinations do.” In other words, while the development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time this past year reflects astonishing advances in immunology and vaccine development, if those vaccines are not put into the arms of most Americans in the coming months, they are not only not effective, there can be no expectation of an end to the pandemic anytime soon.
Taking the necessary daily precautions, chief among them wearing a mask, is now commonplace. That attitude of shared duty for public health must be carried into the next phase of the fight. When a vaccine becomes available, it is critical for all to commit to the personal and moral responsibility of getting both shots as soon as they become available. For CHS upper classmen over 16, teachers and staff, that time will likely come within the next semester.
Social media, newspapers and television news programs have been flooded recently with photos of smiling doctors, nurses and senior citizens with their sleeves rolled up - from the staff at Confluence Health to President-elect Biden and Dr. Fauci. That is the good news. There also exists strains of the population who believe that the COVID-19 vaccines – and every other vaccines in most instances – are not safe and effective. This misbelief is just as prevalent on social media as the photos of those getting vaccinated.
Dr. Fauci said last week that he thinks “75-80%” of people must be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity for COVID-19”, which would effectively end person-to-person spread of the disease, and that “most of [his] epidemiology colleagues agree with [him].” So, any and every time someone is deceived into believing that vaccines are unsafe and therefore refuses to be vaccinated, it is a step back from herd immunity and away from life as it was known in 2019.
According to Dr. Peter Rutherford, Chief Executive Officer of Confluence Health, “[t]he information obtained in the [vaccine] trials has been reviewed by the FDA and other scientific organizations, including the Infectious Disease Society of America - an organization whose membership is this country’s infectious disease physicians - and the overwhelming agreement was that these vaccines were both safe and effective relative to the risks of being infected with COVID-19.” Pfizer’s vaccine employed more than 20,000 participants in clinical trials; Moderna’s 15,000. Research scientists at both companies concluded that the vaccines were safe.
As of this writing, almost nine million people in the United States have been vaccinated and, according to the CDC, only 0.000001% have had a serious allergic reaction. For reference, the Journal of the American Medical Association states in a January 4, 2019 article that almost 11% of adult Americans have a food allergy.
Minor side effects, such as short-lasting arm soreness, headache and fatigue are commonly associated with any vaccine, and are no reason to avoid or postpone the potentially life-saving and herd-immunity promoting inoculation. “Things like fever or soreness at the injection site are normal, and actually they indicate that your body is reacting to the vaccine, which is what you want,” says immunologist Ellen F. Foxman, MD, PhD of the Yale School of Medicine. “That’s a good thing.”
Coronavirus is the most exigent threat the United States has confronted in over a century. In less than a year, over 385,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Now is not the time for complacency. Vaccines are the best opportunity to save lives and put an end to this pandemic. When people are offered the chance to be vaccinated, they should so to help themselves, their families, their communities and their country.
For additional information, see the Washington State Department of Health’s Coronavirus Vaccine page, which includes simple, yet excellent and highly informative videos entitled: “How COVID-19 Vaccines are Made”; “How Vaccines Work in Your Body”; “How to Spot Fact Versus Fiction On-line”; “Making Sense of Vaccines During COVID-19”. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/vaccine
A more detailed look into the development, efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines can be found in a presentation by Dr. Mark Johnson, an infectious disease physician at Confluence Health. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrIetE2kNt0
Comments