Dear Editor:
RE: Vaccines work, Jan. 21.
I was confused by a couple of statements in the letter from Marg Gollinger, who mentions that the vaccine does not stop you from getting the virus and does not stop the transmission. Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated this also. You can still get SARS-COV2 (the infection) and it may lessen the symptoms of COVID-19, basically turning people into asymptomatic carriers.
I have asked various levels of governments what they expect the vaccine to actually do, without an answer from any of them. Maybe local MOH Dr. Nicola Mercer or her spokesperson would like to confirm what their expectations of the vaccine are, since you can still get the SARS-COV2 virus.
Ms. Gollinger suggests that we all get vaccinated because they work. If the vaccine does not stop us from contracting and transmitting SARS-COV2 what does “they work” mean? And how after such a short and limited testing period is she sure that they “work”? Because of the 196 people in the Moderna test?
There is no mention of possible side effects, she suggests that we should just blindly roll-up our sleeves, ignoring the 33 seniors that died this past week in Norway after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. There have been others also, like the 56-year-old doctor in Miami who died around Christmas thinking that he should be setting a good example. In the past week in San Diego, there were serious allergic reactions that occurred one after the other.
Ms. Gollinger also mentions that the vaccine will produce antibodies for long-term protection. How is she able to state this when testing has been so short and no one knows how long the protection will last?
Obviously, it is a personal decision that we all need to make but be sure you understand what the vaccine will do and, more importantly, not do.
And be aware of the possible immediate side effects and the long-term side effects that the health officials do not have any data on with this vaccine.
David Bonk,
Erin
(Editor’s note: Reactions occur with all vaccines, but serious side effects are extremely rare … The Moderna trial actually included over 30,000 people … Norwegian medical officials and the World Health Organization say there is no evidence the vaccine caused the deaths of the seniors in Norway … Six people had allergic reactions in San Diego out of thousands that received the vaccine from the same batch … To the best of our knowledge, the death of the Florida doctor has not been attributed to the vaccine and is still being investigated … Anyone with concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine should consult their doctor.)