Ethon Lowe | Why you should take the vaccine

By the mid-20th century, 10 to 15 million people were infected with smallpox annually, and more than two million died. Determined to eradicate the disease, the WHO (World Health Organization) launched a global vaccination campaign in 1967.

After it had killed millions of people since the beginning of history, smallpox itself was at death’s door in 1980. The WHO pronounced it dead in May. It was an unprecedented achievement in the world of public health.

Programmes were initiated to eradicate or control other childhood diseases – the immunisation against diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, mumps, polio and tuberculosis. Jamaicans are now one of the healthiest people in the world.

Thanks to the government’s mandatory immunisation programme, these diseases have been virtually banished from Jamaica.

So, why is there widespread hesitancy in taking the COVID-19 vaccines? You would think people would jump at the chance to get the vaccine. There have always been suspicions surrounding the safety of vaccines. Homo sapiens is an intrinsically gullible species. The MMR (measles mumps rubella) vaccine, for example, was thought to cause autism. This lie took hold with surprising ease. When we should be drawing on facts and evidence, we relied on our feelings. It’s a good story, therefore, it should be true.

Another ‘good’ story bandied about is the belief that the COVID vaccines were developed too quickly and are not properly tested and should not be trusted. One fundamentalist church pastor even voiced the ridiculous belief that the vaccines are in an experimental phase.

The AstraZeneca (the most widely used in Jamaica) is an Adenovirus-based vaccine (the virus that causes the common cold). The adenovirus vaccine technology has been around for decades, and has been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy. Yes, blood clots have been reported but this is extremely rare. In the UK, of the 21.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered, 168 cases of blood clots were reported and 32 deaths – approximately eight cases per million or 0.0008 per cent of cases. You are more likely to die from the virus than from blood clots.

DANGERS OF COMPLACENCY

Another reason for hesitancy in taking the vaccine is that some people, while aware of the dangers of the virus, an optimism bias takes over: you are healthier than the average person, young, don’t go to crowded places, etc, therefore you are less likely to be infected. You become complacent. Complacency can be dangerous, leading to taking unnecessary risks: not wearing mask in crowds, etc.

Others just refuse to take the vaccine. They perceive the Government’s restrictive measures in controlling the virus a challenge to their freedom to make their own choices.

The United Independent Congress, led by one Mr Joseph Patterson, protested against mandatory vaccination. Freedom of choice with reason; certainly. Freedom from consequences of those choices; definitely not. And what are the consequences? The road code mandates speed limits on the roads for our safety, otherwise there would be carnage and loss of lives – your life and the lives of the public. Is mandating the taking of the vaccine any different?

Drugs such as dexamethasone and some antiviral drugs are clearly beneficial, but Ivermectin, used to treat worms and parasites in animals, touted to be a wonder drug in preventing and curing COVID, is controversial. A recent study in 1,500 patients by McMaster University, Canada (McMaster TOGETHER trial) showed no benefit whatsoever. More robust clinical trials like this are needed. The jury is out. Keep posted.

Treating the virus with effective drugs will save lives, but isn’t it better to PREVENT yourself from being infected. The vaccines are 80 per cent effective in preventing infection.

When treatments of a disease are explored, the herbalists are sure to jump on the bandwagon. Here’s a recent quote from a Jamaican herbalist: “Most people cannot say how COVID-19 vaccine works, but if herbs have been proven to work (where is the proof?), why is it we were not given a presence at the table?” But we do know how vaccines work. Simply put, vaccines trigger an immune response within the body by producing antibodies to fight specific diseases. Have garlic, dandelion, avocado and bush extracts proven to work? Where is the evidence?

The devastating loss of lives has left Christians in this Christian country questioning their faith and the power of prayer. Faith doesn’t seem to help and perhaps they need to pray more. Clearly, vaccines are the answer.

Our PM, a Christian and a strong believer in the vaccine, was obviously privileged to have received the latest revelation from God that He created the vaccine and gave this knowledge to scientists. All along we thought vaccines were the sole creation of science. But let’s not quibble the point. This revelation, the PM hoped, would convince those wayward pastors who are against the vaccine to be rational. After all, God can’t be wrong. God’s knowledge of the vaccines must be impeccable. Surely this information would convince those ‘bad apple’ pastors to return to the fold.

VACCINES ARE THE ANSWER

Vaccines are the answer to control the virus towards herd immunity. As long as a large majority of the population is immunised, even the unimmunised minority will be protected. With so many people immunised, the virus will never get a chance to establish itself and spread. This is important, because there will always be a portion of the population, your newborn, your 95-year-old mother, and those with weakened immune system that might not be able to take the vaccines.

Nurses all over the world report that 99 per cent of the patients admitted to hospital are unvaccinated, and 99.5 per cent of people killed by COVID (January to July 2021) were UNVACCINATED (statistics from the Centres for Disease Control, USA – CDC). If you are fully vaccinated, you can still be infected and also transmit the virus, but you are much less likely to be seriously affected and require hospitalisation.

Here are some tragic last words from an antivaxxer: “I have a very low risk of a) getting COVID and b) dying if I do. Why would I risk getting a heart attack or paralysis by taking the vaccine?”

Talk show host Phil Valentine, age 61, from Nashville, USA, had mocked the vaccine and mask mandate. He succumbed to COVID on August 21, 2021. In Jamaica, nurse Diagrea Cunningham’s death from COVID was allegedly due to lack of oxygen. Her husband said they “had intended to be vaccinated”.

People who refuse vaccines tend to believe in claims which are anecdotal, uncorroborated and spurious from self-styled experts on social media and the grapevine. Most come to their beliefs for reasons having little to do with empirical evidence and logical reasoning, more lazy thinking as opposed to critical thinking.

Look at the evidence. Take the vaccine.

Dr Ethon Lowe is a medical doctor. Email feedback to ethonlowe@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com