Michael Abrahams | Time for humility in COVID-19

If there was ever a time when human arrogance and selfishness were on display, it is now. And it is present on different sides of the COVID-19 vaccination divide. We all want to come out of this alive but, if that is the goal, we need to be humble.

Humans do not like to be proven wrong. We have egos, some more fragile than others, that we fight to protect. We want people to think we are smart and that we know stuff. But, how much do we really know?

As a physician, I know a lot. But there is also a lot I do not know. In fact, the more I know is the more I realise how much I do not know. Science is continuously evolving. It is not static. As research continues, the findings of studies will change our understanding of phenomena, including diseases, and so will our approaches to managing them.

A lack of humility in science can be a dangerous thing. Clutching a narrative and holding it close to your chest, even when it has been revealed to be flawed, has the potential to cause harm, and we see this playing out in real time during the COVID-19 era.

For example, early in the pandemic, it was announced that if a significant majority of a population is vaccinated against COVID-19, herd immunity would be achieved and the disease would be banished. We have discovered that this is not true. The narrative that the vaccines prevent the vaccinated from getting COVID-19 and from spreading it has also been found to be flawed, especially during the fourth wave of the pandemic, driven by the very transmissible Omicron variant. Research is also revealing the value of natural immunity, that people who have caught COVID-19 and recovered are more protected than their vaccinated counterparts.

IGNORING NATURAL IMMUNITY

Ignoring these facts and clinging to a ‘vaccine-only’ narrative and ignoring the value of natural immunity is not only unhelpful, but also contributes to divisiveness and is not in the best interest of the health of humanity.

The call for humility does not only go out to scientists and members of the medical profession, but also to people outside of that sphere. If you have no scientific training, it is ludicrous to believe that you know more than physicians and scientists who have dedicated decades of their lives to studying, research and clinical practice. If someone has published dozens of studies in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences across the globe, chances are they know something about their field that you do not. They are not perfect. They are capable of making errors and may have their own biases, but their knowledge base on the topic of their speciality will be significantly larger than yours.

Virology, immunology and epidemiology are complicated fields, and the fact that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is continuously mutating and providing us with new variants, presents a great challenge. To believe you can learn enough from TikTok videos and those being circulated in WhatsApp groups to challenge an experienced and learned scientist is delusional behaviour.

The truth is that, for decades, vaccines have saved countless lives on the planet. It is also a fact that, overall, the COVID-19 vaccines have significantly reduced the risk of severe illness, hospitalisation and death from the disease. You may not like the vaccines. You may refuse them. You may have valid concerns about their safety, efficacy and long-term effects, but your opinions do not change the fact that they have saved lives and helped to keep people out of hospitals and graveyards.

Regardless of our views, beliefs and narratives, it is in the best interest of humanity to be honest at this time. And to be honest requires humility when we are proven wrong. There is no shame in that.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @mikeyabrahams.