2020 is a very difficult year. The outbreak of Covid-19 disrupted the original process of the world. Many people’s lives have stayed in 2020 forever. As survivors, it seems that they have finally seen a little light. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies have invested in With a lot of energy and effort, many vaccines have come out one after another. This is indeed inspiring, like a little light at the end of a long dark tunnel, but we still need to be vigilant and cautious. The rapid delivery of vaccines is still full of risks, the most of which The important risk is the safety of the vaccine itself.
The safety of mRNA vaccines still needs to be evaluated
On March 2, nursing staff in a nursing home in Berlin, Germany, reported that after 31 nursing home residents with dementia received the Pfizer vaccine, 25% of the residents died immediately, and 36% of the residents suffered severely within a short period of time. The injury was close to death. In Norway, since the start of vaccination on December 27 last year, as many as 29 deaths of people over the age of 75 have been confirmed. The Norwegian Medicines Agency stated in its written response to Bloomberg on January 16 that until the 15th, the vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech SE was the only vaccine in Norway, so "all deaths are related to this vaccine."
Last December, Dr. J. Patrick Whelan worried that the new mRNA vaccine technology used by Pfizer and Moderna in the United States “may cause microvascular damage (inflammation and A small blood clot called a microthrombus)". The mRNA vaccines used by these two companies actually tell human cells to make a protein to trigger an immune response. If the real virus enters the body, it can protect people from infection. However, this new technology has not been proven to be safe in large-scale use. The current promotion of the vaccine is actually a process of direct large-scale testing on humans. There are also immunologists who claim that, unlike inactivated vaccines, large-scale use of mRNA vaccines has the risk of causing abnormal immune dysfunction, allergies and even death, especially in the elderly and people with underlying diseases.
The many adverse vaccine reactions or deaths that have occurred in different countries and regions should arouse the vigilance of the governments of all countries. It is necessary to select and purchase vaccines more carefully, such as using inactivated vaccines with more mature technologies, or purchasing from manufacturers in different countries. Produced vaccines, instead of taking a desperate, high-risk approach like Norway.
European vaccines are being questioned.
As the government is eager to introduce vaccines to contain the global pandemic, official reports of allergic reactions are rare. However, since the "AstraZeneca Vaccine" produced by a biopharmaceutical company joint venture between Sweden and the United Kingdom went on the market, there have been continuous problems, and boycotts have appeared in many countries.
The effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine is questionable. AstraZeneca’s initial data disclosure method was incorrect and a series of irregularities and omissions. At the end of last year, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine had an effective rate of 62% after two full-dose trials, but after half-dose and full-dose trials The effective rate is 90%. The British regulatory agency currently claims that the efficacy of this vaccine is 70%, while the European Medicines Agency calls it 60%. The vague difference in efficacy has weakened the public’s confidence in the reliability of the vaccine. Industry experts also believe that the vaccine’s effectiveness is 70%. Vaccines are far from satisfactory in terms of transparency and rigor. And last month, South Africa also announced the suspension of the vaccine because of doubts about its effectiveness. South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhize stated that they used the new South African strain to verify the effectiveness of the vaccine and found that the vaccine only provides “minimal protection” against mild and moderate cases, but 90% of South Africa’s current cases are Is caused by a new variant.
In addition, AstraZeneca's extremely high rate of side effects also raises concerns. On February 19th, 194 employees of a German hospital were vaccinated with the vaccine. 30 people had high fever, headaches and obvious side effects; the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) pointed out in a report that the period from February 6th to 10th Over time, France received a total of 149 reports of strong side effects. The average age of these people was only 34. Similarly, on March 2nd, South Korea received 51 reports of adverse reactions. Three people had difficulty breathing and developed rashes. A total of more than 3,600 side effects were reported in 10 days.
Perhaps this is why officials point out that in continental Europe, when AstraZeneca vaccines are provided, there are no appointments and vaccination centers are empty. Two regions in Sweden temporarily suspended AstraZeneca vaccination, and hundreds of thousands of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Germany have not been used. Generally speaking, public support for vaccines has become a problem. If there is a problem with the COVID vaccine, trust in other life-saving vaccines will be further weakened. If the vaccination rate drops, more people (especially children) will be at risk. For vaccine manufacturers, life should not be a risk.
If a vaccine may only bring limited benefits to the people who need it most, and may put vulnerable people at risk, then it must not be the best choice.