Diminishing the Vaccine Scare: What It Is and Isn’t?
Vaccination has significantly reduced the burden of infectious diseases and abridged global child mortality. In the present time, a paradox exists as the vociferous anti-vaccine lobby thrives despite the undeniable success of vaccination programs against some former lethal diseases that are now rare and extinct in economically developed countries.
As anchored by Andre (2010), vaccine-safety garners more community attention than the vaccine’s effectiveness, but independent experts and the World Health Organization have revealed that vaccines are far safer than therapeutic medicines. Today, vaccines have an outstanding safety record and most “vaccine scares” have been proven to be false alarms. As the public was misguided, safety concerns were at hand in some countries. The misinformation even led to a fall in vaccination coverage and caused the re-emergence of diseases such as pertussis and measles (Ruff, 2011).
The varying accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goal 4 (two-thirds reduction in 1990 under-5 child mortality by 2015) will be greatly advanced by, and unlikely to be achieved without, extensive and timely global access to key life-saving immunizations. With the novelty in modern public health and vaccination, the world was able to prevent, control, eradicate, mitigate, and eliminate diseases such as polio, tetanus, influenza, hepatitis A and B, and optimistically, COVID-19.
Panic in the Wake of a Politicized Controversy
Under the Aquino administration, Dengvaxia, a vaccine formulated to assist in preventing dengue fever was introduced in the Philippines. The vaccine was distributed and administered to over 800,000 children through a school-based campaign. By 2018, the Philippine government immobilized the operation due to controversy around how the vaccine affected people who had never contracted the disease.
What followed was a burst of online misinformation, with persuasive individuals and the national media augmenting the panic and a highly politicized investigation. Amid this crisis, trust in vaccine-safety plummeted from 82% in 2015 to 21% and may have contributed to a recent spike in polio and measles in the country (Skopeliti, 2020).
In more recent news and data, the issue of COVID-19 vaccines causing death among senior citizens in Germany created panic and ignited mistrust of the vaccines, regardless of their pharmaceutical manufacturer. The ten deaths were investigated by Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), which is also in-charge of the vaccination programme in Germany. The PEI discussed that the tallied deaths occurred from several hours to four days following the vaccination. As explained by Brigitte Keller-Stanislawski, the head of the PEI’s department of safety for medical products, in all these cases, those who passed away were aged from 79 to 93 years old and all had pre-existing conditions.
“Based on the data that we have, we assume that the patients died of their underlying disease — in a coincidental time with the vaccination,” Stanislawski told German broadcaster, N-TV. While she did not comment on individual cases, she did added that those who were deceased were diagnosed with multiple diseases prior to the treatment.
Public health experts in the Philippines cited the Dengvaxia issue and alleged deaths connected to the COVID-19 vaccine as contributing factors to why only 32% of the Philippine populace is willing to be vaccinated. According to Pulse Asia, 84% of those who are not willing to be vaccinated stated that they are concerned about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. As explained by Baclig (2021), this number is correlated with the propagated misinformation regarding the politicized issues on the Dengvaxia vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccines causing death in Germany and other countries.
Other developed countries such as Spain, the US, Norway, Belgium, and Peru tallied casualties after the COVID-19 vaccination. However, the Federal Agency for Medicine and Health Products reiterated that no formal causal relationships with the COVID-19 vaccine have been established. It is important to specify that the death of the participants is not related to the vaccine.
Is this the Holy Grail?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expressed their pure consideration that some people are anxious about the vaccine and getting vaccinated. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being scrutinized, formulated, and developed as quickly as possible, routine systems, processes, and procedures remain in place as ensuring safety remains the top priority.
The US health protection agency cited reasons as to why an individual should avail the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Vaccination decreases your risk to COVID-19
All the COVID-19 vaccines which are currently available in developed countries such as the US and the United Kingdom have been highly effective at preventing individuals from contracting COVID-19. Grounded on clinical trials, health experts believe that getting vaccinated may also prevent COVID-19 patients from getting seriously ill even after the vaccination.
Additionally, getting vaccinated also protects the surrounding people, particularly those at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 such as senior citizens. Currently, experts are conducting more studies to explore the effects of COVID-19 vaccines that would help keep people from spreading the virus.
2. Vaccination promotes safety and protection
Clinical trials of all available COVID-19 vaccines must first verify their safety and effectiveness before they are accredited and approved for use. The known and potential benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine must compensate the known and potential risks of the vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccination will help an individual to escalate immunity and protection by producing an antibody response. Both natural body immunity and immunity formed by the vaccines are significant portions of the COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to research more about.
3. Vaccination is a viable treatment from spreading the virus
The combination of getting vaccinated and following the recommended minimum health standards (e.g., wearing masks and observing physical distancing) will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
It is recommended to maximize the existing scientific information on vaccines to diminish the vaccine scare. The empowered campaigns on busting vaccine-related myths and the responsible, accountable, and comprehensive media headline portrayal of the vaccine’s effects are essential steps to enlighten and educate the public.
However, how are we going to diminish the vaccine scare if government administrations are eyeing to serve its people with a vaccine with the lowest efficacy rate, life-threatening and long-term impacts, and tabulated as the most expensive vaccine? During this time, people search for a holy grail to serve them security and it can be difficult with the spread of politicized content and solutions.
In the end, will the corrupt mind celebrate the triumph and the public empathy castigate from defeat? The notion that political leaders should broadcast their vaccination will be viewed as an integral step to boost the public’s trust in the COVID-19 vaccines. Promptly, the idea to broadcast the vaccination could be propagating favored opportunities rather than encouragement. Citizens should be wary as it is important to note that some publicity campaigns capture the act and not the consequences.
Vaccines will be instrumental in the mitigation of COVID-19, but their global distribution will be challenging, and their effect will not be immediate. As cases and deaths continue to rise across the world, the non-pharmaceutical interventions to constrain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 that the global population has by now become accustomed to will necessitate to continue for a while longer — after all, the COVID-19 pandemic is not an overnight challenge to conquer.
References:
Baclig, C. (2021, January 7). Pulse Asia: Majority of Filipinos concerned about safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1380751/pulse-asia-majority-of-filipinos-concerned-about-safety-of-covid-19-vaccines
Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine. (2021, January 5). Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html
Diseases You Almost Forgot About (Thanks to Vaccines). (200, May 8). Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/forgot-14-diseases.html
How do vaccines work? (2020, December 8). Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work
Kelen, G. D., & Maragakis, L. (2021, January 13). COVID-19 Vaccines: Myth Versus Fact. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-myth-versus-fact
Skopeliti, C. (2020, February 20). Why the Dengvaxia controversy was so effective at spreading vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/why-the-dengvaxia-controversy-was-so-effective-at-spreading-vaccine-hesitancy-in-the-philippines/
Westphalen, D. (2019, February 27). The 6 Most Important Vaccines You Might Not Know About. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://www.healthline.com/health/vaccinations/6-most-important-vaccines-you-might-not-know-about
Wildon, J. (2021, February 5). Fact check: Are COVID-19 vaccines causing deaths? Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-are-covid-19-vaccines-causing-deaths/a-56458746
Zeeberg, A. (2020, December 30). Will the Vaccine End the Pandemic? This Question Must Be Answered First. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/will-the-vaccine-end-the-pandemic-this-question-must-be-answered-first
