1082 Vaccination? Yes? No? Maybe?
Should we get vaccinate against Covid?
Or is it too dangerous to do so?
There are reports of side effects of the Covid Vaccinations; it is said:
"It is becoming clear that the spike proteins which your body makes in response to the vaccines are themselves toxic and it spreads throughout the body."
I dare say this is probably a no-brainer: Every vaccine, every medication in some respect would be toxic. Is that a reason not to get vaccinated? I think the risks needs to be put in perspective:
How dangerous is it walking across the street?
Have you stopped walking accross the street?
I have an issue with advice not to get vaccinated because there could be side effects. In Australia we may say it is in everyone's interest NOT to get vaccinated (with so little CoViD around), because one might encounter an adverse reaction. So far so good.
But it is also obviously in everyone's interest that EVERYBODY ELSE gets vaccinated ... because only then do we reach herd immunity, only then is one truly safe.
Is there a double standard here? Or is the anti-vaccer's stance simply thoughtless, maybe a little ignorant ... selfish, egotistical?
Is it, maybe, a little bit moronic. Or perhaps outright stupid?
An estimated 1.4 million children under 5 worldwide still die each year due to lack of access to vaccines. "It is ironic that in the anti-vaccination community, the very people who are denying protection to their children by foregoing vaccination are healthy and alive today because they, and possibly their parents, were vaccinated." WHO
Yes, the media tells us the vaccines are "safe"; probably because they are.
The Fact Check-VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)
page (Reuters) states that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, “under the most intense safety monitoring in United States history” ... and recommends receiving the vaccine as soon as possible.
Methinks this is one of the most dangerous furphies of our time, that vaccinations are dangerous ... that they cause side-effects and that they may cost lives. They're not ... but they do, and they may. Yet, in comparison to the positive effects - of not only vaccines, but medicine in general - those concerns are dwarfed; frankly this notion is an affront to my intelligence.
Let me repeat: The Reuters Fact Check-VAERS page states that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, “under the most intense safety monitoring in United States history”.
Does the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine cause blood clots? Health.gov.au ... There has been a link established between the Astra Zeneca vaccine and a very rare but serious side effect called thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia. There is a very low chance of this side effect, which may occur in around 4 - 6 people in every million after being vaccinated with Astra Zeneca. This rate is lower than the natural background occurrence of a blood clot in people who have not received the AstraZeneca vaccine. More about blood clots.
Have you taken the above paragraph in? The chance of a blood clot due to an Astra Zeneca shot is smaller than developing a blood clot under normal circumstances! For Heaven's sake ... Think!
Now, I've heard it said that, "there's not enough research yet ... we don't know the long term effects of the vaccine; normally it takes years to establish how safe a vaccine is, here there was just not enough time".
My understanding is that the research that went into CoViD vaccines was extraordinarily thorough. Billions were spent, many more scientists were employed than normally and researchers worked around the clock, instead of eight hour shifts.
I repeat: CoViD-19 vaccines are safe and effective, according to “the most intense safety monitoring in United States history”.
And then some people may say, "oh, I don't know if I should get vaccinated ... what with my medical conditions?!" Excuse me? Where do you go to get vaccinated? To your local supermarket? The petrol station up the road?
No ... you're going to your doctor and you'll say, "whadoyareckon, doc, should I get the shot?" And your doc will say, "hmmm, let's have a look ..." and s/he'll fire up the computer, bring up your file, and s/he may say, "oh my God, no way!" ... if there's a reason for that; but guess what, your doctor is very well equipped to tell you whether you're in danger with taking the vaxx. Goodness, is that so hard?!
In the news (ABC): The highly contagious Delta strain of COVID-19 infected everyone who attended a Sydney birthday party except for the six people who were vaccinated, the NSW Government said.
The West Hoxton party - described as a "super spreader" event - has become one of the most significant transmission events in the NSW breakout with 24 of the 30 attendees, and many of their household contacts, all testing positive for COVID-19.
"To emphasise just how important vaccinations are … not one of those 24 people were vaccinated," the NSW Health Minister said. "I can also advise that six health workers who attended the party, who were fully vaccinated, not one of those people has been infected."
Moving right along ... US deaths due to VoViD
In the US the death rate due to CoViD ran at up to four thousand per day in the beginning of 2021; then CoViD vaccinations kicked in and the deaths per day dropped to a few hundred; 60% of the population is vaccinated, June '21
USA: Total deaths 600,000; per million 1,828
Had Australians died at the same rate as Americans (about 0.2% of the population), our death toll would have been approx. 40,000 to 50,000
But what is it like to get CoViD? Pharmaceutical researcher Paula Johnson expressed regret at putting off getting the vaccine.
She ended up in hospital.
“I honest to God thought I walked my last day on this earth. I could not breathe. I just, all of a sudden, my lungs just didn’t work,” Johnson told Begnaud.
“I have no comorbidities, nothing, never had a lung problem. Don’t smoke, nothing,” Johnson explained. “And it took my lungs and just … I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s like trying to breathe in and hitting a wall in like a second.”
Her warning came as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to spread across the world. It echoes those delivered this week by other unvaccinated people (who now make up 99.5% of American deaths from COVID-19) who were hospitalized with the disease and are now urging others to take the shot.
It was even more dramatic in the UK ... over a thousand deaths per day in the beginning of the year; after vaccinations began the death rate per day dropped to single figures ... 80% of the population is vaccinated, June '21
United Kingdom: Total deaths 128,000; per million 1,919
But in Australia the situation is very different ... we are the lucky country, what with a total of just 910 deaths due to CoViD. This statistic lulls many people into a sense of apathy; it's not really necessary to get vaccinated, because there is no CoViD where I live!
However, there is a problem: We are an island, it is our isolation that protects us ... but only if we keep the borders shut for all those CoViD compromised people who wish to come (and spend tourist, investment or student $ here).
And come they will ... if there's no CoViD here and once everybody is vaccinated, Australia will be the safest country in the world to visit.
The bottom line is, if we want to open our borders, if we want to re-start our economy, we bloody well all need to get vaccinated ... at least 60, 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated for the borders to re-open ... to date approx 5% of the Australian population has been vaccinated, June '21 (Reuters) Who is Reuters? Australia is ranked 49th of 50 among the world’s wealthiest countries.
But Australians are not getting vaccinated in sufficient numbers to build herd immunity. The virus will be with us for years, if that doesn't change. Australia's borders will remain closed. Businesses will fail. Proprietors will go bankrupt. People will suicide. This is on you, non-vaccer.
Warning:
I'm going in hard now (after all I'm supposedly a "radical left-wing extremist"!): Ok, I remember ScoMo saying in the beginning, "no, no ... it won't be mandatory to get vaccinated." Well, fair enough. But there's a middle-way: Unless you have a medical exemption (anaphylaxis?) you SHOULD get vaccinated against CoViD ... you'll get a driver-licence-like CoViD-vacci-card, that'll certify you as a responsible citizen. You don't HAVE TO get vaccinated ... but no card and you won't be allowed on that flight. No card, no access to public transport, the opera, cinemas, the gym, the footy, hotels, AirBnBs, Woolies, Coles, Aldi or a brothel. Methinks that'll fix it.
Make no bones about it: Unless people get vaccinated, the highly contagious Delta variant of the CoVi will spread and people will die.
Go get vaccinated. NOW.
Australia: 5% vaccinated to date, June '21. Total deaths 910; per million 36
Oh, one more thing: Some people may say, "I need to do my own research!"
Well, this is the thing: Don't. DON'T DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. You have no idea what you are looking at ... unless you happen to be an immunologist. It is very likely that 'your own research' will lead you down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, fake news, post truth, alternative facts. Don't go there. Stick with the experts, government health advisory departments, the official organs ... that are led by people who have studied this stuff all their lives.
Misinformation about CoViD abounds ... like on Facebook.
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SMH: Your freedom secured with a jab: the incentive that could spur our nation of vaccination laggards
As vaccine rollouts transform the battle against the virus, we’ve gone from being internationally celebrated to being roundly mocked. Australia’s vaccinations rate is ranked 49th of 50 among the world’s wealthiest countries.
And this has consequences. About this time last year, all the experts put lurching in and out of lockdowns among the worst scenarios. Yet here we are, very close to that reality.
Compare us to what is happening elsewhere. Right now, fully vaccinated Sydneysiders are restricted not just from travelling abroad or interstate, but also from leaving their own city. Not to mention being required now to wear masks in all work offices.
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Coronavirus:
How world media is responding to
Australia’s fall from grace
The ever-lagging vaccine rollout is ruining the reputation of Australia as a leader in the coronavirus fight, with world media outlets accusing us of complacency.
In the early months of the pandemic, Australia took advantage of its unique island geography by enforcing lockdowns and tough international border closures to keep the virus at bay.
For several months, we had a golden opportunity to capitalise on our head start by vaccinating as many people as possible.
We didn’t.
About 6 per cent of our population is fully immunised, compared to more than 60 per cent in the United States and 80 per cent in the United Kingdom.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that vaccinations avert 2–3 million deaths per year (in all age groups). Tens of millions of people have been saved by vaccinations since WWII.
Anyway, as regards side effects, what comes to mind here is the 'Post hoc ergo propter hoc' fallacy? The fallacy states: 'Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.'
Many adverse events are attributed to vaccinations, but it is difficult to prove that, while one follows the other, the one was indeed cause by the other.
I just googled: "how many adverse events were reported due to Covid vaccinations?" On the US-CDC website (Centre for Disease Control) is stated, "Serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare but may occur”:
Anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare and has occurred in approximately 2 to 5 people per million vaccinated in the United States.
As of June 7, 2021, more than 11.2 million doses of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine have been given in the United States. CDC and FDA identified 35 confirmed reports of people who got the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and later developed TTS.
To date, one confirmed case of TTS following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Moderna) has been reported to VAERS after more than 292 million doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines administered.
Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. As of June 9, 2021, VAERS has received 623 reports of myocarditis or pericarditis among people ages 30 and younger who received COVID-19 vaccine.
On the TGA-Australia website it is stated: "The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has been closely monitoring suspected side effects (also known as adverse events) from the use of COVID-19 vaccines since the national roll-out began on 22 February 2021.
Adverse events reported to the TGA may not be caused by the vaccine. Learn more about causality. NOTE: Adverse events are self-reported, have not been clinically verified, and do not necessarily have a causal relationship with the vaccine.
Next I googled: “how many deaths have been attributed to Covid Vaccinations?” This info again is from the US:
NYT: Reports of Severe Covid or Death After Vaccination Are Rare, but Not Unexpected. No vaccine is ever 100 percent effective, experts say, stressing that the shots remain critical in reducing severe disease and death from the coronavirus.
Reuters: Reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. More than 302 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through June 7, 2021. VAERS did receive 4,178 reports of deaths (0.0017% of all vaccine doses) between Dec. 14, 2020 and May 3, 2021. However, these reports don’t point to a causal relationship between receiving the vaccine and death. Reuters explored this lack of causality in other fact check articles.
Verdict:
There is no evidence that the deaths reported to VAERS after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are caused by the vaccine.
Reuters addressed false claims that the vaccines were “experimental” and had not been tested prior to the FDA’s authorization.
The Fact Check-VAERS page states that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, “under the most intense safety monitoring in United States history,” and recommends receiving the vaccine as soon as possible.
The above article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.
Finally I asked google, “How many lives have been save by vaccinations?”
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health: Simply put: Vaccination saves lives.
Few measures in public health can compare with the impact of vaccines. Vaccinations have reduced disease, disability, and death from a variety of infectious diseases.
Vaccines not only provide individual protection for those persons who are vaccinated, they can also provide community protection by reducing the spread of disease within a population.
Science Daily: Ten million lives saved by 1962. Nearly 200 million cases of polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, adenovirus, rabies and hepatitis A and approximately 450,000 deaths from these diseases were prevented in the U.S. alone between 1963 and 2015 by vaccination.
Health Day: Vaccines saved 37 million lives, mostly children, over the past two decades. They're medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most.
Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say.