Read on Twitter
There are some threads circulating to be RT by NHS staff about being keen to have the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, to provide reassurance. I should RT it but I have complicated thoughts. I fear we risk patronising people who have genuine concerns. Here’s a thread
I am a doctor but also a vegetarian environmental activist. I despair at a society that promotes overconsumption and sends some people towards prescribed drugs they could possibly avoid. I have friends who have rejected vaccines for themselves or their children
In my job as an NHS doctor I was very concerned about prescribed drug effects, the power of Big Pharma and the misuse of medical evidence. I was so concerned that I left my job and retrained in epidemiology. Specifically, I now work on big data and prescribed drug effects
My studies and academic work have gradually changed my thinking: I believe that modern clinical trials are robust and reliable. It wasn’t always so but huge improvements in conduct and reporting mean that evidence about new drug benefits and harms are trustworthy
I know a lot more about the regulation of drugs, and the reporting of adverse effects. I believe that decisions are taken by people with broad overview, who care about possible drug harms and are not generally influenced by Big Pharma
Evidence about vaccines is similar. I have friends who work on vaccine surveillance. They are bright, good, kind people with integrity. If there were unrecognised harms they would report them transparently.
Before NHS staff were offered the flu jab every yr, while working as a dr on a transplant ward I caught flu and gave it to several patients. I caused harm and I regret it. Now I have my flu jab every yr and am very grateful to know that it is very unlikely this will happen again
I had my flu jab, as recommended, while I was pregnant. I was scared of risks to my child but I knew and I trusted that the evidence showed that the potential benefits outweighed any potential risk of harm
I vaccinated my children. I was worried and I agonised with their reactions, but I knew that the evidence showed that the potential benefits outweighed the minimal risk of harm
I know that we would all suffer if we return to the pre-vaccination level of MMR infections, which few can now remember, but are only a generation away: my mum told me stories of the children she knew who suffered severe harm from measles and mumps
So what do I think of the new vaccine? I simply do not know. We do not yet have the evidence we need. But we will have it, and when it is available it will be reviewed by people I trust to make the right decision, people who aren’t in the pocket of Big Pharma, or anyone else
So when a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is released I will have it. I will be worried. But *even where I came from* everything I have learnt has taught me that the regulatory system works, that there is no conspiracy and that the benefits will outweigh the risks
