COVID-19 Vaccine opinions.
A recent comment has shown that we need to listen to Expert Opinions on COVID-19 Vaccines, rather than listen to Politicians.
His words were: “I know who I’m listening to, it’s totally not politically motivated Bureaucratic idiots!”
That can be good advice. Politicians are not normally medical experts, and even if they were, politics often gets in the way of logical thinking.
Prof. Michel Goldman, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium:
The highest risk right now (especially for vulnerable people) is not to be vaccinated.
Dr Michel Goldman graduated as a Medical Doctor (1978) from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, and received his PhD in medical sciences (1981). Specialises in immunology and internal medicine.
Human trials of cancer vaccines using the same mRNA technology have been taking place since at least 2011. ‘If there was a real problem with the technology, we’d have seen it before now for sure,’ said Prof. Goldman.
https://www.technology.org/2021/02/12/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-mrna-vaccine-safety/
Kristine Macartney, an infectious diseases paediatrician and University of Sydney professor. She monitors the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS).
Though they are new, these vaccines have been so incredibly well studied. There’s now more than 200 million doses that have been administered globally and tens of thousands of those were in clinical trials. So we actually know more about these vaccines than we have about some other vaccines launched in years past.
Dr Archa Fox, an associate professor and ARC Future Fellow at the University of Western Australia. She is a molecular biologist specialising in RNA, the genetic code behind viruses and many of the COVID-19 vaccines.
As a scientist these vaccines don’t scare me at all, because I can look at all the components and know they’ll either degrade or are harmless.
Christopher Blyth, an Infectious Diseases Physician at Perth Children’s Hospital and a clinical microbiologist at PathWest Laboratory Medicine. Also a co-director of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.
The only way we’re going to be able to combat COVID infection is through a vaccine. So I’d encourage people to remain as healthy as possible throughout the pandemic but a key component is a vaccination.
The threshold for approval for these vaccines in Australia has been no different for COVID than any other vaccine. They’re going through as rigorous, if not more rigorous a process than usual, given the incredible scrutiny. I have confidence they are safe and effective.
The First Vaccine Recipients in Australia.
The first person in Australia to receive the Pfizer vaccine was Rhonda Stuart, on 22 February 2021.
Rhonda Stuart is an Infectious Diseases physician at Monash Health and a Professor at Monash University.
https://www.monash.edu/alumni/events/graduation/speaker-profiles/may-2021/rhonda-stuart
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rhonda-Stuart
The first person in Australia to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine was Caroline Phegan, on 5 March 2021.
Dr Caroline Phegan is a GP Consultant in Noarlunga Hospital Emergency Department and the Deputy Chair of the SA MET accreditation committee.
https://au.linkedin.com/in/caroline-p-72a3b521
One must assume that these experts felt it was safe to use.
In February 2021, over 700 Australian health professionals and academics sent an open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging him to expand the global production of COVID-19 vaccines.
Presumably these experts feel the vaccines are safe.
https://theconversation.com/over-700-health-experts-are-calling-for-urgent-action-to-expand-global-production-of-covid-vaccines-159701
Global experts urge everyone to talk about COVID-19 vaccines responsibly
A team of renowned scientific experts has joined forces from across the world to help fight the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, which hold the key to beating the deadly pandemic and releasing countries from debilitating lockdown restrictions.
Together they have created a unique online guide, published today and led by the University of Bristol, to arm people with practical tips combined with the very latest information and evidence to talk reliably about the vaccines, constructively challenge associated myths, and allay fears.
- Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol, said: “Vaccines are our ticket to freedom and communication about them should be our passport to getting everyone on board“.
- Adam Finn, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Bristol Children’s Vaccine Centre at Bristol Medical School, a virologist who has played a key role in the COVID-19 vaccine developments, said: “Accurate information about vaccines is becoming harder to distinguish from convincing but misleading fiction“.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/664247
How many Vaccine doses have been given worldwide?
5.34 Billion vaccine doses (5,340,000,000) had been administered globally by the end of August 2021.
39.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The New York Times has an interactive tracker at: nytimes.com/interactive
Note: There may be different answers to the different types of vaccine.
Question: Which vaccines are mRNA vaccines?
Answer: Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines. AstraZeneca is NOT an mRNA vaccine.