Answer to a nagging question

“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”

—Frank Sinatra

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AS of April 27, some Filipinos who have been inoculated with one dose of COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) in our community in Elmhurst, Queens, NYC continued to debate whether alcoholic drinks can hamper the effectivity of the vaccines in the body before and after the first dose.

Can alcohol interfere with our immune response?

“Puede at least after three days,” remarked Daniel, 58, who got his first dose in Woodhaven on April 15. His final dose will be on May 4.

Daniel, a regular beer drinker, skipped drinking for at least five days after April 15.

In a drinking spree with fellow Filipino-Americans in a birthday bash on April 26, Daniel, an employee at the Laguardia Airport in Queens, gobbled up seven bottles of a Mexican beer.

“Sabi ko sa iyo OK lang yan basta before the vaccination, not after,” hissed Jerome, the birthday celebrant, who didn’t drink after finishing his second dose on April 25.

“Puede ba talagang uminum or talagang bawal?” inquired Ramil, 45, the only person who has not yet taken a single dose.

Ramil, a delivery man in a balikbayan box shop on Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, Queens, said in a jest the reason why he is still adamant to be vaccinated is because “I don’t want to miss drinking (beer).”

He consumes at least two cans of beer before he goes to sleep every night.

One thing that is clear from studies, however, is that heavy alcohol consumption impairs the immune response and increases susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections. 

As Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out across the world, misinformation was reported to be rife across social media platforms. 

In March 2021, a number of social media users claimed that they had seen online posts that claimed drinking in between COVID-19 vaccine doses will impair the efficacy of the immunization.

Health authorities said alcohol prevents immune cells from traveling to sites of infection and carrying out their duties, like destroying viruses, bacteria and infected cells; makes it easier for pathogens to invade your cells, and causes a host of other problems.

-o0o-

 

According to a research made by New York Times writer Anahad O’Connor, “there is no evidence that having a drink or two can render any of the current Covid vaccines less effective.”

“Some studies have even found that over the longer term, small or moderate amounts of alcohol might actually benefit the immune system by reducing inflammation,” explained O’Connor.

He asserted that “heavy alcohol consumption, particularly over the long term, can suppress the immune system and potentially interfere with your vaccine response, experts say.”

Since it can take weeks after a Covid shot for the body to generate protective levels of antibodies against the novel coronavirus, anything that interferes with the immune response would reportedly be cause for concern.

“If you are truly a moderate drinker, then there’s no risk of having a drink around the time of your vaccine,” said Ilhem Messaoudi, director of the Center for Virus Research at the University of California, Irvine, who has conducted research on the effects of alcohol on the immune response. 

“But be very cognizant of what moderate drinking really means. It’s dangerous to drink large amounts of alcohol because the effects on all biological systems, including the immune system, are pretty severe and they occur pretty quickly after you get out of that moderate zone.”

O’Connor defines moderate drinking as generally “no more than two drinks a day for men and a maximum of one drink a day for women, whereas heavy drinking is defined as four or more drinks on any day for men and three or more drinks for women.”

Keep in mind that one “standard” drink is considered five ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, or 12 ounces of beer, he warned.

 

-o0o-

 

Some of the first concerns about alcohol and Covid vaccination began circulating after a Russian health official warned in December that people should avoid alcohol for two weeks before getting vaccinated and then abstain for another 42 days afterward. 

According to a Reuters report, the official claimed that alcohol could hamper the body’s ability to develop immunity against the novel coronavirus. 

Her warning sparked a fierce backlash in Russia, which has one of the world’s highest drinking rates.

In the United States, some experts say they have heard similar concerns about whether it is safe to drink around the time of vaccination. “We’ve been getting a lot of questions from our patients about this,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an associate professor of infectious diseases who directs the Covid infectious diseases team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

“Understandably, people who are receiving these vaccines want to make sure they’re doing all the right things to maximize their immune response.”

O’Connor said clinical trials of the Covid vaccines that are currently approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration did not specifically look at whether alcohol had any impact on the effectiveness of the vaccines, Dr. Hewlett said. 

“It’s possible that there will be more information on that in the future. But for now, most of what is known comes from previous research, including studies that examined how alcohol affects the immune system in humans and whether it hinders the immune response in animals that received other vaccines,” he stressed.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

Slow and frustrating

 “Vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving.”

—Alex Azar

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT is so depressing to know that only 43,835 Filipinos have been vaccinated in the last seven days, according to reports.

If this turtle-paced approach to fight the pandemic by health authorities in the Philippines will go on, many Filipinos won’t be vaccinated when the next President (Sara Carpio or Bongbong Marcos) prepares to move out of Malacanang in 2028.

If the United States can only extend the vaccinations in the Philippines, most Filipinos will be inoculated before the end of 2021.

Because of economic factor, there’s a whale of difference in the way the US conducts the Covid-19 vaccination compared to those from the Third World countries, especially in the Philippines. 

While the Filipinos and other Southeast Asian countries are facing a vaccine shortage, the Americans appear to have an abundance of the vaccines; the only problem is that some Americans are still hesitant to be inoculated.

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, for instance, announced April 22 that beginning Friday, April 23, 16 mass vaccination sites will accept walk-in appointments for individuals age 60 and older. 

New York State will set aside a vaccine allocation to facilitate this expanded vaccination access. 

There may be a wait for those opting to walk-in at some sites depending on demand. Additionally, all proof of identity and insurance information, if applicable, will be needed.

“Every day our state moves closer to a post-pandemic future by vaccinating more New Yorkers, and we're building on that momentum by making it easier for our residents to get vaccinated, expanding eligibility and opening new vaccination sites across the state," Cuomo said. 

"We're taking that effort a step further and making the vaccine more accessible to older New Yorkers by allowing walk-ins to get vaccinated at 16 mass vaccination sites. A robust vaccination program is vitally important to the public health, and we're working 24/7 to get shots in arms, protect New Yorkers and move the state forward."

 

-o0o-

Here’s another email from the governor dated April 22, 2021 which he also sent to other New Yorkers:

Dear Alex, The dedication and determination of New Yorkers in fighting the COVID pandemic is stronger than ever and it shows in the numbers. Yesterday the positivity rate in New York State was 2.06 percent—the lowest one-day positivity since November 5. 

Hospitalizations dropped to their lowest level since November 29. 

Still, we have a lot of work ahead to get New Yorkers vaccinated and to achieve a sufficient level of immunity to defeat this virus once and for all. 

Help us spread the word and encourage your friends and neighbors to get vaccinated!

1. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 3,567. Of the 242,432 tests reported yesterday, 4,996, or 2.06 percent, were positive. 

The 7-day average positivity rate was 2.57 percent. There were 811 patients in ICU yesterday, down six from the previous day. Of them, 499 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 45 New Yorkers to the virus.

2. As of 11am this morning, 43.0 percent of New Yorkers have completed at least one vaccine dose. Over the past 24 hours, 177,255 total doses have been administered. To date, New York has administered 13,929,970 total doses with 29.7 percent of New Yorkers completing their vaccine series. See data by region and county on the State's Vaccine Tracker: ny.gov/vaccinetracker. 

3. Starting tomorrow morning, New Yorkers age 60 and up are eligible for walk-in vaccine appointments. Walk-in vaccine appointments will be accommodated for these individuals at 16 mass vaccination sites across the state. See the list here.

4. Reminder that public and private employees in NY are granted time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. Last month, I signed legislation that grants employees up to four hours of excused leave per vaccine appointment that will not be charged against any other leave the employee has earned or accrued. 

Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": A 17-year-old boy from Geneseo, NY, has an important message for all New Yorkers: Get vaccinated. 

After getting both doses of the vaccine at the Rochester Dome Arena vaccination site, Zachary Mogavero used his talent as an illustrator to express his gratitude for the staff at the site and to encourage all New Yorkers to get vaccinated. 

His design will be displayed as flyers and given out as stickers at the Rochester vaccination site. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

Don’t be afraid

“I am not afraid... I was born to do this.”

—Joan of Arc

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE exhort our kababayans living in New York and other states not to be afraid in taking the COVID-19 vaccines even if they have no sufficient legal immigration status.

COVID-19 vaccines are available to people of all immigration statuses, we have been assured by the New York City Health.

Immigration status does not matter and no one will  be asked about it at the vaccination site.

Getting vaccinated will not result in a negative public charge decision or otherwise negatively impact any family’s immigration application.

While no one knows how long the vaccines will protect people from COVID-19, we do not know yet whether the vaccines will be needed annually, similar to a flu shot, or if an additional shot or booster shot is needed, such as with a tetanus shot. 

It is also possible that no additional vaccine will be needed after the first two doses.

The clinical trials showed the authorized vaccines are reportedly all effective at preventing symptoms of COVID-19 and severe illness due to COVID-19. 

There are ongoing studies of the impact on transmission that should provide more information later this year.

Continued research and time will tell us how long the vaccines’ protection last and whether people may need additional doses. Participants in the clinical trials will reportedly continue to be monitored, and we will learn more over time from the millions of people being vaccinated around the world.

 

-o0o-

 

Meanwhile, three COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for use in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer), Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). 

These vaccines have been shown to be very safe and effective in protecting people from severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death. 

As of March 1, tens of millions of doses of vaccine have been administered in the U.S.

These vaccines are reportedly “the best protection we have against COVID-19.”

No matter how old we are, COVID-19 can lead to complications and death. Even if we had COVID-19, it is important to get vaccinated because it reportedly lowers our risk of getting COVID-19 again and may prevent us from passing it on to others.

Also, getting vaccinated may protect those around us, particularly people who cannot get the vaccine, such as children. 

Vaccination, along with other prevention measures, can help us end the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Below is the other information about the vaccines, including how they work, when and where to get vaccinated, and what to expect when you get vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccines are intramuscular vaccines. They are given through a shot in the arm, similar to most other vaccines. 

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses several weeks apart. 

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.

All three vaccines are very safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death. The most important thing is to get vaccinated, with whatever vaccine is available to us.

 

-o0o-

 

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses. 

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is just one dose. All three vaccines reportedly cause similar mild to moderate side effects.

It is hard to directly compare the vaccines effectiveness since they were tested at different times and in different locations. 

Johnson & Johnson trials were conducted more recently, when there was higher levels of COVID-19 transmission, and in countries that have high levels of the new variants of concern. 

Even under these circumstances, the vaccine reportedly prevented hospitalizations and deaths.

A key difference among the vaccines is that only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people ages 16 and 17. 

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for people ages 18 and older.

Another difference is how the vaccines can be stored and distributed. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is more stable and can be kept in a refrigerator, making it easier to transport and reach people who cannot travel to a vaccination site.

For now, most vaccination sites have only one type of vaccine. The type of vaccine you get will depend on where you go. We have the NYC Vaccine Finder showing the type of vaccine given at each site.

It is normal for a virus to mutate (change) over time and for new variants to occur. 

Several variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified. Some of these variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than others and may cause more severe disease. 

This may lead to more COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The presence of these variants makes it even more important to get vaccinated.

The vaccines are expected to protect against variants detected to date, though their protection may not be as strong against some variants. Scientists are reportedly working to learn more about these variants and how they affect vaccines.

Herd immunity is when enough people in a population have immunity (protection) against a contagious disease that the disease is unlikely to spread. 

As a result, even people who are not vaccinated are at lower risk for infection. 

The percent of the population that needs to have immunity to reach herd immunity is different for different diseases.

For COVID-19, experts do not yet know what percentage of people would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. 

However, even before we reach herd immunity, having a large number of people vaccinated will lower the number of people who get sick and are hospitalized or die from COVID-19.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

Ilonggos poised to reject vaccine microchip rumors

“I guess rumors are more exciting than the truth.”

—Venus Williams

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THERE is a strong possibility that Iloilo City will be the first outside Metro Manila to vaccinate its 500,000 residents if the proposed purchase of P200 million worth of vaccines from the AztraZeneca Pharmaceuticals will materialize soon as disclosed recently by Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas.

This means Ilonggos will altogether reject the vaccine microchip rumors being spread by anti-vaccine advocates, a conspiracy theory that has spanned the globe since last year and has sent fears and doubts to many people, including the Filipinos.  

If Iloilo City officials push through with the plan to vaccinate 100 percent of its population once the vaccines are available, the microchip rumors will not stack up and might be jeered, at least by the Ilonggos who now want to rebound from the dire straits and terrible inconvenience brought by the pandemic.

Being the first to arm its residents with a weapon against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Iloilo City is expected to rally behind its residents to shun the claims of paranoid anti-vaccine characters that “the coronavirus pandemic is a cover for a plan to implant trackable microchips and that the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is behind it.”

It’s pure non-sense and not funny, to say the least.

 

-o0o-

 

Since last year, experts haven’t found any evidence to support these irrational allegations.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had claimed the accusation was "false".

It will remain as a rumor, an unfounded canard that will only delay humanity’s efforts to get past the deadly pandemic that has infected 84,474,195 and killed 1,848,704 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The panic actually worsened last year when the head of the Russian Communist party disclosed that so-called "globalists" supported "a covert mass chip implantation which they may in time resort to under the pretext of a mandatory vaccination against coronavirus".

There was no mention of Gates by name but in the US, controversial Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, claimed Gates and others were using the virus for "microchipping people so we can tell 'whether you've been tested'."

 

-o0o-

 

According to the BBC News, “a new YouGov poll of 1,640 people suggests that 28 percent of Americans believe that Bill Gates wants to use vaccines to implant microchips in people - with the figure rising to 44 percent among Republicans.”

Rumors took hold in March 2020 when Gates said in an interview that eventually "we will have some digital certificates" which would be used to show who'd recovered, been tested and ultimately who received a vaccine. 

Gates, however, made no mention of microchips.

That response led to one widely shared article, under the headline: "Bill Gates will use microchip implants to fight coronavirus".

BBC Reality Checkers Jack Goodman and Flora Carmichael reported that  the article makes reference to a study, funded by The Gates Foundation, into a technology that could store someone's vaccine records in a special ink administered at the same time as an injection.

“However, the technology is not a microchip and is more like an invisible tattoo. It has not been rolled out yet, would not allow people to be tracked and personal information would not be entered into a database, says Ana Jaklenec, a scientist involved in the study,” reported the BBC Fact Checkers.

Quoted by the BBC Fact Checkers, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said: "The reference to 'digital certificates' relates to efforts to create an open-source digital platform with the goal of expanding access to safe, home-based testing."

 

-o0o-

 

BBC reported that Gates did not say this about a vaccine and confirmed

“the Microsoft billionaire has been the target of many different false rumors about vaccines.”

A post on a UK-based Twitter account reportedly said: "Bill Gates admits the vaccine will no doubt kill 700,000 people" and links to a video featuring right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

“The claim in the tweet, which has had more than 45,000 retweets and likes, is false and misrepresents Gates' words,” explained the BBC.

Gates was talking about the efficacy of vaccines in older people and cautions about the risk of side-effects in that video.

BBC said Gates sets out a hypothetical situation about the potential harm of side-effects, saying: "If we have one in 10,000 side-effects, that's way more... 700,000 people who will suffer from that."

It added that Gates did not "admit" 700,000 will die from a vaccine.

Conspiracy theories about Gates have reached the Italian Parliament, where an independent MP called for Gates to be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

 

Iloilo, et al should reject ‘direct vaccine purchase’

 

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

—Abraham Lincoln

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ALTHOUGH the City and Province of Iloilo are not among the poorest in the Philippines, they should nevertheless reject the absurd suggestion made by the country’s newly appointed “vaccine czar”, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. for the local government units (LGUs) to purchase their own supply of coronavirus disease 2019 (COIVD-19) vaccines.

“I have raised it (with) the President but we are considering what he has been saying that it should not be that some barangays or towns might be left behind because they (cannot)afford to buy the vaccine. That’s what we’ll look into because we don’t want to (commit) injustice to those people who cannot buy it,” Galvez reportedly said in online briefing on December 19.

“What we will do is to balance it. We can allow it provided that the (instructions) of our President to prioritize the poor, the health workers, our service (employees) and front-liners could be complied with,” he added. 

It’s unbelievable that the country’s “vaccine czar” has thought of giving this colossal responsibility of scrambling for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines to the LGUs even as an international effort to acquire vaccines for low-and middle-income countries has been struggling to gain traction.

 

-o0o-

 

It’s good to empower the local leaders and take them to task for this historic transaction, but Galvez’s proposal is not only discriminatory, it is also impractical and downright scrappy.

Only rich cities like Puerto Princesa (which reportedly was prepared to spend some P100 million to but vaccines for its residents), Makati, Quezon, Manila can afford it—only if they will accept Galvez’s challenge.

It will discriminate against the country’s poorest provinces like Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Saranggani, Northern Samar, Maguindanao, Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte, Siquijor, Agusan del Sur, Eastern Samar, Lanao del Norte, Mt. Province, Western Samar, North Cotabato, Catanduanes, Leyte, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Sorsogon.

The procurement of vaccines for coronavirus and others diseases is the primary obligation of the Department of Health (DOH), not of LGUs.

But Galvez said, “Malacañang was considering whether to allow local government units (LGUs) to procure their own supply of COVID-19 vaccine.”

 

-o0o-

 

Secretary Galvez should leave the LGUs alone.

The local chief executives are already encumbered and fighting tooth and nail against hard-headed violators of social distancing and mask-wearing protocols in their areas. 

It may be too stressful and cumbersome for the governors, mayors, and village chiefs to be given this additional task reserved for our health department.

To avoid confusion, corruption and red tape, the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines should be centralized. 

The Palace must designate the DOH to handle the job. 

The health department can effectively distribute and manage the vaccinations by tapping all its regional offices and utilizing their manpower nationwide. 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should be the one to deal with the vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, BioNTech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer, and Sanofi.

It was reported that wealthy countries have struck deals ahead of tiny Philippines to buy more than two billion doses of coronavirus vaccine in a scramble that could leave limited supplies in the coming year. 

 

-o0o-

 

Predications by most experts that the 2020 or early 2021 was the soonest vaccines could be approved and rolled out came true with the start of vaccinations in the United States right now after Pfizer and Moderna have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Both vaccines have undergone large-scale phase III clinical trials to assess their effectiveness and safety. 

Pre-orders were rolling in. 

The United States had secured 800 million doses of at least 6 vaccines in development, with an option to purchase around one billion more as early as August. 

The United Kingdom was the world’s highest per-capita buyer, with 340 million purchased: around 5 doses for each citizen. 

The European Union nations—which are buying vaccines as a group — and Japan have locked down hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines for themselves.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

Snow storm attack before the vaccines

“Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood.”

—Andy Goldsworthy

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE will finally have the vaccines in the Big Apple.

But first, we have been warned of heavy snow and freezing rain in the Big Apple on December 16 and 17 (Wednesday and Thursday) even as the forecast was still on track as of this writing for a significant winter storm to hit the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England.

The warning came before the “death blow” (the description given by restaurant owners in New York City of the guidelines issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the suspension of indoor dining ) that started on December 14.

It also came as New Yorkers were preparing to start next week the largest emergency immunization plan in its history, delivering the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to 170,000 high-risk frontline medical workers just as nationwide deaths and hospitalizations reach all-time highs. 

New York City, which is still the hardest-hit city in the world with over 24,000 deaths, will get the largest delivery of those doses, for nearly 72,000 people, but it may still be months before the general public can get immunized. 

Plans for rolling out the vaccine are still changing, and not everything has been made public.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on December 11, the first one to clear that hurdle. Moderna is set to deliver another vaccine for 346,000 people by December 21, pending FDA approval, with other candidates from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson still on track to get approved and distributed in the coming weeks.

 

-o0o-

 

More than 60 million people were reportedly under winter alerts, with forecasts of snow and wind that could snarl travel and knock out power to millions.

This will be the first major snow storm warning this year, the first since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic inflicted a terrible harm on the people worldwide with the United States leading in the chart with 16.8 million cases and 304,000 deaths as of December 16. 

The winter weather advisories or warnings have stretched from northeastern Georgia and western North Carolina to New York City and parts of Maine on Tuesday evening.

The National Weather Service warned us the storm brought snow and slick roads to the Plains, although it was set to taper off there Tuesday night.

Oklahoma City got 2.7 inches of snow, and the Nebraska State Patrol reported "plenty of slide-offs on I-80" Tuesday morning and urged drivers to be careful.

On Wednesday, the storm was feared to reach the East Coast.

During the morning, a wintry mix will break out from western North Carolina to northern Virginia, while snow fills in from Maryland through southern New York. 

NBC’s Kathryn Prociv reported that “as the day progresses, the storm will march north on the I-95 corridor bringing with it a mess of rain or snow and even the potential for some sleet and freezing rain.”

On the southern side of the storm system, heavy rain and strong thunderstorms could affect the Southeast to coastal Carolinas, the NBC said.

By Wednesday night, a wintry mix will be possible for cities like Washington and Philadelphia while New York City and Boston will likely stay predominantly all snow. 

 

-o0o-

 

Heavy snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour are possible, including for the New York City area, and gusty winds could cause whiteout conditions and the risk of power outages, it was reported here.

The snow was expected to continue through the morning hours for the Northeast and New England and will end for all locations except eastern Maine by sunset by Thursday.

A widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow will be possible from central Virginia up through Maine. 

A swath of six to 12 inches or more, and higher amounts locally, was forecast from Maryland up through southern Massachusetts with the highest snow totals possible along and just west of the I-95 corridor.

Some isolated locations at higher elevations could potentially see up to 2 feet of snow from eastern West Virginia, western Maryland into east-central Pennsylvania and northwest New Jersey.

For the areas across North Carolina and Virginia that could get the wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain, up to 0.25 inches of ice accumulation is possible, which could cause power outages.

Blizzard conditions may also be reportedly possible for coastal areas, especially eastern Long Island and Cape Cod, where wind gusts could exceed 40-50 mph.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

Encounter with anti-vaccine fanatics

“Misinformation or distrust of vaccines can be like a contagion that can spread as fast as measles.”

—Theresa Tam

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

EVEN here in New York City where most of the people are excited and waiting for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines this month until early next year, some rabid anti-vaccine fanatics have started to make a noise—annoying and irritating soundbites.

“Alex, did you watch the video about the vaccine? They (United States health authorities) want to force us to take the vaccine. They want to control our financial assets; they want to control and destroy our lives,” bewailed 68-year-old Lucita, a Filipino-American who owns a balikbayan box delivery services in Queens.

“You have to watch the video and share it. We need to save lives. We need to inform President (Rodrigo) Duterte because he doesn’t know about this. He is preparing to purchase COVID vaccines for the Philippines worth millions of pesos.”

Eric, 36, Lucita’s lover, who immigrated here from El Salvador, followed suit: “This is the link of the video (a Youtube link). Watch before they will delete it. They don’t want us to know the truth that’s why they delete all information about the danger of vaccines.”

The couple is just one of several American Doubting Thomases and a few gullible individuals from other countries who believe hook, line, and sinker that the vaccines—or the COVID-19 vaccines (now from Pfizer) being shipped to the United Kingdom—“will harm the people because they carry microchips that will monitor and control us.”

 

-o0o-

 

They were the same characters actually who claim that “COVID-19 is a hoax meant to scare and control the populace and only President Donald Trump can save us.”

I told them—without any intention, of course, to engage them in a debate—that instead of inflicting themselves with unnecessary fears and paranoia, they should read the list of common misconceptions originally written by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in the United States, primarily for use by practitioners giving vaccinations to children in their practices. They refused. 

Here’s an edited version of the useful information for health-care workers giving vaccination as well as concerned parents. 

The Q&A addresses the common misconceptions about vaccination that are often cited by concerned parents and believers of the pesky conspiracy theories like Lucita and Rico as reasons to question the wisdom of having their children vaccinated. 

The World Health Organization (WHO), by the way, has gratefully acknowledged the permission of CDC Atlanta to present an edited version of some of the "Six common misconceptions about immunization".

 

-o0o-

 

Will vaccines cause harmful side effects, illnesses or even death? Could there be long term effects we don’t know about yet?

Vaccines are very safe, despite implications to the contrary in many anti-vaccine publications. 

Most vaccine adverse events are minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever. 

These can often be controlled by taking paracetamol after vaccination. More serious adverse events occur rarely (on the order of one per thousands to one per millions of doses), and some are so rare that risk cannot be accurately assessed. 

So few deaths can plausibly be attributed to vaccines that it is hard to assess the risk statistically. 

Each death reported to ministries of health is thoroughly examined to assess whether it is really related to administration of vaccine, and if so, what exactly is the cause. 

When, after careful investigation, an event is felt to be a genuine vaccine-related event, it is most frequently found to be a programmatic error, not related to vaccine manufacture.

 

-o0o-

 

Which disease show the impact of vaccines the best?

There are many examples, including smallpox, which was eradicated worldwide in 1979 following a collaborative global vaccination programme led by the World Health Organization. 

Smallpox killed hundreds of millions of people and was one of the most feared diseases for over 3000 years. Today is completely gone thanks to immunization efforts.

Another example is measles. There have been periodic peaks and valleys throughout the years, but the real, permanent drop in measles incidence coincided with the licensure and wide use of measles vaccine beginning in 1963. 

Other vaccine-preventable diseases show a roughly similar pattern in incidence, with all except hepatitis B showing a significant drop in cases corresponding with the advent of vaccine use.

What happens if countries don’t immunize against diseases?

We can look at the experiences of several developed countries after they allowed their immunization levels to drop. 

Three countries—the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Sweden and Japan—cut back the use of pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine because of fear about the vaccine. 

The effect was dramatic and immediate. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a drop in pertussis vaccination in 1974 was followed by an epidemic of more than 100 000 cases of pertussis and 36 deaths by 1978. 

In Japan at around the same time, a drop in vaccination rates from 70 percent to 20–40 percent led to a jump in pertussis from 393 cases and no deaths in 1974 to 13 000 cases and 41 deaths in 1979. 

 

-o0o-

 

In Sweden, the annual incidence rate of pertussis per 100 000 children of 0–6 years of age increased from 700 cases in 1981 to 3200 in 1985.

There were also major epidemics of diphtheria that occurred in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, where low primary immunization rates for children and the lack of booster vaccinations for adults resulted in an increase from 839 cases in 1989 to nearly 50 000 cases and 1700 deaths in 1994. 

There were at least 20 imported cases in Europe and two cases in U.S. citizens who had worked in the former Soviet Union. 

It seems clear from these experiences that not only would diseases not be disappearing without vaccines, but if we were to stop vaccinating, they would come back.

Is it true that giving a child multiple vaccinations for different diseases at the same time increases the risk of harmful side effects and can overload the immune system?

Children are exposed to many foreign antigens every day. Eating food introduces new bacteria into the body, and numerous bacteria live in the mouth and nose, exposing the immune system to still more antigens. 

An upper respiratory viral infection exposes a child to 4–10 antigens, and a case of strep throat to 25–50. According to "Adverse events Associated with childhood vaccines", a 1994 report from the Institute of Medicine in the United States, "In the face of these normal events, it seems unlikely that the number of separate antigens contained in childhood vaccines . . . would represent an appreciable added burden on the immune system that would be immuno-suppressive."

Indeed, available scientific data show that simultaneous vaccination with multiple vaccines has no adverse effect on the normal childhood immune system. 

A number of studies and reviews have been conducted to examine the effects of giving various combinations of vaccines simultaneously. These studies have shown that the recommended vaccines are as effective in combination as they are individually, and that such combinations carry no greater risk for adverse side effects.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, is a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)