Transparency Is Needed Regarding Vaccines

Concerns about COVID continue. Questions remain about its origin and prevalence, as well as mandated public health measures and their effect on society, not to mention the safety and efficacy of all mRNA vaccines. Many believe that governmental agencies have been acting in lockstep with vaccine manufacturers and both have been less than transparent on these issues. This has created distrust and skepticism in some concerning the future use of this generation of medications. The paucity of published data on these issues has increased concerns. This is disconcerting because mRNA medications have been developed to address other public health problems, including some forms of cancer. Public skepticism could negatively affect future acceptance.

A New York Times article on the serious side effects of the COVID vaccine opened a window on the negative effects of mRNA vaccines.¹ According to this report, approximately 677 million doses of these vaccines have been given to more than 270 million people in the United States. It calls the vaccine a triumph of science and public health and suggests that it prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths. While this statement may be accurate, some have called it into question because data on serious events are lacking.

For this article, information was collected from interviews with individuals suffering severe side effects and from experts in the field. Patients reported problems ranging from permanent disability to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; stinging pain in the eyes, mouth, and genitals; tinnitus; Bell palsy; and shingles. Particularly concerning was the increase in myocarditis found in young people.

Respondents were frustrated about the lack of response by both professionals and governmental agencies. Many reported that their symptoms had been dismissed by their physicians as psychosomatic. The article noted that the National Institutes of Health have conducted no studies on vaccine safety even though it has been suggested by multiple individuals and institutions. However, the federal government has set up a bureaucracy designed to deal with vaccine injury claims. Unfortunately, to date only 13,000 claims have been filed with 19% reviewed and only 47 out of those have been eligible for compensation. Of the 12 that had been paid, the average compensation was about $3,600.¹

The article reported that other countries have been able to gather pertinent information on serious side effects. Hong Kong found that seven people per million doses developed a single bout of shingles. European medical agencies have linked the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to facial paralysis and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to tinnitus. Israeli officials were the first to find the association between myocarditis in young people and mRNA vaccines. Trust is engendered by transparency. If these vaccines are safe — before new medications are released — publish the data and let patients decide.

Reference

1. Mandavilli A. Thousands believe Covid vaccines harmed them. Is anyone listening? New York Times. May 3, 2024.

From Decisions in Dentistry. August/September 2024; 10(5):9