Why people are scared by vaccines and booster shots?

AMiracle’s Editorial Board Member s we enter the 4th stage of this disease that has been plaguing us since early March of 2020, many of us are concerned about new developments. We know that current evidence suggests the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within short range. Anyone can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth. It can also spread in poorly ventilated or crowded indoor settings. To combat this, we took up wearing face masks to protect ourselves and practiced social distancing. Admittedly, with worry and hesitance but as Canada came to terms with that new normal, various different vaccines were introduced to provide stronger protection against the virus in early January of 2021.

Now, as the year is coming to a close and we are in the midst of a fourth wave, this is one of the topics the public has had trouble adjusting to and the term for this is vaccine hesitancy.

And vaccine hesitancy was named one of the greatest health threats by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. The best solution though to ease concerns and fears is to research and educate oneself. Currently there are two types of vaccines available, one is the mRNA vaccine and the other is the viral vector vaccine. The mRNA technology was used to develop a very small piece of mRNA that contains the code for spike protein on the surface of the Covid-19 Virus. When imagining the spike protein, you can think of the spikes you see on drawings of what the virus looks like. Now this piece is a small piece of messenger RNA that doesn’t use any live biological products. It’s just pieces of nucleic acids that are put together and covered by fat, like a bubble. This bubble of fat is what keeps these nucleic acids together because they’re so fragile that they’d fall apart if not for this bubble and that’s what’s injected into the arm. So it’s like using your own body’s machinery to create pieces of what looks like the spike protein from the virus, but really it’s not made from the virus at all. The immune system recognizes those spike proteins and develops immunity to that, so when you have the actual live virus, your body recognizes it right away and destroys the virus. The most important thing to know is that both types of vaccines are FDA approved and that they have no access to your DNA. Nothing gets into your human DNA at all, nothing is altered. It’s essentially programming your body to fight against the virus like any other vaccine we take including the influenza vaccine or the chicken pox vaccine both of which you probably have received. Now, the vaccines approved and authorized in Canada and all around the world, are highly effective in preventing disease and death, even against the new Delta Variant but they are not 100% effective and some fully vaccinated people may still contract the virus. This brings us to the next public concern, new strains and variants of an already deadly virus. The difference between this variant and the original virus is that the Delta strain is much more contagious and likely to cause even more severe illness. So what are scientists saying is the solution to that? Booster shots. This is another phase of the pandemic the public isn’t reacting well to. Let’s establish that when we say booster shots, we’re essentially talking about the potential need for a third dose of the vaccine. Scientists say that really there are only three reasons why we might want to distribute a third shot. The first of those is if you’re in a category of people that didn’t respond adequately to the first two doses that they received, including immunocompromised people who may require a third dose regardless. The second reason is if over time the immunity that you received as a result of being vaccinated starts to deteriorate which we don’t see strong evidence for as of right now. And the third reason a third dose might be necessary is if the performance of the vaccines are less than adequate against certain strains or variants of the virus that have emerged which is the primary concern of the general public as of right now. But again, current evidence shows that the vaccines are holding up against the more severe and deadly end of the virus.

The real problem though is that when the vaccines first came out, it was established that only 2 doses were necessary. Now, there’s a possibility that the immunocompromised and elderly may need a third dose. How likely is it that we may all need a third dose? A fourth? Where is the line drawn? This is a genuine concern of the public and although science plays such a large role in our daily lives that we don’t even think to question it, when the conversation shifts to vaccines and booster shots, people are scared because they’ve already lost so much to this pandemic. It’s not only a matter of questioning the efficacy of the vaccine but also about wanting permanence and surety in the midst of all this confusion and tragedy. Laysa Lil Insana illa ma’ sa’aa That man can have nothing but what he strives for.