Top COVID-19 Vaccine Questions: What Health Experts Say
Our Founder and President, Joan Melendez joins other health industry experts to speak with Pissed Consumer about the hidden dangers behind the COVID-19 vaccines and what consumers should know before they take the risk.
December 29, 2020
This year of 2020 has surprised us in many unpredictable ways. The COVID-19 vaccine on top of the media headlines looks like the final ingredient of an intense mix of events that we are about to consume.
Is it safe? Will it end the pandemic? With so many questions and concerns coming along the way, Pissed Consumer decided to step in and seek answers. We have interviewed doctors and healthcare experts about COVID-19 vaccine safety and finalized their observations in this article.
Here you’ll uncover explanations and quotes about COVID-19 vaccines brought up by the healthcare industry specialists.
Key COVID-19 Vaccine Questions Answered:
How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Change the Healthcare System?
Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, a Professor of Public Health at NMSU
It exposed the greatest weakness of healthcare systems around the world with a focus on the US. Despite the highest healthcare expenditure in the world, the US had the highest deaths and cases of COVID. In part, it tells us that ‘healthcare’ does not equate to or mean ‘health’.
Also, what we found worldwide that public health infrastructure and funding were a low priority before the pandemic, causing disastrous outcomes worldwide. Worldwide and particularly, in the US, we focus on medical care models looking at cost, access, and quality of healthcare, but there is little emphasis on prevention (which is reflected in poor testing rates and local health agencies running short of essential supplies).
How Do COVID-19 Vaccines Work?
Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, a Professor of Public Health at NMSU
I understand the process as this is a new way to make vaccines – mRNA technology and platforms. Traditional vaccines involved inoculating people with attenuated viruses and germs. For COVID-19 only a part of the virus is being used (i.e genetic code) to induce immune responses. That's why it was made fast and has such high efficacy based on early evidence.
Dr. Jeffrey Ebersole, a UNLV Immunologist
…a lot of the vaccines that the population gets over the years are two doses. That's because what happens is your immune system has what we call memory. It recognizes when it has seen something before so that even though each year we get a new flu vaccine, our bodies still have some immunologic memory…
So that first dose primes the immune system to enable it to have immunologic memory... The booster dose, which occurs about three weeks later, then uses that immunologic memory and boosts your immune system dramatically.
So at the end of that, about a 30-day period, you've reached that optimal immunity, the optimal protection there. Although the data is still not conclusive on how long that immunity will last.
The most recent information that I saw is that, I don't know if it was Pfizer or Moderna, has shown the protective antibodies still exist at least three months after the vaccination.
Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe?
Dr. Jeffrey Ebersole, a UNLV Immunologist
The FDA, and why it took them a bit longer, actually goes into the raw data provided. The companies have provided them all the data on every patient that has been vaccinated, whether they got the placebo or the vaccine, all of the clinical data, all of the side effect data, all the outcome data.
Joan Melendez, the UDI Expert and Senior Consultant
The vaccines currently being produced are deemed safe for general public use. However, that does not mean they are without risk. The Covid-19 vaccines require multiple doses to be effective, and we are still unclear of short and long-term effects. It’s also not entirely clear whether or not either of the vaccines will prove ineffective in protecting individuals from contracting the virus.
Additional concerns are around allergic reactions to either the vaccine contents or the vial packaging. Since there are multiple doses within each vial, a stopper is placed on the top of an opened vial so the contents can be retrieved with a syringe, but the stopper could include latex or other components that could cause allergic reactions.
The Pfizer vaccine requires a diluent which is not produced or provided by Pfizer. It is impossible for patients or healthcare staff to know when or if the diluent has been recalled. Additionally, it is unclear how adverse events are reported after leaving the immunization clinic.
Where Should Consumers Address Their Concerns Regarding Vaccines?
Joan Melendez, the UDI Expert and Senior Consultant
Although there are many ways to report concerns with vaccines, such as the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System), a vaccine safety surveillance system administered by the CDC, it is unclear if this system will also be used specifically for Covid-19.
The CDC is supposed to introduce a new application called V-SAFE, a smartphone-based, acter-vaccination health checker for people who receive the Covid-19 vaccine, but public education about this is still largely unknown. In addition, there are several other applications with the same name that may ultimately cause consumer confusion.
Most individuals will rely on their local doctor or medical facility who administered their vaccines, as they will likely return for treatment should they experience side effects or other issues. The risk of relying on medical staff to report adverse events is that there’s no guarantee that reported information is actually related back to the appropriate agency.
Ultimately, this leaves a lot of room for public skepticism not only in the efficacy of the vaccine but in the overall management of the healthcare provided to patients who are seeking protection from the virus.
What Issues or Misconceptions May Prevent Consumers from Taking COVID-19 Vaccines?
Pr. Sanket Shah, Clinical Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
The biggest issue or misconception is somehow the vaccine will cause extreme side effects similar to that out of a Hollywood movie. The vaccine will not turn you into a zombie or cause body deformations. Individuals simply do not "trust" the vaccine because of its rapid development and deployment.
Joan Melendez, the UDI Expert and Senior Consultant
There have been concerns that the vaccine has been rushed, hasn’t been tested enough, concern around multiple manufacturers, and that there could be adverse or allergic reactions that are unknown at this time.
What we do know is that independent expert groups, such as the Data & Safety Monitoring Board and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have reviewed vaccine data to make recommendations about its efficacy and use with the general public.
Dr. Jeffrey Ebersole, a UNLV Immunologist
…we have folks that either don't believe or are unwilling to accept the science that says that this is going to work.
Dr. Carole Lieberman, Doctor of Medicine
Things about coronavirus, COVID, the mandates that have come down, a lot of people are confused about what to do, we’re scared, we’re confused, we’re angry, we’re frustrated, and I’m particularly frustrated about some of the advice that has been coming down and have been stressing people out more than helping them.
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