Con COVID-19 Vaccine

 Several COVID-19 vaccines are being reviewed by the FDA, but it’s not the savior many expected. The potential vaccines have been rushed too quickly, and there is a good chance it will cause problems. 

As the end of 2020 draws nearer, the prospect of having a vaccine by the new year is not so far fetched. However, rushing to get the vaccine as soon as possible isn’t a good idea. There has only been about a year of research and clinical trials into the production of a vaccine, and now it’s being prepared to be put on the market. Late stage clinical trials aren’t even done yet. That is absolutely crazy. 

According to The Moscow Times, in Russia, their COVID-19 vaccine called Sputnik 5, is “ready.” Two million doses are available for people, even though the vaccine is still considered experimental, with safety tests still ongoing. For comparison, the influenza vaccine took several years to be approved for public use, and the vaccine is still a constant work in progress to this day. As influenza mutates rapidly, each year vaccines need to be adjusted for what the top strains are expected to be. This is not a phenomenon specific to influenza. All viruses, including COVID-19, will mutate. New strains are going to evolve, rendering existing vaccines ineffective. Updating vaccines will be extraordinarily difficult as this vaccine is brand new and untested.

“I’m not sure if I trust the first one because of how much they’ve rushed it,” said Elijah Adams, 12. 

Multiple problems lie in rushing a COVID-19 vaccine and the groups of people that will be prioritized for it— more specifically, the elderly. It’s common knowledge that older people are more at risk to the virus, and they are going to be one of the first groups to be vaccinated. However, the vaccine will not be as effective for them. At about age 30, our bodies become more resistant to vaccines, and that reaction only worsens with age. This is why infants and young children are pressured to be vaccinated as early as possible, to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine. Vaccination for the elderly can sometimes be more effective with repeated doses and powerful adjuvants are used, but this can be extremely risky for patients. 

Vaccinations that have been rushed in the past have had harsh consequences. Documented in a 1976 report by the CDC, scientists predicted a strain of swine flu that never ended up hitting. Pressured by advisors, President Ford ordered a vaccine to be hastily put together and made vaccination compulsory. The vaccine was rushed out in seven months and 40 million people were vaccinated. The vaccination campaign was later linked to cases of a rare neurological disorder known as Guillain-Baré syndrome, which causes the immune system to attack the nerves and can cause paralysis. 

Regarding coronavirus, a potential effect is antibody-dependent enhancement, or ADE. It’s an immune reaction to a vaccine where instead of killing the virus, the vaccine encourages the virus to replicate, making it more dangerous. This has happened in clinical studies of vaccines for other viruses. ADE  usually isn’t a problem after years of clinical studies to determine if a vaccine is safe, but that’s not what’s going on with this vaccine. 

Even if clinical studies have shown only a few cases of serious negative reactions out of thousands of test participants, that vaccine still isn’t safe. Sure, five out of every 10,000 people having cases may seem like a great sign, however, if the numbers are accounted for, say, a billion people, then you’re looking at around 500,000 people experiencing seriously adverse reactions. That’s why years and years of studies are done to lower that number as small as it can possibly before it’s administered on a national and international scale. Those few cases will multiply to hundreds of thousands of people... That’s why thoroughness is important. 

“I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it necessarily. It’s hard to say because I know vaccines are important, I would just want to get more research on it first before making a decision. Look at all the factors, you know,” said Taylor Hartley, 12. 

Anti-vaxxing is already a huge problem in the United States. There are a lot of people out there that don’t trust vaccines, and a disaster related to a rushed one could inflare the problem even more. If the COVID-19 vaccine is linked to serious adverse effects after its release, a lot more people are going to become scared of vaccinating themselves and their children, further casting doubt on whether vaccines are safe. That’s the last thing we need right now: other diseases like the flu and measles spiking because there’s fear related to vaccinations. 

So, my advice to those who are eagerly awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine is to slow down. If you’re not going to be required to get vaccinated, and are not especially at risk, then don’t. Wait. Wait to see how this extremely rushed vaccine affects the first groups. Wait until they modify it and adjust it for safety reasons. 

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in vaccines and believe developing one is the most effective way to eliminate COVID-19 in the long term. However, a rushed vaccine that proves to be ineffective and potentially dangerous will only worsen the problem. I’d rather get this done the right way, even if it means waiting longer. Trust me, you do not want to be a guinea pig in this massive experiment.