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The True Tragedy Of The Covid-19 Vaccines

Vaccination is one of mankind's most miraculous innovations. The eradication of smallpox, and the retreat of measles and other cruel afflictions, mean that vaccines rival sanitation for first prize in the saving of lives. New jabs against malaria and melanoma promise great benefits. All the more reason to worry that Covid vaccines may have tarnished the technology's reputation.

Vaccines never have been without some side-effects and risks. They are harm-reduction interventions, not harm-elimination ones. Mistakes have been made in the past. Some polio jabs in the 1960s were contaminated with the monkey virus SV40. Vaccination campaigns in Africa that re-used needles may have helped spread HIV.

The Covid jabs developed in 2020 undoubtedly reduced the severity of the virus for vulnerable people and contributed to the defeat of the pandemic – though the evolutionary replacement of harmful variants by the milder omicron types may have been a bigger factor. But the vaccines were not as effective or as safe as we were led to believe at first.

Indeed, some public health officials exaggerated the benefits and underplayed some of the risks. Thrombosis caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine and myocarditis caused by the messenger-RNA vaccines of BioNTech and Pfizer have emerged as rare but serious side effects. The pandemic's legacy now seems to include greater public mistrust of vaccines in general. Measles is on the rise. More people are refusing the MMR jab. A recent Unicef survey found that vaccine confidence had fallen in 52 out of 55 countries.

Who is responsible? Public health officials tend to blame antivaxx campaigners with lurid conspiracy theories about Bill Gates, and they are partly right. But perhaps they should also look in the mirror. Misinformation came from both sides, and by overpromising what the vaccines could do, and demanding vaccine mandates, many scientists and government officials contributed to scepticism.

For example, the US government tried to reassure people about messenger-RNA vaccines by implicitly criticising live vaccines like those used for measles: "The mRNA vaccines do not contain any live virus. Instead, they work by teaching our cells to make a harmless piece of a 'spike protein'." So, live vaccines are not "harmless"?

America's leading infectious-disease expert, Anthony Fauci, said in May 2021 that vaccination "makes it extremely unlikely – not impossible, but very, very low likelihood – that they're going to transmit it … In other words, you become a dead end to the virus." That turned out to be wrong, as he later admitted, with the jab doing little to prevent reinfection and transmission.

Preventing transmission was the excuse used for vaccinating children, yet when that excuse evaporated, the policy continued. For young age groups, wrote a clutch of doctors in the BMJ in December 2021, "the harms of taking a vaccine are almost certain to outweigh the benefits".

Authoritarianism made the problem worse. France criminalised criticism of vaccine mandates; Canada froze the bank accounts of truckers for protesting against them. Part of the reason governments were so reckless in forcing vaccines was probably that they wanted an exit from lockdowns, which were imposed for longer and more often than promised.

Some of us urged ministers not to claim too much for vaccines or pretend there would be no side effects as that would backfire. But the Government pressed ahead with mandates to prevent care-home workers going to work unless vaccinated. A study by doctors concluded: "Our data suggest that debate around mandates can arouse strong concerns and could entrench scepticism. Policymakers should proceed with caution."

This was compounded by a baffling refusal to acknowledge that natural immunity from Covid itself had a role in protecting people. In 2020 a paper in The Lancet stated that "there is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following natural infection". Yet we now know that it lasts longer and is more effective than the protection provided by a jab.

The backlash against vaccines will go too far. Italy's former health minister Roberto Speranza, who imposed vaccine mandates, can no longer walk in a street without angry Italians calling him a murderer. But public health officials worldwide must concede that overblown claims and underestimated risks of the vaccines developed during Covid have hurt the reputation of a valuable medical technology.

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Vaccines Saved At Least 15.4 Crore Lives In 50 Years

A study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunisation efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years. 

That is the equivalent of six lives saved every minute of every year of the half century. 

The vast majority of lives saved — 101 million — were those of infants.

Released ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) to take place in May 2024, the study is the most comprehensive analysis of the programme's global and regional health impact over the past five decades.

What is vaccination? 

• Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting you against harmful diseases, before you come into contact with them. 

• It uses your body's natural defences to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger.

• Because vaccines contain only killed or weakened forms of germs like viruses or bacteria, they do not cause the disease or put you at risk of its complications.

• Most vaccines are given by an injection, but some are given orally (by mouth) or sprayed into the nose.

When you get a vaccine, the immune system: 

i) Recognises the invading germ, such as the virus or bacteria.

ii) Produces antibodies. Antibodies are proteins produced naturally by the immune system to fight disease.

iii) Remembers the disease and how to fight it. If you are then exposed to the germ in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you become unwell.

• The vaccine is therefore a safe and clever way to produce an immune response in the body, without causing illness.

• Our immune systems are designed to remember. Once exposed to one or more doses of a vaccine, we typically remain protected against a disease for years, decades or even a lifetime. This is what makes vaccines so effective. 

• Rather than treating a disease after it occurs, vaccines prevent us in the first instance from getting sick.

Highlights of the study:

• Immunisation programmes have become the bedrock of primary health services in communities and countries due to their far reach and wide coverage. 

• They provide not only an opportunity for vaccination but also enable other life-saving care to be provided, including nutritional support, maternal tetanus prevention, illness screenings and bed net distribution to protect families from diseases like malaria.

• Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable. 

• Immunisation campaigns have enabled us to eradicate smallpox, nearly defeat polio, and ensure more children survive and thrive than ever before.

• The study, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that immunisation is the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood.

• Of the vaccines included in the study, the measles vaccination had the most significant impact on reducing infant mortality, accounting for 60 per cent of the lives saved due to immunisation. This vaccine will likely remain the top contributor to preventing deaths in the future.

• Over the past 50 years, vaccination against 14 diseases (diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever) has directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40 per cent globally, and by more than 50 per cent in the African Region.

• Since the study only covers the health impact of vaccination against 14 diseases, the number of lives saved due to vaccination is a conservative estimate and not a full account of the life-saving impact of vaccines.

• The study found that for each life saved through immunisation, an average of 66 years of full health were gained, with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades. 

• As the result of vaccination against polio, more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed, and the world is on the verge of eradicating polio, once and for all.

• These gains in childhood survival highlight the importance of protecting immunisation progress in every country of the world and accelerating efforts to reach the 67 million children who missed out on one or more vaccines during the pandemic years.

• Founded in 1974 by the World Health Assembly, the original goal of  Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) was to vaccinate all children against diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, as well as smallpox, the only human disease ever eradicated. 

• Today, the programme, now referred to as the Essential Programme on Immunisation, includes universal recommendations to vaccinate against 13 diseases, and context-specific recommendations for another 17 diseases, extending the reach of immunisation beyond children, to adolescent and adults.

• The latest study highlights that fewer than 5 per cent of infants globally had access to routine immunisation when EPI was launched. Today, 84 per cent of infants are protected with three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) — the global marker for immunisation coverage.

• Nearly 94 million of the estimated 154 million lives saved since 1974, were a result of protection by measles vaccines. Yet, there were still 33 million children who missed a measles vaccine dose in 2022: nearly 22 million missed their first dose and an additional 11 million missed their second dose.

• Coverage of 95 per cent or greater with 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine is needed to protect communities from outbreaks. Currently, the global coverage rate of the first dose of measles vaccine is 83 per cent and the second dose is 74 per cent, contributing to a very high number of outbreaks across the world.

• To increase immunisation coverage, UNICEF, as one of the largest buyers of vaccines in the world, procures more than two billion doses every year on behalf of countries and partners for reaching almost half of the world's children. It also works to distribute vaccines to the last mile, ensuring that even remote and underserved communities have access to immunisation services.

• Societal, economic or educational impacts to health and well-being over the 50 years have also contributed to further reductions in mortality. Today, there are vaccines to protect against more than 30 life-threatening diseases.

• Global immunisation programmes have shown what is humanly possible when many stakeholders, including heads of state, regional and global health agencies, scientists, charities, aid agencies, businesses, and communities work together.

• With continued research, investment and collaboration, we can save millions more lives today and in the next 50 years.

There Is No Withdrawal Of The AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine, The Benefits Are Considered Greater

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

The medical personnel at the Army Central Hospital displayed the AstraZeneca vaccine that will be administered to registered vaccine recipients at Kolese Gonzaga, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (5/5/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Indonesian government has not withdrawn the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca. It is hoped that residents will not worry about reports of side effects of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia from administering the vaccine because the benefits are much greater as protection for the community.

Head of the Communications and Public Services Bureau Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi, when contacted, in Jakarta, Saturday (4/5/2024), said the government was not interested Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca from circulation. This vaccine is now no longer available in Indonesia.

"There is no (withdrawal). "Currently the vaccine (Covid-19 product from AstraZeneca) has also run out since early 2023," he said.

Also read: AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Triggers Side Effects, No Case Reports in Indonesia

Based on data from the Ministry of Health, there have been at least 452.41 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered to the public. Of this total, 73.98 million doses were given using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (AZ). The other most frequently administered vaccine types are Sinovac (266.3 million doses) and Pfizer (85.9 million doses).

Chairman of the National Commission for the Study and Management of Post-Immunization Adverse Events (Komnas PP KIPI) Hindra Irawan Satari said, of the more than 70 million injections of the AstraZeneca vaccine given to people in Indonesia, there were no reports associated thrombosis with thrombocytopenia. It is hoped that the public will not need to worry too much about this risk.

"The condition of TTS (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia) related to the administration of the AZ (AstraZeneca) vaccine occurs 4-42 days after the injection is given. So, after the AZ vaccine has been fully administered in Indonesia, if there are cases of TTS found, it is not caused by the AZ vaccine, but by other diseases," he explained.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is a type of vaccine developed based on adenovirus. This vaccine was developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford. AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine production began to be used in Indonesia in March 2021.

Also read: Profits and Losses of the AstraZeneca Vaccine amid Limited Supply

The Director of the Postgraduate Program at Yarsi University and also a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI), Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said that the side effects of administering the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are not actually new. These side effects were a concern in 2021 when the vaccine was first used.

Benefit

Quoting the European Medicine Agency's (EMA) report on April 7, 2021, there is a possibility of a connection between the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and unusual blood clotting with low platelet levels, which rarely occurs. However, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19 are greater than the risk of its side effects.

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

The Covid-19 Task Force screening personnel in North Sulawesi checked the blood pressure of prospective vaccine recipients during a mass vaccination event in Manado on Wednesday (24/3/2021).

In addition, on March 19, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a document stating that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has significant benefits in preventing infection and reducing the risk of death from Covid-19 worldwide. Monitoring is still needed regarding suspected side effects.

The use of Covid-19 vaccines has been temporarily stopped in several countries, such as Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands. However, many other countries, including Indonesia, continue to use the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as a preventive measure against Covid-19.

Also read: AstraZeneca Vaccine Protection Declines After Three Months

"So, side effects of the Covid-19 Astrazeneca vaccine are nothing new. "That has been known since 2021. Only the benefits of vaccination to protect someone from Covid-19 at that time were much higher than the possible side effects, and that is very rare," said Tjandra.

After the AZ vaccine has run out in Indonesia, if there are cases of blood clotting found, it is not due to the AZ vaccine, but is caused by other diseases.

This was also conveyed by epidemiologist and health security researcher from Griffith University, Dicky Budiman. The protection from vaccines is far greater than the potential side effects that may arise. The significant benefits of vaccines have been proven through the experience of tackling other diseases, such as polio.

Before the existence of polio vaccines, outbreaks in the community caused by the disease frequently occurred. However, after the widespread administration of polio vaccines, cases of polio are now rarely found.

Risk communication

Nevertheless, Dicky stated that risk communication needs to be more massive in responding to information related to the side effects found from the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. This is especially important for the Indonesian community who have previously received the vaccine.

"The symptoms of TTS related to the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine generally occur after two weeks or one month following the injection. If it is more than that, especially more than one year, the impact will disappear. If there are TTS effects, it is likely not related to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine," he said.

Also read: Mitigating the Risk of Blood Clots from the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine

The condition of TTS can occur due to other conditions besides being related to the administration of adenovirus-based Covid-19 vaccines. Other conditions that can trigger TTS include autoimmune diseases, cancer, the use of certain medications, severe infections, and genetic or familial factors.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

The medical staff of the Army Central Hospital is preparing to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to prospective recipients who have been registered at Gonzaga College in South Jakarta, on Wednesday (5/5/2021).

Symptoms of blood clots related to vaccines include shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling in the legs, persistent stomach pain, as well as neurological symptoms such as severe and persistent headache and blurred vision.

Other symptoms include, among other things, skin disorders in the form of spots. If these symptoms are found, you must immediately seek help from a health professional. "There is a difference between vaccine-related TTS or VITT (vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia) and other TTS," said Dicky,

"Usually, in VITT cases, when examined in the blood, there are antibodies found called platelet factor 4 or PF-4. This is a characteristic of TTS or VITT cases, especially those related to adenovirus vaccines, such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson," he explained.

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