Vaccines: To Release or Not to Release

What would you choose to do in a pandemic?

Rewinding a Century:

Plagues and epidemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, often changing the course of history. In 1918, a strain of influenza known as the Spanish flu caused a global pandemic, spreading rapidly and killing indiscriminately. Sadly, no vaccine was invented for Spanish Flu, but Herd Immunity was then achieved which stopped its spread and leaving in its wake a devastating effect which eliminated 1% to 3% of the world’s population and reducing life expectancy up to 12 years. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.

Ethical Principles to be considered:

• Informing people​: People express their opinions on any decisions related to the healthcare​.
• Everyone matters and of course the treatment would not be the same for all and decision-making measures are mandatory and need not be the same for all.
• Unity​, Reciprocity​, Flexible plans​.
• Right amount of information​: Openness, transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, and reasonableness are considered good decision-making principles required during the pandemic situation.

Things to consider regarding the COVID vaccines:

Experimental vaccines developed in a laboratory may look promising, but we just need to remember the below points:

1. Not all individuals are same; vaccines may bring adverse side effects or any complications to different age groups, gender, body types, etc.
2. Those tested in laboratory are healthy individuals.
3. Vaccines will be provided to immune-compromised, elderly, children and co-morbid patients.
4. Complications would be massive enough if we proceed giving the vaccines to the above-mentioned groups.
5. What percentage, was tested with elderly or with infected people?
6. What are all the adverse effects documented after vaccination by healthy individuals?
7. What percentage of adverse effects are projected?

Only by answering to the above problems, we can establish a better immunization for the COVID pandemic which has had a devastating effects on our world.

So, be safe, follow preventive protocols & stay indoors..!

Thank You!