Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I sympathize with your difficultly navigating this decision. I came to the same choice back in May when I got the Pfizer shots. After studying the known info on possible risks from the vaccines (eg, ADE), I weighed these against possible risks from severe or long term Covid. I also took into account the …
Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I sympathize with your difficultly navigating this decision. I came to the same choice back in May when I got the Pfizer shots. After studying the known info on possible risks from the vaccines (eg, ADE), I weighed these against possible risks from severe or long term Covid. I also took into account the social pros of vaccination as I foresee the mandates and regimented boosters being a requirement to participate in society.
Martenson and several of the other sources you named have been vital info for me throughout the pandemic, though I’m unable to come to any clear conclusion or synthesis about anything. My suspicion is, as with most everything else surrounding Covid, we will never know for certain the clear data on whether these vaccines are safe and effective over the long term. The trials were all unblinded early to allow participants access to the authorized vaccines, which irreparably compromised the RCTs. This was loudly decried as a threat to the science by many in the virology community and within the FDA, but the pharma companies did it anyway. Now we won’t have solid follow-up research for long term safety/efficacy to compare to against control groups. And with boosters on the way and liable to be widely distributed, the real world data will be a complete mess as people pile on new vaccines in short timespans. My sense is it will be impossible to parse the potential side effects of one vaccine product from another — or from prior Covid infection, as many vaccinated are also getting breakthroughs. I also read a med journal article suggesting that the way the Covid vaccine rollout has gone down may have set a precedent permanently scrapping the gold standard of multi year RCTs for vax development. Arguments will be made for fast tracking trials, issuing EUAs and breaking blinds early in the interest of public health, providing us much more limited data and amounting to a radical shift in the scientific standards. “Trust the science” will be more about an act of faith in the institutions than a position rooted in solid data and fastidious research.
Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I sympathize with your difficultly navigating this decision. I came to the same choice back in May when I got the Pfizer shots. After studying the known info on possible risks from the vaccines (eg, ADE), I weighed these against possible risks from severe or long term Covid. I also took into account the social pros of vaccination as I foresee the mandates and regimented boosters being a requirement to participate in society.
Martenson and several of the other sources you named have been vital info for me throughout the pandemic, though I’m unable to come to any clear conclusion or synthesis about anything. My suspicion is, as with most everything else surrounding Covid, we will never know for certain the clear data on whether these vaccines are safe and effective over the long term. The trials were all unblinded early to allow participants access to the authorized vaccines, which irreparably compromised the RCTs. This was loudly decried as a threat to the science by many in the virology community and within the FDA, but the pharma companies did it anyway. Now we won’t have solid follow-up research for long term safety/efficacy to compare to against control groups. And with boosters on the way and liable to be widely distributed, the real world data will be a complete mess as people pile on new vaccines in short timespans. My sense is it will be impossible to parse the potential side effects of one vaccine product from another — or from prior Covid infection, as many vaccinated are also getting breakthroughs. I also read a med journal article suggesting that the way the Covid vaccine rollout has gone down may have set a precedent permanently scrapping the gold standard of multi year RCTs for vax development. Arguments will be made for fast tracking trials, issuing EUAs and breaking blinds early in the interest of public health, providing us much more limited data and amounting to a radical shift in the scientific standards. “Trust the science” will be more about an act of faith in the institutions than a position rooted in solid data and fastidious research.