Section A – Having Or Not Having The Vaccine – The Facts and Risks
In the UK, before the vaccine, if you got infected, you had a 1 in 10 chance of being hospitalised. With the vaccine, it’s a 1 in 45 chance. Before the vaccine, you had a 1 in 60 chance of dying. With the vaccine, it’s now a 1 in 1,000 chance!!
In the US, 97% of recent hospitalisations and 99.5% of recent deaths have been of unvaccinated people!! It is being described as a ‘Pandemic of the unvaccinated!’
In the US, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Doctor recently talked about treating seriously ill patients struggling to breathe. He said they beg him for the vaccine and he has to tell them it’s too late! In addition, there have been vocal anti-vaccine people who have died and also those who have been seriously ill in hospital and have completely changed their mind!
Section B – How Was The Vaccine Able To Be Developed So Quickly?
Normally, vaccines take 3-10 years to develop. It doesn’t need to be so slow! The normal process is filled with delays! It has been described as “one year’s work spread out over 3-10 years” and this is mostly due to the slow nature of research funding.
The 4 main reasons why the vaccine was developed so quickly are:
- The Money
Massive global funding was fully available. This enabled researchers/scientists to work flat out without having to stop and, crucially, also enabled investment in the development of a number of different vaccines simultaneously. As just one example (on top of individual governments and philanthropists), the European Commission funded several different possible vaccines and pledged 7 Billion Euros for COVID-19 research.
- The Head Start
The vaccine wasn’t developed from scratch. Much work had already been undertaken to develop a Coronavirus vaccine after the previous coronavirus outbreaks – SARS and MERS. In fact, scientists have been studying coronaviruses for over 50 years! This meant scientists had existing data on the structure, genome, and life cycle of this type of virus. This gave the scientists a huge head start!
- Scientific Improvements and Collaboration
Improvements in the scientists’ ability in genome sequencing (identifying the genetic sequence of viruses) was combined with worldwide scientific collaboration. These factors enabled researchers to successfully discover the viral sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in January 2020 – within10 days of the first reported cases! This was immediately shared internationally and scientists then collaborated on vaccine research and clinical trials.
- Combined Trials, Volunteer Availability and Testing Capacity
Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials often take place sequentially (one after the other) but are frequently ‘combined’ (run simultaneously) as was the case with Covid vaccines. This is quite common and can actually have benefits.
For information, this is what happens in the three Phases:
Phase 1 trials focus on the safety of the vaccine candidate. Escalating doses of the vaccine are given to healthy volunteers to determine side effects and tolerability.
Phase 2 trials expand their recruitment and may include participants with health conditions such as obesity, cancer, and diabetes. There is also active recruitment for participants of various demographics. The trial continues to test the safety of the vaccine and looks at the drug’s initial efficacy and how it affects the immune system.
Phase 3 trials recruit thousands of participants to measure the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing disease.
No trial phases have been skipped or shortened!
With Covid, there has also been an abundance of volunteers for the trials and a massive testing capacity – each of which has enabled the process to be much quicker.
Section C – The Anti-Vaccine Movement & The Dunning Kruger Effect
People who believe (and even spread) anti-vaccine disinformation online are often suffering with the ‘Dunning Kruger effect’. This is where a person who has very little actual knowledge or expertise thinks they are an expert! This can be seen in the many Facebook and YouTube anti-vaccine people who think they have more knowledge than the actual experts (the virologists, epidemiologists, immunologists, scientists and experts in communicable diseases who spend years studying and have decades of experience). As they say, ‘a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing!’
The Dunning Kruger Effect:
Section D – The Experts and the Anti-Vaccine ‘Grifters’ (people who make money by telling lies and spreading conspiracy theories)
The vast majority of the world’s medical and scientific experts support taking the vaccine! One of the problems is that their job is to save lives (and they are very busy doing so), not going on social media to make money!
Who are you going to believe – the vast majority of expert professionals who say people should take the vaccine or the tiny minority who say don’t?! Many of the tiny minority are making LOTS of money by creating anti-vaccine disinformation!
Who are you going to believe – the people who have spent their lives studying, researching and working in the medical and scientific fields…… or some people with zero expertise who go on Facebook and YouTube to make money by spreading lies?!
Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists always say “do your own research” – by which they mean “read our posts on Facebook and watch our videos on YouTube!” The Centre for Communicable Diseases (CDC) in America spends $6.5 Billion a year on research undertaken by the greatest medical and scientific experts. The World Health Organisation have some of the greatest experts in the world! There is no research that anyone can do online (via social media) that is in any way equivalent!!!
Section E – How Did The Anti-Vaccine Movement Develop?
In 1998, a UK Doctor named Andrew Wakefield published a study in The Lancet medical journal suggesting that there was a link between the combined MMR vaccine (for Measles, Mumps and Rubella) and autism and also chronic colitis. He then held a press conference to declare that there was a proven link and went on America’s 60 Minutes to repeat the claims. HE WAS LYING! It later emerged that:
i) He had been paid by a lawyer who was trying to sue the MMR vaccine manufacturers. Wakefield received £435,643 from the lawyer!
ii) His ‘study’ involved just 12 supposedly autistic children who had been selected by the lawyer. The study was not ‘peer reviewed’ and was later completely discredited, including by 21 further studies!
iii) Wakefield had taken out a patent on a single measles vaccine (and therefore stood to make a fortune if the combined vaccine was banned or if people switched to single vaccines). In a court judgement against him, the judge ruled that he also planned a rival vaccine and products (such as a diagnostic kit) that could have made vast profits. Channel 4 journalist Brian Deer reported that Wakefield planned to make $43 Million a year from the diagnostic kits!
The UK’s General Medical Council conducted detailed hearings (over 217 days) into Wakefield’s actions. Their conclusion (and that of the British Medical Journal) was damning: that he acted dishonestly and irresponsibly, falsified data and had carried out invasive and unethical procedures on children. His study was determined to be fraudulent and motivated by financial interest. In 2010, he was struck off the medical register in the UK.
Wakefield moved to the US, continuing to actively promote anti-vaccine lies. He set up the Thoughtful House Centre for Children, an autism centre in Texas, and was paid £228,000 a year from 2005 to 2010 (over $1 Million in total) as its executive director. In 2016, he directed the anti-vaccine film Vaxxed which has proven highly lucrative, grossing $1.08 Million in its first year! He has written two books and has appeared on TV shows and in conspiracy theory conferences. His extremely well-paid and regular talks in Texas and Minnesota have ‘coincided’ with reduced vaccine take-up in both states…. and deadly outbreaks of measles!
Wakefield has made a fortune! He and his ex-wife own property worth almost $2 Million, including a million-dollar home in Miami’s exclusive Coral Gables – home to the millionaires. He is now dating ex-supermodel Elle Macpherson – spending their time together in a £6.7 Million home Macpherson bought with money from her £45 Million divorce from a Billionaire!
Wakefield remains the Godfather of the Anti-Vaccination Movement. A significant percentage of the information spread by the movement originates from Wakefield. But he is not the only one pushing the anti-vaccine propaganda. Many people have made fortunes promoting the lies – via the advertising on their YouTube channels; via direct donations from ‘believers’; via the sale of ‘homeopathic remedies’ (a wide range of expensive pills and creams etc).
And then there’s the politicians. Strangely, it seems only those in opposition (not in power) have been promoting the anti-vaccine propaganda. This is very evident in countries such as the USA and Slovakia. Naturally, if there is mass death and chaos, they have a better chance of blaming the government and getting elected back into power!
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) defines four main groups promoting anti-vaccine propaganda: ‘hate actors’ (e.g. purveyors of racism), ‘economically-motivated actors’ (e.g. those selling products), ‘fringe political actors’ (e.g. those wanting to undermine governments or science) and ‘misinformed citizens’ (people who believe the propaganda).
Section F – Anti-Vaccine Myths
Here is a list of some things that the anti-vaccine movement has claimed. They’ve claimed that the vaccine:
i) Contains aborted foetal tissue (from aborted foetuses)
ii) Contains a computer chip that will allow Bill Gates/governments to track you
iii) Contains magnetic ingredients that will make your body magnetic
iv) Contains cells from sheep
v) Contains cells from monkeys
vi) Contains cells from sharks
vii) Contains pork (and is therefore not suitable for Muslim/Jewish people)
viii) Contains DNA from aliens
ix) Alters your DNA
x) Causes infertility
xi) Causes cancer
xii) Can increase the chance of miscarriage
xiii) Will cause vaccinated people who get Covid to have worse symptoms
xiv) Turns people into monkeys
xv) Can make you blind
xvi) Gives you Covid!
These are ALL LIES! Every single one of these is untrue and has been ‘debunked’/proven to be untrue. Well, 13 are; the other 3 I made up!
Can you tell the three I made up?? Which are the 13 lies made up by people who are making LOTS of money from spreading lies….. and which are the 3 I made up?! If you can’t tell, that tells you something about the anti-vaccination movement’s lies!
I could now tell you that I didn’t actually make any of them up and that they are all anti-vaccination movement lies!
OK….. I made up iv, xi and xv. Or did I?!
Section G – Regarding Pregnant Women
30th July 2021 – England’s Chief Midwife, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, said that pregnant mothers should have their vaccines to protect themselves and their babies. Catching Covid whilst pregnant puts both the mother and her baby at extra risk. She encouraged pregnant women to speak to their doctor or midwife about getting the vaccine.
At King’s College Hospital in London, they have about 20 births a day and, recently, about 2 of those 20 have Covid. Consultant Obstetrician Leonie Penna said: “Most women that have Covid in pregnancy will be absolutely fine but we see a small number of women who come in with severe breathing difficulties and we have to act rapidly to put them on ventilators and have an emergency delivery for their baby. It’s tragic as these women are unvaccinated and will know that, if they’d been vaccinated, this could have been avoided.”
In the UK, Since February, 742 pregnant women have been admitted to hospital with Covid. 738 were not vaccinated!! 4 had had their first vaccine. 0 (ZERO) had had both vaccines.
Whilst in some countries the initial advice was to get vaccinated if you’re pregnant only if you have underlying health conditions, most countries now advise ALL pregnant women to get vaccinated.
Across America and the UK, over 2,000 pregnant women have had the vaccine with NO safety issues.
The Delta variant is affecting pregnant women more seriously than the original variant. In the first wave in 2020, approximately 1 in 4 pregnant women in hospital had moderate or severe symptoms. Now, with the Delta variant, it’s almost 1 in 2!
Tom Lane
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