Dear Anti-Vaxxers,
During these trying times everyone has been pushed all out of sorts. There was major isolation from friends and family as well as job loss. During this time we all look for some sort of stability or belief to cling to for our own sanity. So I understand the hesitation when it comes to getting this new vaccine. At first glance it seems like a sudden addition to the confusion that had already made its way into our new society. That being said, there is a limit to what can be believed and what claims can be made. The vaccine itself was created rather quickly. Many people were taken aback at this quick development. This caused the masses to cry out against the vaccine, saying it is ineffective and unsafe as it was developed “haphazardly”. This is simply not true. Though the Covid vaccine was created in under a year, the type of vaccine had decades of research behind it. The Covid vaccine is an mRNA vaccine. mRNA vaccines have been studied in hopes of preventing the flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (DHP Connecticut Department of Health). This type of vaccine was also developed respectively for SARS and MERS. The SARS vaccines never made it past the development stage mostly because the virus itself disappeared. However, a MERS mRNA vaccine successfully made it past phase 1 trials in 2019 (DHP Connecticut Department of Health). These two diseases, SARS and MERS, are both caused by coronaviruses similar Covid-19 (DHP Connecticut Department of Health). So, as soon as the genetic code of Covid became available, scientists got to work on developing the vaccine. The development process of the vaccine followed the typical FDA guidelines. These include the research and discovery phase, pre-clinical phase, phase 1 trials, phase 2 trials, phase 3 trials, and finally license application to the FDA. From there the FDA reviewed and evaluated the vaccine to decide whether or not it should be authorized for use in the United States. Thus, the vaccine was approved and released to the public. Of course, with the introduction of a new vaccine people were skeptical about its effectiveness. The first thing we all did was take to the internet to seek out information. However, there are many myths surrounding the vaccine itself. This misinformation spread like wildfire causing many people to be influenced in the wrong direction. The falsified information was spread mostly through social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) recently released a report that found two-thirds of the anti-vaccine content that was shared between February 1st and March 16th, 2021 was attributed to only 12 individuals (Jarry M.Sc.). Twelve people were spreading most of the information. This fact is stunning. These influencers are well off and have built extremely large, strong followings. Moreover, the ones spreading the information have no credibility behind them. Many of which have never even been heard of in the medical community. It is also outrageous that social media companies allow for this. The falsehoods being spread by this tiny group of people are harmful to the information ecosystem. This is because there becomes a point where people are unsure of what is true or not. Unfortunately, for the most part, people tend to just believe what they read without doing further research. The misinformation being spread eventually led to the CDC publishing a myths and facts article regarding the vaccine. By taking a quick read it debunks most of the common misconceptions about the vaccine. Things that were being spread like “The vaccines cause variants!”, “They are injecting microchips!”, “The vaccine makes you magnetized!”, were all proven to be untrue. This alone should take some of the fear away as these terrifying myths turn out to be false. Now I am fully aware that even with the corrections to misinformation, there are still those who don’t support the vaccine and the mandates that come along with it. However, the extent and tactics that some anti-vaxxers use are uncalled for. Recently, during a hearing for vaccine mandates in Kansas anti-vaccine supporters wore yellow Stars of David on their chest, thus comparing the mandate of vaccines to the oppression faced during the Holocaust. This is utterly unacceptable. In no possible way can the mandate of a vaccine be compared to the years of death and suffering faced by the Jewish community during the Holocaust. What is more unbelievable is that the ones wearing the stars didn’t think that this was offensive in any way. There is a limit to what can be said about the vaccine situation. My plea is simple. Please stop spreading misinformation and using offensive tactics to do so. I respect not wanting to get the vaccine, however forcing your opinions on someone else is unacceptable. Sincerely, Mia Baum https://kansasreflector.com/2021/11/12/kansas-hearing-on-vaccine-mandates-provides-stage-for-holocaust-comparisons/ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/Community_Resources/Vaccinations/Print-Materials/Fact-Sheets/Development_English.pdf https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/dozen-misguided-influencers-spread-most-anti-vaccination-content-social-media
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