There was a genuine sense of camaraderie in the initial days of the pandemic. All of us were in this together. We stood on our balconies, stooped and leaned out of windows to show support for front-line workers. To keep our safety, we stayed at home. This altruistic mentality has been replaced by the all-too-familiar tribalism. It can seem like there are battle lines drawn. On one side, the vaccinated and on the opposite, the unvaccinated.However, things are not always as simple as they seem. Many people have questions and concerns about vaccinations, even among those who have been vaccinated. The reasons people who aren't getting the vaccine range from fears of side effects to fear of needles to not being able take time off to get it. These roughly 30% of eligible Americans have not been vaccinated and they are not necessarily conspiracy theorists. Treating them as such may make them less likely to get the shot.We have compiled a list of vaccine-reluctant people's most pressing concerns and provided evidence-based solutions to each. Click through if you or someone you care about has any concerns.How COVID-19 vaccines are madeI have not had to use the vaccine for long enough to be sure it is safe.COVID-19 vaccines are safer than tetanus shots, which have been around for almost a century. There are some things you should consider. One is the fact that millions of people have been vaccinated due to the pandemic. It would have taken decades to collect data about how medical interventions affect billions of people in every other situation, but it took us just a few months. These vaccines are still being monitored closely as they are relatively new. Experts discovered that AstraZeneca's vaccine may carry a small risk for thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare form of blood clot. Researchers were able identify the risk quickly thanks to intensive monitoring and the large number of people who received their shots.Moderna and Pfizer are the first vaccines to use mRNA. However, decades of research has been conducted on this type of vaccine delivery method. The vaccines had minimal side effects, such as headaches or soreness at injection sites. Previous clinical trials of mRNA vaccines have shown that they are safe. It might also be useful to know that mRNA, or messenger ribonucleic acids, is not a new, laboratory-created substance. Instead, it is a naturally occurring molecule that the body creates and uses in its daily cellular functions.Related: How Pharma's Lucrative Patent System Complicates The Pandemic Read More Related: How Pharma's Lucrative Patent System Is Complicating The Pandemic Read more.Namandj Bumpus is the director of Johns Hopkins University Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences. He said that we are also building upon decades of knowledge about vaccines. One aspect of this understanding is the fact that vaccine side effects almost always appear within a short time after theyve been administered. This can be as little as a few minutes in rare cases like anaphylaxis following the Modern and Pfizer vaccines or as long as a few weeks as was the case with the rare blood-clot condition. Six weeks is the longest period before side effects for any vaccine have occurred. Because vaccines are intended to stimulate our body's immune response, side effects don't appear for long. Our bodies can process the vaccine within days. Side effects that may have occurred after the vaccines were administered for several months should not have been discovered.Are there unanticipated effects from vaccines yet to be developed? It could be. However, Genevieve Kanter (an economist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies regulation of biomedical technology) pointed out that the novel coronavirus as well as its variants have not been around for very long.Kanter stated that we don't know what the long-term effects are of COVID-19. However, what we do know is not ideal. Some people who have recovered from COVID-19 experience side effects lasting for months. These include fatigue, breathing difficulties, and cognitive impairments.After getting vaccinated, I can still get COVID-19 so it's worth getting the shot.Experts warned that vaccines wouldn't prevent infection 100% of the time, even before they were available. The vaccines we got were much more effective than the early predictions. Moderna and Pfizer were both better than 90%, while Johnson & Johnson was around 72 percent effective against COVID-19 in the U.S. However, they aren't 100% effective, so some people who have been vaccinated can still be affected by COVID-19. The vaccines were less effective against the delta variant. Moderna and Pfizer are both around 90% effective against infection and J&J is up to 71% against hospitalization. As the delta variant spreads, we are seeing more breakthrough infections.However, studies after studies have shown that the risk of contracting COVID-19 if you are vaccinated is lower than if you're not. A study that followed 98,000 people across England between late-June and mid-July found that those who had been vaccinated were three times more likely to contract COVID-19, even though the delta variant was most common. Even if you get infected, the chances of becoming seriously ill, dying, or needing to be admitted to the hospital are significantly reduced. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's review, less than 0.06% of hospitalizations have been attributed to Americans who were vaccinated. This was based on states with breakthrough cases. 1.507 people have died from COVID-19 among the more than 162 million Americans who were vaccinated. This is compared to an average death rate of 1.7% for all confirmed cases. This means that if 100,000 people were unvaccinated, COVID-19 would cause 1,700 deaths per year. On average, 100,000 people who were vaccinated would get breakthrough cases of COVID-19. This means that not one person would be killed if they got it.FiveThirtyEightEven though they are vaccinated, the virus can still be spread to others.Although there is no evidence that vaccines can transmit the virus to others, our understanding of this topic is still developing. There are important public health reasons for getting a jab. One, you have a lower chance of contracting COVID-19 if you are fully vaccinated. This will also reduce the likelihood that you will spread the virus to others. The virus can be spread less easily if more people are vaccinated. This protects those who cannot be vaccinated yet, such as children younger than 12 years old who are currently being admitted to hospital at a higher rate than before the pandemic. You might have heard about herd immunity. This is because for the virus to be eradicated, it would require very high levels. Namandj Bumpus is the director of Johns Hopkins University's department of pharmacology, molecular sciences and molecular medicine. He stated that a 70% vaccination rate will still be better than 60 percent. This is better than the 50 percent.Bumpus stated that herd immunity does not mean that suddenly all of the country will hear a bell. Everyone counts.Related: Americans Support Vaccine Mandates However, those who have received the jab are most likely to support them. Continue reading. Continue reading.Even more important for public safety is the fact that there are fewer cases of infection, which means less chance for the virus's mutation into more dangerous strains. The novel coronavirus replicates within the body every time it infects someone. Sometimes the virus makes a exact copy of itself and sometimes its copies are slightly modified. These mutations can make the virus weaker or stronger, depending on Dr. Jonathan Li, who is the director of Harvard/Brigham Virology Specialty Laboratory.Li stated that every time the virus infects someone new, there is a chance it will find a mutation that can benefit itself.These beneficial mutations allow the novel coronavirus strain to evolve into new variants. The delta variant is almost 50 percent more contagious that the original strain. The new variants could be able to evade immune responses making our vaccines less effective (as in delta) or making it easier to contract COVID-19 from unvaccinated individuals. You will reduce your chances of getting an infection and deny the virus the chance to grow stronger. Even if you do contract a rare, severe infection, vaccines can reduce the severity and length of the infection. This will help to decrease the chance that the virus will mutate.FDA has not yet approved all vaccines.The FDA has not approved all vaccines currently being used. They have been given emergency use authorization. This is a difficult hurdle to overcome and the FDA is always monitoring. FDA can revoke authorization at any moment if safety concerns arise. All indications are that the FDA will approve these vaccines in the next few months.The FDA required six months worth of safety data before full approval could be considered. We had to wait until enough time passed to collect this data. This means that the process to grant full approval requires more follow-up [but not necessarily more thorough review], said Susan S. Ellenberg. She was a former FDA official and is a professor emeritus of medical ethics, biostatistics and health policy at Penn. She was also on the Operation Warp Speed Data and Safety Monitoring Board. The emergency authorization was granted because of the urgent nature of a pandemic. Ravina Kullar of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, an infectious disease expert, said that if the FDA had rushed to approve the vaccines, it could have damaged trust rather than improved it.I had COVID-19 before, so I'm already immune to the vaccine.Although COVID-19 can cause an immune response, we don't know how strong or long-lasting it is. The exact nature of the immune response is unknown. However, vaccines have been well researched and are well understood. You can rest assured that your shot will produce a strong immune response. It is not as simple to confirm you have had COVID-19 than it is to confirm you've been vaccinated. This could cause problems when traveling or working, depending on your requirements.I was told that the vaccine can lead to infertility.Many rumors surround the potential side effects of the vaccine. The ones that concern fertility are the most frightening. There is no evidence to suggest that vaccines can cause fertility problems. In fact, no vaccine has ever caused infertility. People who are pregnant have a greater risk of developing COVID-19 infection. It is also advisable to get vaccinated if you think you might be pregnant.One version of the rumor seems to be based upon a misinterpretation of two types of proteins. The coronavirus attaches itself to cells using spike proteins. Moderna and Pfizer have mRNA vaccines that are meant to stimulate the body to make spike proteins. This will allow our immune system to recognize them and attack them if we get infected. These spike proteins have been mistaken for a different type of protein, syncytin-1. This is part of placenta development during pregnancy. They claimed that the vaccine would cause our immune system attack syncytin-1, leading to infertility and miscarriages. It is false. Ravina Kullar (infectious disease expert, member of the Infectious diseases Society of America) says that Syncytin-1 is immunologically different from the spike protein. Our bodies can distinguish the two.Kullar stated that there is a small commonality, but the overall structure of the protein is totally different. This is a mistake that can confuse our immune system.The number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise. Americans are pondering next steps. FiveThirtyEightFiveThirtyEight
