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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-54375643
“Doctors told to prepare for a mass vaccination campaign before the end of 2020”.
I’m a fan of synthetic medicines (it’s been my profession since late-80s) provided they’ve been properly evaluated & the risk / benefit ratio for the disease makes that a...
“Doctors told to prepare for a mass vaccination campaign before the end of 2020”.
I’m a fan of synthetic medicines (it’s been my profession since late-80s) provided they’ve been properly evaluated & the risk / benefit ratio for the disease makes that a...
...rational thing to do. Certain anti-cancer drugs are appropriate if, left untreated, the patients life expectancy is short, even if side effects can be profound. But you’d not prescribe that drug for a minor skin disorder, especially if there are alternatives anti-pruritis &...
... anti-inflammatory drugs. I take the same, measured view of vaccines. What does the Tox & clinical profile tell us about efficacy, safety & toleration? What is the risk of untreated disease? Taken in the round, is it appropriate to approve this novel vaccine for use? If yes,
...in which patient segments is its use appropriate? (Note: it’s impossible that the same risk / benefit will apply to a 75yo with diabetes & hypertension as to a fit & well 25yo). Novelty is a two edged sword. Some of the vaccines utilise novel technology. While the new...
...platform from which the vaccine is created allows speedier invention of a candidate vaccine, there’s no time-saving in clinical development. Furthermore, the platform novelty demands from us an even higher safety bar be set. This demand to ensure that the Hippocratic Oath...
...”First, do no harm” is most likely to be met. But also, the deployment of such a novel product must respect the uncertainties that are completely unresolved in relation to long-term side effects. Offer the novel vaccine to those who, on an objective basis, face an obviously...
...elevated risk of severe illness or death from the virus. For them, risk / benefit is likely to remain powerfully positive even if there is a low frequency of very serious long-term side effects. Let those who give informed consent be both the beneficiaries of the protection...
...afforded by it while I also being carefully & regularly followed up so as to ascertain the nature, severity & prevalence of long term side effects. Only once we’ve gained more clinical experience should there be consideration of rolling out such vaccines more widely. I’m of...
...view that risk / benefit, added to cost benefit, is very unlikely to lead to an objective decision to make a vaccine available to people younger than XXy who aren’t already carrying a significant, known risk of elevation of severity of illness if they catch the virus. If we...
...were “following the science” & “led by the evidence” this is what we’d do.
I have real fear that we’ll do no such thing. Rumours swirl about potentially mandating vaccination, either directly through force of law, or indirectly, by limiting what a non-vaccinated person may...
I have real fear that we’ll do no such thing. Rumours swirl about potentially mandating vaccination, either directly through force of law, or indirectly, by limiting what a non-vaccinated person may...
...do & the places they may travel. I do not believe we’re in the midst of a global conspiracy. Our leaders are unable to conspire to make a ham sandwich without dropping it, face down, on the shag pile. No, I think what we’re witnessing is cynical opportunism by several...
...independent groups. It’s just that what several want look at least briefly to have strong overlap. The access control lovers will seek to use “the pandemic” (which is pretty much over, by the way, and will be, once the #SecondaryRipple crests & begins to decline) in order...
...to require us all to carry a heath status / vaccine status token with us at all times. Once you’ve permitted such a system, with all its infrastructure & subsystems to be up & running, I predict it’ll never be stood down & over time, your freedoms will become ever more...
...conditional on what your token indicates. Imagine how easy it is in such a world to disable your political opponents? Why not fold in electronic money alongside such a control system, physical money being allegedly so filthy? Now it’s even easier for a corrupt executive to...
...exert yet more control over anyone or any group legitimately campaigning for something or against something. Try travelling or buying a bottle of water if those in control of your token find you irritating?
So please consider what I’ve said. You get one chance, collectively,
So please consider what I’ve said. You get one chance, collectively,
...to get this right. And eternity to regret it, if we get it wrong.
Finally, note that as we learn more about this virus & appreciate how many people have been infected than we ever guessed, there’s a benefit: a dawning realisation that it’s no more a threat to life than flu.
Finally, note that as we learn more about this virus & appreciate how many people have been infected than we ever guessed, there’s a benefit: a dawning realisation that it’s no more a threat to life than flu.
