COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and should be mandatory

Jul 29, 2021 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the existence of multitudinous persons throughout the world, in unprecedented ways. The virus was spreading rapidly and the lives of over four million persons, in more than two hundred countries, were snatched away due to it. The world panicked. The practice of wearing masks, washing hands and physical distancing came into use to reduce the spread of the coronavirus but it did not make a significant difference in the transmission of it. This is when Researchers and Scientists expeditiously brought a ray of hope to the world by creating vaccines. Sadly, persons are hesitant in getting vaccinated because of the amount of misinformation that has been peddling on social media. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), vaccines stimulate your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and should be mandatory since they reduce the risk of infection and transmission, prevent severe illness and death and protect unborn babies as well as infants.
The coronavirus disease is caused by a virus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) and the spreading of it by people can be reduced if they are vaccinated. When persons are immunised, their bodies began to produce antibodies. These antibodies fight against the virus, so if someone contracts it, the risk of getting the disease will lessen. Senior research fellows, Jenifer Juno and Adam Wheatley (2021), stated that, “In April, Public Health England reported the results of a large study of COVID-19 transmission involving more than 365,000 households with a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated members. It found immunisation with either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine reduced the chance of onward virus transmission by 40-60%.” This study proves that if persons are infected after being vaccinated, the chance of transmitting the virus is only 40-60% whereas, the chance of spreading the virus by infected persons who are not vaccinated is 100% certainty. Clearly, the COVID-19 vaccine is a crucial tool in decreasing the risk of being infected and infecting others with the coronavirus disease.
Covid-19 vaccines have been proven to serve as a shield against getting severe complications that are life threatening for persons who are infected. According to the World Health Organisation (2021), COVID-19 vaccines protect you from severe illness and death from the virus helping the body to develop immunity. It should be noted that severe complications caused by the coronavirus lead to hospitalisation and even death, but when persons are vaccinated these symptoms become relatively mild and manageable at home. However, one should not get away with the idea that once vaccinated they cannot be infected with the virus. “If vaccinated people do get sick, they are likely to have milder symptoms. In general, it is very rare for someone vaccinated to experience severe illness or die.” (WHO 2021). It is therefore evident that the COVID-19 vaccines develop immunity, protect persons from becoming severely ill, and die due to virus. This indicates that the world will only be back to normal with vaccines.
Interestingly, pregnant mothers and newborn babies can also be protected from the coronavirus with the COVID-19 shots. Dr. Gait Alter (2021), said, “We now have clear evidence the COVID-19 vaccines can induce immunity that will protect infants.” Pregnant women and lactating mothers should no longer worry whether vaccines are safe or not for their unborn babies and infants, since immunity against the virus is passed on to them through the placenta and infants through breast milk. Cosmos Van De Van, MD, (2021), asserts, “We now have evidence that antibodies created by the vaccine can travel through the placenta to the baby before birth and also during lactation.” Again, the health risks associated with coronavirus lead to hospitalisation and are life threatening even to unborn babies and infants. When it comes to pregnant and lactating women, it is not only one person who is at risk but two. By getting vaccinated, the life of developing infants and newborn babies can be protected.
Furthermore, one of the main concerns of persons being hesitant in getting inoculated is the short time in which these vaccines were developed. They are aware that vaccines take years to create and to have one created in less than a year is somewhat questionable. However, persons need to understand that researchers have been studying corona viruses for several years now, so they did not start from scratch. In addition, with the number of new coronavirus cases and death that were rapidly increasing daily, scientists cannot sit back and wait for years to create a vaccine. They had to swiftly develop vaccines to help reduce the transmission of the virus thus, exiting the pandemic. It is worth mentioning that there is not one reported case of death because of COVID-19 vaccines but there have been millions of deaths reported due to COVID-19. The question is, will we sit and wait to be infected with the virus and die or will we get vaccinated and be protected against it?
Although, persons are entitled to their right to choose and are being reluctant in getting immunised, COVID-19 vaccines should become mandatory because it reduces the risk of infection and transmission, prevents severe illness and death and protects unborn babies as well as infants. This is the only way the world can once again experience normalcy.

Yours truly,
Ashan Bacchus
(School Teacher)

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