So there is a video by infowars that is still circulating around (either via Facebook or WhatsApp or the Dark Web somewhere) where a guys holds a smart phone to his ear and asks "so If I get the covid19 vaccine... Can I stop wearing masks?"
In response, a robotic voice (that isn't ALEXA or SIRI or CORTANA) replies "Nope"
He continues to ask a series of questions and in turn, the robotic voice would reply in a way to imply that there is no hope of anything returning to normal even after we get the vaccine. It even tries to imply that the vaccine doesn't really protect him from SARS-COV-2 or prevent the spread of infection. Of course, most of the claims are false, and the video doesn't even make the claim that they are experts in the field of science & medicine, and neither do they list citations nor evidence for the claims they make.
In response to someone sharing this same video I've decided to take it apart, but not by shouting down or ad hominem, but with science and reason.
So here we go...
Let's address his questions one by one. I have taken the extra effort to include citations to at least one other article that supports my claims in each one of these responses.
●"If I get vaccinated can I stop wearing a mask(s)?"
- For most vaccine approved for use at this moment (Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Oxford-Astra Zeneca to name a few), they would require a second injection after 3 to 4 weeks, and if you continue to show no symptoms 14 days after the 2nd jab, you are very likely to be well protected against the disease (more than 90% effective) and theoretically could stop wearing masks if you wanted to. But most places have their rules and regulations. If the restaurant/shop says you need to wear a mask, you can't just barge in there and break their rules. It's like how even if you're a good driver and are unlikely to ever get into an accident, it doesn't mean you can ignore traffic rules, run the red light, start speeding, and not wear seatbelts. Most governments would probably continue to advise masking until evidence shows that the pandemic is coming under control. After which (and if enough people are vaccinated) maybe we might be able to say bye bye to facemask and start flaunting our beautiful makeup and lipstick.
Here is some evidence for consideration:
“The efficacy of the two mRNA vaccines is superb, offering 95% reduction in the rate of acquisition of symptomatic COVID-19 in randomized trials. That is a remarkable result. But the key statistic here is one step beyond the vaccine efficacy. If you get two doses of the vaccine, and if you remain asymptomatic 14 days after the second dose, what is the probability you will develop COVID-19? For Moderna, the answer is there is a 99.92% chance that you won't. Only 12 cases occurred after this time in 14,550 actively vaccinated people in the trial, while the control arm experienced nearly 3.5% cumulative incidence. For Pfizer, only eight cases occurred amongst people who had completed a second dose and went 7 days without symptoms, again a 99.95% chance of not getting COVID if one remained asymptomatic a week after the second dose. In other words, if you get 14 days past the second dose, and feel fine, the likelihood you will get COVID-19 in these studies is very low.”
- https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/vinay-prasad/90764
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2035389
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577?articleTools=true
●"If I get vaccinated will the restaurants, bars, schools, fitness clubs, hair salons, etc. reopen and will people be able to get back to work like normal?
- actually some of these places are already open. Most people have returned to work like normal. And those who choose to remain closed do so at their own choice. If anything, the economy is expected to recover and economies could reopen soon if enough people would get vaccinated. Choosing to not vaccinate would be counterproductive to the attempts to revive businesses and the economy. Unless of course, you are one with the upper class and can safely isolate yourself in your mansion for the rest of your life. Normal people like you and me (and Mak Cik Kiah) would need to get out and about to start earning money again.
No scientific evidence for this point but here's what economist say
- https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/research-insights/economy/global-economy-watch/predictions-2021.html
- https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/top-10-economic-predictions-for-2021.html
●"If I get vaccinated will I be resistant to Covid?"
- actually yes. The vaccines were shown to be about 95% effective in preventing symptomatic disease. Of the few who still got the disease, they do not develop the severe form of the illness. In fact, to date, no one who has been vaccinated with the covid19 vaccine (about 275 million people have been vaccinated at this point) have died from covid19, and that's amazing news!
- of course the appearance of new mutant strains introduces some complications, bringing down the efficacy of some of the vaccines. But again, some protection is better than no protection. In fact while some vaccines show lower efficacy in preventing mild diseases (of these variant strains) there is good evidence that they are still effective in preventing severe illness and death.
“The Johnson & Johnson trial was conducted at a time the variants were circulating in both the U.S. and Latin America. We can also quantify that 95% of the virus in South Africa when the trials were going on was the B.1.351 variant and despite that, the Johnson & Johnson single dose still offered 100% protection against hospitalization and 85% protection against severe disease, which is where you're at home but not feeling well.”
●"If I get vaccinated, at least I won't be contagious to others - right?"
-Actually yes! This was not initially studied but in the Moderna trials, swabs taken from asymptomatic participants as they were receiving dose 2 showed a roughly 60% reduction in PCR positivity. In the Oxford - AstraZeneca trial, they swabbed participants every week and estimated 49.3% reduction in asymptomatic infections.
- in other words, they reduce the chance of spreading the disease by 50-60%.
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa2035389/suppl_file/nejmoa2035389_appendix.pdf
- https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4777
●"If I get vaccinated, how long will the vaccine last?"
- the earliest recipients of the vaccine since July/August of 2020 continue to show good protection from the covid19 illness, and studies show they maintain high levels of antibodies. So at the very least we know that it continues to offer protection for more than 8 months.
- evidence suggests that Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could offer immunity against COVID-19 for up to two to three years. However, they will most likely have to be administered annually.
-https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6529/eabf4063
● "If I get vaccinated, can I stop social distancing?"
- this is akin to asking "If I'm a good driver, and have passed my driving exam, can I ignore traffic safety rules and stop wearing a seat belt?"
- however the theoretical answer is the same as to the first question. In fact, I believe with time, governments may regain the confidence to allow those who have been vaccinated and continued to show no sign of infection to resume all manner of activities, travel overseas without restriction, maybe even stop social distancing altogether. But those who refuse to vaccinate? Chances are you can live like a hermit alone in your hut forever.
No citation provided in place of common sense 😏
● "If my parents, grandparents and myself all get vaccinated can we hug each other again?"
- of course the official answer, is to play it safe... As safe as possible. But we're humans and we need our human touch. I can understand the concern. You really shouldn't hug your parents/grandparents if you risk infecting them with Covid-19. But if you should hug them at all (and you should, at some point in your life), it would be so much safer if you've all been vaccinated.
- As for me, once I've completed my 2 dose vaccine and remain asymptomatic for 14 days, I'm going to travel to see my grandmother (who lives in another country) and give her a hug (once travel bans are lifted which mark my words, they will be, and soon).
-https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/vinay-prasad/90764
-https://zdoggmd.com/vinay-prasad-6/
● "So what's the benefit of getting vaccinated?"
-In 1 year since the pandemic began, Covid-19 has claimed the lives of about 2.5 million people worldwide. Get the vaccine and you won't add to that number. I think that's a very good benefit.
-https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
●"Are you sure the vaccine won't injure or kill me?"
-statistically speaking... Yes. I'm pretty sure. In fact if I bet 1 dollar for every person who gets the vaccine but does not develop long term severe adverse reactions I would be a millionaire. As the number of cases increase, you're more likely to die from covid than get a serious adverse reaction from the vaccine.
●"If statistically the virus won't kill me (99.7% survival rate), why should I get vaccinated?"
- that's not entirely true. The infection fatality rate of Covid-19 is about 2-3% (2 to 3 in every 100 people infected with Covid-19 have a fatal outcome) but this varies from country to country (due to socio-economic factors) and individual to individual (people aged 65 and with multiple comorbids have a much higher risk, some even 10 times more likely to die than young healthy adults)
- and while 2% may seem small, it really comes down to the denominator. So if 100 people get infected, 2 persons might die. If 1000 people get infected, 20 might die. But we know that covid19 is very infectious. As it is, worldwide about 111 million cases have been infected, and about 2.5 million people have died. While in Malaysia 300k have been infected and more than 1000 people have died. Statistically speaking, covid19 can kill you. And statistics don't lie.
- It's easy to feel compassion for one poor kid if they show you a poster of that kid suffering. Conversely you might not be able to feel compassion for 2.5 million people dying just because they can't show 2.5 million faces, and if they did, your mind would not be able to compute. But I beseech you, every one of those 2.5 million people who died had a face, had a mother or father, or spouse or children, had friends who loved them and miss them dearly now. Don't let numbers make you cold. As a doctor, I never allowed myself to become hardened against the death of a fellow human being, no matter how many deaths I've seen. I don't intend to lose my compassion, and in turn, my humanity. And neither should you.
“estimates of the time-delay adjusted case fatality rate (CFR) for men and women are 4.16% and 3.26% respectively, while the overall estimate is 3.72%. Seniors aged 80 years and over have an adjusted CFR of 56.82% for men and 41.10% for women.”
- definitely not the 99.7% survival rate as the video claims
●"So if I get vaccinated, I can protect 100% of people I come in contact with?"
- if you get vaccinated you can protect 50-60% of the people you come in contact with. Yes it's not 100%. But it's better than 0%. It's the same with seat belts or wearing helmets. They don't protect you 100%, but it's still better than no protection at all.
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2035389
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577?articleTools=true
● "If I experience a severe adverse reaction, long term effects (still unknown) or die from the vaccine will I (or my family) be compensated from the vaccine manufacture or the Government?"
- No. But neither will you get any compensation if you get covid19 and suffer a long haul syndrome or die from it.
- Edit : Malaysia is planning to set up a special Vaccine Injury scheme which will provide some kind of assistance or compensate for patients in the event of severe health effects from receiving the Covid-19 jab.
So to summarize, the Covid19 "vaccine"......
*provides a good amount of immunity against covid19
*greatly reduces risk of severe illness
*have prevented death by covid19
*reduces risk of transmission
*could potentially eliminate the need for lockdowns
*and could help the world get back on its feet
Scientists are working hard to cure this illness. Doctors are working without rest to treat the sick. We have a good chance to win this if we can stop the spread of misinformation.
Feel free to copy and paste and share to everyone you know without the need to credit me. I have no desire for fame.
Cheers and Love.
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