Is it possible that we鈥檙e rushing things as far as vaccines go in dealing with COVID pandemic?
It certainly seems so, particularly in regard to the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, which U.S. president Joe Biden so thoughtfully 鈥済ifted鈥� us with, sending us some 1.5 million doses which we鈥檙e supposed to repay later this year.
A huge shipment of this vaccine arrived in Canada on Tuesday, the day after health officials here raised yet another question in regard to this vaccine and the nagging problem of blood clots.
One could also question health officials and their judgement, as they can鈥檛 seem to make up their minds about whether it鈥檚 safe or not.
In interview after interview with doctors, they freely admitted upfront that if there are any incidents of blood clots, they are 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥�, with millions of doses administered and only a handful of cases appearing. The question has arisen, are the incidents of blood clots due in any way to the vaccine or not?
We went through all this earlier when several European countries suspended its use, which they then reversed and said, 鈥榟ey, it鈥檚 okay to use after all 鈥︹��
Now, even though the medical concerns are only in regard to women under the age of 55, the recommendation is that the vaccine not be given to anyone under 55 years, just as Canada receives this big shipment.
Canada is already pathetically slow in administering COVID vaccines, no thanks to our Liberal government, and we are lagging far, far behind many countries, most of them smaller than us, so to have yet another condition placed on this vaccine isn鈥檛 going to help very much.
This is on top of the delays in delivery of other vaccines, notably from Moderna, while at the same time there is a sense of urgency as the so-called 鈥渧ariants鈥� of the COVID virus are picking up speed. The big problem is, this version of the virus is much more transmissible than the original version, so the numbers are increasing.
The vaccines are all supposed to be just as effective with these variants in curbing the effects on our bodies, but putting a suspension on the AstraZeneca vaccine is only putting more doubt into people鈥檚 minds.
The vaccine (which by the way is made in a completely different location than those that may be causing blood clots) is in all likelihood completely safe to administer, but causing people to doubt its safety will only cause more problems in the plans to get people vaccinated.
People won鈥檛 be willing to roll up their sleeves to 鈥淪tick It to COVID鈥� if they aren鈥檛 convinced that the vaccine is safe to take. Residents are just tired of all the restrictions and 鈥渟afety鈥� requirements, and we just want to be done with this virus.
