Uncertain of the Science behind the Vaccines?
Finding Reliable Sources of Information
It is all too easy to find information on the internet. The question becomes, is that information true? It is valid? Is it reliable? Can I trust what it says?
This page serves to provide you with useful links and resources to information that can be trusted about the COVID-19 Vaccinations.
When you are researching a topic, always ask yourself:
- What is the source of this information? Is it from a journal, or from Facebook? Is it a news article, or a scientific paper?
- Who has compiled this information? Professionals in the field, or members of the general public?
- If this is a scientific article, has it been peer-reviewed?
If you would like to search for information with the confidence that what you find is reliable, you can use Google Scholar. Sources such as YouTube and Facebook are NOT reliable.
In today’s day and age, there is a lot of information going around, but not all of it is reliable.
It is important to be able to tell what is trustworthy information and what is not.
Follow this link to an article that explains how to evaluate information critically in order to make an informed decision.
What is Critical Thinking?
What is the Significance of Chance?
Below is a video from our previous Dean: Prof Volmink, where he describes the art of critical thinking.
Below is a video from our previous Dean: Prof Volmink, where he describes the significance of chance in research.
What is Bias?
What is the most Reliable way to Conduct Research?
Below is a video from our previous Dean: Prof Volmink, where he describes the danger of bias.
Below is a video from our previous Dean: Prof Volmink, where he describes the application of Randomised Control Trials,
What can go wrong with Interpretation of Evidence?
Below is a video from our previous Dean: Prof Volmink, where he describes the challenges with interpretation of evidence.
Clarification on Points of Concern
Why does it appear that more vaccinated people are dying from COVID than unvaccinated?
An article from a reputable source: The Conversation, explains why more vaccinated people are dying from COVID-19 disease, and why this is exactly what was expected.
The long and short of it is: vaccines aim to reduce the death rates, not hospitalisation rates per say. And, even though they are extremely effective, they are not able to reduce the risk of death in the vaccinated elderly, to below the risk of death in the unvaccinated younger age groups.
HOWEVER, being double vaccinated still reduces your risk of hospitalisation by 96%.
The conclusion is that older people are at such a high risk of death due to COVID-19 disease, that the vaccines are only able to protect them so much and it will never be to the same level of “protection” that younger age affords.
Do our Vaccines protect us from Omicron?
Discovery Health conducted a study evaluating the Omicron outbreak in collaboration with the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
Some key findings include that the Pfizer vaccine (2 doses) provides 70% protection against serious COVID-19 disease and 33% protection against infection with the omicron variant.
What about Myocarditis?
There has been talk for some time now of the vaccines causing myocarditis.
A recent article published in January 2022 investigates myocarditis and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The data presented in this report was submitted to the FDA in October 2021 and they released a risk-benefit analysis.
This presentation to the FDA can be found here.
The study attempted to compare the incidence of myocarditis in people who had received Pfizer and people who had not.
The findings of the study were:
- In persons aged 18-24, who had a 2nd dose of Pfizer, myocarditis appeared about 30x (males) or 10x (females) more than in the non-vaccination associated rate of myocarditis.
- HOWEVER, these rates are still quite low: 50-60 cases per million in males and 4 cases per million in females in this age bracket.
- In other words, 4 women out of 1 million experienced myocarditis and 50-60 men out of 1 million.
Additionally, most cases resolved completely, usually with medical intervention.
In the entire study, they identified only one case in which a death was probably caused by myocarditis, and two more under consideration, among 192 million individuals who were vaccinated during the reporting period analysed – in the entire group, not just young people.
What is myocarditis?
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. The heart muscle is called the myocardium and “itis” means inflammation.
Myocarditis is more common in young people and it can be caused by bacteria or viruses, among other things.
Therefore, it is important to note that myocarditis has other causes.
What does the term “incidence” mean?
Incidence describes how many new cases of a disease appear in a population.
Whereas prevalence describes the total number of cases in the population.
What is a Risk-Benefit Analysis?
This is the process of comparing the potential risks associated with a decision or course of action, against the potential benefits and determining if the benefits outweigh the risks.
More about the FDA Risk-Benefit Analysis:
16-17 year old males have a higher risk profile related to vaccinations. However, the number of COVID-19-related hospitalisations in this age group prevented by the vaccine, compared to the number of myocarditis cases caused by the vaccine – was similar. Therefore, the risk was similar to the benefit.
In older individuals, more COVID-19 hospitalisations were prevented by the vaccine than myocarditis cases caused and as such, the benefit outweighed the risk.
It must also be noted that a person is more likely to stay in hospital for longer due to COVID-19 disease, than due to vaccination-related myocarditis. Length of hospital stay, particularly prolonged stay, has a hugely negative impact on favourable patient outcomes.
This makes the Risk-Benefit Analysis clear – it is safer to be vaccinated than not to be vaccinated, even for 18-24 year old males.
Did the J&J and Pfizer Clinical Trials prove the vaccines are safe and effective?
J&J Vaccine:
The short answer is: yes.
This study proved that one dose of the J&J vaccine provided protection against SERIOUS COVID-19 disease.
The safety of the vaccine is comparable to other COVID-19 vaccines.
Click here to view the article.
Pfizer Vaccine:
The short answer is: yes.
This study found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine would provide 95% protection and that the safety of the vaccine was comparable to other vaccines for viral infections.
Click here to view the article.
What is the Process to Approve a Vaccine?
Once the pre-clinical work, that is, the lab work and animal studies have been completed an application can be made for assessment of efficacy and safety of an “investigational new drug” (IND) in clinical trials involving human subjects.
There are 4 phases in the evaluation of an IND in the clinical trial process. Once clinical trials are completed, and the IND is deemed safe and efficacious the drug/ product is submitted for licensure.
Scientists have been working for many years to develop vaccines against coronaviruses, such as those that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is related to these other coronaviruses.
The knowledge that was gained through past research on coronavirus vaccines helped speed up the initial development of the current COVID-19 vaccines.
The process during which an application is made to a regulating authority, usually takes years. During the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the first 3 phases of the clinical trial process overlapped to speed up the process so the vaccines could be developed as quickly as possible to control the pandemic. No trial phases were skipped.
All data is analysed independently by drug regulatory authorities to ensure that the clinical trials have been conducted in a proper manner to ensure safety and efficacy.
During the clinical trials, monitors will be appointed to ensure that trial implementation has been conducted at the required standard.
Before the review for licensure was completed, the vaccine was made available for emergency use based on safety and efficacy data already submitted to drug regulatory authorities. This was in response to the high mortality seen and to prevent further deaths and severe SARS COV 2.
SAHPRA were prepared to review information/data as they became available through clinical trials. In this way they were able to review the data collected quickly without compromising on quality or rigour of review, looking at investigations made locally only by South African investigators.
Dr Gonasagrie (Lulu) Nair
(MBChB)
Provided this information.
Prof Keymanthri Moodley
(MBChB, EMBA)
Provided this information.
Unlike many other vaccines that were developed previously to prevent infectious diseases, with respect to COVID vaccine we have real world experience regarding side effects, especially the very serious side effects of which the public was notified.
Known efficacy of SARS COV 2 vaccine was weighed against the risks of severe infection and resultant morbidity, mortality and admission for clinical care.
Once we have a vaccine that displays efficacy in clinical trials, we look at the ethical issues related to vaccine access, the supply of vaccines and the impact of public health measures on human rights. Personal/ individual rights in a public health emergency, can be limited. It is completely justifiable to limit rights in a public health emergency where a pandemic affects the health of billions of people world-wide.
Many individuals view the S.A. constitution as having unlimited power in ensuring rights of the individual. However, it does include a clause concerning the limitations of rights. From a legal and ethics perspective, personal rights can be limited in a public health emergency.
Incentives may be provided to increase vaccine uptake/acceptance however they are problematic and prove to have minimal impact in increasing vaccine uptake as opposed to vaccine mandates.
The wastage of vaccine doses is unethical. Some believe that young people and children are unaffected by Covid-19. However, in Southern Africa the mortality rate in children due to covid is high. When deciding not to take a vaccine it is not a risk-free choice.
The vaccinated have a much lower risk of developing severe infection as opposed to the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated. The vaccine invariably has benefit in preventing symptomatic infection as well as reducing the period of infectiousness. The risk of infecting others surrounding you is also reduced.
If you are vaccinated your viral load is lower, symptom load, risk is lower. The problem of developing immunity through a natural Covid infection is exposing yourself to complications and others to risk.
This is what happens when younger people on university campuses infect staff and administrators many of whom are older and have many co-morbidities. In addition, the level and duration of immunity are unknown with natural infections.
Vaccines are important in a work environment, and universities are indeed work environments. It is required that work environments maintain safety which is in line with national labour laws.
How is COVID-19 Disease related to brain damage?
A study in the UK recently found that COVID-19 disease is associated with changes in the structure of the brain.
The impact this may have on your functioning has not yet been determined.
You can find the article here.
General Topics
What is the point of the Vaccine?
A review conducted by the UK’s Health Security Agency shows that vaccines are effective in preventing people from suffering from long COVID-19 disease.
What is long COVID-19 disease?
Long COVID-19 disease is when you continue to experience the effects of COVID, even after the normal duration of the illness.
The consequences of your COVID-19 infection have not gone away.
Here is a useful resource that describes long COVID.
This resource describes how vaccination PREVENTS long COVID-19 disease.
Reliable Websites
World Health Organisation
The World Health Organization (WHO) website is a trustworthy website that contains information on COVID-19 disease and vaccinations, as well as many others.
The website contains information on vaccines currently under trial, as well as a link to the WHO COVID-19 Dashboard where all the latest statistics on the pandemic can be found.
Centres for Disease Control
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) website contains information on immunisation and vaccines and also has a link to a COVID-19 vaccine tracker.
If you are hesitant to take the vaccine, read their page on vaccine hesitancy. There are links to publications at the bottom.
Are the COVID-19 vaccines safe? Are they effective? Are they still necessary? How do we achieve herd immunity? All of these questions are answered on their COVID-19 vaccines page.
The Centre for Disease Control has links to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccinations as well as a page on “Myths and Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines.”
This is a helpful link to clarify misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Department of Health Websites
The National Department of Health has statistics for our country as well as information on COVID-19 disease.
The Western Cape Department of Health has information on the vaccines, a link to the vaccine certificate and a COVID-19 dashboard.
Unreliable Websites
The Exposé
This website does not contain reliable information.
The data utilised pertains to the beginning of the pandemic. It therefore includes deaths for a year before there was any vaccination.
Places such as New York and Italy were hit quite badly and then later vaccinated well.
The website also includes countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have not been reporting their cases. To collect only counted cases from such places is not an accurate measure at all.
Even some South African provinces are reporting only about 20-30% of cases by best estimates – in a country from which there is enough data to estimate this.
A website that is a more reliable reporter of statistics related to COVID-19 can be found here.
How Bad is my Batch
This website was launched by a British man named Craig Paardekooper. He is not a doctor and has no background in medicine.
The data used on his website comes from VAERS – Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System – that is used in the USA for anyone to record an adverse event they believe to be linked to the vaccines.
The purpose of this system is to allow for rare events to be picked up – but also allow for all events to be investigated.
Most, after careful investigations, are found to have no link to the vaccine, or to be minor in severity.
Paardekooper draws false conclusions and makes faulty analyses of the data and the information contained on this website is largely of his own opinion.
Unreliable Sources of Information
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)
A presentation was held by this organisation on 2 October 2021. The speaker talks to the toxicity of the spike protein in the vaccines.
A point to consider is that when one is infected with SARS-CoV2, regardless of vaccination status, there is uncontrolled expression of the spike protein as part of the pathogenesis of the disease.
The risk of serious effects from SARS-CoV2 disease is higher than that of the vaccination.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a politically conservative non-profit association that promotes medical misinformation, such as HIV/AIDS denialism, the abortion-breast cancer hypothesis, vaccine and autism connections, and homosexuality reducing life expectancy.
The association was founded in 1943 to oppose a government attempt to nationalize health care.
The group has included notable members, including American Republican politicians Ron Paul, Rand Paul and Tom Price.
