Who Do You Trust?

A long, long time ago there was a TV show called “Who Do You Trust.” The basic premise was whether the contestant thought he or she knew the right answer to the question the game show host asked (which happened to be Johnny Carson for most of the show’s run) or trusted that their partner had the correct answer. It was up to the contestant to analyze what they knew about their partner to guide them on whether they should trust that their partner knew the correct answer. I think the question on everybody’s mind these days centers around the fact that we are not sure who we can trust to answer today’s critically important questions?

How we overcome this pandemic is probably the biggest question we needed answers to. The COVID-19 pandemic was a big unknown in the beginning; no one knew how it came to be, how it spread, what the symptoms were or how sick it was going to make us. Our elected officials often contradicted the advice given by government scientists. The vaccine approval process was rumored to be influenced by political motives. We really didn’t know who to trust.

As we begin the rollout of the two vaccines that gained emergency use authorization to date, there are many that still don’t know if they can trust the vaccine to be safe. Here are some points that have helped me decide that the vaccine is safe.

• The breakthrough science that is the backbone of this new vaccine has been actively studied for over 5 years.
• This new approach does NOT use a weakened portion of the virus to induce the body to produce antibodies.
• The vaccine was approved in Europe weeks before it was approved here and people in Europe have been vaccinated with minimal adverse effects.
• Over 40,000 people participated in the phase three study.
• I have attended many, and testified in some, of the FDA’s advisory committee meetings to evaluate prescription drugs. I have found them to be thorough and unbiased.
• While it sells papers (or these days gets clicks) to highlight any adverse reactions, the fact of the matter is that any prescription drug or vaccine will have some adverse reactions. So far, any risk of adverse reactions has been far outweighed by the benefits.

The only real chance we have to return to normal is for enough people to be vaccinated that the virus has nowhere to spread. I hope that we can trust the facts and use our own deductive powers to see that the vaccine is safe and effective.

Best, Thair