PART 1: Introduction
2020 wasn't the year that any of us expected. Things that looked secure at the beginning of the year seemed a lot less sure as the COVID-19 pandemic raged.
Millions of people lost their lives, global economies were negatively impacted and families were devastated by separation or loss. Many of us lived through the isolation of social distancing in fear and with financial strain.
Elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms were positively associated with employment loss.
There was no one on this planet that wasn't greatly affected or at least inconvenienced by the pandemic.
As the year was wrapping up, we could see hope on the horizon.
After waiting for months for some good news, we finally felt relieved when some biotech companies announced that they had good vaccines. We had vaccines to fight this plague.
But when our cheers went quiet, to our surprise, the most promising vaccines were nothing like we'd ever seen before.
Pfizer in partnership with BioNTech were the first biotech corporations to declare their results. Moderna soon followed them. Both companies claimed to have created powerful vaccines with 95% efficacy. Both had used the same new technology to develop novel mRNA vaccines.
The vaccines were developed at breathtaking speed and went through accelerated approval processes and had no long-term safety data.
It was an emergency and we were desperately in need of some good news. Hope had arrived.
But after hope came concern ?
Widespread public concerns about aspects of these particular vaccines.
In the years before the emergence of COVID-19, there had been a surge of the anti-vaxxer movement. These are people who were opposed to the use of vaccines for a variety of reasons ranging from conspiracy to myth rather than facts. Perhaps this drive came from a vacuum in effective communication.
Before you continue reading, I need to clear up something?
I categorically state that this article series is not written in support of the anti-vaxxer movement. It is not designed to convince anyone to become an anti-vaxxer.
One more thing before I forget... don't get me wrong and think that I am complaining.
This is a thought-provoking piece to highlight emerging concerns raised by members of the public who had valid reasons to worry about the safety of the novel mRNA vaccines.
As you read on, you?ll inevitably find yourself asking pertinent questions.
The entire series is structured into 4 parts.
PART 2: Origins of Vaccination
PART 3: Generations of Vaccines
In the next two sections, I?ll lay the foundation on which my arguments in the final section will be based. I want to ensure that my opinion is understood in context.
As a disclaimer, I am a molecular virologist who firmly stands in the pro-vaccination camp. There?s nothing in my belief system that is opposed to vaccination.
Look out for Part 2 where I'll go back in time to where it all started.
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