Medical analyst, dr. Leana Wen, a physician and professor of health policy and management at the School of Public Health, Milken Institute, George Washington University, USA, in an interview with CNN, explains the uncertainty that people may still have about the vaccine.
To the question "When we see vaccinated people dying from Covid-19, how can you tell us that the vaccines are worth taking?", She replied:
"We have to start with science and what research shows. Covid-19 vaccines are extremely effective in preventing diseases, especially serious diseases. The latest data from the CDC show that they reduce the likelihood of a positive test for Covid-19 with six times and 11 times the probability of death, which means that if you are vaccinated, you are six times less likely to become infected with Covid-19 than someone who is not vaccinated, and 11 times less likely to die. "Covid-19 compared to an unvaccinated person. However, Covid-19 vaccines do not protect you 100%. No vaccine does. This does not mean that the vaccine does not work, or that you should not get it."
Dr. Lean says he would ask those who do not believe the vaccine is effective to think about other aspects of medicine.
"Let's say someone has heart disease. There are medicines to treat heart disease, but they are not 100% effective - nothing is. Does that mean heart medicine is not worth taking?"
She adds:
"Or let's use an example of prevention. Let's say someone eats healthy and exercises but suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. Does that mean they should give up the healthy diet and exercise? So you can take all the steps to prevent a disease, but sometimes you get sick again. "
The bottom line is that vaccines work. They reduce the likelihood of being affected by disease and getting seriously ill as well as dying. They are not 100% because nothing is!
Why do doctors require collective vaccination?
Think of the vaccine as a very good raincoat. It works very well to protect you on a rainy day. But if you are in a storm, and then a hurricane comes, there is a much better chance of getting wet. This does not mean that your raincoat is not valid. It means you are in bad weather, and the raincoat alone can not always protect you.
If you are around a lot of viruses, this increases your chance of getting infected. The problem is not the vaccine - it is that there are many viruses around you. That is why the key is to vaccinate as many people as possible. This reduces the overall rate of infection and ends up protecting everyone.
Source: CNN
