“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

Sign me up!

But what would I be signing up for?

The new Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine should be in Canada by the time you read this with 249,000 doses on order by the end of December. Most people, including me, say hallelujah to that but I can hear a little voice in the back of my brain saying hold on a minute.

After all, this isn’t a candy bar we’re talking about or a new brand of beer. It’s a medical vaccine that many believe will save the world and I sincerely hope it will. But hasn’t this miracle healer been rushed into production in record time? That it has.

Vaccines normally take years to develop and bring into production and certified for use. But this one has been produced in a matter of months and will supposedly stop the dreaded pandemic in its tracks.

I certainly hope so, but any vaccine that has to be stored and distributed at minus 70 C makes me wonder. If it warms up a few degrees will it lose its effectiveness? Do we have minus 70 C freezers in Cranbrook? Will we have to travel hundreds of miles to get our two shots? So many questions.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m absolutely not an anti-vaxxer. I’ve had numerous vaccines throughout my life and had my two children vaccinated and they’re both over 30 now and doing fine. As for me, I’m one of the healthiest septuagenarians around and could probably still climb Mt. Fisher if it were the right day and someone would bet me enough money to do it. However, I’ve done a bit of research and it does give pause to think.

For instance, warnings were issued about the Pfizer vaccine after two health workers in Britain developed severe reactions to it Dec. 8. Both had a history of severe allergies and developed anaphylaxis-like symptoms shortly after receiving a test shot. Both have now recovered and Pfizer is investigating the incident.

Millions of people in the world have allergies. So, the Pfizer vaccine is obviously not for them.

But there are many other vaccines close to approval and soon to be on the market which leads me to think that a little hesitancy in making the vaccine decision might be wise. For instance, Canada has also approved the purchase of up to 56 million vaccine doses from Moderna, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Mass. whose RNA vaccine is expected to be approved by Health Canada before the end of the year.

In all, some 150 bio-tech companies are researching potential COVID-19 vaccines around the world leading one to think that haste shouldn’t be part of the COVID-19 decision like it was with  thalidomide and the 2,000 deaths it caused as well as thousands of birth defects in the 1960s.

All vaccines and drugs come with side effects and that should be a big part of the vaccine decision. Age is another huge factor with seniors going to the head of the line along right behind health care workers. One’s general state of health is also important, but there’s another big factor creeping into the equation that absolutely shouldn’t be there and that, of course is politics. Unfortunately, it’s happening right here in the Key City.

On Dec. 5, around 30 tightly packed and maskless people demonstrated in front of Cranbrook City Hall waving signs saying their “human rights” were being compromised and claiming media “propaganda.” One sign said, “We are all essential,” and who could disagree? But surely health care protocols are “essential” too in the fight against COVID-19. And wearing a mask in public is “essential” as well. And it’s now the law.

But we live in a democracy and that of course means people have the “right” to be wrong. I think many of the demonstrators meant well and some were clearly there for religious reasons. But the pandemic doesn’t care and has now claimed more than 1.5 million lives world-wide, 290,000 in the US and 13,000 in Canada. Something has to be done.

Surely wearing a mask and staying six feet apart is not too much of a sacrifice to make to stop this tragedy?

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who’s willing to sacrifice some of his “human rights” to protect others.

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