More Covid-19 misinformation debunked

 

This fear-mongering Whatsapp message has been making its rounds recently by the same set of individuals and NGOs. This is the same group to whom I have replied their 19 questions and debunked their baseless allegations on Covid-19 vaccines.

Instead of replying with facts and figures, they chose the immature and cowardly route of being personal and using gutter politics. Grow up!

These are the same people who insisted the Health Ministry roll out ivermectin without any further clinical trials as required by many international institutions like the US National Institute of Science. Lo and behold, the first Randomised Clinical Trials (RCT) have shown their magic cure, ivermectin, is not effective.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing Covid-19 in humans. Ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses for some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea. Ivermectin is not an anti-viral (a drug for treating viruses). The FDA warned:

• Taking large doses of ivermectin is dangerous and can cause serious harm.
• If you have a prescription for ivermectin for an FDA-approved use, get it from a legitimate source and take it exactly as prescribed.
• Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans.

I'm actually malas nak layan (lazy to entertain) these echoes of conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination lobbyists who are doing the bidding for their masters in the West. Now, there are konon-nya (supposedly) “earth-shaking” dangers of mass vaccinations proposed by Dr Geert Vanden Bossche.

These people obviously do not read history. George Santayana warned that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the 20th century alone 350-500 million died from smallpox. The World Health Organisation (WHO) kick-started mass smallpox vaccination programs in the 1950s. Through this global program, smallpox was eradicated in 1980.

In 1985, there were 400,000 cases of polio. Following the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which is a universal polio vaccination programme of at least three doses in the first year and two boosters thereafter, i.e. mass vaccination for every child in the world, polio cases have plummeted by 99.9 percent to 33 reported cases in 2018.

If we ignore the claims by Vanden Bossche and his supporters, the world will very soon be polio-free. And if we persevere with the WHO Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) we can also hope to eliminate measles and congenital rubella.

Now, they are scare-mongering about the global Covid-19 mass immunisation program. They obviously have no facts to substantiate their claims except for conjectures and conspiracy theories.

It is sufficient to debunk their wild allegations by sharing the real-world experience of countries that have successfully rolled out the mRNA and other Covid-19 vaccines.

This report from the Israel Health Ministry, dated March 10, 2021, is extremely reassuring of the success and positive impact of the mass vaccination against Covid-19.

55 percent of Israelis have received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine (which these people are terribly against without any sound evidence to prove their case). 43 percent have been immunised with two doses.

The Vaccine Efficacy (VE) of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine against symptomatic Covid-19 is 97 percent, which is actually higher than the 95 percent recorded in Pfizer's phase three trials.

The VE against asymptomatic COVID is 94. This means not only does the vaccine prevent one from getting Covid-19, but it also prevents the spread of virus.

They quoted Vanden Bossche who warned that mass vaccination, “creates more asymptomatic cases to spread the virus as the vaccines do not prevent infection and transmission.”

I think they need to keep abreast of the most current literature on the Covid-19 pandemic and not rehash old and outdated press reports. Their allegations are obviously misinformation because:

1. There are 55 percent fewer cases of Covid-19 after the mass Pfizer mRNA vaccine immunisation programme

2. There are 71 percent fewer Covid-19 deaths

3. There are 44 percent fewer admissions to ICU

They allege the immunisation programme “helps create new variants and “teaches” the virus on “viral immune escape”.

Yes, there have been some new variants namely the UK B117, South Africa B1351, and Brazil P1 mutant strains.

This is actually anticipated, thus not surprising, as has happened with other pathogens, for example, the need to immunise annually against influenza due to the antigenic mutations.

Note that 80 percent of the mutant strains in Israel were the UK B117 variant and yet the Pfizer mRNA was effective against these "escape mutants".

So, if you were living in Israel and you refused the vaccine, the risk of you getting Covid-19 is 44 times higher. And the risk of you dying from Covid-19 is 29 times higher.

That is why the Israel Health Ministry is trying very hard to scale-up the coverage of the vaccination (not stop the programme) with warp speed to achieve the herd immunity of 70-80 percent so that they can protect:

1. Children and adolescents below 16 years of age who are not presently eligible for the vaccine

2. Those who have a history of anaphylaxis, allergies to polyethylene glycol, and polysorbates who cannot be immunised

3. People who refuse the vaccines

The UK is probably one of the top five nations in the world to effectively rollout the Covid-19 vaccines. I hope you can appreciate that Covid-19 cases, admissions, and deaths have seen a drastic decline.

I am hoping that the vaccine rollout by the Malaysian JKJAV and Health Ministry, which feels like it's at turtle-speed, can be ramped up to warp-speed for Malaysians to enjoy the benefits of mass vaccination programmes, including:

1. Fewer Covid-19 cases, especially severe cases since all vaccines prevent severe Covid-19 disease,

2. Fewer hospital admissions which will not overwhelm our healthcare services and allow our healthcare workers to have a much-needed break,

3. Fewer Covid-19 deaths, which is a terribly painful experience since families cannot be beside their loved ones during their hour of need.

I hope individuals and NGOs would cease spreading misinformation and if they insist on writing on Covid-19 issues, kindly share their references so that we can verify and validate their claims.

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DR MUSA MOHD NORDIN is a paediatrician and chairperson of the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations advisory council. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.