by Jane M. Orient, MD
Are you immune to COVID? You probably don’t know.
You do know whether you have been jabbed or not. But the whole emphasis now is getting bioengineered foreign genetic material—messenger RNA surrounded by lipid nanoparticles by Pfizer or Moderna, or DNA carried in an adenovirus by J&J or AstraZeneca—into everyone’s arm. People are rarely being tested for immunity—antibodies against SARS-CoV 2 or the more important T cells.
Vaccinated people are not acting as though they believe they are immune. They wear masks, and the majority are still unwilling to go to a party (especially with the unvaxxed), go on an airplane, or rent a car. CDC guidelines also reflect this uncertainty. Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress that the current products may not protect against variants.
COVID cases and even deaths in the fully vaccinated are still being reported, but it will be difficult to compare with pre-vaccination rates because the goal posts for a positive PCR test have shifted.
The Biden Administration has a goal of getting 70% vaxxed by July 4 but is running into vaccine hesitancy. States are turning down hundreds of thousands of doses because of lack of demand.
Incentives, in addition to restoring some “privileges” once called “unalienable rights,” include free donuts, discounts on groceries, checks for $100, even entry into a $1 million lottery.
Who are the vaccine hesitant? More than half of police officers, the majority of detained or incarcerated persons, nearly 40% of U.S. Marines, and in some areas more than half of healthcare workers would decline to get the jab without coercion. An online survey conducted by the scientists of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health showed that about 41% of U.S. residents were unwilling to receive the shots. The main reason is concern about safety.
The primary monitoring system for “safety signals” is the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which captures only a small fraction of events. If you get vaccinated at Penn Medicine and have a reaction, it is your responsibility to report it. Most vaccine providers do not report. Events that follow getting a shot are not necessarily caused by the shot; there’s “no proof” that the jab caused any of the 3,837 deaths reported as of Apr 30.
VAERS is overloaded, and there is a backlog of reports to be coded and entered. According to former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, more than 100 million Americans got at least one shot during the time it took to get January reports entered—without full information on risk.
Meanwhile, a $1.5 billion government advertising campaign, increasing coercion such as denying entry to unvaccinated college students, and vaccine shaming continue. Herd compliance is demanded—with no promise of actual herd immunity.
For further information:
· Weekly summaries of reports to British Yellow Card system (scroll down to “vaccine analysis profile”)
Contact jane@aapsonline.org or (520) 323-3110 if you would like to discuss these issues.
Jane M. Orient, M.D.
Executive Director, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
