I know several people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19. So far, none of them have any notable side effects.
By the way, I participated in an online focus group several months ago. It turns out that it was focused on the topic of vaccination distribution.
I was surprised at the bipolar nature that people took. Some of the people were adamantly pro-vaccine and others were adamantly anti-vaccine. As these groups shared their views, there was a sharp rift in the discussion.
The pro-vaccine people even stated that they would not allow their children to play with children who don't have vaccinations. They claimed that it was a "danger" for their own children.
I was puzzled.
I explained that vaccinations actually PROTECT those who are vaccinated from the diseases and contagions of those who are not. So, if anything, the children with vaccinations are largely protected from the diseases of which the non-vaccinated children might carry.
I pointed out that vaccine effectiveness is usually in the 95-99% range -- meaning that very few of those who are vaccinated are in danger of the disease or contagion that they are vaccinated from. There is also a "herd immunity" that comes from societies that are largely vaccinated.
This herd immunity means that people who are not vaccinated (or the tiny fraction of people for which the vaccination is not effective) enjoy a form of herd immunity protection. This is because the widespread vaccination eliminates and greatly impedes the ability to carry and transmit the virus/disease.
This is understood via the polio vaccine. If you take two doses of the commonly available polio vaccine, it has a 90% effectiveness. However, a third dose lifts the vaccine effectiveness between 99-100%. Most people now have four doses of this particular course of vaccinations.
However, there is a subset of people who stopped their vaccinations at one or two doses. Yet, the last recorded infection of polio in the U.S. (from the U.S.) was in 1979. The last time polio was brought into the U.S. from a foreign country was 1993.
This is a stark contrast from the 1940s where more than 35,000 children per year were afflicted with polio. The advent of the polio vaccinations -- the original trivalent inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) in 1955 and the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in 1963 -- effectively ended polio in the U.S. within a short time period. There were less than 100 recorded polio cases in the U.S. during the 1960s and less than 10 during the 1970s.
I completely understand the concerns about vaccinations. However, vaccinations (in general) aren't part of any sort of widespread conspiracy. There are people who believe that vaccines cause damage or even disease in children.
Such individuals often point to the rise of autism or other conditions. However, other nations using those same vaccines (most are designed and manufactured in the U.S.) don't see the same autism rate increases. Thus, with "all things being equal," we can largely rule out vaccinations alone as the cause of any sort of spike in rates of autism.
Obviously, vaccinations carry a calculated risk. The same is true of aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen/paracetamol or any medication. However, the benefits of vaccinations are undeniable.
While only two diseases have been considered entirely eradicated by vaccinations (smallpox and rinderpest), there are lists of diseases that have nearly been largely eradicated once vaccinations became widely available. Diseases like polio, diphtheria, mumps, rotavirus, measles, whooping cough, Hib, rubella, hepatitis A/B and tetanus are extremely rare due to the advent of their respective vaccines.
So, what should the Christian position be?
My biggest issue with both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine people is that there are some who take a dogmatic "must accept" stand on vaccines. For some, you would assume that there was a clear passage in the Scriptures about vaccinations. The fact is that there is not a single passage in Scripture that clearly covers vaccinations. At best, people loosely interpret the Scriptures in regard to such matters.
Now, there are CLEAR concerns about issues pertaining to vaccinations. The idea that aborted fetal cells may or may not be used either in the development or trials is VERY concerning to believers. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of misinformation about this (sadly from either conspiracy and/or faith-based alternative "health" websites).
To be very clear in regard to the COVID-19 vaccines: None of these American vaccines developed used aborted fetal cells in their vaccines. However, both Pfizer and Moderna did use fetal cells for testing the effectivity confirmation tests.
This doesn't mean that they used aborted fetal "tissue." Rather, this means that cells were extracted from aborted fetuses during the 1970s and 1980s. Those cells were incubated and allowed to multiply over the decades since. The descended cells from the originals have been used in many tests for medication ever since.
The most commonly cited fetal cells used in research are HEK-293. These were derived from a lab in the Netherlands. While the origin of this particular line of cells is not clear, there is a degree of likelihood that these cells were taken from an aborted baby.
Now, the spiritual and moral concerns regarding this are obvious. These particular cells were gathered following a baby's death. The descended cells (that have been subsequently multiplied) have been used in medical research and pharmaceutical testing ever since.
At the same time, these descended cells are utilized in testing the safety of medications and vaccines in the effort to prove efficacy or limit adverse effects. Thus, it can be argued by some that those descended cell lines actually "save" lives. Yet, the spiritual and moral concerns pertaining to their use are still undeniable to many Christians.
I had a discussion with some believers about this once. They pointed to the thought of using aborted cells in vaccines as their greatest obstacle. However, when I pointed out that we can know precisely which vaccines used them IN TESTING (and not in the actual vaccine) and which didn't even use them at all, they admitted that they were "still opposed" to vaccines in general.
Between questioning the general validity of vaccines to the conspiracy theories oft-repeated by anti-vax websites, there was enough in them to cause them to hesitate even if the aforementioned greatest issue wasn't true.
To those believers, they saw vaccines as a type of or foreshadow of the "mark of the beast" -- and "acceptance of this world's systems." One of them even suggested that the mark of the beast would be a vaccine derived from the "cellular line of the antichrist."
I suppose that I can understand those concerns. Yet, at the same time, I do have an issue with presenting those concerns -- rooted in highly suspect interpretations of Scripture and selective use of a very limited source of medical sources -- when they are used to pronounce an ultimatum to (or upon) believers.
One of the people that I mentioned earlier told me that accepting a vaccination was akin to "eternal damnation" (but only if it is done already knowing "the truth" that he told them).
This actually bothers me. This person was so strongly convinced of his own interpretation of vaccinations that he was willing to declare vaccination as an unpardonable sin. Of course, that person was convinced that we were already in the middle of the Great Tribulation -- and this discussion took place a little over eight years ago. I'm not sure what he thinks of this now (since he hasn't spoken to me since).
Personally, I would not have a problem with taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, I have the added advantage of not being at-risk. So, I wouldn't be permitted to get the vaccine until those who are at greater risk (including the elderly, those with preexisting medical issues and front-line medical professionals) are already vaccinated. I suppose that they are something of "guinea pigs" for the rest of us.
To be very clear: I have no problem with individuals who choose to NOT be vaccinated. I totally understand their qualms, concerns and questions. At the same time, I understand that there are risks associated both with and, to a much greater extent, without vaccines.
