COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation
2023.01.06
Time and time again, scientists worldwide have proven that the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is through vaccination.
Most countries recommend that people get vaccinated since the benefits significantly outweigh the risks.
In Japan, the COVID-19 vaccine is strongly recommended but not mandatory, so the ultimate decision on whether or not to get vaccinated is up to the individual.
It is true that vaccines cause serious adverse reactions, and the COVID-19 vaccine is no exception. However, the rate of serious adverse reactions following a COVID-19 vaccine is very low, and the nature of these adverse reactions has been studied well by multiple countries.
Japan also has a system for people to report suspected vaccine-related adverse reactions. Medical institutions sort through the rports and identify symptoms suspected to be related to the vaccine. Then, these institutions send the details to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare counci, where the cases are individually evaluated by a council.
On December 16th, 2022, the Council revealed the number of third-dose adverse reaction cases they received. Below are the numbers specific to the vaccine brand:
Pfizer: 2,018 cases, 0.0040%
Moderna: 953 cases, 0.0029%
Novavax: 12 cases, 0.0073%
The report frequencies tended to be lower than the that of the first and second doses.
The MHLW concluded that there is no evidence for significant concern that the COVID-19 vaccine will cause death, myocarditis/pericarditis, or pulmonary embolism. Furthermore, the council stated that there is no risk associated with 4th and 5th doses, pediatric vaccination of children aged 5-11 years, infant vaccination of children aged 6 months to 4 years, and Omicron strain vaccines.
Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States.
The CDC states that the “COVID 19-vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. Vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes, and death.”
The National Health Service (NHS) of the UK released a similar statement, saying “(t)he coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are safe and effective. They give you the best protection against COVID-19.”
Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to back the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, there are still anti-vaxxers that try to prevent people from getting vaccinated by spreading fear through misinformation, and sometimes even physically interfering with the vaccination process.
While you are free to choose not to vaccinate yourself, preventing others from getting vaccinated is a major issue.
Anti-vaxxers claim that “we should stop vaccinating people because so many people are dying after being vaccinated.”
Since the COVID-19 vaccination started in Japan, people experiencing adverse reactions after vaccination have had the option to submit their cases through the Adverse Reaction Suspicion Reporting System. In Japan, 1,917 cases of deaths after vaccination have been reported under the system.
Although we can only imagine the grief of the bereaved families who lost a loved one, this does not change the fact that there has not been a single causal relationship between the vaccine and death.
Another popular anti-vax talking point is that the Immunization Health Damage Relief Program has paid 15 people lump-sum death benefits as of December 2022. This is true, but only because this program “does not require a strict medical causal relationship, but covers cases where symptoms after vaccination were caused by the vaccine.” In other words, the fact that a death has been confirmed, is not the same as “the vaccine caused the death.” Even in cases where the causal relationship is not established under the adverse reaction reporting system, people can receive the program benefits.
Other countries use similar systems to report post-vaccine adverse reactions, and similar cases of death after vaccination have been reported. However, these cases, where a causal relationship with the vaccine and death can be established, are extremely rare.
Take the US as an example: between December 14, 2020 and December 14, 2022, 660 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, and a total of 9 J&J/Janssen patient deaths were conclusive caused by the vaccine. According to the CDC, not a single Pfizer or Moderna vaccination has caused death.
Despite this evidence, there are false assertions all over the internet that incorrectly claim that all cases reported for suspected adverse reactions are caused by the vaccine.
Of course, it is a given that scientists must continue monitoring the efficacy and safety of vaccines. However, it is simply incorrect to assume that all cases of adverse reaction reportings are caused by the COVID-19 vaccines.
Once again, with regard to all COVID-19 vaccines administered in Japan, there is no scientifically-backed reason to worry about death, myocarditis/pericarditis, pulmonary embolism, 4th and 5th doses, childhood vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years, infant vaccination for children aged 6 months to 4 years, Omicron strain-compatible vaccines, etc.
There are more wildly false allegations floating around:
For example, some say that there is no such thing as a coronavirus.
There are various mutant strains of coronaviruses, and scientists have repeatedly synthesized their DNA sequences.
Some still insist that coronaviruses do not exist, citing that when they requested the MHLW to disclose papers that claim the existence of coronaviruses, their request was denied because no such papers existed. Obviously, the MHLW does not have such administrative document readily available since they, or other administrative agencies, are not the ones that produce the science papers.
Each individual ministry is responsible for publishing their own administrative documents, so of course the MHLW rejects peoples’ requests to release coronavirus syntheses. The MHLW’s rejection of such request does not mean that the coronavirus does not exist. This is a clearly hoax.
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Another popular Or, “The safety of the corona vaccine has not been confirmed because clinical trials (clinical trials) have not yet been completed. We are currently testing its safety by inoculating the public, so we should not give it to them.
The corona vaccine was approved after rigorous evaluation of its efficacy and safety in clinical trials (Phase III trials).
The reason why some clinical trials are scheduled to end at a future date is to continue to collect information from those who participated in the clinical trials, so that we can continue to gather information and build up scientific knowledge about the duration of immunity and other issues.
The U.S. CDC also has this to say about corona vaccine clinical trials.
“After initial laboratory development, vaccines go through three phases of clinical trials to make sure they are safe and effective. No trial phases have been skipped.
The clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines have involved tens of thousands of volunteers of different ages, races, and ethnicities.
Clinical trials for vaccines compare outcomes (such as how many people get sick) between people who are vaccinated and people who are not. Results from these trials have shown that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, especially against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
The British government also stated of the Corona vaccine clinical trials.
“The vaccines that are authorised have been through three stages of clinical trials and have been tested on tens of thousands of people A Phase 3 Covid vaccine trial typically involves 30,000 to 40,000 patients.
The trial phases were organised to overlap, speeding up the overall time of vaccine production, but without cutting any corners on trialling the vaccine The trial phases were organized to overlap, speeding up the overall time of vaccine production, but without cutting any corners on trialling the vaccine.
When you hear the words, “The Corona vaccine is not yet in clinical trials …” It’s a hoax.
Some people say that the Corona vaccine causes shedding, which is the spread of the coronavirus from the body.
Shedding is the spread of pathogens such as viruses through the patient’s secretions and excretions.
Shedding can occur when the vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine, but in the case of the corona vaccine, shedding does not occur because the virus itself is not used in the vaccine.
It is your own decision whether or not to vaccinate yourself, but the practice of trying to influence other people’s decisions with false rumors and fake news should be stopped and discouraged.
