On the Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines

11 min readApr 16, 2021

Source: https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Vaccine-Vial-And-Needle.jpg

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was originally written as a letter for my father, but other members of my family have encouraged me to publish this to a wider audience. This is being kept in its original format.

For Dad,

After making my appointment to get a COVID vaccine, I was extremely disappointed to find that you were against me getting vaccinated. You gave me a variety of claims, articles, and videos which have taken a firm position against the severity of COVID and the usefulness/safety of vaccines. However, you’ve reassured me that you are genuinely attempting to learn and understand a complex issue. Because of that, I wanted to give your concerns the time of day and hopefully move you away from these unreliable sources.

What I’ll be doing in this write-up is going through each of the claims and articles you’ve given me regarding COVID and providing you with either a refutation, clarification, or alternate viewpoint. I cannot predict what other claims you would encounter after this paper, so I will also have a section detailing other useful information regarding COVID and vaccines that you can turn to.

1) The vaccines have a 1.5% serious side effect rate for a virus that is 99.9% recovery rate for your age group.

From what I’ve found, this is partially true. The CDC has several tables detailing reactions to the Pfizer vaccine, with a very small percentage of people in the 18–55 age group experiencing side effects categorized as “severe”. Something to remember about this, however, is that side effects after getting a vaccine are normal. The idea behind a vaccine is that your immune system is getting practice against a harmless piece of the virus, so you’re expected to experience some symptoms of varying severity. An example of this can be found in the list of side effects of the Tdap vaccine.

Part of the problem with what is purported to be the “recovery rate” of COVID (people that have COVID and don’t die) is that it misses the problem of the long-term effects of COVID, which can include brain fog, rapid heartbeat, and shortness of breath (among others). These can even occur in people who had mild cases of COVID. Those potential long-term effects of having COVID are, frankly, not worth the risk. You can read more stories about people with long COVID here.

This claim also fails to account for national efforts to reduce the spread of the virus (social distancing, masks, medical resources, etc.). These factors drastically improve chances of both not getting COVID and not dying from COVID. The data clearly shows that COVID is a deadly disease, with a case fatality rate in the U.S. of 1.8% (For a good explanation of case fatality rate, you can watch this video. To summarize, case fatality rate is a simple equation: the number of deaths divided by the number of confirmed cases). Simply disregarding vaccines, opening up the country, and returning to pre-2020 habits is not an effective method of beating this virus and preventing unnecessary deaths.

The video below has other good arguments regarding this issue.

Doctor Debunks Covid Vaccine Myths and Conspiracy Theories | Doctor Explains (3:17 onward)

1a) Rare blood clot issues and the adenovirus vaccines (Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca)

At the time of writing this, administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was temporarily halted due to 6 (Six) cases of blood clots within two weeks of injection. The AstraZeneca vaccine has also had several cases of blood clots. Keep in mind that over 7 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered at this point in the U.S. That’s a literal one in a million chance of this occurring. This is good evidence to suggest that close attention is being paid to the safety of these vaccines. Also keep in mind that blood clots as a result of COVID are far more likely than as a result of the J&J vaccine.

I’m not trying to be deceptive by throwing in discussion about the AZ vaccine here along with the J&J vaccine. Both are adenovirus vector vaccines and face similar issues, so arguments in defense of one vaccine can be applied to the other. A piece analyzing the risk/reward balance of getting the AZ vaccine depending on age group can be found here.

To be clear, many people are rightfully concerned about this information. But we shouldn’t turn to less-than-accountable sources in order to justify our concerns.

2) The injection doesn’t prevent you from getting covid and doesn’t prevent you from spreading covid.

Not completely, but it’s pretty damn good. In fact, most vaccines are not 100% effective. It’s extremely difficult to make a vaccine that would provide total immunity from getting and spreading a virus. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bother with a less-than-perfect vaccine. It’s still an important factor in reducing the impact of a virus and reaching herd immunity.

3) They call it a vaccine to get away with their liability under emergency authority.

I’m assuming you’re referring to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, which prevents Pfizer, Moderna, etc. from being sued “if something unintentionally goes wrong with their vaccines”. This appears to be a fair cause for concern… until you dive into the rationale. Let’s think about this situation absent immunity from the PREP Act:

Let’s say you are the head of a pharmaceutical company that specializes in vaccine research. A novel virus has just hit the world, and the U.S. government approaches you about creating a vaccine. One of the parts of their request is an expedited process; you need to research this quickly. However, what if something goes wrong, through no fault of your own? You’re at risk of getting the shit sued out of you. You don’t have much of an incentive to pursue this, since the costs potentially spent on lawsuits would offset the advance purchase of vaccines from the government. So, in order to protect your company, you ask for qualified immunity from lawsuits regarding your vaccines. If something goes wrong, the FDA is offering to take responsibility and your company doesn’t have to deal with tons of frivolous lawsuits. It’s a benefit for both parties involved: your company gets legal protection and funding, and the U.S. government is able to vaccinate its citizens.

This isn’t an excuse to be willfully/grossly negligent. Your vaccine still needs to pass safety checks and actually be effective. This is merely done to further incentivise the company to work fast and work well.

4) Still not FDA approved as safe and effective.

Technically, this is true. However, this misses important details. This article has a good explanation:

“Given the circumstances of this pandemic, the FDA was able to develop a process and clear guidelines to allow vaccines to be reviewed in this manner. For an EUA vaccine approval, FDA essentially is requiring the vaccine developers reach the same standards in their research and development programs that is required for full approval of these vaccines by the European Union FDA. There are only some additional data that the companies are still collecting and putting together to complete their submissions for full FDA approval — which will then take some months for the final review. Until that process is completed, these vaccines are technically still considered unapproved.

But there should be no concerns about either the safety or efficacy of these vaccines. They are remarkably effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations and deaths. And they have been intensely scrutinized throughout the development process. In many ways, we are fortunate that the US FDA was willing and able to adjust their processes in a manner that still maintained high standards for safety and efficacy, while allowing these vaccines to become available to the high risk public as quickly as possible. These vaccines offer our best opportunity to really control this pandemic, protect our most vulnerable, and hopefully begin gradually to return to normalcy.”

5) The nanoparticles and spike proteins in the vaccine may have long term effects on your health. Animal studies went poorly.

The safety surrounding nanoparticles in vaccines is known. From this article:

“The use of nanoparticles and even RNA is not new in medicine. Lipid nanoparticles already help protect molecules in other drugs reach the cells they need to reach without breaking down on the way.

Several chemotherapy and cholesterol-lowering drugs use nanoparticles to protect the active chemicals that treat people. Viruses themselves are naturally occurring nanoparticles, so it makes sense that researchers would turn to nanotechnology to fight a virus.”

Further reading on lipid nanoparticles can be found here.

As for the spike proteins (and the animal studies, for that matter), concerns may be based on a poor interpretation of the results of a particular University of Washington (Go Dawgs!) study.

6) The WHO disagrees with the statements on that CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

a) COVID vaccines will not make you sick with COVID.

The WHO agrees.

b) COVID vaccines will not make you test positive for COVID.

I can’t find any WHO statement on this, but this is true. The vaccines don’t contain the virus. More info on how the COVID vaccines work can be found in these videos:

RNA Vaccines (mRNA Vaccine) — Basis of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, Animation

What The COVID Vaccine Does To Your Body

c) If you already had COVID and recovered, you still should get vaccinated.

I can’t find any WHO statement contradicting this, but this is true. Antibodies specific to COVID do not last forever, and the WHO has been saying as much since last April.

d) A COVID vaccine will prevent me from getting sick with COVID.

The WHO says it’s not clear “the degree to which the vaccines can protect” against getting sick. However, this is stated in the context of lauding the safety and importance of the vaccines. Your chances of getting infected while vaccinated are extremely low. Interpreting their statement as them not knowing if the vaccines are effective at all is a gross mischaracterization.

e) COVID vaccines will not alter your DNA.

The WHO agrees.

f) There is no evidence that COVID vaccines cause problems with pregnancy.

The WHO agrees. More info here (at 8:21). And No, Pfizer’s head of research didn’t say the COVID-19 vaccine will make women infertile.

7) Dr. Ryan Cole — Covid Mistakes

Many of the claims in this video are misleading/unsupported. SARS and MERS are not seasonal, evidenced by the fact that we do not get new cases of SARS and MERS each year. Global efforts to curb the spread of those diseases are what allowed them to pass with minimal impact, not “letting it run its course”. Ivermectin, like many other claimed miracle drugs (including hydroxychloroquine), has little research to support its efficacy in treating COVID. RNA vaccines cannot modify DNA. For further reading, an extremely detailed review of the claims in this video can be found here, with sources linked at the end.

8) General claims about Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Testing (What is a PCR Test Kit by Kary Mullis?, Attorney Anthony Raimondo has evidence PCR tests are the bogus tool of fearmongers, WHO lowers cycle thresholds for PCR tests, A global team of experts has found 10 FATAL FLAWS in the main test for Covid and is demanding it’s urgently axed. As they should, The WHO Confirms that the Covid-19 PCR Test is Flawed: Estimates of “Positive Cases” are Meaningless. The Lockdown Has No Scientific Basis)

The WHO memo about PCR testing seems to give credence to some of these individuals’ concerns about the cycle threshold, except for the fact that it “does not advise laboratories to reduce the cycle count in PCR tests. It advises laboratory professionals to use tests with the proper instructions to ensure accurate results.” Furthermore, the alleged epidemic of false positives in PCR testing doesn’t hold water. Any difficulties with PCR testing are already widely known and accounted for; they aren’t a secret.

For further viewing, a video regarding claims about PCR testing can be found here. It’s done by a conservative freelance journalist by the name of Peter Hadfield (going by the screenname potholer54).

9) Lessons from the Lockdown — Why Are So Many Fewer Children Dying? • Children’s Health Defense

I’m gonna pull from Wikipedia here, sorry. Feel free to look through their references, though. “Multiple studies and meta-analyses have shown that vaccinated children are less likely to die of SIDS.”

10) Was the COVID-19 Test Meant to Detect a Virus?

This is probably the most difficult thing to write a response to because the content of this article isn’t based in reality. What concerns me the most about this article is the author’s use of religion and religious language to manipulate the reader and frighten them enough to be convinced of the article’s dubious claims. From denial of basic truths about the spread of viruses to accusations of malicious intent by Bill Gates, the article is the textbook definition of what I would consider harmful internet content. Be very wary of people that produce this sort of content because they do not have your best interests at heart. The very thing they accuse scientists, healthcare workers, and others of are exactly what they are guilty of: looking for control through fear mongering.

11) Exclusive: Former Pfizer VP to AFLDS: ‘Entirely possible this will be used for massive-scale depopulation’ — America’s Frontline Doctors

This is the clearest case of people that are making money off of fear mongering. The top of the website banner leads to a page where they advertise the sale of hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and other alleged “cures” for COVID with no sufficient scientific backing through their pharmacists. The use of hydroxychloroquine, while approved by the FDA for treatment of malaria, is unapproved for the treatment of COVID and is actively discouraged. The woman behind AFD, Simone Gold, openly advertises her book on this website. The article itself is full of unsupported conjecture, speculation, and misinterpretation (willful or not, I’m unable to say). To be clear, it is in NO-ONE’S best interest to “depopulate” the world. Be wary of websites like these.

Hopefully I’ve adequately addressed all of your concerns that you voiced to me (and some that you haven’t, just in case). If I could ask one final thing of you, I would strongly encourage you to check where my information is coming from. Check the credentials of the authors and the validity of the claims they put forth. It’s what you should be doing when you encounter information online.

I want this pandemic to end as badly as you do. I want to be able to go out to restaurants with friends again and enjoy each others’ company. I want to be able to walk outside and not have to worry about my glasses fogging up because I’m wearing a mask. I know you want this pandemic to be over as well. Luckily, with how vaccine rollout in the U.S. has progressed, that’s looking more and more like a reality for this summer. In order for that to happen, though, we need enough people to get vaccinated.