For some reason, there isn t much more of a lightening rod topic these days than the
vaccine for COVID-19. Everybody has become experts in immunology, virology, pulmonology
and any other ology that you can imagine. Because of that, there are so many different
ideas that you are subjected to that you probably don t know what to believe. Well, in this
video we are going to go over some of the most common concerns that are brought up in
regards to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and let you know why I decided to get it and
why it may be a good idea for you too.
Hi, I m Dr. Erik Richardson a board certified Family Practice physician. I d like to welcome you to FamilyMed, a channel that focuses giving
you practical and accurate medical information to help you and your family. If you think
this would be something that is helpful to you make sure you subscribe, hit that notification
button and follow along with us. So this is a video that I have known that
I needed to make for a while, but honestly I haven t been too excited about doing. Not
that I don t think that this is an important topic, I think it s a vital topic, it s just
that here in the United States at least, it has turned into the craziest political subject,
that frankly I just don t get. Now you add to that talking about vaccines, look out.
I can already hear the comments coming out of the woodwork about how I m advocating poison,
I m trying to control the world, I m part of the big pharma conspiracy, that I m just
saying what I m saying because of all the big pharma kickbacks that I m getting and
on and on and on. All I have to say about that is that it s garbage. There is no body
pulling my strings, there is no such thing as a big pharma kickback . If there was, I
promise you I d be enjoying those perks sitting on a beach instead of living in feezing cold
Idaho talking about this right now. If you don t believe in vaccines, if you think us
doctors are all out to get you, then you are waisting your time watching. Go ahead an click
off, don t bother putting writing any comments, go find the forums of like minded people and
enjoy your time there. If however, you are honestly seeking answers and looking to see
if this is the right thing for you and your family, hopefully what I have to say will
help you in your decision. Nobody is making you get it, but I m going to tell you why
I got it and maybe why you should too. First of all, the reason that we need this
vaccine is that it is the only reliable way that we have right now of getting all our
lives back to normal. I m sick of wearing masks and social distancing, having my kids
not in school all the time just like everybody else. But there is no way to achieve safely
the type of herd immunity that will make this virus burn out without a vaccine. To allow
it to spread unabated through our communities has been, and will continue to be, a total
disaster. It is the only way that we can get our friends and family who are at high risk
out of their houses and enjoying life. It s the only way to be able to reliably get
all our schools open and avoid having all the restrictions on businesses and our economy
that this has caused. It s the only way to stop the current known and unknown issues
and complications that have been arising from those getting infected. There still isn t
any reliable treatment or prevention that we can confidently get behind that is going
to get us out of this. We know vaccines work. I understand as well everybody s reservation
with putting something new in our bodies that feels like has been rushed. So let s talk
about those concerns and see if it can help answer some of your questions.
The first concern that most have had regarding these vaccines is that they are so new. At
the time of filming this video there are two vaccines that are approved under an emergency
use authorization in the United States and most of the world. These are the ones manufactured
by Pfizer and Moderna. The biggest concern many have is that this process has been rushed
too quickly and corners may have been cut to get this out and approved.
The Fact of the matter is, that this process went faster than usual because we have been
in a deadly global health crisis and more scientific effort and dollars have been put
into this problem then any other in recent memory. Because of that, much of the burocracy,
red tape and all the other impediments that government usually messes things up with got
taken away. Much of the time that goes into getting approvals for any treatment are spent
sitting on some beurocratic s desk. We all complain about how inefficient government
can be, but when they actually help instead of getting in the way we become suspicious.
This whole process has been faster than usual ,but that doesn t that corners were cut, it
still followed all the steps for testing and review.
The main reasons for all this speed boils down to several things. First have developed
more modern scientific tools that are faster than the old ones. There has also been a worldwide
effort to remove or reduce barriers that cause delays in research, production and distribution
as well as we had a large number of brave ordinary people who volunteered for clinical
trials that have been able to give us safety and efficacy data. It usually takes months
to years to get enough people to volunteer to get enough numbers to even do the trials.
They still went through all the same review processes, had all the same questions asked
by independent reviewers who are intent in making sure this is safe and effective. There
has never been a more scrutinized vaccine than these. If these don t work or cause significant
problems, then trust in vaccines and the medical community would be irreparably harmed. There
is no motivation for these agencies to take unnecessary risks.
Another reason this went so fast is also one of the concerns that people have for this
vaccine. This has to do with the technology that is being used by the leading vaccines
right now that uses what is called mRNA. mRNA stands for Messenger Ribo-Nucleic Acid.
Let me give you a quick explanation of what this is so you can know what we are talking
about. mRNA is a little protein that your body produces from the DNA. DNA is like the
blueprint for our body. mRNA is like a little photocopy of a part of that DNA that leaves
the center part of the cell called the nucleus into the liquid part of the cell called the
cytoplasm. What mRNA does is it finds some workhorse proteins in the cytoplasm called
ribosomes and when they get together, the mRNA tells the ribosomes what kinds of proteins
to make. This is something that our body is doing day in and day out to allow our bodies
to function. What scientists have found is that if we are able to make mRNA we are able
to use that to tell the body to produce specific proteins. In the case of the Coronavirus they
ve taken the DNA code of the virus, took a little part of it and made a little blueprint
in the form of this mRNA. By then giving this to our bodies it tells the ribosomes in our
cells to produce a piece of the virus, a small protein that the body then can recognize and
make antibodies to fight it. Within a few days the mRNA in the vaccine is actually destroyed
and all that is left over is the antibodies that your body has produced. Just like as
if it had been exposed to the actual virus. The mRNA enter the control part of the cell
call the nucleus, it doesn t change your DNA, it just allows your body recognize what part
of the virus would look like without ever exposing your body to the virus.
The cool part of this technology and why this has been able to happen so fast is that once
you know a DNA sequence of something you can produce the mRNA very quickly. IN other vaccines
where you are trying to take the virus and inactivate it or make it otherwise safe, it
is a much longer process. In this case, the time between when they got the DNA sequence
to when they had the first mRNA code that they could start testing was only around 40
days. That is a modern day miracle! And that was the whole goal in developing this technology,
to be able to rapidly develop a vaccine to combat emerging virus threats throughout the
world. Many have likened this technology to a drill. It s a vehicle that you can plug
in any number of different things into to be able to have its desired effect. It s pretty
amazing technology. One of the biggest concerns that many have
is that this is so new. And although its true that this is the first time that this has
been approved to be used on a mass scale like this and of course we ve never used it with
a coronavirus before, this is not entirely new technology. In fact one of the areas that
this has been studied the most in over the past several years is in the realm of cancer
treatments. Immunotherapy is one of the most excited areas of cancer treatments that is
being researched. There are and have been multiple human trials using mRNA vaccines
to treat different types of cancer all showing this technology to be safe. Obviously, there
is more study to be done, but with what we have seen in past trials as well as the current
safety we are seeing with the millions who have received the coronavirus vaccines, the
risk of not getting it appears to be greater than getting it.
So let s talk about the side effects that are being seen.
The most common effects that we are seeing are a short fever, headaches, fatigue, chills
and a sore arm. These are common effects that we see with many different vaccines. The reason
we get these is the exact reason we are giving the shot. To give your body the opportunity
to form an immune response so that it can fight off and prevent future infection. This
is a good thing. We are seeing that the first injection for both the Pfizer and the Moderna
vaccine tends to be more mild, with the second injection bringing on a more active response
than the first. So, the second shot you may feel worse but most state that these symptoms
last for a day and then go away. All of these symptoms are usually easily treated with over
the counter ibuprofen or acetaminophen. In my experience, I got the Moderna vaccine the
end of December. After getting the first shot, other than some arm soreness, I really didn
t feel much. At the time of filming this I haven t had my second shot yet so I ll keep
you posted on how that went. Now just because I didn t have any problems of course doesn
t mean that your reaction may be worse however, overall, my experience is more common than
not. So let s talk about some of the more significant
side effects that have been noted. The main one that we have heard the most about are
allergic reactions. These are still very rare but for those who it has been happening to,
it seems more common for those who have had anaphylaxis or a severe allergic reaction
to other things. For now, we are recommending those who find have this issue, to talk to
your doctor about whether they think you should get it. If you are known to be allergic to
any component of the injection you should avoid it as well. Otherwise, most places giving
the injection will observe you from 15-30 minutes for signs of an allergic reaction.
If you are going to have a problem with it, it will most likely be within that 30 minutes.
If after getting the injection you start noticing hives, swelling in the throat or lips, difficulty
breathing or otherwise feeling unwell right after seek care immediately. Allergic reactions
are simple to treat but you need to get in soon.
There have also been a few reports of bells palsy after getting the vaccine. This is a
condition where half of your face will start to feel numb and droop. It s most commonly
caused by viral infections. In the studies, a few cases were found but they were found
in similar numbers in those who got the placebo shot as well. This, is a normally occurring
condition, so it wasn t felt to happen any more frequent than usual leading to the conclusion
that these cases are not likely due to the vaccine.
This is one thing that we need to be careful about as we listen to the news. With as much
scrutiny that is on this and as much as the media is loving to report on every little
thing. Inevitably you are going to see reports of this thing happened and the person got
a shot, or this person died and they got the shot. We need to remember that normally people
get sick, they die from all sorts of things. Just because they got a shot right before
doesn t mean that it is the cause. So far, several millions have gotten the shot throughout
the world with very few severe side effects. As far as long-term, what are my thoughts.
Well, nobody has had the vaccine in their body for more than around 9 months so to be
honest we can t answer that for sure. However, when you look at the safety data from prior
studies using the same technology, as well as understanding how the vaccine actually
works, especially the fact that it does not stay in the body for very long after the injection,
there is a high degree of confidence that long term concerns will be minimal. In the
meantime the threat of COVID-19 is real and killing thousands throughout the united states
and the world every day and leaving many others with lasting symptoms and disability.
The last area that I have been hearing a lot about is possible effects in pregnancy or
fertility. First with pregnancy, we still can t make any official claims on safety,
as there were not any studies done with pregnant women. There were about 26 women who got pregnant
during the Pfizer study and they have all done well, but this isn t enough to prove.
Looking at the technology though, and how things work with these vaccines, there aren
t any red flags or issues that we would expect to cause problems but since it hasn t been
studied we can t say for sure. There are concerns floating the internet around
that a protein called syncytin-1, found in the placenta has some biological similarities
to the protein that is targeted with the covid vaccine. Because of that, there are claims
that it will cause anywhere from harm to the baby to infertility. The simple answer to
this is, that when looked at, these proteins are not the same and would not cause an immune
response that would endanger the mother or baby. Subsequent studies are now underway
where pregnant women are being enrolled in trials. What we do know is that pregnancy
puts women in a higher risk category for having more severe COVID infections. The death rate
for COVID in pregnant women is twice that of non-pregnant women. Because of that the
American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has recommended that it be made available
to pregnant women and that you have a frank and open discussion with your doctor about
whether it is right for you. Other claims such as infertility or impotence
as well have no basis in truth because there isn t so far a valid scientific basis to raise
that concern. In fact, there is some mounting evidence that infection with COVID 19 can
affect sperm count possibly affecting male fertility so getting the vaccine has the potential
to help protect you from this. So after all that I have been able to gather
from good reliable sources, I felt that the risk of getting the vaccine is much lower
than the risk that we are currently under as this pandemic rages on. It really is our
best hope to being able to get out of this pandemic sooner with fewer lives lost and
less impact on our businesses, schools and families. Spreading unneeded fear in regards
to vaccine use is just going to make this problems worse. As a physician, I see first
hand the impact that COVID has bene having on my patients. I have healthy young patients
who now can barely carry on a conversation with me without getting short of breath months
after their infection. I have many with lingering chest pain, headaches and fatigue. I ve even
seen an otherwise healthy 40 year old develop diabetes within a week of having a mild case
of COVID. I have had several patients die who would not have otherwise done so at this
time. But almost more than that, the greater impact that I ve seen are my elderly and at
risk population, who because they are at much higher risk of having severe problems, haven
t been able to safely leave their house or interact with loved ones for over a year.
We need a rapid solution to this problem and the more of us that can get it, the quicker
we all go back to normal. I understand that many may have their own
ideas about this but let s really try and get away from the politics that has unfortunately
entered into this very non-political issue. Let s regain a little trust of those professionals
who have dedicated their life to research and who know what they are talking about.
I hear all the time that people did their own research but in reality all that research
entailed is searching for and gravitating to information that already supports what
you already think. When you look at the data, all things point to this being an absolute
miracle of modern science and in my own personal opinion divine providence that has given us
the tools to get this under control. We are all anxious to be done with this and have
been praying for it to come to pass. As I look at this situation though, it reminds
me of an old story that I heard in church once, about a guy who is drowning in the ocean
praying for help. As he is praying for help a small boat comes by offering a hand. The
man with much faith refuses the help stating that he is waiting for God to save him. This
happens two different times with different boats passing by offering a hand and each
time he refuses for the same reason. The story goes that he gets to the pearly gates a little
irritated that God didn t save him. God s answer of course was that he tried to save
him by sending him all those boats, but he was too blind to see it for what it was. I
wonder if we are doing the same with this. We know that taking proper precautions like
wearing masks, maintaining distances, being smart about our social interactions and now
taking the vaccine will work. Hopefully we can all see this as an answer to those prayers
and get this pandemic behind us. Well, if you made it this far, thanks for
watching. It was a longer video than I usually do but there was a lot of important information
to cover. Hopefully it s helped you feel a little more comfortable about getting the
shot. We ve all been through a lot this past year and we hope and pray that this next year
is better for you. Hopefully found this to be helpful, if you did, please take the time
to give this video a like and share it with your friends. It helps our channel to grow
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don t leave without subscribing and hitting that notification button so you don t miss
out on any of our future content. So until next time, this is FamilyMed with
Dr. Richardson and remember to take care of your body because it s the only one you have.