Before we begin – let me clear one thing up. I am ALL FOR vaccinations – so if you’ve stumbled across this looking for an anti-vaccine argument, you’ve really come to the wrong place, and I won’t be joining in.
In this Post.....
Get your kids (and yourself) vaccinated, please, and thanks 🙂 Educate yourself on why you SHOULD have vaccines, here
This post is not about the tried and tested vaccinations THAT SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES. This is about a new, unknown vaccine for the Covid-19 virus.
Scientists around the world are currently frantically trying to find a vaccination for Covid-19 – with the virus being so potent to many thousands of people, it’s something that really couldn’t come soon enough – but is that entirely true?
I’m no scientist, so this is very much from my (short) time researching vaccinations. It’s something I know very little about, and I have an inquisitive mind, if I don’t know something, I need to find out about it. I need to scratch the itch in my brain. The news recently is that a vaccine could be available by the middle of next year – which is a crazy quick timeline. Normally (again, from what I’ve read, so please do correct me if you’re an expert in this!), the vaccine approval process goes something like this (differs from country to country)
Vaccine Creation Timeline
- Exploratory stage – This is where scientists look for a solution to the problem, and can (normally) last from anywhere between 2 to 4 years
- Pre-Clinical stage – This is the first phase of trials. The bit I don’t like, from reading. It normally involves mice, rats or monkeys, and looks for initial issues with the vaccine. This can run for anywhere between 1 to 2 years
- Phase 1 Vaccine trials – Humans are involved at this stage (between 20 to 80 people), and the vaccine is tested for its immune response on humans (normally adults, even if the vaccine is for children, with the age range being lowered as the trial progresses)
- Phase 2 Vaccine trials – A larger subject group – hundreds of people. At this phase, a placebo is introduced. These trials can also run for 2 to 3 years, sometimes longer, whilst the subjects and results are monitored
- Phase 3 Vaccine trials – A final phase before release – on thousands of people. This too can run for many years based on the results and number of subjects
- Vaccine Release – All being well, the vaccine is released. As you can see, the time line can be between 7 to 15 years, and sometimes even longer
So, back to my initial question.
The Covid-19 vaccination work is going full steam ahead – with scientists around the world focussing solely on this. I totally understand that the time to market would decrease significantly with so many people working on it – but the trial phases, the time to monitor how species (either animal or human) react to a vaccine, that has to remain the same, doesn’t it?
Would you be happy taking the vaccine if it was rushed to market in 12 months? More to the point, would you be happy allowing your child to receive the vaccination?
Please, understand that I am not questioning the importance of vaccinations – but as a parent, my mind is full of the worries of the “what ifs” – of course, if a vaccine was available, I would want what’s best for G, and for myself and Ash, but the doubt would always be there – with such a speedy vaccine, would it be totally safe?
Modern science is a marvellous thing – and I don’t for one minute think that anything would be released that wasn’t totally safe for us to use – but I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on it.
Would you have the Covid-19 vaccine if it was available?
Why you should have vaccinations:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/why-vaccination-is-safe-and-important/
Vaccination Timelines:
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccine-development-testing-and-regulation
Vaccination reading for you:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51665497
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/19/coronavirus-vaccine-when-will-we-have-one
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449258/
I could be the Guinea pig before you lot have it ? The way I’ve been feeling, I’d do anything to try & get some sort of ‘normal’ back. You guys (& Bethy) are my life, so as mummy/nanny I’d take the first hit for you all.
I’d rather you didn’t, though! We don’t want to all be ok, and for you to not be here with us!!
Aww, love you too ♥ but I’d happily sacrifice so you all could live. I’d make sure to haunt you.. I mean ‘visit’ ? And we don’t know the vaccine wouldn’t work.
No ghosting please!!! Hahah, no, that’s true, it might work, I mean, I hope it DOES work, but I’d still rather you weren’t testing it 🙂
I would be worried about taking it that soon, because it goes against all they say how long it takes to make sure it works and safe.
It’s a difficult one isn’t it – because on one hand, you have to trust science, it’s got us this far! But on the other, there is a whole world of unknowns out there!
From the research you have found of the normal time line for a vaccination process I’d be very weary of having it or my children after it had been done so quickly. Unless more thorough testing and actual proof of its safety were done within the quick time frame I’d be more confident about the vaccine.
That’s my concern, but then I think I trust modern medicine a lot more than those in say the 60’s did. In theory, the Covid-19 vaccine could be very similar to a flu vaccine, as they’re the same strain of virus, and that’s a tried and tested one. Time will tell on this, I guess!