Dr David Tinworth & Sue Tinworth
Paper written March 1, 2021
Latest Update: February 24, 2022
In this update we address Ethical Choices
Our Part Among Many Parts
We respect there are many parts to the truths we all seek. We find our way forward as we consider multiple perspectives and a whole picture emerges.
We all only see in part. David and I have written this paper, in response to a constant stream of questions about Covid-19 vaccination, asked by people who trusted us to interpret medical scientific information in clear and honest ways, so they could form their own decisions in a time of confusion.
In this paper we simply seek to share facts from medical and scientific evidence based data about Covid-19 and Covid-19 vaccination in response to common questions – hoping to promote perspective, clarity, freedom, constructive discussions, and mutual respect in a world fragile with loss.
What is True?
We have shared this information in March 2021 because we were concerned that many were being deceived and are believing lies about Covid-19 and vaccination.
If we cannot recognise objective logical truth, we are vulnerable to deception.
It is also true that if we rely only on objective truth and ignore the spiritual truth of who God is and what He is saying, we will miss being led into relationship with God and unable to receive His Word, revelation, perspective and Truth. Following Jesus is a journey of personal discernment of His voice. A personal journey of faith involves surrendering our life to God and living according to our discernment of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Some who have faith in God have felt free to be vaccinated and others have felt they were not meant to be vaccinated and were prepared to face what this could cost them and those around them. We recognise God can lead people on different paths, according to their needs and faith and what He is teaching them. We respect people’s freedom to exercise their faith in each of their life decisions. But we didn’t want to see people base their decisions about vaccination on false information because of deception or an inability to interpret verified medically research reports.
Fear and Control or Honour and Vigilance?
Mandated vaccination brought about a direct clash between three perceived dangers* that impacted on freedom of choice:
- fear of Covid-19
- fear of vaccination and
- fear of harsh, unscientific unsubstantiated governmental control.
* or internal influencers like fear shame, rebellion, offense, judgement, anger, control…
The choices we each make around vaccination, and cooperation or resistance to government rules, reflect how we weigh the relative threat of these ‘dangers’.
May truth set us free from fear so Covid-19 does not need to dominate, drive or divide us. May mutual respect, expressed in loving kindness fill us, shelter and comfort us, and override our fear.
The dichotomy created by fear and control has the power to split our society – even families. As restrictions lift, we hope we can let go of divisiveness and control to stand together for mutual wellbeing.
In this paper, we do not set out to examine government management of Covid-19 and Covid-19 vaccination. Others are weighing this, and the ongoing impact of our governments’ handling of Covid-19 on social and economic wellbeing.
These are just some simple suggestions to address the effects of government actions during Covid-19:
- Let’s honour and express thanks to our leaders, valuing the many politicians, public servants, medical personnel, teachers, shopkeepers and truck drivers etc – who have protected and guided us sincerely, courageously and persistently as they anticipated needs and made critical decisions to preserve lives in a season of rapidly shifting circumstances.
- Let’s acknowledge that blame, shame and anxiety damage us and our relationships and that constantly changing circumstances have fatigued us. As the risks of Covid-19 change, let’s have the courage to freely trust that we can now reform our relationship connectedness as one community. We welcome reduction in control, restriction and mandates.
- Let’s address together the real ongoing threat posed by Australian State government division and newly seized powers – in particular the new emergency powers legislation passed in Victoria. These laws pose an ongoing threat to the mutually respectful democratic life we once knew. We can overturn this if we arise together as Australian citizens to honourably defend our democratic freedom – as our forefathers did. Will you be vigilant to elect trustworthy political leaders who will stand for what is true, kind, right, just and fair? Will you call upon our leaders to dismantle laws that have no medical justification at this stage in our communities.
Source: Concerns expressed by top lawyers re Victoria’s Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021: Open Letter re PHW (APM) Bill 2021 (Vic).pdf
https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/greater-scrutiny-emergency-powers-needed
https://justiceconnect.org.au/resources/how-do-emergency-powers-work-across-australia/
A Christian Perspective: Choosing Love over Destroying One another
Powerful insight, restoration to wholeness, forgiveness and reconciliation is available to us each through direct encounter with the love of God. In the midst of challenges, we can ask God to reveal Himself and give us peace, hope, faith and love. His overflowing love enables us to forgive and embrace each other across the diversity of our human perspectives and choices. And it enables us to discern between what is true and what is not. You can read about it in 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians 13.
The Bible describes an invitation and powerful grace that enables us to live in peace and joy rather than in the torment created by following our own inclinations.
” For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” Galatians 5:13-15
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: … hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, … and other sins like these. … anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [live a life of goodness, peace and joy.]” Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 14:17
The good news is ” the Holy Spirit [of God dwelling in us] produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” Galatians 5:22-26
This is our prayer for you and with you:
Our Father in heaven,
We trust you and look up to you, know you are profoundly good, loving, kind and powerful. May your perfect will for us and all the good things you plan and provide to us be received here, in our hearts and on the earth.
We humbly seek your help with our daily needs and progressive understanding.
Help us let go of things that open us to deception, lies and accusations, things that steal, destroy and kill, things that entrap us in fear, cycles, pain, brokenness, bondage, shame, anger, distrust, division, isolation, arrogance and self-centred entitlement.
May we forgive ourselves and each other for these things, as we encounter wholeness, peace and freedom in your forgiveness.
Lead us away from the perspectives and choices that harm us.
Guide us, protect, heal and comfort us when we walk through life changes and threats and life draining loss.
We invite your reign over our thoughts and actions, our nation and planet.
We earnestly seek your perspective and power to overcome what faces us.
We gratefully trust you and rest as one with you and each other in the love, peace, joy, kindness and eternal victory you offer to all who will receive you as their Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
In this update we address a new set of questions about Covid-19 vaccination:
1. Will Covid-19 vaccination decrease your death risk?
Covid-19 vaccination has saved the lives of countless people on our planet in this generation. Vaccinated people are less likely to get seriously sick with the virus or spread it to others and are unlikely to die of Covid-19 unless they have co-morbidities.
How does the risk of death from Covid-19 compare with the risk of death from vaccination?
The latest figures available indicate Australia has had 2,416 deaths from Covid-19 (until 11 January, 2022) and 11 deaths linked to vaccination (until 6 January 2022). The relative risk of death from Covid-19 vaccination is low after 44,730,133 vaccine doses have been administered nationally (as at 11 January). That said, we hold each life as sacred and mourn each life lost.
Although the daily deaths from Covid-19 in Australia currently continue to rise, the death rates from Covid-19 are much lower now – a reflection of high vaccination rates (92.2% of the population double vaccinated) and Omicron being the prevalent variant.
Source articles:
https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/case-numbers-and-statistics#cases-and-deaths-by-age-and-sex
https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-06-01-2022
https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/01/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-update-12-january-2022.pdf
Risk of death from Covid-19 increases significantly if you have co-morbidities such as heart and lung disease, obesity or pregnancy. Vaccination is vital to optimise protection.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html
Covid-19 is a higher risk for pregnant mother and their babes.
Source: https://www.thewomens.org.au/patients-visitors/covid-19-advice-and-updates/covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-women
COVID-19 tied to higher risk of stillbirth, maternal death. Mary Van Beusekom Nov 22, 2021 Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/11/covid-19-tied-higher-risk-stillbirth-maternal-death
2. Are Covid-19 vaccines in Australia accredited as safe and effective?
Misinformation has created unwarranted fear about Covid-19 vaccination. Australian authorities have been ultra conservative and very sensitive to public concern. Covid-19 vaccination in Australia did not commence until it had been fully approved through the normal processes of our Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). They write, “We will rigorously assess any COVID-19 vaccine for safety, quality and effectiveness before it can be supplied in Australia.” Source: https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-vaccines
Adverse side affects from vaccination are closely monitored by TGA and reported in detail each week, including the side affects in children and adolescents. Look up the most recent report at the time you read this.
Source: https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-vaccine-safety-monitoring-and-reporting
The most recent report available at the time of this update, reports 11 deaths linked to vaccination (after 42,787,000 vaccinations). These occurred after the first dose of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) – 8 were thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) cases, 2 were linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and one was a case of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Source: https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-06-01-2022
Relative Risks of Thrombosis
Thrombosis is an adverse effect of Covid-19 that occurs at a much higher rate of risk than from vaccination. People who contract Covid-19 are 100 times more likely to experience cerebral venous thrombosis than the general population and 8–10 times more likely to develop the blood clots than those who have been vaccinated against it.
Sources: Blood clots up to 10 times more common with COVID than vaccines: Study https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/blood-clots-up-to-10-times-more-common-with-covid Covid-19: Risk of cerebral blood clots from disease is 10 times that from vaccination, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1005
In 2020 and early 2021 when widespread vaccination was not yet available, Australian States attempted to eradicate Covid-19 Alpha and Delta variants through extensive lockdowns. The first vaccine available in Australia in 2021 was AstraZeneca but this vaccine was considered an unnecessary risk here, by The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) because at the time Covid-19 was controlled by closed borders and city lockdowns in Australia so Covid-19 presented “no to low risk”. Their calculation failed to factor in the democratic, social and economic risks and costs of lockdown and did not offer a long term solution!
In 2021 locally produced AstraZeneca was distributed to the most vulnerable and older populations who were least at risk from its rare side effects. The Australian Prime Minister encouraged younger Australians to seek their own doctors advice, but essentially our most populated cities stayed locked down until other vaccines were imported and we reached a 90% plus level of vaccination.
Fear of the risk of rare side effects from COVID-19 vaccines like AstraZeneca was already stirred by misinformation in social media and became greatly exaggerated in Australia. AstraZeneca was, after all, the vaccine administered across the United Kingdom. People are more at risk of blood clotting from Covid-19 than AstraZeneca, which is far safer than many daily medicines – like Aspirin and the contraceptive pill.
Source Articles:
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/getting-a-covid-jab-is-safer-than-taking-aspirin
https://theconversation.com/blood-clot-risks-comparing-the-astrazeneca-vaccine-and-the-contraceptive-pill-158652
More recently, increased risks of myocarditis after Pfizer and Moderna vaccination have emerged particularly in males under 30 years, particularly after the second dose.
See Covid-19 Risk Chart and relative risks from Covid-19 vs/vaccination.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) continues to emphasise that the protective benefits of the mRNA vaccines far outweigh the rare risk of these side effects in all eligible age groups.
Source Articles: https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-06-01-2022
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/covid-risk-calculator-updated-to-include-pfizer-va
https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/advice-for-providers/clinical-guidance/myocarditis-pericarditis
3. Why is Triple Vaccination being recommended?
In the past, doctors’ advise concerning annual flu vaccine was often to “have the jab later in the season” because it might only be effective for 3-4 months and by then the predominant variant and hence more effective vaccine could be identified.
This is a fair description of what has happened with Covid-19 vaccination. Maintaining vaccine immunity has required constant vigilance. Durational immunity has been lower than what we would have hoped – necessitating double vax and booster vaccination to maintain immunity.
The main problem in getting the long term effectiveness from the Covid-19 vaccines has been the challenge coming from mutations of the Covid-19 virus. Vaccines vary in their effectiveness against particular strains. Around the time when Australia reached high levels of double vaccination, we were faced with a new variant: Omicron.
We now recognise many global variants of Covid-19 – named from the Greek alphabet – Alpha, Delta… Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/14/greek-alphabet-covid-variant/
Omicron, from the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet, is rapidly replacing Delta as the dominant global variant. Omicron is more contagious but less pathogenic – so is causing less serious disease as measured by hospitalisation, ICU support required and death rates.
Source Articles: https://thewest.com.au/news/victoria-records-34808-covid-cases-and-two-deaths-c-5245580
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/over-50-of-europeans-on-track-to-contract-omicron-who/news-story/c8b8d829252580cb2eec1813fdf4dcd2
Important Warning: Double Vaccination with the current vaccines does not adequately protect against Omicron so if you want vaccine protection you urgently need a booster is – especially if you are older and are at greater risk of co-morbidities.
Source Articles: https://www.health.gov.au/news/atagi-statement-on-the-omicron-variant-and-the-timing-of-covid-19-booster-vaccination
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-shot-third-dose-works-against-omicron-study-2021-12-23/
https://theconversation.com/omicron-vaccines-remain-the-best-defence-against-this-covid-19-variant-and-others-174195
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/10/omicron-vaccine-coming-in-march-experts-warn-it-could-be-too-late.html
4. Does Covid-19 infection provide effective immunity?
A recent paper shows that recovery from Covid-19 infection is providing protection from reinfection. “Community immunity to control the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic can be reached with the acquired immunity due to either previous infection or vaccination. Acquired immunity from vaccination is certainly much safer and preferred. Given the evidence of immunity from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, policy makers should consider recovery from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection equal to immunity from vaccination for purposes related to entry to public events, businesses, and the workplace, or travel requirements.”
Source Article: Protective immunity after recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Noah Kojima, Jeffrey D Klausner. November 08, 2021
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00676-9/fulltext
5. Why are self-quarantine times decreasing?
Australian States have discontinued lockdown as a minimisation strategy and are now simply attempting to contain the spread at a rate that keeps medical care manageable.
Record Covid-19 cases numbers currently sky rocket across eastern Australia. Although hospitalisation and death rates are proportionally lower with Omicron, actual numbers continue to rise. The current peak in cases is putting great pressure on General Practitioners, Chemists and Hospitals to keep sufficient staff testing and treating patients while the high number of their staff are themselves in self quarantine with Covid or as close contacts.
The reduction in quarantine periods reflects the lower risk from Omicron in balance with the rising risk caused by staff and supply shortages in health service, supermarkets and across all industry. This is also raising risk for businesses.
Source Articles:
https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-victoria-updates-new-case-numbers-restrictions-return/124f6595-3287-492e-8d5a-5c48a80fabee
https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-food-shortage-updates-kfc-affected-nsw-farmers-call-for-rapid-antigen-tests-supermarkets-empty-shelves/b1dac67d-ab52-4304-9dbc-21f5b9a06f93
We hope to soon reach ‘herd immunity’ peak in NSW and Victoria – perhaps providing community protection by late January or early February 2022.
6. Has Australia managed Covid-19 successfully?
Australia has had success in keeping our Covid-19 contagion and death levels extraordinarily low! Hand hygiene, social distancing, masks and Covid-19 testing have proven to be effective tools in universal disease prevention.
Border Control & Lockdown: Our federal government was quick to introduce international border control. Against the advice of the national council, State governments introduced border control in an attempt to eradicate Covid-19 and that have been very very costly. Across 2020-21 Australians were stoic at working together to keep others safe and prepared to sacrifice individual comfort and freedom “to do our bit for the greater good.” However after two years of unpredictable and extensive lockdowns impacting family gatherings, funerals, weddings, school attendance, business function etc , we could no longer support ongoing lockdown strategy, particularly in Melbourne which by the end of 2021 was the most lockdown city in the world. This status may be lost in 2022 because China is continuing city lockdown policies. Victorian rights and freedoms have been lost under powers centred in the Premier under new emergency powers legislation.
Source Article:https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/12/victorias-pandemic-powers-how-will-the-new-laws-work-and-why-are-they-controversial
The Documentary Battleground Melbourne is a raw exploration of public reactions against the anti-democratic political powers that are now instituted by legislation in the State of Victoria.
Vaccination: In 2021 vaccination was crucial to releasing Australians from lockdown and opening our international borders to bring loved ones home and reconnect with the rest of the world. Australians became one of the most vaccinated population in the world in the hope that community immunity could be achieved, enabling communities to operate relatively freely and safely. Although the mutating virus has meant that our high vaccination rates cannot protect us from getting Omicron, the combined Australian strategies have kept our death rates very low. Australia is yet to calculate the price of Covid-19 on our freedoms and the specific impact of lockdowns in preventing death from other diseases, mental health and its impact on families, business and our economy.
7. Have you got any Good News for us?
We hope at some point in 2022, Omicron will become an endemic disease -that can be treated as a regularly occurring milder disease like the flu.
The Good News is that Omicron is effectively helping to immunise populations against the more serious strains of Covid-19. “A combination of vaccines and omicron could help transition the world from a pandemic to endemic state, meaning that most people will have some pre-existing immunity to the coronavirus and spikes in infection will become less disastrous in terms of hospitalization, severe disease and death.”
Source Article: Will omicron wipe out delta forever? January 7, 2022
https://www.livescience.com/omicron-overtaking-delta
More Good News: unvaccinated Australians were effectively protected across 2020-2022 by sensible social distancing, masks etc, lockdown at acute times and now in 2022, the natural dominance of the Omicron variant is providing effective natural population immunisation.
The best Good News is that you are seen and loved by God, who invites you to know and trust Him. You may like to read Psalm 24 in The Passion Translation
If you have Covid-19, we can assure you that prayer works to heal and relieve and to comfort. Many have been healed as they pray this prayer with Ken Fish,
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryOgDIZENoc&ab_channel=KenFish
Previous updates addressing questions during 2021:
1. Does Covid-19 Affect Children? 12.8.21
Source Article: Delta Is Bad News for Kids. More children are falling ill because more are being infected. By Katherine J. Wu
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/08/delta-variant-covid-children/619712/
2. Who is trustworthy? 28.09.21 Unfortunately most of us don’t have enough medical knowledge to decipher the claims made in material against vaccination. Many unwittingly promote fraudsters and deception to influence others on their crucial decision about vaccination. Source:
https://www.facebook.com/WorldPrayerNetwork.org/videos/wpn-prayer-call-51/1153781688481066/
As an example, Richard M Fleming has an Order from the US FDA debarring him from submitting any scientific data supporting pharmaceutical registrations as he was found guilty of fabricating clinical results on two counts and convicted of fraud.
Source:https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/28/2018-21210/richard-m-fleming-denial-of-hearing-final-debarment-order
Dr Robert Malone’s claims are refuted.
Source Articles:
https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/robert-malones-statements-on-the-dana-show-about-vaccine-safety-virus-variants-inaccurate-unsupported-dana-loesch/
https://forbetterscience.com/2021/10/04/how-dr-robert-malone-invented-antivaxxery/
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-vaccine-cytotoxic-idUSL2N2O01XP
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-joe-rogan-ap-fact-check-a87b1044c6256968dcc33886a36c949f
3. How do our lockdowns compare with the rest of the world? 24.7.21
See updated Australian information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Australia and world comparisons in days of lockdown etc at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdowns
4. What are respected Christian doctors and leaders saying? 21.6.21
Source Articles: To Jab Or Not To Jab – The Christian Medial Perspective Dr Jeffery Barrow Family Voice Australia – Vaccine Webinar (1 hour 2 minutes) 21.6.21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qJKPgiioQc This is a good resource, informative with honest views and questions.
Wisdom for Christians on how to relate live abundantly under Covid-19 restrictions and vaccination was shared by Alistair Petrie in a podcast with Wesley Leake.
Source Articles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rCO0dTLyZE&ab_channel=BusinessBlessings
5. Where do I get the latest information?
Source Articles:
International: https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/coronavirus-deaths
Australia: https://www.australia.gov.au/ and https://www.health.gov.au/
Vaccine Safety: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe
Vaccine Effectiveness: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness.html
Mask effectiveness: https://www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118
Our Original Report published 1 March 2021 (with updates).
Covid-19 vaccination: the need for truth
Unsubstantiated claims and misinformation about Covid-19 vaccination has broken down mutual understanding, trust, cooperation, consensus decision making and collaboration. This has polarised people and delayed Covid-19 prevention and treatment.
“A little knowledge is dangerous” and people have found it hard to discern reliable information. Social media hasn’t helped because it does not give enough detail to help us make informed decisions. Social media filters the information we receive, so that we are isolated from a balance of views and reliable sources. Social media prompts people to ‘like’ certain views and can promote division, offence, disdain and derision toward people who think differently.
During the Covid-19 isolation of 2020-21 mainstream social media was susceptible to dangerous deception and malicious manipulation initiated by groups like Qanon.
Source Articles: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-is-qanon-what-we-know-about-the-conspiracy-theory-11597694801
Myths about Covid-19 vaccine deceive people into putting their lives and our freedoms at risk. The following links debunk lies about DNA, infertility, sterilisation and tracking devices. Source Articles:
https://www.cnet.com/health/microchips-and-mandatory-shots-dont-fall-for-these-coronavirus-vaccine-myths/
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/will-mrna-vaccine-alter-my-dna
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/12/10/covid-vaccine-debunking-claims-causes-infertility-sterilization/6497018002/
https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:9856420671
https://www.newsy.com/stories/dose-of-truth-is-the-vaccine-being-used-for-sterilization/
https://www.abc4.com/news/digital-exclusives/no-covid-19-vaccine-patients-are-not-being-injected-with-a-microchip/
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-vaccine-microchip-gates-ma-idUSKBN28E286
False information and discrimination has resulted in disadvantage, and even greater contagion and death outcomes, for vulnerable people – those who are elderly, poor, and who do not speak English or have citizenship protection.
Political derision and contempt stirred by lobby groups and political parties directly inhibited some government’s coordinated responses to Covid-19 prevention and treatment – causing horrific contagion and death rates in these nations and undermining Covid-19 vaccination.
We can each make a difference by seeking truth, passing on reliable information, respecting people who hold different opinions, keeping communication open and building trust.
Covid-19 Vaccination: 8 questions we were asked in early 2020.
Question 1. Is the Coronavirus real?
Yes, people are still asking this. Coronavirus is one of the respiratory viruses that have routinely affected humans. SARS and MERS were Coronaviruses of heightened pathogenicity. The particular strain known as Covid-19 is far more infectious and has greater clinical effects on the respiratory and other organs in the body. With the new molecular tools that we have today, medical scientists can completely sequence the genome of these viruses which allows us to identify changes in the virus, identify which person the virus has been contracted from. Genome sequencing assists with identifying where Covid-19 originated from, and whether a virus has been manipulated, artificially. This is how we know Covid-19 arose by natural re-combinations.
Update: 12.8.21
203,944,144 million have contracted Covid-19 and 4,312,902 million people have died. 4,541,764,694 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered.
Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/coronavirus-deaths
Update 17.2.22
Data from Australian Bureau of Statistics is bringing more clarity around the proportionate recent risk of death from Covid-19.
Source: New ABS data released over COVID-19 deaths in Australia https://www.9news.com.au/national/covid19-deaths-australia-factors-behind-australias-covid19-deaths-revealed-in-new-data/5aa4715a-95fc-4247-b9a2-56c94da6f5cd
Question 2. Does Covid-19 vaccination work?
Vaccines are the ultimate ‘immune boosters’ Read on…https://www.gps-can.com.au/covid19-blog/hesitant-about-getting-the-covid-19-vaccine
Vaccination and surviving Covid-19 will not necessarily protect you from all variants of this virus. Data from nations that are advanced in vaccination campaigns report very, very good news.
Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-vaccine-dramatically-effective-prevents-98-9-of-covid-deaths/
https://au.news.yahoo.com/israel-zero-covid-deaths-vaccine-150604105.html
Update: 18.4.21 Key Things to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines
Source Articles: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/keythingstoknow.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness.html
What does 95% Covid-19 vaccine efficacy really mean?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00075-X/fulltext
Question 3. Will the Covid-19 vaccination hurt me or my family?
Fortunately, the Covid-19 vaccination has now been tested on hundreds of millions of people. There are miniscule numbers of people who do react to vaccination. Mostly these reactions are very temporary, as with other flu vaccinations, but a few people are susceptible to more serious reactions and there have been deaths associated with vaccination in Australia.
In populations where people are still contracting and dying of Coronavirus, the side effect of Covid-19 vaccines is not a proportional concern. But in populations like Australia where the virus has been suppressed, and there is little or no community transmission, the proportional risk is of greater significance.
If you have concerns, book a long consultation with a physician and ask them to explain this to you and seek their recommendation. Source:https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-01-17/covid-19-vaccine-safety-allergic-reaction-anaphylaxis-pandemic/13061850
“To date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines.” Over 76 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through March 1, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 1,381 reports of death (0.0018%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC and FDA physicians review each case report of death as soon as notified and CDC requests medical records to further assess reports. A review of available clinical information including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records revealed no evidence that vaccination contributed to patient deaths.” 1 March 2021 Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html
Update 12.1.21 Latest figures available indicate Australia has had 2,416 deaths from Covid-19 (until 11 January, 2022) and 11 deaths from vaccination (until 6 January 2022).
Source Articles: https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/case-numbers-and-statistics#cases-and-deaths-by-age-and-sex
https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-06-01-2022
Update 18.4.21 According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone who has a severe allergy (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any of the vaccine ingredients should not receive that vaccine. The CDC says people with allergies to certain foods, insects, latex and other common allergens can safely receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Those with a history of severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to injectables or other vaccines should discuss the vaccination with their doctor, who can evaluate and assess their risk. Source Articles: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe
Update 16.4.21: Disproportional concern arose in April 2021 concerning side effects such as very rare risk of blood clotting which has caused death. The risks of blood clotting from Covid-19 far outweigh the risk of blood clotting from the vaccines. Reporting now shows us that a person who gets Covid-19 is 9 times more likely to get blood clots.
Source Articles: https://www.9news.com.au/national/chief-medical-officer-astrazeneca-vaccine-coronavirus-blood-clots-covid19/abc6e51e-5328-4e90-bcab-747441ff340e
https://www.hri.org.au/health/your-health/lifestyle/people-with-coronavirus-are-at-risk-of-blood-clots-and-strokes
By contrast, “The blood clotting disorders being investigated in connection with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been confirmed in only two cases out of over 700,000 people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia.”
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-16/doctors-call-for-calm-over-covid19-vaccine-blood-clots/100073284
Questions on AstraZeneca, blood clots and coronavirus vaccines answered by experts. Source:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-15/covid-vaccines-answered-questions-blood-clots-astrazeneca/100072386
Counting the Costs of Vaccine Hesitancy and Social Isolation in Australia
Given that Australians are not dying of Covid-19, delay in vaccination is a less serious issue and certainly has given us time to evaluate the real time vaccination effects globally.
The risks from vaccine hesitancy directly increase the probability of hospitalisation and death in populations still combatting the virus. In populations like Australia, the cost is social and economic isolation. Many appear to be unaware of the seriousness of this. Until we keep our state borders open; and fully open our international borders to vaccinated and quarantined travellers, Australian families, educational institutions, farms and other businesses are paying a sacrificial and unsustainable price.
“Greg Hunt this week exposed Australia’s predicament. The federal health minister revealed what has been obvious for some time – that Australia’s much-lauded zero-COVID position is incongruous with the world as it is now. “If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn’t just open the borders,” Hunt said on Tuesday. “We still have to look at a series of different factors: transmission, longevity [of vaccine protection] and the global impact – and those are factors which the world is learning about.” 16 April 2021
Source Articles: https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/when-will-borders-open-why-australia-needs-to-set-out-its-covid-endgame-20210414-p57j0w.html
https://www.traveller.com.au/australia-international-border-closures-heres-how-we-reopen-australia-to-the-world-h1v7oc
Confusion and vaccine hesitance caused by misreporting
Confusion was caused by early reports of death among vulnerable people in Norway when causation was assumed. Clinical review was needed to ascertain whether this was a causal or a coincidental association.
Source Articles:
https://www.aap.com.au/norway-vaccine-deaths-post-leaps-to-conclusions/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-01-18/cause-of-pfizer-covid-vaccine-norway-deaths-not-clear/13067588
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n149
A media report: Fact check: No links found between vaccination and deaths https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-no-links-found-between-vaccination-and-deaths/a-56458746
Grave confusion is being spread by people who falsely report there is a death rate from Covid-19 vaccination is around 5.0%. We will unpack the mistaken process behind this in the next paragraphs. https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19
Global follow up of adverse reactions enables professionals to accurately examine and report patterns.
The only way to accurately analyse the correlation between vaccinated people and mortality is via Pharmacovigilance process embedded in the Pharmaceutical regulatory agencies such as FDA Food & Drug Administration (USA), EMA European Medicine Authority & TGA (Australia). These authorities thoroughly analyse all adverse events to determine if any drug is the causation. Adverse Reactions are accurately reported in government, medical and scientific papers, after intense clinical review of the reports of incidents occurring at the time of vaccinations. The process for collecting public reports is transparent in nations like UK, EU, USA and Australia.
See updated Australian reports: TGA Therapeutic Good Authority website. https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-1-03-03-2021
Unfortunately this open reporting process is being manipulated to create dangerously misleading claims about Covid-19 Vaccination Adverse Effects.
“There are two ways to be fooled.
Once is by believing what is not true;
The other is to refuse to accept what is true”
– Soren Kierkegaard
In the link below the UK Government explains very clearly that the yellow card mechanism has been set up so the public can report their suspicions of adverse vaccination affects. These raw reports are confounded by misinformation, coincidental and unassociated events and cannot be quoted as factual information about the adverse effect of vaccination.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reactions/coronavirus-vaccine-summary-of-yellow-card-reporting
The U.S.A Government has an official system known as VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Reporting System) which is co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). https://vaers.hhs.gov/ VAERS operates a search engine known as CDC Wonder System. which reports adverse events from vaccination. https://wonder.cdc.gov/vaers.html
The VAERS Disclaimer also warns us not to misapply data from the public reporting process. “Disclaimer: VAERS accepts reports of adverse events and reactions that occur following vaccination. Healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public can submit reports to VAERS. While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This creates specific limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind.
The strengths of VAERS are that it is national in scope and can quickly provide an early warning of a safety problem with a vaccine. As part of CDC and FDA’s multi-system approach to post-licensure vaccine safety monitoring, VAERS is designed to rapidly detect unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse events, also known as “safety signals.” If a safety signal is found in VAERS, further studies can be done in safety systems such as the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) or the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project. These systems do not have the same limitations as VAERS, and can better assess health risks and possible connections between adverse events and a vaccine.
Key considerations and limitations of VAERS data:
- Vaccine providers are encouraged to report any clinically significant health problem following vaccination to VAERS, whether or not they believe the vaccine was the cause.
- Reports may include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information.
- The number of reports alone cannot be interpreted or used to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, frequency, or rates of problems associated with vaccines.
- VAERS data are limited to vaccine adverse event reports received between 1990 and the most recent date for which data are available.
- VAERS data do not represent all known safety information for a vaccine and should be interpreted in the context of other scientific information.” https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html
Examine the Sources behind the Misleading Reports
MedAlert is one organisation publishing raw untested public reporting data as if it is a reliable source of fact. They fail to apply the safeguards listed above by CDC VAERS.
Source:https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19
The MedAlerts website claims: “MedAlerts offers an alternative to the official VAERS search engine, CDC Wonder. Both are built from the government’s raw data, but MedAlerts has a better user interface, more powerful search capabilities, and more extensive reporting, making it the best VAERS search facility.”
The lack of professional integrity or even agenda behind this confusion is perhaps explained once we understand that the MedAlert is a site hosted by National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). This sounds official but NVIC, “founded under the name Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT) in 1982, is an American 501(c)(3)[1] organization that has been widely criticized as a leading source of fearmongering and misinformation about vaccines.[2][3][4] While NVIC describes itself as the “oldest and largest consumer led organization advocating for the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections”,[5] it promotes false and misleading information including the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism,[6][7][8] and its campaigns portray vaccination as risky, encouraging people to consider “alternatives.”[9]” Read the whole article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Vaccine_Information_Center
Question 4. How did they develop the Covid-19 vaccines so fast? Are they adequately tested?
All the safety and efficacy studies that would normally be carried out on a new vaccine were applied to vaccines developed in the UK, EU, USA etc. The time taken for the development of the Covid-19 vaccines was speeded up by a massive application of scientific resources, assisted by regulatory bodies who assessed the data from sequential stages as it came to hand during the development process, rather than waiting for all the data to be completed.
Some vaccines were rushed out with less testing than normal: e.g. Russian (Sputnik 5) and Chinese vaccines (Sinovac Biotech) so there should be some caution until they publish data for our analysis.
Covid-19 vaccines were released in UK, EU and USA etc on emergency authorisation to reduce approval time. Australia took longer to release the vaccine because our need was less urgent, and the Australian regulator (TGA: Therapeutic Goods Authority) could approve the use of the vaccine under normal and complete regulation processes -with the exception of studies on the duration of immunity. The duration of immunity from these vaccines requires long term efficacy data that has to be generated in real time. It is likely we will need to continue vaccination for Covid-19 in the same way we maintain flu prevention to maintain immunity from emerging variants.
Question 5. Should Covid-19 vaccination be compulsory? Collaboration and Control in Australia.
We do not believe vaccination should be compulsory. Covid-19 vaccination is not compulsory in Australia, but fear of compulsory vaccination has arisen because of deliberate misinformation campaigns.
Lives will be saved, and human dignity and freedoms preserved if we all listen well, discern truth and care for each other. We can communicate well and deliver services responsively if we appreciate other people’s fears, questions, value, contribution and specific needs.
A community has protection when more than 70% of local people have been vaccinated. Once a community reaches this safety point, known as ‘herd immunity’, the ability of the virus to spread in the community is severely limited and mutations of the virus (that occur with spread) are significantly reduced.
If healthy people are vaccinated, a community can reach herd immunity which protects those who are unable to take vaccinations because of acute allergy etc This is an ethical responsibility to be carefully considered. If we reach local herd immunity, our families, communities and nations will be able to resume more normal freedoms, connections, economic security, democratic government function and travel. If we do not reach herd immunity, the natural consequences will be continued forms of quarantine e.g. restricting the mobility of every body or restricting the freedoms of those who are unvaccinated and able to spread Covid-19 and its variants. Quarantine for highly contagious diseases has a long history as does vaccination required for safe travel, school and childcare.
Source Articles:
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cda-cdi3601a7.htm
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/immunisation-throughout-life/immunisation-for-travel#what-vaccines-do-you-need-for-travel
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/immunisation/vaccination-children/no-jab-no-play/frequently-asked-questions
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/immunisation/vaccination-children/primary-school-immunisation-requirements
Collaboration and Control in Australia
We honour our Australia’s leaders who have generally been proactive in collaborative Covid-19 intervention planning protection and provision. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has communicated clearly with calmness, kindness, patience and generosity. Collaboration was evident in his formation of our Australian National Cabinet whose protocols have successfully protected the States that implemented them. Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/collaboration-in-crisis-reflecting-on-australias-covid-19-response
We are grateful that all our Australian State Premiers have made great effort to keep Australia safe. But control becomes oppressive when it is disproportional to risk. Some Premiers have exaggerated ‘risk’ and ‘fear’ to exercise quite arbitrary border control. The Victorian State government have mismanaged hotel quarantine and contact tracing, the inquiry into hotel quarantine, snap lockdowns at times when there was no community transmission (or very little) and unnecessarily prolonged hard lockdown of Melbourne for 111 days in 2020. Very seriously, they have extraordinary emergency laws and restrictions, COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 until 16 December 2021, even though Victoria has no Covid-19 transmission in the community.
Question 6. Which vaccine is better?
The main thing to know is that all the vaccines being distributed in Australia are safe and highly effective – so any of them will give high levels of protection. There are no harmful components in any of these vaccines.
Data is being generated for specific age groups, pregnant women etc. Source: https://www.news4jax.com/health/2021/03/01/covid-19-vaccine-trials-underway-for-children-pregnant-women/
With time, we may have the luxury of selecting vaccines that offer particular benefits and applications for specific people groups. At this stage individuals are not able to choose a preferred vaccine and we do not know if choice will be available in the future.
During the urgent initial roll-out in 2020-21, nations have been grateful to get supply to meet demand of escalating daily contagion and death rates. Distribution and application procedures are a factor in which vaccine is best suited to their circumstances. Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept at -70 degrees centigrade and transport to remote regions is not practical. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has advantages for remote distribution because it is refrigerated rather than frozen and provides adequate cover from a single dose. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.html
Question 7. What are the differences between Covid-19 vaccines? Which are available in Australia?
Covid-19 vaccines are essentially made in three different ways:
- mRNA vaccine Examples: Pfizer – which is available in Australia, Moderna
mRNA is a new vaccine technology that is proven to be safe and highly effective. mRNA is produced from a chemical process and is not produced in cells. mRNA activate only the humoral system (antibodies)
- Subunit vaccine: Example: Novavax which is under review by TGA. Novavax is produced on insect cell line in-vitro. They use a spike protein to elicit immune reaction directly after delivery.
- Live vaccines: Examples: AstraZeneca – which is known as the Oxford vaccine and is available in Australia, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik 5.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine is what’s known as a biological. It needs the help of living organisms to be produced. Loads of pharmaceuticals are produced this way, including vaccines. The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine relies on a type of cell called HEK 293. These cells were originally taken from a human embryo kidney — hence HEK — back in the 1970s. They grow well in labs and are a commonly used component in drug manufacturing. HEK cells don’t actually end up in the vaccine. Instead, they cultivate the crucial part of the vaccine — the adenovirus, which carries the spike protein DNA blueprint.” Quote and Photo below from the Australian CSL Lab in Melbourne. Source Articles:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-02-12/covid-19-vaccine-oxford-astrazeneca-adenovirus-csl-manufacturing/13140104
https://www.pall.com/en/biotech/blog/what-is-oxford-astra-zenca-vaccine.html
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/02/08/how-you-make-an-adenovirus-vaccine
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-28/oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-ethical-religious-foetal-cell/12592800
Added: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison
We don’t yet have data on durational immunity, but Adeno virus & vectored vaccines are more likely to be effective at increasing body immunity because they activate the humoral system and the cell mediated immune systems within the recipient. This means they may be more helpful for older people, who have lower immune responses. They are also likely to provide broader and more durable immunity. Due to its low cost to manufacture and the ability of nation to produce it locally, AstraZenca is will likely be the primary vaccine in many countries.
Table 1: Vaccines first to be used in Australia
| Vaccine | Type | What it does? | How is the vaccine made? |
| BioNTech/Pfizer | mRNA | Messenger RNA (mRNA) is what is normally generated in living organisms from DNA and the mRNA is a template for making proteins. Spike protein is encoded in this mRNA so once it gets into human cells they use it to make spike protein that is then recognized by immune system as foreign protein and the body generates antibodies. | Synthesis of ribonucleic acid in-vitro from DNA template by enzymes, purified RNA is then encapsulated in protective lipid coating (liposome). Cell-free system.
|
| Oxford/ AstraZeneca | adenovirus | This recombinant live but harmless (non-replicating) virus is modified to produce spike protein once it gets into the human body. The body then generates immune response against the spike protein. | Virus is grown in human kidney cell line in-vitro and then purified. |
Some other vaccines
| Novavax | Protein lipid nanoparticle | Subunit vaccine – spike protein to elicit immune reaction directly after delivery. | Protein is produced in insect cell line in-vitro. Spike protein is purified and assembled into nanoparticle to make it more effective. |
| Moderna | mRNA | Same as Pfizer mRNA | Same as Pfizer mRNA – synthesis of RNA |
| Sputnik V | adenovirus | Similar as Oxford/ AstraZeneca but uses two different strains of adenovirus for two doses | Similar as Oxford/ AstraZeneca |
| Sinovac | inactivated COVID-19 virus | whole inactivated (killed) virus elicits immunity but cannot replicate or do anything in cells | Made by growing COVID-19 virus in monkey kidney cells in fermenters and then inactivating (killing) the virus |
Question 8. Do people have ethical concerns about live vaccines like AstraZeneca?
People have very different beliefs, concerns and preferences about lifestyle, diet and medical treatment. We believe it is important for us all to respect each other and to each have freedom to make choices about what is important and even vital to us.
- Some communities are grappling with concern because of their lifestyle beliefs – including Moslems; Orthodox Jews; Jehovah Witnesses (who will not have blood transfusion); and Vegans (who do not have any animal products e.g. honey, dairy products, eggs, meat.)
Trauma and fear from the Holocaust make some Jewish people feel very vulnerable. Leaders are trying to overcome misinformation and clearly advocate for vaccination. “Fears of a deadly Covid-19 vaccine – which have not basis in fact- were spread in part by a broadcast audio clip narrated in English by a radio host, Mordechai Sones, of Israel NewsTalk Radio.” Source: Orthodox Community Faces Down Misinformation in Vaccine Education Efforts: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/02/11/orthodox-community-faces-down-misinformation-in-vaccine-education-efforts
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/halal-status-covid-19-vaccine-worries-muslims
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/18/muslims-wary-covid-vaccine-religious-reason
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/overcoming-muslim-reticence-toward-covid-vaccine/12927958
- Some people are concerned that live Covid-19 vaccines, such as AstraZenica, are unethical because human foetal cells has been used in testing, development or production. Dr Lott, a virologist at QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, explains why foetal cells are used. “While living human cells can only divide around 50 times, those foetal cells have been genetically modified so they can divide an infinite number of times. “That’s why we can use the cells that we harvested [decades ago] today,” Dr Lott said. “They’re not the actual original cells, they’ve been immortalised and then propagated over the decades.” “This means we’ll never need to replace specimens used in development.” “Just by analogy, buying ivory is illegal [because] if you create a market for ivory, then it creates the demand to kill more elephants,” Dr Lott said. “In this case, that’s not happening because these foetuses were aborted 60 years ago, 50 years ago, and using these immortalised tissues now is not going to create a need to go and get new ones.” In fact, scientists would prefer to keep using HEK 293 cell lines— because they have been repeatedly tried and tested in a laboratory setting and found to be safe.”
High level purifications remove any cell remains and the resulting vaccine is just purified virus. As Dr Lott says, “Inherent in the whole process is stripping away the conditioned cell media, where the foetal cells are contained. That means a successful vaccine developed using foetal cells will have no remnants of those cells in the final product.” “You purify the vaccine away from the cells that they were grown in… There’s nothing left when it becomes the vaccine that gets delivered.” Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-28/oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-ethical-religious-foetal-cell/12592800 Because there is no foetal cell in the final vaccine product, there is no genetically modified cell in the vaccine.
- Some people object to live vaccines because they associate the use of foetal cells with abortion. In 2017, the life ethics arm of the Catholic Church issued a statement that: Catholic parents could vaccinate their children with a “clear conscience” that “the use of such vaccines does not signify some sort of cooperation in voluntary abortion”. Earlier this year (2020) and in the context of the coronavirus vaccine race, John Di Camillo, anethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, confirmed: “One is allowed to make use of [vaccine derived from foetal tissue] where there’s a serious threat to the health or life of the individual, or of the greater population. This does not amount to a strict obligation to use it, but it certainly can be a legitimate choice in conscience if there’s that serious reason, and there’s no other reasonable alternative.” Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-28/oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-ethical-religious-foetal-cell/12592800 A 2005 “moral reflection” issued by Pope Benedict XVI specifically addressed the issue.
People who hold life sacred do not minimise the donation of human cells. Some may see this kind of donation as ethically similar to a kidney donation from a deceased person. Through this process, life is given to someone else – in this case protecting billions of people.
Is Covid-19 vaccination the ethical choice for you?
There are alternate routes that are right for different people. We respect your freedom to listen to your heart, and to others, as you decide how to best treasure the sacredness of life and how to nurture your wellbeing and that of your families and your communities.
The article: COVID-19 Vaccines: Bridging Religious Divides, Engaging Religious Support
concludes, “For the sake of each and every one of us and above all for vulnerable people suffering acutely during this crisis, we must explore how to bridge the divides between those who fear and doubt vaccines and those who support this path to COVID-19 solutions. To do this, theologians, scientists, and public health specialists need to join with political and community leaders in a thoughtful conversation that builds the needed trust and respect in carefully vetted vaccines when they become available. There is no doubt that religious support can and will play a key role in this process. That’s a path to create the widespread trust we desperately and sorely need if we are to beat this horrible common threat.” Source: https://impakter.com/covid-vaccines-engaging-religious-support/
Standing together for justice: universal access to Covid-19 vaccination
We look forward to a time when things will be ‘normal’ but life can’t be normal without Covid-19 vaccination and a continuation of ‘new normal’ hygiene practices.
We too have been changed by this pandemic. Some people have become contemptuous and combative. But many people are motivated by their own losses, to bring about for justice for others.
During 2020-21 we’ve seen global momentum gathering, as people stand together for what is just and compassionate in their nation, and in our world.
- The successful management of rates of Covid-19 infection will improve aspects of wellbeing that have been neglected during the pandemic – general health, mental health, delayed surgeries.
- Covid-19 has highlighted discrimination- with higher death rates among the elderly; people with co-morbidities and those in unhygienic conditions and high density living. Proportionally Covid-19 has killed more poor, black, coloured and immigrant people. Source: https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-black-distrust
- Covid-19 is still acutely impacting those who are caught in stressful and unsafe circumstances – those dying unaided of Covid-19 and without access to vaccination; refugees trapped in long-term isolation; people caught in war and disasters zones.
- Covid-19 vaccination must be freely accessible for everyone everywhere or the virus will continue to circulate and mutate in the unvaccinated populations. We will not have world peace without this justice. To ensure this we each face immediate choices of huge significance.
What the World Needs Now is Love
All people need hope, safety, and ways to contribute and live a full life.
Every person needs to be assured that they are valued and that they belong.
You may like to pause to cherish what is life giving to you – and those you care about:
- Remember the joy of opening your arms, home, local schools and borders to connect again!
- Open your heart to pure love. Let love overcome your fear and saturate your life:
Love is large and incredibly patient.
Love is gentle and consistently kind to all.
It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else.
Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.
Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor.
Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.
Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.
Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others.
Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
Love never stops loving… Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten.
Source: Paul, a Jewish Christian leader, wrote this in AD 55-57 to people in the city of Corinth, in Greece.
- Open your heart to sing: What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xfqND7qROQQ&ab_channel=DionneWarwickVEVO
Contact: sue@partnersinprayer.org.au www.partnersinprayer.org.au
PIPES: overflowing blessing to our neighbourhoods, regions and nations
