Over the past few days I’ve been receiving numerous messages by text, email and in my letterbox from the Ministry of Health telling me that getting a COVID-19 vaccine is an important step I can take to protect my kaumātua and whānau from the effects of the COVID-19 virus.
The message states that at this stage it is not mandatory for the general public. You can choose whether or not to get vaccinated.
I sincerely hope that it stays to being choice and never becomes mandatory. If I didn’t have multiple sclerosis (an auto-immune disease) I might have a different opinion and perhaps wouldn’t have any qualms about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t think I’ve got as many as the 18 reasons listed in this post but here are a few of my reasons for being hesitant:
The health.govt.nz website states:
“Once you’ve had the vaccine, your body reads the genetic code and makes copies of the spike protein. Your immune system detects these spike proteins and learns how to recognise and fight against COVID-19. It knows it needs to attack the virus to protect it from spreading in your body.
The genetic code then gets broken down and removed very quickly and easily by our body.”
Ok, so what if your immune system has literally “broken down”? What if it has become so broken down that it is actually attacking itself? Is it really likely to be able to “learn to recognise and fight against COVID-19?” Will it really “read and detect these spike proteins”? More importantly – would you want to voluntarily take a vaccine that has not been thoroughly tested in people with auto-immune diseases?
I’m about to embark on a DMT (disease modifying therapy) for MS called Fingolimod. I have searched various websites, discarding the hysterical, breathless ones that promote conspiracy theories and stuck to ones that are MS oriented and have case histories etc. I could quote about half a dozen sites that say “We do not recommend vaccinating MS patients treated with Fingolimod” and oppose that view with the same number of sites that say: “We don’t think they will exacerbate MS or its symptoms, provoke a relapse, or prevent DMTs from being effective.” “We have no reason to believe any COVID-19 vaccine will be dangerous for people with MS, including those on immunosuppressive drugs such as Fingolimod.”
I could post various contrary quotes that state the same thing … we are not anticipating any negative reactions”, “we don’t believe there will be any side effects”, “we urge you to embrace the vaccine” against “having the Covid vaccine is not advised”, “do not have immunizations/vaccinations while you are taking fingolimod.”
Sorry but at this stage in the face of such contradictory advice, this gives me zero reassurance. I work from home and I’m not likely to be travelling overseas so I reckon I’m in no danger of becoming a super spreader or anything.
I’m going to leave for it a year or so to see what eventuates. Having that jab in my arm simply does not feel right for me! Shout me down if you must but everything in in my inner being is shouting NO to having the vaccine right now. I’m not counting it out in the future and will keep an eye on the results and my eyes and my options open.
Claire Jewitt 