Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021 - 30

mEdiCal rECord FEaturE
Vaccines
(Including Covid-19)
And Why You Should
ReceiveYour Vaccinations
Produced by high school student Andrew H.
as his project for the Skills for Success program (see page 37),
with support from the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund program.
VACCINE ENDORSEMENTS
Al Roker, Bill and Melinda Gates,
Buzz Aldrin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pope
Benedict, All 9 Supreme Court Justices, Zoe
Saldana, Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney,
Hank Aaron, Mitch McConnell, Mike
Pence, Whoopi Goldberg, Benicio Del
Toro, Stephen Fry, Dolly Parton, Barbara
Corcoran, Stephen King, Anthony Hopkins,
Tyler Perry, Sir Michael Caine, Sir David
Attenborough, Harrison Ford, Sean Penn,
Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Martin
" The thought of losing a child to a disease
which can be easily prevented seems
unbearable, especially when it is within our
power to prevent it. If you knew how to help
save a child's life, what could stop you? "
- Salma Hayek
" I want to help make sure that all moms
across the country understand that influenza is
serious and that vaccination should be a family
priority. "
- Jennifer Garner
THE SEAT BELT NARRATIVE
When seat belts were first introduced
in the later half of the 20th century,
people from all walks of life expressed
dissatisfaction. Objectors were more
concerned with the reasons seat belts were
being implemented, or the slight risk of
a seat belt related injury, rather than the
30 | w w w .berkscms .or g
effectiveness of seat belts. Today, however,
we recognize the value seat belts bring.
Vaccines are no different: combined with
other preventative measures, vaccines are
one of the best ways to protect you and your
community.
Nevertheless, there are still a few crucial
differences between seat belts and vaccines:
by choosing not to get vaccinated, you're
not only risking your own health, but also
the health of everyone in your community.
When you choose not to wear a seat belt,
you've made a risky decision that affects you
and you only. But when you choose not to
get vaccinated, you're choosing to unbuckle
the seat belts of all of those you come into
contact with.
It's time for all of us to do our part in
protecting our community - not just from
Covid-19 - but from other infectious
diseases preventable by vaccination. Even if
you're still hesitant about getting vaccinated,
your choice affects both you and your wider
community.
" It is not an option, it is an ethical choice
because you are gambling with your health,
with your life, but you are also gambling with
the lives of others. "
- Pope Francis
QUICK REBUTTALS:
Vaccines aren't effective
Vaccines have had differing levels of
efficacy, but by and large, vaccines are
eradicating diseases. It was only after the
anti-vaccination movement took form that
we saw " the greatest number of [Measles]
cases reported in the U.S. since 1992.
The majority of cases were among people
who were not vaccinated against measles. "
(CDC).
Even if the FDA does eventually approve
a Covid vaccine in the future, I still don't
think I'll get it.
Vaccines are always subjected to a
battery of rigorous tests by some of the most
qualified people in their field before they're
approved. Most Coronavirus vaccines were
authorized for " Emergency Use " (because we
were in an emergency when these vaccines
first rolled out). Just like the Pfizer Covid
vaccine, vaccines are fully approved by the
FDA once we've learned significantly more
about them.
I'm not fond of how the government has
mandated vaccines and other preventative
measures in the past.
This one gets really philosophical. Most
people agree that a government's main duty
is to its citizens. Therefore, a government
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Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021

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