photo from the SCV Signal
On October 18th, an organized school walkout occurred to protest the vaccination mandate in schools. Not surprisingly, there was a large absence in the student body come Monday morning. The success of this protest is a direct consequence of a failure to educate our community on the severity and urgency of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, I have taken the time to compile a list of reasons people refuse to get the vaccine and address them.
1. A vaccine mandate in schools is an infringement of our constitutional rights.
Vaccines have been required in schools for decades. The first vaccine mandate was in Massachusetts in the 1850s for smallpox. Currently, according to Healthline, "all states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories have vaccination requirements for children to attend school and childcare facilities. State laws establish vaccination requirements, as well as mechanisms for enforcement and rules for exemption" (https://www.healthline.com/health-news/vaccine-mandates-in-schools-arent-new-theyve-been-used-since-1850#A-history-of-vaccine-mandates-in-schools). Specifically, Saugus High School requires an immunization record to enroll, with five doses for Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis, four doses for Polio, three doses for Hepatitis B, two doses for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, and two doses for Varicella (https://www.shotsforschool.org/k-12/). The vaccine is not an infringement of your rights, it is a safety precaution that has been enforced for years. If children must go to school, it will be in a safe environment for all to learn.
2. The long-term effects of the vaccine are unknown.
The CDC has addressed this, "Vaccine monitoring has historically shown that side effects generally happen within six weeks of receiving a vaccine dose. For this reason, the FDA required each of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines to be studied for at least two months (eight weeks) after the final dose. Millions of people have received COVID-19 vaccines, and no long-term side effects have been detected" (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html). After months of administering the vaccine, no long-term side effects have been observed. However, there are many observed long-term side effects to the coronavirus. From the Mayo Clinic, these side effects can include: "long-term breathing problems, heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis. Some adults and children experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after they have had COVID-19. In this condition, some organs and tissues become severely inflamed" (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351). The vaccine has no observable long-term effects, while the coronavirus has many. If anti-vaxxers truly consider their health, they would be encouraging the vaccine.
3. The vaccine will cause infertility.
The University of Michigan quickly addresses this myth, stating that the idea originates because the syncytin-1 protein in the placenta shares a small piece of genetic code with the coronavirus. Doctor Lauren Morris confirms that "'There is one small similarity, but the overall construction of the protein is so completely different, your immune system is way too smart to be confused by that'" (https://www.muhealth.org/our-stories/does-covid-19-vaccine-affect-fertility-heres-what-experts-say). Furthermore, there has been no data in the intensive research surrounding the coronavirus vaccine that suggest it could cause infertility. However there has been research suggesting that the coronavirus itself causes infertility.
In a study on the effects of the coronavirus on male fertility, Cemile Merve Seymen - Department of Histology and Embryology at Gazi University Institute of Health Sciences - stated that "significant seminiferous tubular injury, reduced number of Leydig cells, and lymphocytic inflammation were recognized in the testis of COVID‐19 patients. 3 There have many studies that support these findings and have said that SARS coronaviruses damage multiple organs, including testis and generally cause leukocyte infiltration, impaired spermatogenesis, widespread germ cell destruction with very few or no spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules, thickened basement membrane, and macrophage (+) stainings in the testis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7753442/). Ultimately, there have been links between the coronavirus and damages to the testis and male genital tract, damaging male fertility.
Additionally, pregnant women are hesitant to get the vaccine, despite substantial evidence that the coronavirus will impact their pregnancy. From the same article from the University of Michigan, Dr. Morris continues, "'Pregnant women get sicker when they get COVID compared to other people their age, and pregnant people with COVID are more likely to experience preterm delivery. The effect of COVID disease on pregnancy is real, and it’s important to prevent'" (https://www.muhealth.org/our-stories/does-covid-19-vaccine-affect-fertility-heres-what-experts-say).
For those of you genuinely concerned with infertility, I implore you to get the vaccine.
Listen to the experts. Get the vaccine.
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