On May 20, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post reported that the United States House of Representatives refused vaccination, resulting in a vaccination rate of only “around 45 percent.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate had a far higher vaccination rate of 92 percent.
In the Philippines, the vaccination rates for lawmakers in both chambers are not known yet despite the approval of Senate Bill No. 2057 (the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021) and the counterpart House Bill No. 9252, both seeking to make mandatory the vaccination of Filipinos through the Department of Health. Had the sponsors of these bills been vaccinated already?
The problem with mandatory vaccination is the removal of human right in protecting one’s health and life, including the choice of vaccine to use. This policy assumes that all vaccines are created equal. It also assumes that these vaccines are safe. In fact, these had not been studied and tested longer than a year or so are truly safe from life-threatening adverse effects. Thus, under our laws, these can only be used if given an Emergency Use permit.
Reports around the world provided evidence that these vaccines could be fatal and life-threatening to the wrong person with the wrong demographic. Will the law that demands compulsory vaccination pay the family of those who died from vaccination? Surely, the pharmaceutical companies will not.
However, Filipinos must be fully informed on the risks of receiving these vaccines, considering the potential protection it may provide against Covid-19 infection.
First, older people may not be able to generate the needed antibodies, or fail to mount an immune response that will prevent subsequent Covid-19 infection. If so, the introduction of the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein itself through the vaccine can cause injury in the small (micro) vessels of the brain, heart, liver and kidneys. Thus, the priority vaccination being done these days can be a dangerous undertaking.
Second, available Covid-19 vaccines today have not been studied for long-term adverse side effects. Patients must be informed that such adverse side effects are possible in the future. Otherwise, vaccination will violate consent.
Third, these vaccines had not been tested on human beings prior to release. Tests on primates (monkeys) reveal infections still occur even after vaccination.
Lastly, pediatrician John Patrick Whelan (MD, PhD) wrote to the U.S. FDA on Dec. 9, 2020 his concern over the use of Sars-CoV-2 spike protein in Covid-19 vaccines, which had been associated with “microvascular injury to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys.”
To allow Filipinos to exercise intelligent consent for vaccination, the Department of Health must conduct an honest information campaign not just on the benefits of vaccination but also of its potential but unknown risks because of inadequate studies.