Why does the GOP hate mRNA vaccines?
“The mRNA technology faces growing doubts among Republicans, including people around President Donald Trump.
“Legislation aimed to ban or limit mRNA vaccines was introduced this year by GOP lawmakers in at least seven states. In some cases, the measures would hit doctors who give the injections with criminal penalties, fines, and possible revocation of their licenses.”
This isn’t about safety. There is zero doubt about the safety of mRNA vaccines. Their safety has been proven in hundreds of millions of people.
In some cases, it may be about superstition. But mostly, it’s about sowing doubt in authority.
The GOP is attacking Universities as independent centers of authority. The GOP is attacking biomedical research as independent centers of authority. The GOP is attacking the EPA, the CDC and the FDA as centers of authority. This is what Stalin did. This is what Mao did.
We know how that ends, peeps. Don’t let it happen here.
GOP attacks mRNA vaccines
Joel,
“This isn’t about safety. There is zero doubt about the safety of mRNA vaccines. Their safety has been proven in hundreds of millions of people.”
This is about safety. There is doubt about the safety of mRNA vaccines. Their side effects have been seen, but also less than adequately documented. This is JMO, but also well within 1-2 standard deviations of reality.
As far as vaccine history goes, let’s take a breath and look at the unfortunate story of the flu vaccine in Europe about a decade past and narcolepsy. It’s a sad deal there.
“In some cases, it may be about superstition. But mostly, it’s about sowing doubt in authority.”
IIRC, ‘Question authority’ has a well traveled history and thinking for oneself a fundamental raisin d’etre.
As far as Team Blue and Team Red?, something about pendulums swinging and the worst system except for all the others and checks and balances.
May we all see better days.
@Pull,
Wrong. There is no reasonable doubt about mRNA vaccine safety. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines went through phase I trials, which are specifically for safety, and passed. The Moderna double blind phase III trial involved 30,000 subjects (I was one of them), 15,000 of whom were in the vaccine arm (I was one of them). The Pfizer double blind phase III trial involved 45,000 subjects, half in the vaccine arm and half placebo. The results of both trials are well-documented. There have been hundreds of millions of people who have received the mRNA vaccines since then. No significant safety issues have arisen. Doubts about mRNA vaccine safety are not evidence-based.
Many vaccines, including the mRNA vaccines, have side effects. After my second jab in the Moderna phase III trial, I had a mild fever, headache and soreness at the injection site. Those are side effects, but don’t mean the vaccine is unsafe. Indeed, it showed the vaccine was working and it told me I was in the vaccine arm of the trial, even though it was technically blinded.
Your comment about flu vaccine in Europe is misdirection and off-topic. SARS-CoV-2 is not an influenza virus, it’s a coronavirus. And the European flu vaccine was not an mRNA vaccine, which is the topic of my post.
This isn’t an argument from authority, this is an argument from facts and evidence. The data are overwhelming. This isn’t about Team Red and Team Blue. This is about science.