Inventor COVID-Vaccine Wasn’t In Hurry To Take Jab
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – The co-inventor of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, and many Americans have one thing in common: they aren’t in a hurry to take the vaccine.
Dr. Ugur Sahin invented the coronavirus vaccine with his wife, Dr. Özlem Türeci, after founding the German biotechnology company BioNTech.
He confirmed to German media that he had waited to take the vaccine himself, for legal reasons, though it was already tested on thousands and rolled out in several countries.
Most Americans aren’t in a hurry either, a new poll shows. Nearly one in five Americans (17 percent) “will never take the Covid Vaccine.” The poll was conducted by Just the News Daily with the Scott Rasmussen institute.
It also showed that less than a third, just 31 percent of those polled, wanted to be “vaccinated as soon as possible.” The poll was conducted over the December 17-19 period among 1,200 registered voters and had a margin of sample error of 2.8 plus or minus percentage points.
Europe has seen similar concerns. Asked on German television whether it wouldn’t be better for COVID vaccination skeptics when the inventor also takes the jab, Sahin said: “Of course I would love to be vaccinated. We just have to see that we are following the legal basis. It is important for us as a company to protect our employees.”
ALLERGIC REACTIONS
Sahin’s apparent reluctance to be first in line for the COVID jab was due to fuel skepticism in countries such as the United States, a massive customer of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
It comes amid concerns about the side effects of the vaccine for at least some groups. The British governing body of vaccines already urged people who have a history of “significant” allergic reactions not to have the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) spoke after two nurses in Britain experienced anaphylactoid reactions after receiving the jab last week.
An anaphylactoid reaction is a severe allergic reaction that can cause difficulty breathing, face and tongue swelling, and light-headedness, among other symptoms. The staff members reacted shortly after receiving the vaccine.
Both nurses were said to have a history of reacting to vaccines this way and have since recovered, claimed officials. Separately a nurse fainted at a televised press conference last week after receiving the coronavirus vaccine at a Tennessee hospital.
Nurse Manager Tiffany Dover spoke to media about the U.S. city’s first vaccinations of front-line health workers when she collapsed, according to video footage seen by Worthy News.
RNA CONTROVERSIES
About 17 minutes after receiving the Pfizer-made vaccine against COVID-19, she started feeling dizzy, apologized and fell over before she was caught by doctors standing behind her. “It just hit me all of a sudden; I could feel it coming on. I felt a little disoriented, but I feel fine now, and the pain in my arm is gone,” Dover added.
She soon recovered, saying she has a condition that often causes her to faint when she feels pain. Authorities have played down Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine risks, saying it has a “90 percent effectiveness rate” against COVID-19.
Before these incidents, producers of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and other firms sought, and in many cases received, liability immunity for possible side effects of the new coronavirus vaccine.
Among countries granting immunities are Britain and the United States. Ben Osborn, Pfizer UK managing director, declined to explain to reporters why his company needed an indemnity. “We’re not actually disclosing any of the details around any of the aspects of that agreement and specifically around the liability clauses.”
Critics say the COVID-19 vaccines rely on the same platform: messenger RNA. This technique has never been used in an approved vaccine before. There was no evidence yet of any long-term side effects, but they can’t be ruled out either, Worthy News reported earlier.
The fragility of mRNA makes it unlikely to linger in the body. Still, any vaccine could theoretically cause disruptions in the immune system, experts warned. Pfizer reported that 3.8 percent of the recipients felt fatigued in test trials, and 2 percent experienced headaches.
Despite the controversies, Sahin remains confident the vaccine will be beneficial to most people. He also “assumes” his vaccine will be effective against a new coronavirus variant first discovered in Britain. While more contagious, experts also said it does not appear to be “more deadly” or vaccine-resistant.
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