HELLO JI!
A WORD (OR TWO HUNDRED) FROM THE EDITOR
Image credit: KRISTINE WOOK on Unsplash.
This New Year marks a special new beginning for Desi News as we step into our 25th year. A quarter century of discussing our issues, celebrating high achievers, and being the voice of the community. It is a time for us to renew our commitment to strong journalism, to uphold the truths we believe in.
This New Year, more than any other perhaps in recent memory, will also feel like a new start in the very real sense of turning the page on a year that was like none many of us have ever seen.
But while we look ahead to the availability of a vaccine against this unseen and formidable enemy that brought the world to its knees, there’s something we should be aware of – the danger of adverse reactions to the vaccine. I am not a vaccine-denier. When someone says the flu shot gave them the flu, I repeat what our family physician had said to us, that the vaccine is not perfect, that it needs to be tweaked each year, but it does work. If someone gets the flu in spite of the shot, it was in all probability a milder case than it might have been without the shot.
It is only now, with a new vaccine being rolled out, that I am concerned. In an article in Bloomberg dated November 30, Muneeza Naqvi writes that the Serum Institute of India has denied allegations that a COVID-19 trial volunteer in India suffered serious side effects from a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The volunteer claims he suffered from serious neurological and psychological symptoms after taking the experimental shot and is seeking compensation of 50 million rupees (over $900,000). Serum said it would counter-sue and seek damages in excess of $18 million for “malicious” allegations.
Sue. Counter-sue. Who is one to believe? With what can only be described as a rising trust-deficit, the suggestion put forward by Grant’s Desi Achiever Dr Kumanan Wilson makes a lot of sense. In a November 29 op-ed in the Toronto Star, Dr Wilson and Jennifer Keelan make a case for a no-fault vaccine injury program. This would provide a straightforward path to compensation for those suffering an adverse side effect while not penalizing those who are working on making the vaccines.
A normally 15-year-process of vaccine development has been compressed into a single year, they write. “What happens in the very rare instance that an individual should suffer an adverse event from the vaccine? COVID-19 vaccines will go through the rigours of Phase 3 randomized clinical trial evaluations. They will have to meet regulatory standards for safety and efficacy, but there is a possibility that we will not detect extremely rare side-effects in Phase 3 trials.”
Vietnam and Nepal have such programs, as does Quebec, but not the rest of Canada.
Here’s hoping that this suggestion is given serious consideration by the powers that be so that we can all go ahead and participate in the vaccination program free from the what-ifs.
Happy New Year!
Shagorika Easwar