I haven't actually responded to the question posed by bob.
It's not an easy question to answer. I am in favour of vaccination against pathogens that cause deadly disease; I'm in favour of achieving herd immunity, otherwise vaccinations fail in one of their primary purposes.
For the sake of those people who cannot be innoculated or for whom innoculation is ineffective - on valid health grounds - we who can be innoculated and in whom innoculation is effective should be vaccinated. For ourselves, effective and safe vaccination vs no immunity against disease that can be prevented through vaccination is - to me - an easy choice.
In some circumstances, mandatory vaccination should be and is standard.
I understand that some people have objections on various grounds. I have to curb my sense of frustration when those grounds are illogical and based upon misinformation, or upon lack of understanding of how vaccinations work, how pathogens enter the host, how the immune system responds to particular pathogens, etc. I suppose I would rather see some very good education helping to give people a better understanding, so that they can make what is truly an informed choice, rather than a choice which is largely based upon a reaction against what is perceived to be "false authority".
Where an objection is based upon religious grounds, that is something to respect and perhaps to work with, in terms of finding solutions that can be encompassed by a variety of views.
Where an objection is based upon an extreme phobia, that can't be ignored. It seems bizarre, but to some people the process of having a hypodermic needle inserted is extraordinarily and terrifyingly painful. The condition is hyperalgesia, and it's not a phobia in itself; it's an actual increased sensitivity to pain. Understandably, that intolerable pain then tends to result in extreme fear of needles that is based upon that physical pain. I believe it's 1 in 10 people who suffer from needle phobia whose phobia is associated with hyperalgesia; for the other 9 in 10 people, it's not a question of pain in itself, but other triggers. It's best summed up in this abstract:
❝Needle phobia is a recently defined medical condition that affects at least 10% of the population. Because persons with needle phobia typically avoid medical care, this condition is a significant impediment in the health care system. The etiology of needle phobia lies in an inherited vasovagal reflex of shock, triggered by needle puncture. Those who inherit this reflex often learn to fear needles through successive needle exposure. Needle phobia is therefore both inherited and learned. In a family practice, needle phobia can be managed by reassurance and education, avoidance of needles, postural and muscle tension techniques, benzodiazepines, nitrous oxide gas, and topical anesthesia applied by iontophoresis.❞
– Hamilton, J G. “Needle phobia: a neglected diagnosis.” The Journal of family practice vol. 41,2 (1995): 169-75.
There's also the issue of being as sure as possible that the vaccination is safe and effective. There have been mistakes in the past, but with the advance of medical science, knowledge has improved, and scientific rigour has improved. That is not to say that mistakes cannot still occur, or unexpected side-effects to crop up in 1 in a million, and so on. It's important to have a competent and responsible body scutinise the data, and obviously the more data there is, the better.
It's obvious that you ask this primarily because of the current pandemic, bob, and the situation with fast-emerging vaccines becoming available and being given emergency use authorisation overseas. The important aspects of these vaccines being developed and tested so swiftly - in terms of safety - is not that they are being developed and tested swiftly; it's whether that swiftness equates to bypassing critical or important safety measures and checks.
So far, what I am seeing is that the political hurdles, the funding hurdles - they are the things that make vaccine development take so long in usual cases. Getting the funding, then assembling the team... being held up by medical research body politics... oh lord, how these things act as speed bumps! It can seem like a road filled with nothing BUT speed bumps and signs saying DETOUR and SLOW DOWN: ROAD WORKS AHEAD.
As long as the scientifically and medically required protocols are being followed, the speed of this does not concern me. As long as our TGA scrupulously examines the data and is satisfied that there are no significant adverse effects and that the vaccine is efficacious and effective, I will be satisfied. I will be more satisfied if we find that at least one of the effective safe vaccines results in vaccinated persons not carrying the virus and being infectious. That might be an issue, but at present there is insufficient data to conclude that it is the case.
Apologies in advance. This post is just far too short and casual.
