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I’ve had many people close to me in recent weeks ask if they, or their parents, should get the COVID-19 vaccine. In one particular case, a friend shared that his 80-year-old father is having serious reservations about receiving the vaccine because of videos he’s seen circulating from someone named Simone Gold discussing how people should be using hydroxychloroquine instead of taking vaccines, a view that is not at all supported by peer-reviewed literature. (A few minutes on Google will tell you all you need to know about her judgment on other matters, also.)
Here is how I responded to my friend, in this particular situation.
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Dear X,
I feel for you. To be clear, I think the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of your dad getting the vaccine, rather than relying on hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic (which is not even in the top 3 choices of drugs one would consider to treat or prevent COVID at this point).
But to be honest with you, I don’t think there is much I can say to counter such arguments as they are not based on science and reason. I appreciate that you say your dad respects my opinion, but I’m hesitant to get into a lengthy back-and-forth on this topic. Rather, I’d consider letting him know the following on my behalf. If, indeed, he does value my opinion, it might help.
- I want my parents to get vaccinated.
- I want my patients to get vaccinated.
- No vaccine (or medication of any kind) is free from ALL risk, but on balance, the risk of not taking the vaccine is greater than the risk of taking it, at least for the current crop of COVID vaccines out there.
- My wife and I volunteer weekly to give the vaccine to people in Austin, something we would not be doing if we did not 100% believe in their importance.
- We have also both received our first shots of the vaccine and will get our second shots in due time.
I hope my feelings are unambiguous by this point, and I hope it helps.
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If you want to hear more about the development of the COVID vaccines, listen to my interview with Dr. Paul Offit from last November. I hope to have him on again this year to provide an update. And if you want to do some advanced reading in preparation for a very exciting upcoming podcast, please check out The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines, by my soon-to-be guest, Brian Deer. He’s the investigative journalist who first exposed the lies, misdeeds, and endless chicanery committed by Andrew Wakefield. I don’t expect this podcast will sway anyone firmly in the camp believing vaccines are evil, but it will certainly explain how we got here.
Hi Peter,
Thanks for all of your work and and for this post and episode. We have a few older reluctant family members, so all of this information is helpful. I was wondering about fasting prior to the vaccine and if it might offer any sort of immune support advantage. Any thoughts on this? I have not gotten the vaccine yet as I’m not eligible in my state but many of my fellow middle aged friends have had some low grade symptoms post vaccine – fever, chills, malaise, and I am curious as to what one could potentially do to prepare itself for the vaccine response in the weeks leading up to – aside from eating healthy, and getting adequate rest. Thanks
Did you ever find out the answer to fasting prior to the vaccine?
Hi Peter, would love an interview/update with you and Dr. Offit. Any news on if that’s coming up soon?
I would
Also love and update !
Would love an update on that second dose? Have you or your wife encountered any side effects? Do you see your children getting the vaccine when appropriate?
I don’t know how you can say that science does not support the use of hydroxychloroquine. There are hundreds of trials and studies showing how effective it is when given early, and how quickly that protection declines the later it is given in disease progression. The trials trumpeted around the media stating that it is ineffective and even dangerous gave it to late stage patients near death in hospital, at dangerously high doses (medical malpractice). Beyond that, the previous trial published in the Lancet showing HCQ doesn’t work was completely fabricated and later retracted.
hcqmeta.com
Ivermectin shows greater efficacy than the vaccines, at all stages of disease, and is completely safe with 5 billion previous doses given for parasite control. Several countries have adopted it as standard prophylaxis / treatment and have seen their epidemics essentially eliminated, for example, Belize and India (India ramped up widespread IVM use after the recent spike which has since dramatically subsided– vax rate is still too low to be making any difference).
ivmmeta.com
My Covid story:
I took hydroxychloroquine early on in the pandemic and got tested weekly as I see many patients in my clinic daily and work in and around the mouth.
I was fortunate to have over 30+ negative tests during that time.
My prescription ran out and I didn’t ask for another refill. I tested positive for Covid 3 weeks later. I isolated for 10 days and got another refill for HCQ to take me through my quarantine.
Symptoms were only a little congestion. No lingering effects after recovery.
Tested 4 weeks after initial infection and had AB’s in my system.
Since I now have natural immunity I’m curious why I should take the vaccine?
Note I’m not saying HCQ works or works for everyone. It seemed to work for me or perhaps it was just a coincidence that I tested positive after my Rx ran out.
I am not an anti-vaxer having had many in my lifetime.
Looking forward to any input from this well educated and open minded group.
Cheers,
Art