Be smart, ignore the fearmongers

So many (perhaps well-intentioned folks) have been spreading fear about the Covid-19 vaccinations via social media and news sources. Many of these are politicians and talking news heads. Alas, a very few have even been medical personnel or retired medical staffers. By and large, our medical care professionals across the country and certainly here in Missoula County have been buried in dealing with the effects of so much fear and misinformation. As an antidote, here’s some truth:

The CDC does in fact maintain a database known as the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) where you and/or your doctor can report adverse reactions to vaccines, including COVID-19. You can read more about it here: https://tinyurl.com/25bhht59 (USAfacts.org). And you can visit the page here at: https://vaers.hhs.gov/ USAfacts.org states: “After review, the CDC concluded that there was no evidence linking any of those deaths to the COVID-19 vaccines.”

PolitiFact.com reports this: A new claim has popped up via Instagram: that thousands of COVID-19 vaccine deaths reported in VAERS are an undercount of an actual number of deaths. Available data in VAERS does not confirm these figures. What’s more, VAERS can’t be used on its own to verify if a vaccine has caused an event. The government agencies that run the system warn that it accepts reports before verifying them, and reports can usually contain information that may have errors or lack details. PolitiFact rates this fearmongering “False.”

Read more here at PolitiFacts: https://tinyurl.com/3ckmnv5m and read more from the CDC here: https://tinyurl.com/mr3z7m37

As I stated a few weeks ago, please remember these important numbers from The Missoulian issue of Feb 7 which you can read here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3k7wdj “Over the last 90 days, unvaccinated county residents have died at a rate 18.72 times higher than those who were vaccinated. Additionally, over the last 30 days, unvaccinated residents were hospitalized at a rate 3.36 times higher than those who were vaccinated.”

Please do your own research and ask your own doctor. Listen to what the health care providers have been saying at St. Patrick Hospital, Western Community Hospital and Seeley-Swan Medical Center as they have struggled with the enormity of the pandemic. Don’t rely on your friends at coffee, newscasters, politicians or even retired physicians. Don’t be conned by fear. Make an informed decision.

Please note that I have shortened the URL links above to make it easier for you.