Why Do People Fear New Vaccines?

As the U.K. begins rollout of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, many people are breathing a huge sigh of relief at the prospect of life returning to ‘normal’ in the near future. After what has been a tumultuous year, it has become widely apparent that our only way out of this situation is the mass rollout of a vaccine. Without it, even the best measures in the world are likely to require repeated periods of lockdown to stifle numbers when they show signs of spiking.

But despite what is clearly great news for humanity, there is still a little uncertainty and fear when it comes to the practicalities of administering a new vaccine. Our minds are programmed to fear the unknown and it is part of our primal make up which has protected us throughout the ages and evolutionary cycle of human beings. The prevalence of far-fetched Sci-Fi movies, TV shows, books and more have influenced many to associate the events in these creations as a reflection on what could happen in real life. I for one, still see the storyline of Will Smith’s ‘I Am Legend’ play out in my mind; which saw the world rush to embrace a new cancer ‘vaccine’ only to find that it turns people instead into people-eating zombies and essentially wiped out civilization. But let’s be honest here, that’s more than a little far fetched. The reality of science paints quite a different picture.

Firstly, it is important to recognize that we aren’t actually talking about a completely new vaccine here. Coronavirus has been around for many years and has been studied extensively, with groundbreaking advances had already been made prior to COVID-19 in identifying the characteristic ‘spikes’ which enable the virus to be so effective in invading human cells. Scientists have explained that this is often the single most complicated part of any research into viruses, learning the mechanics of how they do what they do. Once this is figured out, the next steps become much easier to map out.

It is also worth pointing out that many advancements in drug development are limited by finances. Research, development and trials can cost billions of dollars and if the investment isn’t there, the drugs simply don’t pass through all of the necessary phases quickly. This is partly why some drugs take many years to finally be made available to the public. Many people are skeptical over how quickly the COVID-19 vaccine has been developed, but when you consider the money that has been invested and the fact that research teams across the globe have pooled their findings together in order to progress a single cause, it is no surprise that the entire process has been expedited.

A common fear comes from a lack of understanding of exactly how vaccines work too. It might seem a scary prospect to inject your body with an ‘unknown substance’ that could alter how your body functions, but that’s really only part of the story. Vaccines typically work by injecting a small and relatively harmless version of the virus into your body. These small doses or elements of the virus help to train your body to create antibodies so that when you come into contact with the virus again, your body will know exactly what to do to help fight it off. It’s essentially just nudging your body in the right direction and letting it do what it does best.

Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to receive a vaccine and further worries were created when it was revealed that two NHS workers had fallen ill after experiencing an adverse reaction to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It has been explained that both patients had severe allergies that required the use of an ‘Epipen’ and guidance has since been released that people with allergies should NOT receive the vaccine. It has also been revealed that caveats on the usage of the vaccine include not falling pregnant for 2 months after having the vaccine and not receiving the vaccine if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Naturally the risk-averse nature of our brains leads us to believe this is because the vaccine is dangerous, when in fact the explanations provided are that it’s simply because there is not enough data yet to prove unequivocally that it will not adversely affect mothers or babies. Until then, the approved medical practice for ANY medication is to avoid usage in pregnant or lactating mothers.

It is obviously a very worrying time for everyone and the internet unfortunately is full of stories which are equal in truth and fiction. It means that whichever side of the coin you choose, there’ll be plenty of ‘evidence’ online to back up your theory one way or another. The best way to help alleviate any concerns over the new vaccine is to educate yourself on the science behind it and make sure that you stick to resources from credible outlets or organizations. Fearing a new vaccine is a completely natural reaction, but the more knowledge you equip yourself with, the less fear you’ll have.