By Donna Westfall – December 19, 2020 – Picture credit goes to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Last year the World Health Organization ranked the anti-vaccine movement among its top 10 global health threats. Listed as number 8. Vaccine hesitancy.

I have been and continue to be supportive of President Trump but when it comes to allowing the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine be injected into my arm, that’s where I beg to differ.

According to the the December 15th article from the LA Times, “The Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 among those who were tracked for a median of two months after getting their second dose. Eight of the 18,198 study participants who received the vaccine developed COVID-19, compared with 162 of the 18,325 participants who got the placebo.”

That’s not a very big test group.

Let’s turn our attention to Moderna.

From the same article by Karen Kaplan, Science and Medicine Editor “The Moderna vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 among those who were tracked for a median of seven weeks after their second dose. Five of the 13,934 study participants who received the vaccine developed COVID-19, compared with 90 of the 13,883 participants who received the placebo.”

That is not a very big test group either. And it’s not a very long test period.

What about pregnant or nursing mothers? Should they take the vaccine? So far there is no test data. There are theories that it’s better to get the vaccine than the virus, but those are only theories. Remember thalidomide? During the ’50’s and ’60’s it was used to treat morning sickness. Unfortunately, it also caused severe congenital malformation. If you’ve ever seen adults with deformed arms half the size of regular arms, and hands that look like flippers, that’s one of the birth defects.

With the vaccine now being injected in the arms of health care providers and nurses and government officials, postings are popping up on social media like Facebook and YouTube.com showing people having allergic reactions to the vaccine even to the point of becoming dizzy and fainting on camera.

Now realize that there are possible side affect with any drug or vaccine. The question boils down to this: Is it better to take the chance of getting vaccinated and having it work, or not?

In the next few days we’ll be posting articles about people who made alternate choices, including a local that is taking an IVERMECTIN shot and said she will relate her story.

There is a real lack of information on what to do if you get COVID. We’ll be addressing that with a story by a woman who had the virus along with many members of her family that had the virus and healed themselves using vitamins and other drugs and therapies.

This is what we know so far. Antibiotics do not work on viruses.

On Oct 22, 2020, the FDA approved Veklury (remdesivir), the first drug approved to treat COVID-19, for use in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older and weighing at least 88 pounds requiring hospitalization. Are there side effect? Yes

• nausea
• constipation
• pain, bleeding, bruising of the skin, soreness, or swelling near the place where the medication was injected.

What about Chloroquine/ Hydroxychloroquine? According to many articles claiming it is ineffective against the virus be aware that from Clinical Trials.gov there is an on-going test covering 40,000 individuals that started on April 29, 2020 and is due to run through April 29, 2021 covering numerous test sites. Don’t rule this out yet.

What are the emergency warning signs of COVID-19?

• Trouble breathing.
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.
• New confusion.
• Inability to wake or stay awake.
• Bluish lips or face

What other symptoms indicate you could have the virus, but it’s not a big an emergency requiring hospitalization?

Fever or chills, loss of smell and taste, cough, congestion or runny nose – well, let me digress because living in Crescent City many of us complain of the “Crescent City Crud” consisting of runny nose, sinus pressure, sneezing, and a wet cough, lasting well, almost year round. If it was CRUD that typically develops into a sinus infection, ear infection, and/or bronchitis. In Crescent City rarely does it result in sinus, ear or bronchial infection. Back to the list of symptoms: nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle or body aches or headaches.

To help stay in good health; eat a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and it wouldn’t hurt to add garlic, zinc, Vitamin B6 and D, drink lots of water and disinfect frequently. As you may already know, most of the people in Del Norte County with confirmed cases of COVID 19 are staying home and not being hospitalized.

As far as being vaccinated, I sincerely hope that our government doesn’t make it mandatory and then prescribe exactly which vaccine must be used. I firmly believe that the decision to be vaccinated should be a matter of choice.