CommentsTHE DOCTOR IS IN - Whether it's the pragmatic arguments of saving lives and a return to normalcy, or the concerns of government overreach and fear of the side effects of vaccination (and, to boot, the need for vaccination if one already has gotten COVID-19), the anger in our nation is going UP
...and people want certain terms and people to be "yeeted", which entails tossed brusquely aside in anger.
Bill Browning's recent CityWatch article about so many agreeing with Howard Stern's statements describing ridicule and fury against those refusing to be vaccinated is a very good one.
But to lump all those who refuse (or at least express major concerns about) the mRNA vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer as "anti-vaxxers" who take "horse dewormer", and to lump all those promoting the vaccines as oblivious to "the jab", are statements that just don't help...and are probably being used inappropriately and without any basis in the real world.
First, to suggest that anyone go to a veterinarian or other medical provider and self-treat is just bad on first blush. But to suggest that anyone be prescribed ivermectin, which still MIGHT help individuals with mild cases of COVID-19, as diminishing that treatment (NOT proven) as "horse dewormer" is also incorrect.
Dermatologists like myself have given ivermectin for scabies infestations, and topically for rosacea, for years. For anyone who gets scabies (and even resistant cases of head lice), the use of ivermectin is real and appropriate.
But the perspective or conclusion that BOTH ivermectin and the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines are equally unproven is just a myth...and relegating vaccination with the BEST vaccines we have at this time as "the jab" is really unhelpful...and just as ignorant as labelling all those who are concerned about these new anti-COVID-19 vaccines as "anti-vaxxers".
I frankly recommend you ALL get vaccinated unless you have had COVID-19...and even that isn't a good idea unless you KNOW you do or don't have enough antibodies in your blood.
Ditto for those who GOT vaccinated (like me)...because after six months the question of whether one is still protected (after getting the virus or getting vaccinated) becomes increasingly more salient.
And with no shortage of complications being reported about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (despite probably being ridiculously overhyped based the large numbers of people getting vaccinated), those hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are NOT against the polio and other "old school" vaccines because they're deemed more "proven".
Unfortunately, the mRNA vaccines are all we've got, and were both pushed to creation by President Trump's "Operation Warpspeed" and President Biden's aggressive efforts to get the United States vaccinated ASAP.
Vaccines get better with time...but time is what we do NOT have.
But while the un-vaccinated ARE filling the hospitals, and doing pretty much all the dying (versus just getting "the flu" when vaccination has occurred), the question of what to do about all those immunized against the virus after having gotten it remains HORRIBLY unanswered.
And the CDC's HORRIBLY contradictory actions and statements aren't helping, either.
So hospitals and medical groups are opposing not the availability of the vaccines, but President Biden's and other's mandates.
But when vaccinations occur in larger populations, improvement IS noted.
And there ARE FDA-approved drugs that might very well be repurposed to treat COVID-19 cases ...just not ivermectin at this time.
Vitamin D, however, IS something you don't want to be low on. And frankly, our indoors-only nation probably needs daily Vitamin D3 (1000-2000 International Units (IU) per day) already.
So the stupid terms "anti-vaxxer" and "the jab" might be understandably borne of frustration, fear, and fury...but they're not helping.
That said, I recommend you get vaccinated and use proper social distancing for one simple reason:
I want us all to live, and to get through this horrible, neverending nightmare that is the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 8-9 years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
