The newfound elitism surrounding COVID-19 Vaccines
As the United States moves toward vaccinating every individual, a dangerous debate heats up about the different vaccines.
Baylynne Brunetti / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista
Currently, 72 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The U.S. has been fortunate enough to have access to three vaccines; Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna.
On the news and social media, I had seen some misinformation and a large focus on the efficacy rate of the vaccines. I had also seen some memes on Instagram about the difference in girls who get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine versus those who get Johnson & Johnson and it had seemed harmless enough. TikTok had blown up with “rivalries” between vaccine companies and the vaccine you have received. This was all deemed as funny and just a way to cope with the pandemic.
However, when my mother and I were informed our vaccination site had run out of Moderna and we were offered Johnson & Johnson, my mother was hesitant and almost cancelled her vaccination. Had these harmless jokes actually begun to taint the vaccine itself and make people hesitant to get it? Staring at my mother rushing to read online articles about Johnson & Johnson, I realized that yes, it had.
You can ask people who have opinions about the difference between vaccines what the distinction is and most do not know. The difference lies in the fact that the vaccines have different makeups. For example, the genetic material in the mRNA vaccines is RNA, whereas the genetic material in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is DNA, but both encode the information to make the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine had a 72% efficiency in mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms in the United States trial — 66% globally. The vaccine provided 100% efficacy against hospitalizations and deaths.
For Pfizer and Moderna, the CDC confirmed that both vaccines are 90% effective after two doses in study of real-life conditions. According to NBC Boston, while the overall effectiveness data may suggest the Johnson & Johnson candidate isn’t quite as strong as the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna options, all of the world’s COVID-19 vaccines have been tested differently, making comparisons nearly impossible.
As of April 13, the CDC put a halt on Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution due to 6 doses out of 6.8 million that potentially could have caused blood clots in women. This has less to do with the vaccine and more with the fact that scientific studies often do not include enough women in their studies due to concerns of infertility or pregnancy issues later on. This leads to instances such as this— where likely, women with low platelet counts were not included in trial and thus, the adverse and rare effects were not foreseeable. Additionally, the CDC started an investigation immediately into the cases to see what happened.
When it comes to the flu shot, most of us cannot even name the company who gave us our vaccine. Additionally, the flu shot on a good year is only 40%-60% effective but we line up to take it without criticizing the study or the company giving it to us.
It is reasonable to question and have a certain level of scrutiny about things presented to us. However, pinning vaccines against each other is not the way to resolve the deep wounds inflicted by the pandemic.
It is ungracious to the scientists who worked so hard to find a solution to a year that put a halt to our lives. If anything, we should be thanking these scientists for their tireless efforts to put out a life-saving vaccine. These vaccines are proof that when we fund science, scientists can do incredible things.
Even in good fun, there are repercussions for starting an elitist game between vaccines and we should be cautious about what we say and spread online. Clearly, there are real effects to the “vaccine gang” TikToks and the memes that follow suit. At a time where we can finally come back together, let’s not tear each other apart. Don’t be the reason someone does not get a vaccine because you decided to become an expert on efficacy rates on social media because you saw a percentage headline.
Instead, think about the privilege you hold to have already been vaccinated and thank our incredible scientists for trying to get us back to some form of normalcy.
The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.
