Fortunately, the total number of these cases we are seeing still remains small compared to the total number of vaccinations being given, but it is probably still a trend to keep an eye on. In Chicago, another medical center suspended COVID vaccinations after four health workers fell ill after being vaccinated. None of the responses turned out to be life-threatening and three out of four ‘rest at home’ and are apparently doing well. A fourth employee received additional treatment yesterday. (CBS Chicago)
Advocate Condell Medical Center has suspended COVID-19 vaccinations after four employees experienced reactions shortly after receiving the vaccine, according to a statement from attorney Aurora Health.
Since Thursday, four team members have been experiencing reactions, including tingling and an increased heart rate.
The four team members represent less than 0.15% of the approximately 3,000 people who have received the Advocate Aurora Health vaccine to date.
A statement from the medical center described the decision to stop vaccinations as a decision made out of “an abundance of prudence.” That sounds good, especially since they didn’t stop the proceedings at their eight other outlets in the region.
This means that of the approximately 3,000 people vaccinated to date from Advocate Aurora Health, four have had negative, but not critical, negative reactions so far. That works out to just over one-tenth of a percent of patients who encountered a problem with allergic reactions or other complications. This pattern is no different from the song I wrote about recently. 0.1 percent is certainly a small fraction, but when you apply that to the roughly 300 million people expected to be vaccinated in the United States in the coming months, we can expect somewhere between 400,000 and a half million people to encounter this problem .
Among those half a million, it’s almost certain we’ll see some worst-case scenarios where the reaction is very serious, if not deadly. But the thing is, that’s still so low that the government can’t afford to simply raise its hands and stop the program. The cost of not vaccinating anyone willing to take the shot would undoubtedly be vastly higher than continuing. Every time a new drug is marketed and widely distributed, there are always a number of patients who develop problems that did not crop up during the development of the product and the testing trials.
But it’s that phrase “anyone willing to shoot” that I keep coming back to. How many stories like this one will we have to see before people start to lose their trust and decide not to? Please note that I am asking this question as one of the people who has already made the decision to delay the vaccine myself until I see a lot more data, especially for people in my general age group and those with underlying conditions. And I mean much more data. Even if I was told I was eligible for the second round of people being offered vaccinations, I seriously don’t see myself going to my doctor’s office and signing up for it for at least several months.
The last factor we are all waiting for is the duration of the immunity these vaccines provide. If it’s right for a few years, it’s probably worth the stress and anxiety to go ahead and do it. But if this turns out to be like the flu vaccine where they tell us to get a new one every fall, I’ll probably think twice.