Douglas Todd: Here's what B.C. vaccine opponents say about their refusal to get jab – Vancouver Sun

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The suspicion and fear is palpable when talking to British Columbians who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Even with Victoria saying people will need a B.C. Vaccine Card to get into such places as restaurants, casinos and fitness centres as of Sept. 13, some of the one in six British Columbians who haven’t had any vaccination told Postmedia they’re worried vaccines will cause long-term harm to their health.

Jerome Henen, a retired accountant in North Vancouver, said he “just doesn’t want to take the risk” of getting jabbed, given the possible “negative effects on the body down the road. There are a lot of valid questions about the vaccines.”

Though Henen enjoys going to restaurants and libraries, he’s resisting the “group think” that is leading many to demand everyone must be vaccinated. There will never be any absolute way to stop the coronavirus, he said, or any other respiratory disease.

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He is also not impressed with Dr. Bonnie Henry’s new mask mandate.

“Wearing a mask is like using chicken wire to stop the rain,” he said. “Nothing is scientific anymore,” he said of government rationales for reinstituting masking rules. “Everything is tainted by politics.”

There have been repeated assurances from government officials and scientists that the vaccines are safe.

Despite that, a Metro Vancouver nurse, who asked not to be named because she would be reprimanded by her hospital, was one of many who contacted Postmedia to offer their reasons for refusing to join those British Columbians who have made this one of the most vaccinated jurisdictions in the world.

The nurse said there is a “huge divide and controversy in the medical community” over whether to take vaccines, even while studies suggest they’re generally about 90 per cent effective against the coronavirus.

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‘What will be the long-term effects of this vaccine 20 years from now?” asked the nurse, who argued research data is still emerging and pharmaceutical companies won’t take legal responsibility for vaccine side effects.

Even though vaccines have been ordered for staff in B.C. seniors’ homes, the nurse said she’s going to wait to see what her employer, and the B.C. Nurses’ Union, require of health-care workers like her.

The B.C. government, like virtually all governments, has been posting immunization notices that aim to reassure reluctant people that “feeling worried or unsure is completely normal when something is new.”

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The province’s COVID-19 site goes on to explain that “Health Canada has conducted a rigorous scientific review of the available medical evidence to assess the safety of the approved COVID-19 vaccines. … No major safety concerns have been identified.”

B.C. also links to federal health web pages, which go into further detail on safety, noting, for instance, “The manufacturer (Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH) is legally required to submit reports of adverse events to Health Canada. The manufacturer is planning to follow clinical trial participants for at least two years after the second dose of the vaccine is given. It must communicate any safety concerns to Health Canada.”

But such reassurances have not been enough for the vaccine-wary British Columbians that contacted Postmedia, who came from a range of ethnocultural backgrounds. They offered diverse reasons for not getting shots.

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“History has displayed the dark side of vaccines when they were rushed into use,” one health-care worker claimed.

Another remarked: “I won’t be a guinea pig until the pharmaceutical companies drop their liability shield” against lawsuits about side effects, referring to news reports.

Several argued they should have “the freedom to choose,” given what they called drug companies dubious record on safety.

One reader was pregnant and didn’t want to take any risks. Another said the first Pfizer shot had made her very ill.

But federal government sites say the side effects observed during the clinical trials for Pfizer “are similar to what you might have with other vaccines” such as for the flu. “The side effects that followed vaccine administration in clinical trials were mild or moderate. They included things like pain at the site of injection, body chills, feeling tired and feeling feverish. These … do not pose a risk to health.”

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Simon Fraser University’s Valorie Crooks, who specializes in health geography and supports the idea of a vaccine passport, said many hesitant people will likely “wait to see what they actually look like” before they make a decision about going the vaccination route, which will increase immunity for the general population.

According to health authorities, vaccine bookings more than doubled early this week after the announcement of B.C.’s vaccine card, to nearly 17,000. That’s up from just over 8,000 during the same two-day period last week.

But, in the long run, Crooks said, “The rollout of the B.C. Vaccine Card will be crucial” in regard to encouraging vaccinations. People will consider the information it provides about where and when the card will be necessary and whether it will be in digital form, in paper, or both. Some people, she said, “might exploit the gaps” in the certificate program.

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Gloria Gutman, professor emerita of gerontology at Simon Fraser University, said the people who are most hesitant about taking vaccines are often members of the populations that are normally most statistically at risk of poor health.

That includes a relatively small proportion of seniors, but it’s more likely to be those on low incomes, Indigenous people and immigrants, some of whom aren’t fluent in English. The B.C. Vaccine Card, Gutman said, should be a comfort to the majority of seniors, who are eager to get back into society.

Since 42 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents are immigrants, Gutman said public-health officials need to focus on making their pro-vaccine messages as clear and accessible as possible. Many immigrants, she said, come from countries where governments and medical authorities are not trusted.

dtodd@postmedia.com

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