Skip to main content

Making Moral Vaccine Decisions - Part D: Vaccine Safety and Efficacy

Image
By

 

 +
JMJ
 
For the lack of a better phrase, there has been a lot of noise concerning the safety and efficacy of the vaccines under development.

The initial safety and efficacy of the vaccines are established during three phases of clinical trials.  Monitoring does not stop with these trials, but remains in force for as a long as the drug is issued.

Adverse events and various reactions happen both with, without and due to the vaccines. 
 
Some of these adverse events happen on their own and in order for a vaccine to be deemed unsafe due to them, the incidence needs to be statistically significant.  In other words, they need to establish that the vaccine caused the event and is not just a result of someone having a latent or undeclared illness. In some cases causality is easily established.

In order to assure ourselves of the safety and efficacy, the best way is to read the latest monograph that accompanies the vaccine.  
 
Examples:

These monographs provide vital for making a safey and efficacy decision, but not a moral decision.

Key elements that I look for are:
  1. Contra-indications:Identifying who should not normally receive the vaccine.
  2. Indications: Identifying who can normally receive the vaccine.
  3. Warnings and precautions: Just what the words say.
  4. Special populations: I pay attention to the advice on pregnant and breast-feeding women, children, and elderly.
  5. Adverse reaction data: Provides information on how people reacted to the medication during trials.
  6. Post-market adverse reactions: Provides information about reactions that have been verified after the introduction of the vaccine.
  7. Study Results: This tells you how effective the vaccine proved in establishing what amounts to a preemptive immune response to the virus. Basically, training the recipients immune system to successfully,after sufficient time, combat post vaccination infection.

 

These factors need to be weighed against the risk of the disease to one-self, the close associates and the common-good.

P^3
 

Reference




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

News Roundup: October 19, 2026

By
 + JMJ Well ... I was looking in my blog drafts and found this list from after my News is an Addiction post. So ... yep ... not totally able to disconnect from the news world at this point.  Frankly, I haven't read all of these articles - they catch my eye as I check for SSPX news regarding the exco's etc. So let's consider these topics as part of a higher level chronicle. They may not be key inflection points but helps to understand the flow of the world as perceived by the authors and myself who captured them as a snapshot in time. P^3 1 Popes Past Present and Future Benedict XVI and the Reforms of the Second Vatican Council: Re-Catholicizing the Liturgy—Part I - Adoremus RORATE CÆLI: France: Pope Lays Down the Law on Euthanasia RORATE CÆLI: "I went to France to preach the Gospel -- the Defense of Life is something that the Church believes very deeply" RORATE CÆLI: Image of the Day: the Pope at the Rebuilt Notre-Dame de Paris RORATE CÆLI: Leo XIV and the Place...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Debt Canadian Traditional Catholics Owe to Fr. Yves Normandin (RIP)

By
 + JMJ On this All Souls day, I'd like to remind all Traditional Catholics in Canada the debt that they owe to Fr. Yves Normandin (RIP). Fr. Normandin stepped into the breach in the 1970's offering the Tridentine Mass across Canada for close to a decade before returning to his diocese for a number years before returning to the SSPX. I had the grace to visit him in Quebec twice and each time left with a greater appreciation of the fruits of his efforts. All of us 'old-timers' probably remembers Masses in Chapels, Homes, Halls, Funeral Homes, and event convention centres. I make the assertion that this laid the ground for all the Traditional Mass Communities, SSPX, FSSP, Diocesan and others. Probably a pretty safe assertion! In addition to praying for the repose of the Soul of Fr. Normandin, I'd ask you also pray for the repose of the soul of his Mother.  I remember seeing her picture once and everyone has a Mom and she is worthy of our prayers for producing such a so...
Post a Comment
Read more

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

By
+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3
Post a Comment
Read more

SSPX: Requiescat in Pace - Nov. Devotions

By
 + JMJ Recently, the St. Gertrude prayer was recommended to me and given my devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I thought it a good inclusion in the morning prayers and post it here for as a reminder for November - the Month of the Holy Souls. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org “Forget not the dead and hasten to pray for them!” - such is the Church's recommendation, beautifully summarized by St. Augustine. In Purgatory until the End of the World Our Lady Herself referred to Purgatory when, at the first Fatima apparition in May 1917, she was asked by Lucia about the souls of two young village girls who had recently died. The Virgin answered that the first one, Maria das Nevas, who died when about 16 years of age, was in Heaven. But of Amelia, a young lady of 18 years at her death, "will be in purgatory until the end of the world.” The disclosure about Amelia’s prolonged period of expiation never fails to shock and trouble. We are so easily misled to believe that Heaven is our natura...
Post a Comment
Read more

The News is an Addiction ...

By
 + JMJ People seem to be mesmerised by train wrecks.   They just can't turn away as the disaster creeps forward along train tracks towards the crossing where a car, truck, bus, trailer awaits its destruction. Trads have been watching the train wreck that is this crisis of the Catholic Church for decades. The trade war between the Canada and the US has reminded me that the news is addictive.   The first time I was addicted what from 2009 to  2014 when I was closely following the Rome / SSPX discussions.  I was at work watching a live-stream as Bishop Fellay disappeared into the Vatican. The lead-up to this moment had been intense as the 'resistance' got freaked out and the cultural cracks between doctrine and conspiracy theory widened. In the decade since then other things have emerged, wars, rumours of wars, conspiracies, celebrity Catholics etc. Now we have a new addiction and its name is Trump. Lately, no matter how much I try, I find myself wonderin...
Post a Comment
Read more