Community News
Still unsure about the jab? Your questions answered at the Family COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar
BY JANIECE CAMPBELL
On January 12th, 2022, a webinar hosted by the Region of Peel, the Black Physicians Association of Ontario and several other partners featured an expert panel of healthcare professionals answering questions from the community regarding the COVID-19 vaccine for children and adults. The one-hour discussion covered topics such as vaccine safety, efficacy, consent and more.
The speakers consisted of two acclaimed doctors: Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, a pediatric clinical immunologist and allergist, as well as Dr. David Burt, an immunologist with more than thirty years of international experience in the research and development of vaccines against infectious diseases including influenza and SARS.
A common question that the professionals addressed was how are so many people getting COVID-19 after being double vaccinated?
“Viruses are always looking for a host. They’re looking for warm bodies to infect. When they see resistance, they change so that they can infect you. And that’s why we’re seeing so many new variants, because they’re trying to find a way to bypass our immune systems. It’s not unusual that this can happen, as viruses are always trying to find a way to prosper. With our vaccines, they’ve been great. But with Omicron, it’s been a little different. Having two vaccines gives you a little protection but having three is better. And yes, we’re seeing vaccinated people still get Omicron, but they’re getting a much milder disease. Even if you might still get mild infections, the fact that you’re getting mild infections speaks volumes to how well it’s working. It’s stopping you from getting really sick. You’re still getting some prevention and it’s still worth it,” says Dr. Abdurrahman.
“The vaccine is still doing what it’s supposed to do. As of January 11th, if you’re fully vaccinated, you have a 77% chance of being less likely to be hospitalized, and 90% less chance of being in the ICU,” Dr. Burt says additionally.
Another proposed question was about the necessity of boosters and how to explain the negative adverse effects that previously healthy young people have received after getting their dose, such as myocarditis.
“If you look at the benefits and risks associated with taking vaccines versus getting
Covid in relation to children ages 12-17, the risk of myocarditis is very low. A lot of people don’t realize that there’s a 30% higher risk of myocarditis after Covid infection than after getting the vaccine. Being vaccinated especially for teenagers is important. Not only are you preventing severe disease and potential hospitalization, but you’re preventing and decreasing chances of myocarditis. It’s very clear now that three doses of the vaccines are critically important to prevent you from getting severe disease,” replied Dr. Burt.
Dr. Abdurrahman chimes in.
“It’s important to look at the data for children who have been infected with Covid. When we look at all the children admitted to ICUs or hospitals across Canada, there wasn’t an overwhelming portion of them who had chronic diseases who would be seen as being more fragile. We had a lot of healthy children being admitted, so it’s not just affecting kids with other medical conditions. We are seeing children getting long Covid, meaning they’re having present symptoms more than three months after getting infected. They may have just had a positive swab and nothing else, but now they’re getting chronic pains, medical issues and getting put on medication. And that’s what we’re trying to prevent; hospitalizations, ICU visits, deaths, as well as trying to prevent the infection so we don’t see this long covid. It’s one thing to get a cold, but we didn’t see this long systematic issue happening in our bodies afterwards like we’re seeing with this infection.”
“Long Covid also causes brain fog, meaning there can be difficulty processing and remembering things. You don’t want your children experiencing learning problems,” Dr. Burt follows up.
A final important question that the panelists answered was regarding the clinical trials and how children and racialized groups were involved in the process of studying the vaccine efficacy.
“Every time the vaccine has been released for a certain age group, it’s always after studies have been completed. One of the great things now different from other studies done on non-Covid vaccines we use all the time, there is a focus on looking at a diverse population in these studies. They’re done in multiple countries, and they are getting a much broader approach in terms of people from not just one race category unlike a lot of previous medical studies. Now we’re seeing that Black, Asian, Latinx communities were represented. And this was seen in each age group. In some studies, there’s up to a 9-10% Black population represented which is phenomenal because it’s typically less than 1%t. You can know that someone who looks like you was represented in these clinical trials,” says Dr. Abdurrahman.
“If there’s anything you could say that’s good about Covid, it’s that it’s enabling the medical community to realize that they need to include the same demographics in communities in their clinical studies. That gives an added level of confidence to communities like ours. We’re included in these trials, and we know that the safety and efficacy of these vaccines were similar across all the demographics, racial and cultural groups included,” concludes Dr. Burt.
COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics for African, Black and Caribbean communities will be happening throughout Peel towards the end of January and into February. Black healthcare professionals and community ambassadors will also be on-site to answer any vaccine questions. For more information about booking, call Roots Community Services at 647-812-8545 or visit their Instagram page @rootscspeel.